by M A Comley
“Thank you for attending today and at such short notice. On Monday of this week, a call came in to me that a local man had gone missing. Since then, my team and I have been trying to find out what happened to Paul Potts. He was the landlord of a house in the Clifton area of Bristol. When we called at the flats to question the tenants, one person in particular”—Kayli held up the mugshot of Nuttall for the cameras—“absconded from his flat. This man is Bob Nuttall. We’ve been trying to trace him ever since. Can you help us? He was driving a dark blue Opel Manta at the time. We’ve since located the car, and Bob Nuttall was spotted on nearby CCTV cameras leaving the scene, heading into the city. Have you seen this man?”
Kayli glanced around the sea of media faces staring back at her. “Any questions?”
One keen young journalist raised his hand. “Patrick Knowles of the Bristol Evening News. Can you tell us why you’re involved in this case? Aren’t you a murder-squad detective?”
Kayli smiled at the young man, who had obviously carried out his research well. “I am. Unfortunately, as of this morning, the missing persons case has been upgraded to a murder enquiry following the discovery of Mr. Potts’s body.”
“Can I ask where and how the victim died?” Mr. Knowles asked.
“As to how he died, I’m not at liberty to say until the post-mortem has been carried out. Mr. Potts’s vehicle was found in a ravine in South Wales. That’s as much as I’m able to share with you all right now. This is why it’s imperative that we locate Bob Nuttall. Any more questions?”
A few of the journalists raised their hands, and Kayli pointed to a young woman. “Yes?”
“Cassandra Watt from BBC News. Inspector, do you have any other suspects in mind, or is Bob Nuttall your prime suspect on this case?”
“At this point, he is indeed our prime suspect. Why run unless he has something to hide? Anyone else have any other questions?”
A few more hands went up. Kayli pointed to an older woman with striking red hair. “Yes, Melody?”
The woman nodded in acknowledgement. “Does this person you’re seeking have a motive, Inspector?”
“I’d rather keep that side of things under wraps for now. All I need to do is to establish Bob Nuttall’s whereabouts so that he can be brought in for questioning.” Kayli held the man’s picture up again. “Have you seen this man in your area in the last few days? If you have, please call the number at the bottom of your screen. It’s imperative that we speak to him as soon as possible.” Kayli received the thumbs-up that the camera had stopped rolling, and she drew the appeal to a close. “Thank you for your prompt cooperation on this matter, ladies and gentlemen. As always, it’s truly appreciated. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a killer to catch.”
Kayli made her way back up to the incident room on heavy, weary legs. It had already been a long day, and if the public felt like being super informative, she figured she would still be at the station well into the evening. The team were all sitting at their desks, primed, ready to pounce on the phones once they started ringing. “Out of our hands now, guys. All we can do is do a Sidney Youngblood.”
Dave’s face twisted into a look of confusion. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
Kayli placed an embarrassed hand over her face and shook her head. “Crap! I can’t believe I said that out loud. It’s a family joke. Giles and I used to love his top-ten hit when we were kids. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of ‘Sit and Wait’?”
Dave shrugged and glanced at the others. “Nope. Anyone else?”
Donna’s mouth turned down at the sides. “Can’t say I have.”
Graeme, on the other hand, was nodding and smiling. “I only know it through Lindy. She mentioned you and Giles used to say it all the time.”
“True. Sorry for the confusion, team.”
Graeme gestured with a raised finger that he would like to speak. Kayli nodded for him to go ahead. “While you were doing the appeal, boss, I took the liberty of ringing a couple of my contacts on the street. I hope that was okay?”
“Of course it was. And?”
“Nothing known as yet. They’re going to put the word around and get back to me in a day or so. One of them seemed to know the name, not that he let on to me, of course. I kind of picked up on the way he paused before responding to me. I know Jed of old and how he reacts to things.”
“Excellent news.”
As if on cue, the first phone call came in. Donna answered the phone with her fingers crossed, only to hang up a few seconds later with a scowl on her face. “Some dickhead ringing up. He laughed and slammed the phone down.”
“What is wrong with people? They can be such idiots. I hope a member of their family never has cause to need us in the future. They might realise how important it is to keep the phone lines clear during a murder enquiry.”
“Wish we had the time to trace some of these calls. I’d love to see how they’d respond to having their arses hauled in and getting charged for wasting our time,” Dave grumbled.
“If only life were that simple, Dave. I’ll be in my office. Let me know if anything half-decent falls into our laps.” Kayli stopped by the vending machine, collected a coffee then continued into the office. Closing the door, she took a sip from her cup and glanced out the window at the dreary sky overhead before rounding the desk to her chair. She picked up the phone and hesitated before she finally plucked up the courage to ring her brother. “Hi, Giles. It’s only me. How are things? Or is that a dumb question?”
“Not dumb at all. I’m just about to leave for the hospital. Said I’d take Annabelle in a change of clothes.”
“Oh, right. Is Bobby still with Mum and Dad?”
“Yes. As much as I wanted to bring him home here last night, I thought it would be too painful for me. Bizarre, I know.”
“I think I would feel the same way in your situation, love. Your emotions must be all over the place.”
“They are, but nothing compared to what Annabelle is feeling.”
Kayli swallowed the lump that had forced its way into her throat. “I’m sorry, love. I’m wracked with guilt about what’s happened.”
Her brother remained silent for a few seconds.
She heard him sniff and figured he was overwhelmed and unable to speak. “Do you want me to go?”
“Yes, although I want to make sure you understand that neither Annabelle nor I blame you for what’s occurred. Got that?”
“That’s because you’re wonderful people, kind and considerate until the last. No matter what you say, I’ll still feel guilty about dragging you halfway around the world when Annabelle needed you.”
“Nonsense. I’m not going to get in an argument about this, sis. Annabelle feels the same as I do. If it was meant to be, there was little we could do to prevent the child slipping away from us.”
“Not sure I would be so sympathetic in your shoes. If you need me, just shout. However, I don’t know why you’d do that when I had a devil of a job getting Bobby back to sleep last night.”
“You’re great with him. You just need to relax more when you’re around him.”
Kayli smiled. “Do you think he picks up on my anxiety? I’m so desperate to do the right thing by him, but it seems to prevent my brain from functioning properly when I’m around him.”
“Kids are like dogs in that respect. They have a tendency to pick up when people are feeling insecure. You wait until you have kids of your own. You’ll soon get to grips with how things work.”
Kayli cringed. She didn’t have the heart to insist that she had no intention of having kids, not in the near future at least. “I better go. I was just checking that everything was all right. Will you send my love and my apologies to Annabelle?”
“Nope. I’ll send her your love but not your apology, because you’re not at fault. If anything, I’m the one to blame for what’s happened. If I hadn’t jetted off with you like that, then maybe she’d still be carrying our child. I know I told you not to feel g
uilty about getting me involved. The truth is that the facts remain the same. I put Annabelle through nearly a week of unnecessary stress. That in itself couldn’t have been good for the little one.”
“Hey, listen to me. If you refuse to let me feel guilty, then the same goes for you, love. I found out something surprising from Mum last night.”
“Oh, what’s that?” he asked quietly.
“That she too suffered a miscarriage. She had it between giving birth to both of us. I was shocked by the revelation.”
Giles gasped. “Really? I wonder why they both kept it a secret.”
“Not sure. I suppose they had their reasons.”
“Do you think that type of thing runs in the family? Like me having a miscarriage gene, if there is such a thing? Am I talking a load of bollocks here?”
“No, I don’t think you’re talking crap. Maybe it is hereditary and something worth delving into with your doctor before you plan on having any more kids.”
“I’ll have a quiet word with the doctor when I go in this evening. Not sure Annabelle will be up for having to deal with another pregnancy anytime soon anyway. This little one wasn’t planned and sort of fell into our laps, if you get what I mean.”
“I do. Mum told me that sometimes the body rejects a baby if it detects some degenerative abnormality in it.”
“The doctor promised to go through the details with us later, felt the timing was wrong yesterday, not that we won’t be grieving our loss for a long time to come.”
“It’s going to take a while to recover. We’ll be here to support you both, though. Just shout if you need a hand with anything.”
“Thanks, sis.”
“Send our love to Annabelle and give her a gentle hug.” Kayli hung up and sat back in her chair to contemplate their conversation. She had no doubt that the couple were strong enough to get through the ordeal. The question was how long they would have to endure such pain. Did a pain such as losing an infant ever dissipate?
She shook her head to clear her depressing thoughts and tackled her paperwork for the next half an hour or so until Dave knocked on her door around five. “Hi. Any news?”
“Graeme has come up trumps.”
Kayli shot out of her chair. Wide-eyed, she asked, “As in located Nuttall?”
Dave smiled. “You’ve hit the nail on the head. I was wondering if you want to have the pleasure of picking the bastard up, or do you want me to send a patrol car to do the deed?”
Kayli slipped into her coat. “What do you think? Are you up for this?”
“Whoa, easy, tiger! Of course I’m up for it. I also think it would be far too dangerous for us to go over there alone.”
“Are you talking armed response?” She reached into the top drawer of her desk and withdrew a Taser.
He laughed. “We can go it alone if that’s what you want, as long as we’re armed.”
“‘Armed and fully trained’ is what you should have said, partner. Let’s shake a leg and pick the bugger up.”
They rushed down the stairs and through the reception area. There was a group of uniformed officers holding some kind of meeting with the desk sergeant as they passed through.
“Any of you guys want to tag along with us to pick up a possible murderer?”
The four uniformed officers all turned to face her. The desk sergeant’s ears pricked up. “Watson and Clark, go with DI Bright. The rest of you, get on with what we’ve just discussed.”
“Thanks, Sergeant. Follow us, men,” she called over her shoulder after she’d barged through the large exit doors.
Dave had trouble keeping up with her. “Slow down. Maybe you should have brought Graeme instead.”
“It’s not too late. I can ring him if you want. I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to ride alongside me on a possible arrest.”
“I was only joking. I’ll be right in a second or two.”
Kayli jumped in the car and started the engine. Dave joined her and swiftly sorted out his crutches as she revved the engine impatiently. Once Dave was comfortable, Kayli put her foot down, with the squad car close on her tail. They used their sirens until they got close to the address Graeme had given them.
“Shit, it’s a slum. Graeme said he was hiding out in a squat,” Dave said.
“God, I hate these places. They’re usually full of drug users and prostitutes.”
“I suppose their argument would be that society doesn’t want or need them, so they can exist how they like.”
“Yeah, but squatting in someone else’s property is a bit too much, right?” Kayli said angrily.
“Don’t have a go at me. I’m just looking at it from their point of view.”
Kayli snorted. “Well, that’s a first for you. Do you want to stay here?”
“Not likely. I’ll let the guys accompany you into the house and stand guard on the door in case the weasel tries to make a run for it again.”
“You can’t cover both exits. I’ll take one of the constables in with me and send the other one around the back to cover that exit,” Kayli said, her eyes narrowed as she hatched her plan.
Dave nodded, and they both left the vehicle. After Kayli had filled in the two constables, they all moved into position before she rang the bell. A girl no older than eighteen opened the door, looking stoned out of her mind. She was wearing nothing more than a mid-thigh nightshirt.
“Yeah? What do you want?” She turned to shout over her shoulder, “Stand by your beds, guys. It’s the filth.”
Kayli forced her way past the bewildered girl.
It took a while for her to fathom that Kayli and the constable had entered the house uninvited. “Hey, you can’t go barging in here like that. We’ve got rights.”
Kayli tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow. “Seriously? Has someone brainwashed you with that idea, or did you think that up all by yourself?”
“Sarcastic cow,” the girl mumbled. She slammed the front door shut and barged past Kayli and the constable.
“Aren’t you going to ask why we’re here?”
“Nope. I’m not fucking interested. You lot always cause bother when you show up here anyway. Why should this time be any different?”
Kayli shrugged. “I want to see Bob Nuttall.”
“Don’t know him. You sure you’ve got the right address?”
“I’m sure. He would have arrived here in the last few days. Does that help?”
The young woman scratched the side of her face. “Nope. Help yourselves. I ain’t gonna do your work for you.”
“Thanks for your assistance,” Kayli growled.
“Whatever.” They watched the girl go up the stairs, not concerned that her nightshirt was rising up to reveal the cheeks of her backside.
Kayli dug the constable in the ribs. “Avert your eyes, Constable, before you go blind.”
His mouth opened and shut as he tried to think of an acceptable excuse for his lecherous behaviour.
Kayli chuckled when nothing was forthcoming. “Right, serious heads on now. I think we should stick together and search every room.”
“Do you have a picture of the suspect, ma’am?”
Kayli dug out the mugshot she had stuffed in her jacket pocket before leaving the station and held it up for the constable. “Be careful. He’s got a record as long as your arm.”
The constable nodded and pointed at the first door on the right in the narrow hallway. “In here?”
“Seems as good a place as any to start.”
The constable opened the door and switched on the light. Considering it was approaching five thirty, she was stunned to see that most of the inhabitants in the room were either under the bedclothes or lying on top of the makeshift beds spread out across the floor. “I’m looking for Bob Nuttall.”
Kayli’s request was met with silence. She nodded for the constable to circulate the room with her. They lifted sleeping bags and quilts to reveal the people hiding beneath them. Unfortunately, no one matched Nuttall’s descri
ption.
Kayli heard the floorboards creaking overhead. She rushed to the door, and the constable joined her. “I’m hearing movement upstairs. I’m thinking we should go up there before he makes up his mind to shimmy down the drainpipe or something. He’s already absconded from us once this week.”
The constable nodded and ran ahead of her. At the top of the stairs, just coming out of one of the rooms, was the man himself. He took a swing at the constable and knocked him to the floor.
Kayli withdrew her Taser and pointed it at Nuttall. “Go on, give me a reason to use this.”
“Get out of my way, bitch. You ain’t got the guts to use that thing.”
The constable struggled to his feet beside Nuttall.
“Stand back, Constable. Mr. Nuttall obviously wants to see what I’m made of.” Without hesitation, she fired the Taser.
The barbs struck Nuttall in the chest. He cried out and collapsed to the floor immediately and was writhing around in pain until Kayli relinquished the pressure on the weapon’s trigger. The constable, forgetting about his own injury, pounced on Nuttall, pulled his arms behind him and slapped the cuffs on his wrists before yanking the man to his feet. Nuttall tottered for a few seconds.
“Let him catch his breath before we escort him off the premises, Constable.”
The constable nodded and placed Nuttall against the wall for a few moments.
“Right. Are you ready to cooperate with us, Mr. Nuttall?”
His head sank onto his chest. “I suppose so. Answer me this first—why are you being so heavy-handed with me?”
“How do you expect us to treat scum who murder innocent people?”
He shook his head as if to clear the fuzziness. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve never murdered anyone. You’re crazy!” He tried to wrestle free of the constable latched on to his arm. “What proof do you have?”
“When we called at the flats the other day, you absconded the scene. That’s as much proof as I need right now. Let’s take him in, Constable.”