by M A Comley
Tania was reacting like any other person Lorne had broken devastating news to about a loved one’s death. In her experience the grieving relative always bombarded the police with questions, something that Elaine’s husband had neglected to do when they’d shared the news with him at his office.
“Yes, we’ve just come from visiting your brother-in-law. He gave us your address. So, as far as you were concerned, your sister got on the flight to Florida?”
“I don’t understand?”
“Your sister’s body was found in a warehouse in the East End of London, Ms. Meadon.”
“What? When?”
Katy smiled sympathetically. “On Sunday of this week.”
“But she left for the States almost two weeks ago. Did she come back early? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No, I’m sorry. We need to make the necessary checks to verify matters, but we believe that your sister didn’t make it out of London, let alone the country.”
Tears cascaded down the woman’s face, and she reached for a packet of cigarettes. Her hands were shaking so much that when she attempted to remove one from the packet, she dropped them all on the shaggy rug in front of the fire. Lorne jumped up to aid the woman. Lorne tucked all the cigarettes, bar one, back in the packet and offered the remaining one to Tania. The woman drew in enough nicotine to fill her lungs and let out a huge plume of smoke before she asked, “I don’t understand. You said that she was found on Sunday, and yet you’re only just informing me of her death now. Why is that?”
Lorne and Katy exchanged hesitant glances. “Your sister was murdered and well…her head was removed, making it difficult for us to formally identify her sooner.”
Tania sat perfectly still, the news obviously a major shock to her. Eventually, she whispered, “Who would do such a dreadful thing? Elaine has never harmed anyone in her life. She’s been a good wife, the best. She’s a loving sister, and I regarded her as my best friend. To think I’ll never see her again…”
“I’m sorry. I know this must sound insensitive, but we’ll need to ask some pretty invasive questions in order to draw this case to a conclusion.”
Tania nodded her acceptance and willingness to proceed. “I understand completely although I’m not sure what else I can tell you.” She took another drag on her cigarette. The end glowed red, and she let out another puff of smoke.
“Was your sister’s marriage a happy one, content?”
“Of course. Most of the time. All couples have their ups and downs, don’t they? Elaine felt neglected at times by Joseph, but he did his best for them. He works exceptionally long hours to ensure they have a good life together.”
“If they loved each other so much, why would they consider taking separate holidays?” asked Katy.
“I don’t know. Elaine asked me to go with her, said she wanted a break from all the mundane tasks she carried out every day. I think Joseph’s schedule is mega busy. She said he’d given his blessing for her to go away without him.”
“That’s big of him,” Lorne mumbled.
Katy shot her a warning glance. “There’s one thing puzzling me, Ms. Meadon,” Katy added.
“What’s that?”
“We believe we’ve recovered your sister’s suitcase—yet to be formally identified of course—and inside we found something out of the ordinary. Can you tell me what type of weather they’re experiencing in Florida at the moment?”
“Very hot, I think. Why?”
“Because we found both winter and summer apparel in your sister’s suitcase. The discovery has caused us some concern.”
“Concern?”
“Yes, I’m not sure I’ve ever gone on a summer holiday and taken winter clothing with me. It gave us the impression that your sister was maybe leaving full stop.”
“Leaving Joseph? She’d never do that, she loves him.”
“Final question before we leave. Does your sister usually travel by public transport? In that, I mean by bus not taxi?”
“No. She has her own car.”
Lorne followed Katy’s lead and walked towards the front door. “I’m sorry we’ve met under such circumstances, I want to assure you that we’ll be doing all we can to find your sister’s murderers.”
“Murderers? As in, you know there is more than one person behind this?”
“We have evidence to believe that your sister was abducted by two men at the coach station.”
“If you know who’s done this then why on earth haven’t they been arrested yet?” Tania asked understandably confused.
“It’s not as simple as that. We have CCTV footage that your sister took a bus to the coach station. Her suitcase was found at the lost property office. We have further footage that two men met her at the coach station and left with her…or forced her to leave. Is this your sister?” Katy showed the picture from the CCTV camera.
“It is. My God, was she raped? Please tell me she wasn’t subjected to that before they killed her.”
“No, as far as we know she wasn’t raped. We’re doing our utmost to try to put a name to the men. The problem is they wore hoodies, ensuring they couldn’t be identified. We’ll get them though, I assure you of that. If you think of anything that might help our case, please ring me?” Katy gave Tania Meadon her card and shook her hand.
• • •
When they arrived back at the station, Lorne rang the airline to see if Elaine had checked in for her flight, or at least cancelled it. She knew what the answer would be before the negative response filtered down the line. She rang the States and asked the same question of the hotel receptionist, and again she received a similar response. She was just going through the motions, but these things had to be confirmed to rule out the possibility of Elaine leaving the country and returning earlier than anticipated by family members.
After reporting her findings to Katy, she sat at her computer and searched the database for any and all information she could find relating to the husband, Joseph Syposz. The findings proved to be disappointing. Lorne only stumbled across an unpaid parking ticket in the man’s name.
She then decided to look into the man’s company: Capital Deliveries. According to Companies House, the firm had been in operation for almost five years without any hiccups. Another waste of time, not what Lorne wanted or had expected to find. The guy was Mr. Squeaky Clean himself. Which only raised Lorne’s suspicions more. Who is truly that Squeaky Clean? Perhaps his business was a front for something sinister.
“Lost in thought I see,” Katy perched on the edge of the desk beside her.
“Sorry. I’ve come to a standstill, I’m afraid. I’m going to have to admit defeat on Mr. Syposz, even though my gut is telling me not to trust the slimy bastard.”
“I take it the background checks came back sporting a big fat zero, then?”
“Yeah. I’ve even been in touch with Companies House, got the same result there too.” Lorne threw her arms up in front of her, and the pen she’d been holding slid across the desk. “I give up. The case has ground to a screeching halt, and I can’t see a way of getting it moving again.”
“You will. You’re being too hard on yourself. The case has only been open for five days. No one expects you, or me, for that matter, to solve a major crime like this within the first week of it surfacing. Give yourself a break, Lorne.”
Lorne smiled at her partner. “You know me, I like to get in and out of cases ASAP because I know there’ll be a darn-sight-worse one vying for a position on our desks around the corner.”
Katy shrugged. “That’s our lives, kiddo. What have you got planned for the weekend?”
“Ah, yes.” She leaned towards Katy and whispered, “We’re having a family barbecue I was going to see if you wanted to join us?”
Katy leaned in too. “I’d love to. Why are you whispering?”
Continuing to whisper, Lorne replied, “The invitation is for a plus one, I wondered if you would like to drag AJ along?” Katy roared with laughter. W
ide-eyed at the outburst, Lorne looked over at the rest of the people in the room, who were all eyeing them in puzzlement. She felt her cheeks flare up. “All right, it wasn’t that funny.”
“No, but you are. You never give up, do you?”
“What have I done now?” Lorne raised an innocent hand to her chest.
“Ms. Matchmaker 2014 strikes again.”
“Bollocks. The offer is there if you want to join us, either alone or together, the choice is yours. Sunday at three, if you want to bother showing up.”
“Ooh, hark at Ms. Spiky. I’ll check my diary, see if I’m free.”
“Whatever.” Lorne’s feelings were hurt, far more than they should have been. She knew Katy was only teasing. Maybe the week had taken its toll on her and had chased her sense of humour away.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Surfacing around eleven on Saturday morning, Lorne started preparing the food for Sunday’s barbecue. She intended going over the top this weekend—she had new people to impress, after all. Carol and her new man friend, Ted, had agreed to come, and Lorne suspected, despite Katy’s blasé attitude, that she would bring AJ. Lorne hoped so anyway; she liked AJ, always had, and thought he and Katy would be well suited together.
Mid-afternoon, needing a break from her kitchen chores, Lorne dashed outside to search for Charlie. Her daughter was sitting in one of the kennels, cuddling one of the two pups who’d been dumped on their doorstep during the week.
Lorne opened the kennel and sat down beside Charlie. “Everything all right, love?”
Charlie stroked the dog’s head, kissed him, and placed him in the basket alongside his brother. Then she rested her head on Lorne’s shoulder and let out a long sigh. “So-so. I’ve had better days, weeks, I guess.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really, Mum. What bothers me is that the world is so full of sick bastards.”
Lorne picked up Charlie’s hand, kissed the back of it, and held it firmly in her lap. “I know, love. You’ve seen your fair share of crap over the years. Believe me, it breaks my heart to say that. You should never have been subjected to any of it. I’ll always feel guilt in my heart for not protecting you like a real mother should.”
Charlie sat upright and looked daggers at her. “Don’t be such an idiot. This isn’t about self-pity, Mum. I’ve never blamed you for what went on with…that Baldwin man, never. I regard you as my heroine for rescuing me. If you hadn’t turned up when you had, he’d have pressed the button and blown me to pieces.”
“You’re so sweet. Have I told you lately how proud I am of you? Of your achievements?”
Charlie’s embarrassment settled in her cheeks. “Yeah, all the time. I meant the bastards who left the puppies outside the gate. What drives people to do that? Plus, I was also referring to those dangerous boys who killed Wendy. Why did they do it? Just to have their power kick for the day?”
“I guess we’ll never understand what goes through these weirdoes’ minds, love. Let’s hope we catch them soon. Have you heard when the funeral is?”
“Wednesday. I told Wendy’s mum I’d be going.”
Lorne could sense her daughter wanted to ask her something. She squeezed her hand. “Would you like me to come with you, is that it?”
Charlie looked at her with tears welling up in her chocolate brown eyes. “Would you? Could you get time off work?”
“Of course. There shouldn’t be a problem since we’re investigating the case. The officers in charge of a case mostly attend the funerals of the victims anyway. I’ll have a word with Katy tomorrow. Come on.” Lorne stood up and pulled Charlie to her feet. “I’ll make you some pancakes as a treat.”
Charlie flung her arms around her. “You’re the best mum in the world. I love you.”
Choked by the sudden knot in her throat, Lorne kissed her daughter’s cheek and slapped her on the backside. “I love you too. Now enough of this unhappiness. I want my happy-go-lucky daughter back.”
“She’ll make an appearance after you’ve treated her to pancakes.”
They exited the kennel and, with Henry at their heels, made their way across the yard into the house.
• • •
On Sunday, everything was ready for the guests, hours before it was needed. Lorne thrived at being organised and in control of a situation. That’s why her two latest cases were bugging her so much.
“You’re on a day off, remember?” Tony caught her standing at the living room window, staring out at the fields beyond.
“You know me too well. I’ll have to do something about that.” She laughed.
“What? Like divorce me?”
Lorne spun around to face him, almost covering his shirt with the dregs of her coffee in the process. “Don’t say that!”
Tony crushed her to him. “Sorry, love. Poor joke on my part.”
“Don’t ever say that, Tony. I’d be lost without you around. We are all right, aren’t we?”
He kissed her hard on the lips. “Of course we are. Don’t go reading things into something that was said in jest.”
“You know what Dad used to say, ‘many a true word spoken in jest.’”
“Stop worrying. We’re fine. I’d soon tell you if we’re not. The troops will be here in a few hours…fancy an afternoon nap?”
Lorne slapped his arm. “Cheeky, what about Charlie?”
“Whoa, hang on a minute. I didn’t say anything about a mother and daughter threesome.”
She slapped him again, took his hand and led him up the stairs. They resurfaced, all Lorne’s doubts about the state of their relationship wiped out, just in time to welcome the first of their guests.
A few weeks had passed since her sister Jade, Jade’s husband Luigi, and the boys had paid them a visit. Charlie took the young boys, who were growing up fast, out to visit the dogs in the kennels, while Lorne and Tony poured their guests a drink. Lorne sensed an underlying tension between Jade and her hubby. Taking Jade to one side on the pretence that she needed a hand with a recipe, she asked her sister what was wrong.
Jade shook her head but avoided eye contact. “Nothing. This all looks fantastic, Sis. You must have spent loads on all this food.”
“It’s a celebration for becoming a member of the paid workforce once more. Come on, hon, what’s wrong? I thought you were back to your old cheerful self again. I can tell when something is bugging you.”
“Nothing, honestly. We just had a slight disagreement about the boys on the way over. It’ll burn itself out soon enough. What can I do to help?”
Lorne eyed her suspiciously, but she recognised how pointless it would be to pursue the matter. Jade was the most stubborn person she knew, one who regularly dug her heels in when challenged. “Okay, my ear is ever open if you need to chat about anything, got that?”
“Yep, I know.”
“Right, well, we need to get the knives and forks together. There’s a packet of serviettes over there. Oh yeah, you better put a spoon in there too. I’ve made a chocolate cheesecake for afters, sod the diet, eh?”
Jade’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Er…I forgot about the diet years ago.”
“Get on, you’re still only a size ten now.”
“I guess we’ve both been blessed with good genes.”
Lorne watched her sister methodically wrap the cutlery in the red serviettes and place them in the wicker basket ready to transport outside.
Lorne tore her husband away from his brother-in-law and their car talk, and asked him to fire up the barbecue. “I’m getting hungry…you?”
“Yeah, that’ll be your fault for enticing me upstairs.”
Lorne shoved him in the back. “Hush, don’t embarrass me. Did Luigi seem okay to you?”
“Yeah. Why?” Tony raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Just wondering. There’s something going on there that Jade’s concerned about, but not willing to share.”
“It’s your overactive imagination playing tri
cks on you again.”
Lorne shook her head when he turned his back on her and headed outside. Not this time!
When everyone had arrived, Katy, AJ, Carol, and Carol’s new friend, Ted, Lorne helped Tony throw the food on the barbecue. Charlie took on the role of handing out and topping up everyone’s drinks when their glasses were empty. After completing the main course, Lorne cut the cheesecake into chunky slices and distributed them. When she walked toward Jade and Luigi, Lorne saw them talking out the sides of their mouths to each other, trying to smile at the same time. Every now and again, a snarl replaced her sister’s smile.
She handed them each a plate. Refusing to release her hold on Luigi’s plate, she said, “Okay, what’s going on? I can tell if I don’t intervene one of you is going to kick off big time.” Silence filled the strained gap between the three of them.
Eventually, through gritted teeth and a hushed voice, Jade ordered, “Tell her. Tell her or I will.”
“What is it, Luigi? Do you want to go inside for a chat?”
“No. I’d rather my wife keep her interfering nose out of what doesn’t concern her. I’ll tell you when I’m good and ready, Lorne, not when my dear wife orders me to.” With that, he marched off and topped up his drink at the table.
Lorne turned to look at her sister. She could tell that Jade was seething by her husband’s outburst. “Don’t ask. He has to tell you himself or I fear it could be the end of our marriage.”
“You can’t leave me hanging in midair like that, Jade. Whatever is troubling him, the pair of you, let me and Tony help you overcome it, please?”
Jade turned on her heel without responding and went in search of her two boys playing ball in the paddock with Henry and Charlie.
Confused, Lorne’s gaze shifted between her sister and Luigi. Neither of them noticed her observing them.
“What’s going on?” Katy asked, standing alongside her.
“I wish I knew. I’ll tell you this, I’m going to find out before this day has ended, that’s for sure.”
“Mind if AJ and I slip away soon? I hate to eat and run—”