Spoilt

by Joanne Ellis

  “So do you think you should call the police now?”

  “Yes I do, but after dinner, okay?” Sarah nodded.

  Over dinner and a glass of wine, Charlotte began to grill Chelsea again.

  “Please tell me, what is going on with Lucas. I’m dying of curiosity.”

  “I already told you, I don’t know.”

  “Have you kissed him?”

  “He kissed me, twice.”

  “I want details.”

  “Are you going to stop pestering me if I do?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Maybe.”

  “The first time I met him, I thought he was rude ... and cute.” Chelsea smiled. “I went to the station to report Elle missing and he acted like he couldn’t get me out the door fast enough. Then I saw him again the next day – yesterday – when they came to tell me about Elle.” She stopped as her voice broke a little. It was going to take awhile to say her friend’s name without heartache.

  “What happened then?” Charlotte prompted.

  “He was rude to me again.”

  “Then how did you end up kissing him?”

  “How did he end up kissing me, you mean?”

  “Stop using nitpicking as a stalling tactic and spill.”

  “He came back later to ask me some more questions and to apologise. Then he kissed me, apologised again and ran away.”

  “Keep going.”

  “Then he came back last night to apologise again. Seems he does a lot of that, now that I think about it.” She paused. “Oh and he wanted to show me some photos. He stayed for dinner and we kissed goodnight, that’s it.”

  “You’re in love with him,” Charlotte declared.

  “What? No I’m not. Besides I hardly know him. I only met him Wednesday.” Now that Charlotte had mentioned it, she wondered if perhaps she was at least falling in that direction. Was it possible to love someone on sight? She was definitely infatuated by his amber eyes and crooked grin.

  “Shouldn’t you be calling him about your calls?” Sarah said reminding her.

  “Ok I’ll do it now” she said getting up to get his business card and the phone.

  Chapter 13

  Adrian Matthews

  Friday

  Lucas arrived at the station feeling groggy. First his nightmares plagued his already troubled sleep, now, it seemed, Chelsea was going to occupy his mind during slumber in their place. Instead of seeing his parents’ faces on the lifeless forms, he dreamt about her. He could protect her and do his job or allow his attraction for her to win the war raging inside his mind. She was also part of an ongoing investigation, another complication.

  After pouring a cup of coffee, he found Maggie at her desk.

  “You look like shit,” she told him.

  “So would you, if you slept as little as I have,” he snapped.

  “Testy.” She stared at him for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, I went back to the café yesterday evening and Matthews wasn’t there. The two waitresses working there gave me very similar information to Laura. That he’s a player who tries to pick up all the lookers. One of the girls knew Lindsay. She’s been a regular for years. She also said she hadn’t seen her for a few days either.”

  “What are his movements like?”

  “Both girls very happily informed me that Matthews is in and out a lot all day. He comes in, bakes what needs to be done, maybe does some paperwork and serves a few lady customers before he leaves again. He does this several times over the day and evening.”

  “So it’s quite possible that he could be going in and out to visit the victims.”

  “Sure looks that way. What did you turn up?”

  “I saw Mrs. Anderson last night and she told me the last time she saw Lindsay was when they had lunch together that day. Mrs. Anderson left to go back to work first and she assumed that Lindsay followed soon after. When she arrived home that evening, Lindsay wasn’t there. Mrs. Anderson rang her work and they told her Lindsay’s hadn’t returned after lunch. When she rang her phone and it rang in Lindsay’s bag, she grew concerned because she never left the house without it.”

  “Any info on the mystery guy?”

  “No. I asked about Matthews and showed her a picture but she didn’t recognise him.”

  “Looks almost certain now. Lindsay’s been abducted by the same man.”

  He nodded grimly. “I’ve organised some CSIs and uniforms to collect her things and fingerprint the place. I think we’ll end up with the same again - no match to the database. If we find any prints, we can see if they match the ones taken from the vics’ houses, then at least we will know for sure.”

  “Worth a shot. Hopefully they will find something new too.”

  “Chelsea recognised Matthews from the café.”

  “Please tell me we have good news.”

  “She remembered Elle seemed interested in Matthews when they were having lunch but she didn’t know whether or not he was her mystery man.”

  “Perhaps we can bring him in for further questioning now.”

  “I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go and pick him up.”

  They arrived at the café to find it half full, with mostly the same faces Lucas had seen previously enjoying coffee or brunch.

  “Hope he’s here,” Maggie said as they walked up to the counter.

  “Good morning,” Lucas said, smiling at the girl manning the bar. “Is Adrian Matthews in?’

  “Yes, I’ll get him for you.” She disappeared into the kitchen.

  A moment later Adrian Matthews strutted out but halted when he saw the detectives.

  “What are you doing here, Detectives?”

  “We have some questions we would like to ask you at the station. Could you come with us please?” Maggie asked him.

  “Actually, no, I can’t. I’m busy and have some cakes baking. You can ask me anything you need to right here,” he said without budging.

  “I really don’t think you want us to ask the questions we’re going to in front of your staff and customers,” Lucas said, giving Matthews a steely- eyed scowl.

  “Fine,” he conceded. “I’ll come then. I have nothing to hide.”

  He threw his apron at the girl behind the counter and asked her to watch his baking and then followed the detectives out to their car.

  Matthews initiated small talk on the drive to the precinct but neither detective was interested in chatting with their suspect. When they arrived, they showed him to the interrogation room and offered him a drink, which he refused.

  Maggie pointed to the chair across from where she sat at the table. “Have a seat, Mr. Matthews.”

  “Please, call me Adrian. We don’t need to be formal.”

  “Ok, Adrian,” Lucas said as came to stand behind his chair. “Where were you Wednesday afternoon?”

  “Probably at the markets getting produce like I am every Wednesday afternoon.”

  “And you were there last Wednesday?”

  “Yes I was.”

  “Do you know Lindsay Anderson?” Lucas asked as Maggie put her photo on the table.

  “Yeah, I’m trying to bag that one.” He turned and looked at Lucas conspiringly. “Didn’t I tell you this already?”

  Maggie shot Lucas a look to calm him and took over the questioning.

  “Mr. Matthews, this is no joking matter. Lindsay is missing.”

  “Oh sorry, Ma’am, meant no disrespect.” He flashed a charming smile.

  “What about Elle Sheridan?” she continued, putting down the next photo.

  “I already told you this. I went out with her for a while then moved on.”

  “Did she dump you? Did she piss you off somehow?” Lucas asked.

  “No, I dumped her and moved onto the next lucky lady. Laura, I think, from the café.”

  “What about Kate Miller and Libby Greene?” Maggie asked him.

  “What about them?”

  “Did you know them Mr. Matthews?” she asked again pointing at the phot
os on the table.

  “Yes, from the café. Why are we going over this again?”

  “Did you go out with them?’

  “No, but not for lack of trying.”

  His unoriginal lines were beginning to irk Lucas.

  “So they rejected you and you didn’t like this much, did you?” Lucas asked.

  He came around from behind the chair to stand over Matthews.

  “No, not really, but plenty where they came from.” He shrugged.

  “Mr. Matthews, do you know Chelsea Summerville?” Maggie placed the photo of Chelsea on the table.

  “I’ve definitely seen her before. She’s hot.”

  Lucas took a step forward and before he could grab his shirt and heave him out of the chair, Maggie grabbed his arm.

  “Please, Mr Matthews, just answer the questions. Where have you seen her before?” Maggie asked using her calming tone while Lucas paced around the room, attempting to cool off.

  “She came in the café and ate lunch with Elle a couple times.”

  “Have you been out with her?”

  “No, I was dating Elle at the time and I don’t like to have too many going at once. Hard to keep up. I would love to have a go though.”

  “You’re a real charmer aren’t you, mate,” shouted Lucas. He grabbed Matthews by the collar and heaved him from the chair, shoving him up against the wall, hard.

  “Detective Hudson,” Maggie said. “A word outside please.”

  He put Adrian down and stormed out of the room.

  “Please sit down, Mr. Matthews. I’ll be back in a moment,” Maggie said as she shut the door.

  She grabbed Lucas’ arm and dragged him down the hall.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  “That prick had it coming.”

  “Yeah, maybe he did, but you can’t man-handle the suspects. We won’t get anything out of him now.”

  “We aren’t going to get anything out of him anyway. He’s either not our guy, arrogant or stupid. I’m not sure which yet.”

  “Look, I think you have too much personal interest in this investigation. You need to chill out for a bit. Go walk it off and I’ll finish up.”

  “Fine.”

  He strode past her and slammed out the front doors. Maggie went back into the interrogation room.

  “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Matthews.”

  “What’s his problem?” he said nonchalantly. “I haven’t done anything and I don’t really know why I’m here.”

  “You’re here because you knew three women that ended up dead and one that is missing. It is a bit more than a coincidence.”

  “Well it has to be because I did not kidnap or kill anyone!” He stood up.

  “Please sit down, Mr. Matthews.” After he did, she continued. “So, you don’t know where Lindsay Anderson is?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Where were you Wednesday night?”

  “Out on a date”

  “You seem pretty sure about that. You don’t need to think about it for a minute?”

  “No I don’t. I was out with this chick called Marissa. I know it was Wednesday because we met at the market and went straight out afterward.”

  “What time did your date finish?”

  “The next morning.” He grinned.

  “I’ll need to check your alibi. What is Marissa’s surname?”

  “Don’t know. I won’t be seeing her again.”

  “That’s very convenient, Mr. Matthews.”

  “Is for me.” Again the grin.

  “Do you resent people with money?’

  “Um, no, I have plenty of my own.”

  “You’ve been in trouble with the police before, haven’t you?”

  “It was a misunderstanding,” he said between gritted teeth.

  “Violating a restraining order is a misunderstanding?”

  “It was my ex-girlfriend. She thought I was stalking her. I was just trying to win her back.” He gave her a look that made her uneasy. “She dropped the order.”

  “Very convenient again, wouldn’t you say?”

  He didn’t answer, so she went on. “Would you be willing to have a DNA test?’

  “No.”

  “If you have nothing to hide, Mr. Matthews, it would clear you of any suspicion.”

  “I know I didn’t do anything and I don’t have to prove it to you. You have nothing tying me to these murders. I want a lawyer.”

  “You don’t need one. You’re not under arrest, yet.”

  “Then I don’t have to stay?’

  “No, you’re free to go.”

  “Then I’m outta here. Let’s hope my day’s baking isn’t ruined. Good day, Detective,” he said with a wink as he walked out the door.

  Lucas was sitting at his desk, brooding, when she returned.

  “Have you cooled off yet?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’m sorry, Mags. I lost it.”

  “She’s more than a distraction, isn’t she?’

  He shrugged.

  “I hope so. I’d like to see you happy.” He smiled.

  Maggie was about to update Lucas on what he missed when Captain Shaw strode up.

  “I hear we have a suspect in custody.”

  “No, Boss, we had to let him go. We didn’t have enough to hold him and he refused a DNA test. When he wanted to lawyer up, I said he didn’t need one, so he left.”

  “Keep on him but find other links too, in case he’s not our guy.”

  “I don’t think he is,” Lucas piped up.

  “Why not?” Shaw and Maggie asked simultaneously.

  “He’s a player and I don’t think he holds a grudge. He just moves on. I think he’s the dumper and not the dumpee. I really don’t think rejection bothers him all that much. I wouldn’t write him off completely but he just doesn’t seem right to me. He doesn’t really come off as the shy type.”

  “Maybe he just said that to them so he didn’t have to meet anyone, to draw suspicion away from him. He is very arrogant, and someone who’d take the vics’ IDs and leaves them with the bodies for us to find, to taunt us, would be pretty sure of himself,” replied Maggie.

  “Whoever it is, he is making it easy for us to ID them, which would suggest he thinks he’s smarter than us. He also somehow manages to get his hands on the IDs undetected unless he makes them bring it when he takes them. We found no fingerprints except those of the vics themselves on both IDs and belongings. Anyway, I still think Matthews is too loud and stands out too much. Everybody knows he’s a player so it would be difficult for him to hide. I just think our man would be inconspicuous.”

  “You could be onto something there,” Shaw said. “Anyway you two keep at it but not this weekend. You’re both supposed to be off and I don’t want to hear that either of you have been here or are doing anything on this investigation. I want you to do whatever it is you do on your time off and come back Monday revitalised. Peterson and Stewart are on, so they can continue with interviews and canvassing. I have also set up a hotline for calls and tips and all the major news channels are running a story tonight. We are working on this around the clock.”

  “Fine by me,” Maggie said.

  “But Captain, we’re not getting anywhere and with Lindsay missing...” Lucas began.

  “That’s an order, Detective. No arguments.” He walked off before Lucas could protest again.

  “Looks like I can catch up on some lovin’.” Maggie winked at him.

  “Please spare me the details.”

  “Aw come on, don’t pretend like you don’t remember.”

  “Hmm, we did have fun.”

  She smiled at the memory.

  “Yeah, anyway, why don’t you ask Chelsea out and have some fun too?”

  “I might do just that,” he said. “I need to see my sister and her family as well.”

  “I know it’s probably not wise as far as protocol is concerned, but I won’t tell.” She winked. “Wouldn’t be the first time you br
oke the rules anyway.”

  “No it wouldn’t.” They shared a smile.

  “Shall we meet with Peterson and Stewart and go through what we have?” Maggie said.

  Lucas and Maggie located the detectives and they gathered round the white board displaying Libby, Kate and Elle’s photos and constructed a list of all the consistencies between the cases:

  Cause of death

  Chest wounds

  Similar dump spot (except Elle behind shop)

  Flour transference

  Coffee Break Café

  Adrian Matthews

  Mystery Man

  Possessions left at premises

  IDs on body - how and when is killer taking this?

  Noted also was the blond hair found on Kate’s body, and that the fingerprints found with no matches to the database were present in all three of the victims’ houses.

  The detectives also included the kidnapping of Lindsay in the list, even though she had not been discovered dead yet. They all hoped that they would find her and soon and that she wouldn’t be moved over into the column with the other victims. However, the longer it took to find her, the more likely it was that she would turn up dead.

  The similarities between Libby, Kate and Lindsay were also discussed and listed. They then added Chelsea’s photo because she could possibility be a target. The similarities between Chelsea and the victims were strong and, until they knew for sure she wasn’t in danger, they were taking them into consideration.

  The big question was why these girls? Did they have a link to Chelsea? Why choose girls of similar appearance? These were questions that were on each of the detectives’ minds. Lucas grew increasingly concerned as the meeting went on.

  What puzzled them the most was the relevance of SPOILT BITCH and the perp’s motive. None of the girls came from any kind of moneyed or ‘spoilt’ lifestyle. Lucas mentioned perhaps this could be linked to Chelsea too in that, from what she’d told him, her family might be wealthy.

  They surmised that the victims could be merely practice runs for the perp’s intended goal, his grand finale. Was it Chelsea he wanted? If not, why did the victims resemble her and why kill Elle and change his MO? Lucas volunteered to look into this further as well as investigating possible suspects and who may want to harm Chelsea. It was a long shot but worth following up.