Killer on the Run

by M A Comley

  “Yes, they squeezed me in first thing. I should know the results by the end of the day, but the doctor said the over-the-counter pregnancy tests nowadays are pretty accurate.”

  “I guess congratulations are in order then.”

  “If it wasn’t for this damn morning sickness, I think I’d be over the moon ... at least, I think that’s what’s holding me back.”

  “I’m sure it is. Did he give you anything for the sickness?”

  “No. He said there was something available on the market, but his advice has always been to put up with it.”

  “Charming, well, he’s not the one bloody suffering. Do you want me to drop by this evening?”

  “That would be lovely. I’ll make us something nice for dinner.”

  “Don’t do anything special for my sake. Have a restful day instead. Gotta fly, see you later.”

  “Take care, Kayli. Thanks for ringing.”

  Kayli smiled as Phil walked towards them, putting paid to Dave’s inquisitiveness to find out what the conversation had involved.

  “All right to talk here, or do you want to come through to the back?”

  “Would you mind?” Kayli stood and picked up her mug of coffee to take with her. She and Dave followed the young manager through the bar, under the watchful gaze of the customers and the barmaid who’d just begun her shift.

  He guided them through to a small office that looked tired and in need of decoration. “Let me find a couple of chairs. I’ll be right back.” He left the office and returned carrying two plastic chairs that had also seen better days. “Here you go. Now, what can I do for you? I don’t get many visits from the police. I hope no one has felt the need to complain about us?”

  Kayli smiled and placed her mug on the edge of his desk. “No, it’s nothing like that. I suspect the reason your barmaid was held up this morning is because of an incident that took place in the early hours on the B4054.”

  “I see. But I’m still confused. What does that have to do with me?”

  “A man was shot last night, and when we visited his wife to share the sad news, she told us that her husband was at a darts match at this establishment just before the incident occurred.”

  Phil scratched the light beard covering his chin. “He was? Does this man have a name?”

  “Adam Finley.”

  Phil’s eyes widened, and his hand settled on his cheek. “My God, Adam was shot? I find this incredible, Inspector. Who would do such a thing? Was it intentional?”

  “Well, we’re just beginning our enquiries now, so we have no idea if he was specifically targeted or not. We’re hoping that you can shed some light on whether anything out of the ordinary occurred here last night?”

  He shook his head in either disbelief or denial; Kayli wasn’t really sure. “I can’t think of anything. We had a league match last night. Darts. He was crowned our star player at the end of the evening. Crap, you don’t think someone from the other team did this? Sour grapes, perhaps?”

  “That seems a little over the top to me, but it’s definitely something we’re going to have to look into. We’ll need the details of everyone involved in the darts match, so we can question them.”

  “Blimey, that’s a little out of my realms, I’m afraid, Inspector. I can give you the name of the other pub involved. You’ll need to get the players’ details off them, though.”

  “Thanks, that’ll be great. Can you give me the details of the players in your team?”

  “A few of them, I can. Hold on. I might not have their addresses, but I should have their phone numbers, if that will help?”

  “It will be a great help. My team can work their way through the list when we get back to the station. How many members are there in a team?”

  “Ten.”

  Kayli’s heart sank at the prospect of questioning twenty people. She would definitely need to share the workload with her team on that task. “Do you happen to know if any of the players—or customers, come to that—ride a motorbike?”

  He thought about the question for a second or two before he shook his head. “Not that I know of. Saying that, I was busy inside the pub last night and don’t think I ventured outside at all. We put on a good spread for the players. I was busy overseeing the catering side of things mainly.”

  “I see. I don’t suppose you have CCTV on the premises?”

  He bit his lip, and the colour rose in his cheeks. “I do. But it’s knackered. I need to replace the whole system, and to be honest with you, funds are super tight right now. I’ll get around to changing it soon, I hope. I know that doesn’t help you much.”

  “These things happen. For your sake, you should have a system up and running at all times.”

  He shrugged. “I know. I just thought having the cameras outside would be as much as a deterrent than anything. I’ll start putting some money aside to address the problem. I’m sure you’re aware how many pubs are struggling to keep their heads above water, though. These are trying times for all of us, but enough of my woes. How else can I help?”

  “I’m aware how many pubs are being forced to close down. It’s not good. You seem to be busy enough. Let’s hope that continues to be the case so you can afford to get your security system up and running again soon. Can you tell me how well you knew Adam? Was he a frequent visitor beyond the darts team?”

  “Yes, I’ve known Adam for a few years, since I took over running this place. He was one of the first people to shake hands and congratulate me, in fact. We’ve been firm friends ever since.”

  “Firm friends as in that he told you what was going on in his life perhaps?”

  “No, only at the pub. He came here for a quiet drink quite often. Occasionally, he would bring Anita, and they’d have a meal in the restaurant. But this was definitely his local. If you’re asking if he had any trouble with the other punters, then I’d have to say no, never. I never got the impression that he was any kind of troublemaker.”

  “That’s exactly the type of thing I wanted to hear. Which is why we’re going along the lines that he was probably simply targeted for being on that road at the wrong time.”

  “Seriously? Do people truly kill other people just because they can?”

  “You’d be surprised. We have spotted a motorbike on CCTV footage, however. Are you sure you can’t think of anyone in the area who owns a motorbike?”

  “No. It wouldn’t even help if you told me the make. Nothing is coming to mind.”

  “That’s okay. What about your barmaid? Is she likely to know?”

  “We can ask. She was also on duty last night.” He sighed as if his friend’s death had just struck him. “Poor Adam and poor Anita. Is she all right?”

  “She has a friend with her at present. Okay, if you can’t think of anything else that would be of help, then we better get off. Would you mind if we had a brief chat with your barmaid on the way out?”

  “Be my guest. I’ll go fetch her, if you like?”

  “Thanks, it shouldn’t take long.”

  He left the room, and a few moments later, the young redhead who had turned up for work late knocked on the door and entered the room. “The boss said you wanted to see me?”

  “Come in. What’s your name?”

  “Liz. Liz Dodds.”

  “Hi, Liz. I just need to ask a few quick questions about your shift last night. Take a seat.”

  The young woman sat in the seat recently vacated by her manager and rested her elbows on the table. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

  “Do you know Adam Finley?”

  “I know a player on the darts team called Adam. Not sure what his surname is, though.”

  “That’s the one. Last night, did you see him get into an altercation with anyone?”

  “Altercation? No. Everyone had a good time here last night. Not that we get much bother in the pub anyway. My boyfriend wouldn’t allow me to work here if it was a rowdy pub like that.”

  “Okay, that’s good to know. Did yo
u go outside during your shift at all?”

  “Yes, I’m a smoker. I went outside a few times during the night. Why?”

  “Did you notice a motorbike in the car park at all?”

  She contemplated the question for a moment before she shook her head. “No, I can’t say I noticed one. Not that I was looking for one. Sorry to be so vague. I was only out there for five minutes at a time.”

  “No problem.”

  “Sorry, but is Adam in any kind of trouble?”

  Kayli had assumed that Phil would have told her why they were there when he’d swapped places with her. “No. Unfortunately, he was killed in an incident up the road last night.”

  “Jesus, really? My God. I’ve never known anyone who’d died before. Sorry, that was a stupid statement ... oh no, his poor wife.”

  “She’s being cared for by a friend. Have you ever known Adam to have an argument with one of the customers at all?”

  “No. Definitely not. He wasn’t the type. Even when he wiped the floor with the other team last night, they all took it in good spirits. No one fell out with anyone, as it’s only a bloody game.”

  “Thanks for your time. You can go now.”

  She left the room. Dave and Kayli downed the rest of their coffee and returned to the bar. Phil was in deep conversation with a tall bearded man standing at the bar. Both men turned their way as they walked towards them.

  In a hushed voice, Phil introduced the man. “Inspector, this is Paul Moore. I think he has something of interest for you.”

  “I’m all ears, Mr. Moore. Why don’t we talk over there?” Kayli pointed at a seat by the unlit fireplace, away from the other customers.

  He sighed heavily before he opened his mouth to speak. “We weren’t gossiping, but Phil just told me about poor Adam. Dreadful news to be confronted with, I can tell you.”

  “It’s a very sad case for us to be investigating. What do you know, Mr. Moore?”

  “Not sure it’s much. I was on my way here after I finished the late shift at the factory and saw Adam driving home last night.”

  Kayli raised an eyebrow at Dave, who swiftly withdrew his notebook from his pocket. “I see. Where exactly was this?”

  “Before the roundabout going on to the B4054, just down the road from here. I used to chat with Adam every now and again. Nice guy, he was.”

  “I see. Did he acknowledge you at all?”

  “Yes, he gave me the thumbs-up. Like he always did.”

  “Okay, and could you tell if he was being followed at all?” Kayli purposefully didn’t mention the motorbike. She didn’t want to put the idea in his head.

  “Ah, well, Phil said that you were enquiring about a motorbike. There was a Harley-Davidson following Adam last night. Frankly, I thought it was too close to him. I presumed it was about to overtake him.”

  “That’s interesting. I don’t suppose you got the registration number? I know it’s a long shot.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I was in too much of a hurry to get here.”

  “Never mind. We do have the bike on CCTV, but the number plate was obscured, so you probably wouldn’t have been able to have seen anything anyway. I just thought I’d ask to be sure. Did you recognise the bike at all? Have you seen it in the area, perhaps?”

  His brow furrowed. “You know what, now you’ve mentioned it, I saw one very similar a few days ago on the same stretch of road. Don’t ask me what night it was. One day blurs into the next with me.”

  “That’s very helpful. Have you noticed it at any other times in the area?”

  “No. Can’t say I have. Sorry.”

  “That’s fine. Anything else you can add, Mr. Moore?”

  He shook his head in regret. “Not that I can think of. Will you need me to come down the nick to make a statement?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind. That would be very helpful. Over the next few days will do.”

  “I’ll pop in later before I go to work. Might as well get it out of the way.” He was the first to stand.

  “Thank you.” Kayli shook his hand to dismiss him.

  “Interesting,” Dave said as they watched the man walk back to the bar.

  “Very. What does it mean, though? That Adam was targeted? Or was the bike simply following him?”

  “No idea. Not sure how we’re going to find that out without catching the culprit. Hey, one good thing has come out of the interviews.”

  Kayli inclined her head. “What’s that, matey?”

  “To me, it looks like the bike belongs to a local. That should narrow it down, now we have the make of the vehicle. The CCTV footage was a little blurry to make out it was a Harley.”

  “Shit! You’ve just reminded me. I have the image of the bike on my phone.” She rushed over to where Paul Moore was drinking a pint at the bar. Flicking through her phone, she pulled up the image of the bike then angled the screen towards him. “Was this the motorbike, Mr. Moore?”

  “That’s right. That’s the one.” His head bobbed excitedly up and down.

  Liz pulled Kayli’s arm towards her and peered at the tiny screen. She shook her head. “Nope, sorry. Not seen the bike around these parts.”

  Kayli’s last hope was the manager. Liz passed Kayli’s phone back to him and held it in front of him while he poured a pint of beer for a customer.

  “Sorry, no. I’ve never seen it around here, either.”

  “Would you mind if I asked the rest of your customers, Phil?”

  “Not at all. Go for it.”

  Kayli approached the other customers, fourteen of them in total, and every single one of them shook their head. Kayli made her way back to Dave, feeling a little dejected. Or maybe she was more tired than she realised. They had been at work for nearly twelve hours already.

  As if sensing what she was thinking, Dave rubbed her arm. “Come on, chin up. We should go back to the station.”

  “You’re right. We have all these people to call when we return. Thanks for your help, everyone,” Kayli called out before they exited the pub.

  During the journey back, Dave coughed to clear his throat. “Tell me to keep my nose out if you want to.”

  “Go on.”

  “When you were on the phone to Annabelle, did I pick up that she’s not very well?”

  Kayli turned to smile at him. “Not sure if some people class pregnancy as an illness or not.”

  “Whoa! That came out of the blue, didn’t it? Does your brother know?”

  “No. To be honest, Annabelle didn’t even suspect she was pregnant. My detective skills came to the fore last night. She looked rough, almost passed out on me. Once she was settled, I ran down the road to the pharmacy to buy a kit. It was a positive result, but she went to the doc’s this morning to confirm it. She’ll know for sure later on today.”

  “Bloody hell. That’s poor timing, what with Giles working away. Will he still do that? Or give up the job to stay closer to home during the pregnancy?”

  “All good questions, Dave. I have no idea what the answers are going to be. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. He and Mark are due home on Friday.”

  “That must be a relief for you. I know you don’t like to moan, but I have sensed that you’ve missed him while he’s been away.”

  “You’re an astute man. You’re right, though. What’s the point in moaning about it at work?”

  “I only have to see the weight you’ve lost to confirm it.”

  “Haven’t had much of an appetite since he left. Neither has Annabelle. She needs to look after herself more, though, if she does have a bun in the oven.”

  He tutted and mumbled, “You women sure like to complicate matters.”

  Kayli dug him in the ribs.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kayli and Dave arrived back at the station laden down with food for the team. They tucked into their lunch with vigour, especially as Kayli and Dave had foregone their breakfast that morning.

  After lunch, they discussed the case at length. “Donna, an
y luck with tracking down Carmen’s ex-boyfriend?”

  “I searched the flight schedules, boss, and he definitely hasn’t returned to the country since he left.”

  “Under his name, right? That doesn’t mean to say that he hasn’t come back under a pseudonym.”

  “That’s a tad Agatha Christie-ish, boss, even for your mind.” Dave chortled.

  “The truth nevertheless. What other loose ends need tying up?” Kayli threw out to the team, suddenly feeling tired after eating.

  “We’ve got all these names to chase up. You know, the darts teams?” Dave reminded her, clearly more awake than she was.

  Kayli sipped her coffee then nodded. “Yes, we should get on to that straight away. Dave, Graeme, and I will do that. Donna, I’d like you to try and find out how many Harley-Davidsons there are in the Bristol area. That’ll be the initial search, and then narrow it down to specific areas once that’s been established.”

  “Good idea. I’ll get on it now.” Donna shuffled forward in her chair and started hitting the keys on her keyboard.

  “If you guys start ringing the darts team members, I’ll tackle the paperwork I neglected to touch this morning and will catch up with you in an hour or so.” She walked into her office and closed the door. After opening the window to allow the afternoon breeze to enter the room, she continued to her desk. As she was halfway through her mundane chores, the phone rang. “Hello, this is DI Bright. How can I help you?”

  “Hello, Inspector. I’m sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering if you’d found who was responsible for Carmen’s accident yet?”

  “Is that you, Jacky?”

  “Yes, sorry. I should have said right away.”

  “No problem. We haven’t as yet, because another incident has cropped up. That’s not to say that we’ve pushed Carmen’s case aside. We believe there could be a possible link, and this other case has offered us more clues.”

  “I see. Another accident, you mean?”

  “No, this time the victim was shot.”

  Jacky gasped. “My goodness. I never thought I’d hear of that sort of thing happening in Bristol. I know we’ve had a drugs problem in the area in the past, but guns?”

  “We’re hearing more and more cases such as this lately, unfortunately. We’re doing our best to crack down on the gun and knife culture, but it’s proving to be an impossible task despite the gun amnesties we’ve had over the past few years.”