The steps ran up to the front door which had stain glass panels to the upper half. As Roger walked in behind the assistant a gasp caught at his throat. He was becoming overwhelmed by what he saw as the tour progressed. Each room had features that most people could only dream of, himself included.
As he walked around his thoughts turned to Lizzy. He began to wonder if she would like to live in a place like this. He would have no qualms about inviting her to come and live with him. His only concern was what she would make of him having taken on a new identity. He would have to think carefully what he would tell her and already he had some idea of the reasons he might give.
As the tour came to a close he knew this was the place for him. He would go back to the agents and put in a firm offer as long as it was taken off the market that day.
As the tour continued through each room the agent continually asked him how he liked the property. Roger replied by saying that the property was very nice. He was not going to give his enthusiastic reaction at this point and needed to clear up some question he had thought of on his tour. He would like Lizzy to see it before committing himself to buying the property. He also needed to know if she would be willing to share in his good fortune. He would meet her in the evening to discuss these things over dinner.
The manager of the hotel informed Roger that Elizabeth did not work at the hotel as he had assumed but was with the agency that was bought in to organise the function put on by the Lottery people. He did however have a second motive for ringing the hotel and that was to reserve a table for two for the evening.
Close by the estate agents office was a small tea shop. He popped in for a bite to eat and the opportunity to ring Lizzy. When she answered he could here a great deal of background noise. He guessed she must be at another function. His invite was taken up enthusiastically. He would meet her at the hotel at seven that evening and would put his proposal to her as well as tell her about the house.
He spent the rest of his time looking around the shops in the city centre. At around six o’clock he hailed a taxi to take him to the hotel. He would have a drink before Lizzy arrived to give him some Dutch courage.
He remembered that the new car was being delivered the following afternoon and that he needed to be back at the flat to receive it. Even so he planned to stay at the hotel overnight and maybe Lizzy would be willing to stay the night too. Whatever she decided he would show her the house the next morning. He could show her an appetiser by showing her the glossy brochure that the agency had given him.
At the hotel reception he made his overnight reservation and inquired as to a possible second room. He did not want his new found relationship with Lizzy to be soured because of a misunderstanding. The girl behind the desk assured him that a room would be available should he need it. He thanked the receptionist and made his way to the bar. A couple of large whiskies would calm his nerves.
Elizabeth was directed to the bar by the porter and spotted Roger at a corner table. A peck on the cheek by Roger was the greeting which was reciprocated by Lizzy. This seemed cordial and gave Roger hope that thing might move forward between them.
The waiter was called and drinks were ordered. It was announced that dinner was ready and so they made their way across the lobby to the dining room.
Each told the other of the events that had taken place since they had met at the presentation. When Roger mentioned that he had assumed she worked at the hotel and that he had rang there first she seemed a little nervous. Her explanation was taken by Roger as her embarrassment at what she did for a living. He reassured her that it mattered not one jot what she did for a living. He explained that what he did didn’t mount to a lot but that now he did not need to worry about status now or ever again.
He had told Lizzy that he had a surprise for her after dinner and took the opportunity to ask if she would stay overnight so that he could elaborate on his forthcoming surprise. She hesitated for a second or two before answering in the affirmative. Roger, not wanting to put her off or offend her told her he had provisionally booked a room for her. This seemed to put the relationship back on track.
They returned to the bar after dinner and Roger reordered drinks. Once they were settled in the easy chairs of the lounge bar he pulled out the brochure of the house. As he described the missing detail to Lizzy she seemed memorized by what she saw.
“Would you come with me in the morning to second view it”? Roger asked, almost pleading.
“I’d love to see it, if this is a nibble of the whole thing”, answered Lizzy with the excitement of a young child about to visit the local sweet shop.
“I have another proposition to put to you which is of a more intimate nature”, Roger continued nervously. “I would like us to live together in this house if you say you like it as much as I do. Although I am separated from my wife I am still married and so I can’t offer you a permanent arrangement at present. I will quite understand if you turn me down”, He told her earnestly.
“I appreciate your honesty and I can say that I have very few hang-ups and living with you for the future is not one of them. I would see it as a pleasure”, Lizzy replied, as she stretched out her hand to meet his across the table.
They decided on one more drink before going to bed. Roger rose to go to the desk and order Lizzy a room.
“Is your room a double”? Lizzy asked, pulling him back to the table.
Not wanting her to think he had planned for them to sleep together he hesitated. “I think so”, he replied.
“Don’t bother with the other room”, she suggested with a wink. “However there is one thing I must do before we go up. I will have to ring work and tell them about tomorrow and get my makeup bag from the car”, she added.
“I’ll go up, its room 118”, he informed her.
She went out to the car and made her phone call. The man on the other end was pleased for her as she told of the forward plans. He wanted to make sure though that she would return to work sometime in the near future. He also warned her of the dangers of relationships with unknown people. She assured her boss that all would be well.
The night passed without embarrassment and the following morning they had breakfast before leaving in Lizzy’s car to the estate agents. The manager was quietly pleased to see Roger again and volunteered to take them on the second tour of the house.
The impression that Roger had on the first visit was surmounted by his second and as he and Lizzy went from room to room he could feel she was equally impressed. The agent returned to the car knowing that he could do no more to influence their decision.
Roger and Lizzy stood in the hall and admired the alabaster ceiling decorations when Roger posed the Question.
“Will you do me the honour of living with me here”?
Her answer was an emphatic, “yes”.
The conversation on the return trip to the agents was about price and surveys and all the necessary details that go with buying a property. All of this was new to Roger but he wasn’t going to let on. With all the paperwork done and the house now in Roger’s name they left the agency. Lizzy ran Roger to the railway station. He assured her he would be back within the next few days after winding things up at home.
Roger gave Lizzy permission to buy whatever she wanted for the house and that if she wanted she could hire a design agency to guide her. He would pick up the tab for any expenses. Because he had paid for the house outright the agency would have the building surveyed before the end of the next day. How money talks thought Roger.
They kissed and said their goodbyes on the platform with the arrangement that Roger would return as soon as all loose ends were tied up at Pederston.
Chapter 11
Finding new evidence
A couple of days after the arrest of three of the gang members for the warehouse break-in Sergeant Davis sent his side kick Constable Williams
to White’s house to interview Roger on his whereabouts on the Sunday evening. Part of the constable’s two part remit was to interview White and if possible to look over the house for anything that might incriminate him in the break-in or any other criminal activities.
Before leaving the station Sergeant Davis took Williams to one side in the car park and asked him to obtain a couple of items of clothing if able, such as a jacket maybe or if not perhaps a smaller object like a button. Williams knew Davis well enough not to question his strange request.
On arriving at White’s house Williams sat for some time in the car and observed the activities going on in the neighbourhood. It was the time of day when the school children were beginning to leave their homes. One thing Williams did not want to do was to interview White in a house full of people.
A few minutes passed and from the house came the two girls on their way to school. Standing at the front door stood Sandra White in her overall as if ready to set off for work. This would be the time to make his move he thought.
Before Sandra had shut the door Williams walked down the short path to the still open door.
“Is your husband in Mrs White”, the constable inquired?
“Why are you asking and who are you”?
“I am detective constable Williams of Pederston Police”, came the reply.
“If he is he will likely be in the front room I expect”, came the reply from Sandra.
“May I Come in”? Asked Williams.
Sandra knew it would be pointless say no.
As she had not seen him since leaving the house on Monday morning, she had no idea whether he was in or not. She did not have time to go searching for him first thing in the mornings. Her main concern was to see the girls were fed and watered before leaving for school and to get herself ready for work.
It had not dawned on her that the van wasn’t out the front and so told the officer to go in. She could not wait any longer otherwise she would be late for one of her house calls. As Williams walked in she pulled the door closed.
Williams glanced behind him as the door slammed shut and found himself in the hallway. He chose the door to his right assuming this was the front room in which he was expecting to find White.
As he scanned the room it was obvious it was empty, so closing that door he began to search through each of the other rooms on the ground floor. When he realised that White was not downstairs he systematically inspected the rooms upstairs. No sign of the infamous Roger White in this house, he concluded.
Strange as it might have seemed Mrs White must have thought Roger was at home as she left Williams in the house as she when to work. Not the action of a person trying to avoid the police, thought Williams.
This made the second part of William’s task much easier. He would look for an item of White’s clothing and take it back to Sergeant Davis. In the front bedroom he found a jacket hanging in the wardrobe and decided that this would do. Even though the request seemed strange to him he knew better than to question the reason for the order given by his superior.
On leaving Whites house he slammed the front door and checked it had locked. The thought that both Davis and White’s wife had expected him to be at home Williams began to wonder where he might be. As he drove back to the station he was trying to remember if White’s van had been parked outside his house. He was pretty certain it was not.
Reporting back to Sergeant Davis what had happened on his visit and handing over the coat, he was even more mystified by the reaction of Davis. It seemed that he no longer had the sense of urgency to catch the illusive Roger White. He was however pleased with the jacket and asked if Mrs White might discover it missing. Williams pointed out that the Whites did not share wardrobes and that in the messy state of Mr White’s wardrobe it was unlikely that even he would not be sure it was missing.
“Good work, Ifor”, Davis complimented. “While I finish off some paperwork pop down and get a car. I want to pay the Campbell’s a visit”.
Williams knew the break-in at the Campbell’s was still in progress and that Sergeant Davis had not handed over the file as an unsolved crime.
Once Williams had left the office Davis snatched at one of the buttons of Whites jacket and in so doing ripped an L shape around the now missing bottom button. Perfect, he told himself as he pocketed the button. He did not discard the jacket but carefully hid it behind the filing cabinet behind his desk. He was certain it would not be found even by the cleaners as he was sure they never cleaned properly.
He slid into the awaiting car and just smiled to himself. Vengeance will soon be mine he thought to himself. Before leaving the office he had given the Campbell’s a ring to tell them of his surprise visit. They assured him that they would be at home when he called.
Some few minutes later the unmarked police car parked outside the Campbell’s house. Davis did not want Williams to know what he was about to get up to and so instructed him to wait in the car. The less Williams knew the better, thought Davis.
After a few seconds his knock on the door was answered by Jennifer Campbell. She invited Keith into the front room and offered tea. While the tea was being made David came in from the back garden. Both men shook hands and sat opposite each other.
David started the conversation by asking what was being done about their winning lottery ticket as they knew from the numbers they always picked that they had had the winning ticket.
“I would like to say we have found the thieves who took your goods, but as you know the investigation is still ongoing and so there are some things I can tell you and some pieces of evidence that need more work on”, Davis informed the reticent David.
Jennifer returned with a tray of teas and placed them on the table pointing to the one for Davis. She sat next to David waiting for the revelation of the Sergeant’s visit. Their fidgeting was made all the more agitated by Davis’s slow tasting of the drink.
He went on to tell them of the arrest of the three gang members, Mick Harper, Pete and Bert as they broke into a warehouse and that they were almost certain that these had taken part in the numerous break-ins in the area. He went on to inform them that no items had yet been recovered and that all three deny any involvement in the break-ins.
He could not tell them where the winning ticket had gone but that this was an investigation that was ongoing and thus he could only inform them that they were pretty certain a forth member of the gang was still at large. He did give them some hope that it would not be long before this person would be caught.
A little bit of small talk continued around the need for tighter security and the steps the Campbell’s had taken to avoid being victims again.
“Just before I go I wonder if I might have another look in your garden once more. Would you mind”? Davis Asked.
“Help yourself, but I doubt you will find anything now, I’ve virtually dug up most of it”, replied David.
That was all the encouragement Davis needed. He rose from the chair and followed the Campbell’s to the back door.
“Here, use my wellies”, David said pointing to the three quarter length boots standing to attention by the back door.
Davis slipped them on and made his way to the bottom of the garden close to the now repaired fence. He spent some time just sweeping the area with his eyes and then bent down with his back half turned to the watching eyes from the kitchen window.
This is going to be so easy, he thought to himself. He took the jacket button with some of the material still attached out of his pocket and rubbed it in the newly dug soil. He then slipped it in the plastic sleeve that he had bought for the purpose and began a slow walk back to the house, making sure he kept his eyes down as if still looking for something.
He slipped off the boots and stepped inside the back door.
“Did you find anything”? came the broken duet from the Campb
ell’s.
Sergeant Davis decided to play along with the farce for a bit.
“I found this button close to where you had been digging, but I guess it probably belongs to you”, he suggested.
He held up the plastic bag with the offending object. He expected and received the answer he was looking for. They had no clothing that matched the button and so Davis took them through the forensic examination it would be subjected to. If it is from one of the buglers it would be a step closer to their capture he encouraged.
On this somewhat instigated positive note Davis took his leave of the Campbell’s with a promise that whatever it takes he will continue to pursue the perpetrators of this crime and keep updating them from time to time.
Back in the car Williams had fallen asleep. He guessed he must have been out for the best part of a couple of hours when the door slammed shut and made him bolt upright banging his head on the roof. He couldn’t help noticing how pleased Sergeant Davis seemed.
“You look like the cat that got the cream”, he commented in between yawns.
“Maybe I have “, replied Davis without giving away any information. “When we get back to the office I want you to take this button to the lab and see what they come up with. Then I want you to go back to the White’s house and asked, no, demand all of the clothes that “Mr Smarty Pants White”, has left at home. I suspect that as his wife was not aware of his disappearance when you tackled her this morning, I dare bet you he’s done a bunk on her too”, he went on.
The properties of the other three gang members would be searched and clothes bought in to add authenticity to the reason behind White’s clothes being tested and of cause the Jacket with the missing button.
Chapter 12
The Net Tightens
The Lottery Ticket Page 9