TICK TOCK RUN (Romantic Mystery Suspense)

by Elliston, H

  I was about to pluck my mobile from my pocket to phone Lee, when Claire opened the dining room door. “Chelsea? Oh! You’re in here.” She smiled at me through the glass conservatory doors. “Megan’s outside.”

  “Coming,” I sang out, rubbed my moist eyes and left the conservatory.

  After greeting Megan, who entered with a beautifully wrapped wedding gift in hand, I gathered the girls in the kitchen. Mark entered the house. Tugging beige gloves off his hands by the fingertips, he headed straight to the lounge to join Paul. Either he hadn’t seen me through the open kitchen door, or he’d deliberately ignored me.

  Bold and smug, I thought. How dare he strut in here when he’s blackmailing Laura. He actually seemed to be happy, smiling. The arrogant swine!

  It took my all just to focus on hiding the situation from our friends, let alone interact with them. My mind felt like a racetrack with too many cars on the oval. Has Lee discovered anything? How will Laura cope with being ditched at the altar? What will Mark’s next move be? Just as my brain was about to explode, I heard a double bleep come from the lounge. No one stormed out of the room or yelled, so I assumed there was no more bad news. It was nice not to break out in a sweat for a change.

  Megan put her arm around me. “You okay, Chelsea? You don’t seem with it.”

  “Totally fine.” I tried to return her smile, but I doubted it even resembled one.

  “You don’t look fine. And where’s Laura? Why isn’t she here?”

  “She’s gone out,” Claire said, thumbing through CD’s on the bench. “Hardly spoke two words to me since I arrived.”

  “Is she getting cold feet about the wedding?” Megan said. “I bet that’s what’s wrong.”

  I bit my lip.

  The excitement of juicy gossip showed in Megan’s beaming smile. “I knew it! Paul’s great, but I always thought she’d end up with—”

  “No. Quite the opposite,” I butted in, then stopped mid-sentence realising I needed a plausible answer. An idea sparked. Adopting Megan’s explanation was too easy, but perfect. “Yes, you’re right. Spot on. She’s feeling nervous. Totally losing the plot.” Hopefully that would explain Laura’s aloof behaviour, which I assumed would only grow worse as the day wore on.

  “Don’t you worry.” Megan winked. “I’ll take Laura’s mind off it. Let’s get this party swinging before she gets back.”

  Claire flicked the stereo on in the kitchen and the girls began dancing. High heels clicked on tiles. They banged their hips together to the drumbeat and waved their hands in the air; the party mood upon them earlier than I’d expected. Any other time I’d have joined in, but today, I didn’t have it in me.

  A short while later, Laura strolled into the kitchen. The girls grabbed her by the elbows and forced her to dance.

  Megan twirled Laura under her arm. “Are you looking forward to tomorrow?” she asked, despite what I’d just told her.

  The white bag dangled and swayed innocently by Laura’s leg the whole time. Her dirty secret lay hidden behind a thin layer of leather… for now. At least I hoped it did. I prayed to God she hadn’t done something reckless like deliver the cash without telling me.

  My mobile rang and Lee’s name flashed across the screen.

  “Hey!” I said, rushing into the dining room for privacy. “You don’t know how much I need to hear your voice.”

  “Me, too. Is Laura with you?”

  “In the kitchen. Why?”

  “Will you get her?”

  I hesitated. “Sure.” I stepped into the hall and beckoned Laura.

  She left the girls to dance alone and joined me in the dining room.

  “What now?” I asked Lee.

  “Does she have any idea of when that photo was taken?”

  I looked at Laura. Oh, shit! She hadn’t even seen the photo and we’d had so little time alone I’d forgotten to ask her about it. I felt a sting of fury with myself and slapped my forehead. “Don’t get mad, Laura, but Lee’s on the phone.”

  As expected, Laura shot me a steely glare. “Go to hell.” She turned her back and strutted to the door.

  I gripped her arm and pulled. “He’s trying to help.”

  “Yeah. Help himself, not me,” she muttered.

  “Shut it, Laura,” I yelled, spinning her around. “I’m sick to the back teeth of your attitude! Get your head out of your ass and realise when someone’s trying to do a good thing. Now stand here and answer him, or I swear to God I’ll...”

  Laura’s eyes widened. She looked genuinely scared of me.

  “Now, listen,” I said softer. “That photo. It showed you and Daryl standing outside his house. It must have been raining earlier. You had an umbrella and wore that grey jacket with studs. Do you have any idea when the photo was taken?”

  “Outside Daryl’s house?” Her gaze rolled up to the ceiling.

  I waited and tapped my foot. Lee stayed silent on the line.

  “Grey jacket? Yes.” She smiled, looking as amazed as I felt. “I didn’t go to his house very often. We liked hotels.”

  That figures. “So,” I prompted her.

  “Daryl had been to the dentist. If Lee can find out when that was, or did he go to the doctor? It was one of the two. A couple of months ago, if that.”

  I raised the phone to my mouth. “Did you hear that, Lee?”

  “I heard. Thanks, Chelsea. That gives me something to go on. I’ll check his calendar.”

  Laura left the room and slammed the door.

  The phone signal began to crackle and break up.

  “Lee? Can you still hear me?”

  “Just about. There are some surveillance cameras above the shops opposite Daryl’s house. I just need to find out which day... Are you still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which day that photo was taken, and hopefully look through the footage. It might be a dead end, or the recordings might no longer exist.”

  “Or it could be a lucky break.”

  “Get directions from Laura and meet me at Daryl’s, will you? You might spot someone who I don’t recognise. Oh, and Chelsea—”

  “Yeah?”

  “That stakeout paid off. I’ve got something outrageous to level the playing—”

  The line crackled then went dead.

  CHAPTER 27

  I recognised the white front door of Daryl’s house from the photo, and knocked on it.

  Lee pulled the door open. “Hey, gorgeous.”

  As soon as I laid eyes on him, my stomach fluttered.

  He smiled, took my hand and led me through to the kitchen. “You look shorter today.”

  “I’m wearing flats.”

  The house had a stillness to it, smelled a touch stale. After kissing me, Lee passed me Daryl’s bank statement. Now hugging me from behind, he swept my hair to one side and rested his chin on my shoulder. “This is the missing money I can’t account for.”

  I scanned down the list of transactions. A withdrawal of ten thousand pounds last month caught my attention. “So, Daryl was being blackmailed over having an affair with Laura.”

  Lee nodded, his cheek brushing my earlobe. “If word got out he’d had sex with a patient, I guess he’d have either lost his license to practise, or been suspended and fined.”

  “So this withdrawal could be for a fine?”

  “Or to pay someone to keep their mouth shut.”

  I twirled a lock of hair, and hummed.

  Lee let go of me, unhooked the wall calendar from above the microwave and set it down on the table. We thumbed through the last few months of notes and appointments.

  He tapped his finger on the calendar by some scrawny, circled writing. “Got it. He had a dental appointment on March 10th, at 2:15pm. Now let’s get to those shops.”

  Across the street and to the right I saw a newsagent, bakery, and a hairdressing salon shaded by a silver canopy. I realised in this moment, that this was the very salon in the photo I’d seen by chance on Daryl’s mobile. We stepped to
the roadside and, holding hands, stopped to let a stream of cars drive by. The local newspapers, in a rack on the pavement across the street, flapped around in the wind. Two teenagers in hoodies rode their bicycles along the path. I looked up at the brickwork above the shop fronts, searching for CCTV cameras. I spotted three. “Up there.”

  Lee squeezed my hand then pointed to the side of the shops. “And I guess whoever took the photo was parked down that little side street.”

  We waited for a break in traffic then dashed across.

  “Why didn’t Laura spot their car?” I asked, mounting the kerb.

  “Too busy playing tonsil hockey with my brother. I’ll start at the newsagent, you try the hairdresser.” He kissed the back of my hand then walked away.

  I took a deep breath, then pushed the salon door open.

  A bell chimed on entering. My reflection greeted me from a huge mirror behind the reception desk. The same mirror in which I’d spotted Laura in the photo on Daryl’s mobile phone.

  The hairdresser smiled, looking up from a client whose hair was reaching for the ceiling in squares of silver foil. “Can I help?”

  “Sorry to bother you,” I said. “I noticed you have a surveillance camera outside. Does it work?”

  “Yes it does. Why? Has something happened?”

  “Nothing to worry about. It’s a private matter. Do you think you still have footage of March 10th?”

  The hairdresser frowned. “I’d have to check. But as you can see I’m very busy today. Besides, I can’t just hand my discs to a stranger. Sorry.” She turned away, checked the hair foils then offered hot drinks and magazines around.

  I get it. She’s only attentive to clients. I wished I had the reporter props I’d used on Laura’s hen night. She might not have ignored me then. “I’d like to book an appointment. A cut and dry.”

  The hairdresser’s eyebrows shot up when she glanced at me.

  I pulled my hair in front of my face and examined it. “Or maybe highlights.”

  She stepped behind the reception desk and opened a large diary. “Next Thursday suit you? Four-thirty?”

  “Great.”

  She pushed an index card my way. “Fill this in.”

  I scribbled my contact details then glanced up. “So... about that footage. March 10th.”

  She heaved a sigh.

  I produced my driver’s licence from my purse and pushed it across the desk. “Look. That’s me, Chelsea Denham, and here’s proof of my address.”

  She checked my details against the customer card I’d filled in.

  I pointed out the window as the door bell chimed behind me. “I’m at a friend’s house across the street. Number twenty-six. We think someone’s been spying on the house. You can watch me walk over there if you want to make sure. I swear I’m not lying. I just need to view the footage from March 10th, if you still have it. I’ll give you the disc straight back.”

  “Not late, am I?” a chirpy female said from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder.

  “Oh, hi, Chelsea.” It was Mrs Sanders, a dental nurse from the same place where I worked. “Having your hair done, too?”

  “Making an appointment. I didn’t know you lived round here.”

  “Enjoying your week off?”

  I hesitated. “Erm... yes, absolutely.” I faced the hairdresser again and stared smugly, pleased my identity had been confirmed.

  She regarded Mrs Sanders, and the other customers who were staring at us, then gave a humourless laugh. “Wait here.” She slipped into a back room and reappeared with a disc in hand.

  Hallelujah!

  She waved it at me. “If it’s not been wiped, it’ll be on here.” She paused before handing it over. “I want it back.”

  “Of course. Thank you so much.” I smiled, popped it in my bag and exited while saying to Mrs Sanders, “See you next week at work.”

  Lee joined me on the street with a few DVDs in hand. “No luck at the bakery. These are from the newsagents. He keeps the footage for a while, figuring burglars might case the joint beforehand. How did you go?”

  I patted my bag. “I’ve got the disc. It took a hair appointment to persuade her.”

  Lee dangled a string of scratch cards in front of me. “Plus, I told a few lies. But it’s for a good cause.”

  I laughed.

  We crossed the street holding hands, then entered Daryl’s house again. Lee dropped his discs in front of the flat screen, then slotted mine into the player. He sat on the sofa. I lowered myself onto the beige carpet. Sitting between his legs gave me the best view possible. It made the screen appear even bigger, like being in a small cinema, although, this was one movie marathon in which popcorn was not appropriate.

  “Before we trawl through these discs,” Lee said. “There’s something I need to show you.” He passed his mobile phone over my shoulder. “Laura needs a hold over Mark in case it’s him blackmailing her, right?”

  “Yeeesss,” I said, dubious. I took the mobile and looked at the shocking image on its screen. I leaned back between his legs, and flicked through several more photos in disbelief. “What the f...”

  All the images showed Mark standing under his front porch. At first glance it looked like he was holding a pale-skinned person by the naked waist. Naked? I jerked forward, focused harder. He was clearly holding some odd-looking, nude female.

  Actually, I was right. It was female... of sorts.

  My mouth fell open. I recognised it to be a life-size, blow-up doll.

  I turned my head and looked at Lee, who was chewing on a matchstick. “Is this for real?”

  He pulled the stick out of his mouth, nodded, rested his chin on my shoulder and kissed my neck.

  I stared back at the photos, stunned. “How in the world did you get your hands on these? Why is he holding a doll at his front door?”

  “Put it this way, if you found something like that strapped to your house, wouldn’t you want to move it before the neighbours saw?”

  “You set Mark up?” I swivelled around to face him and patted his knee.

  “Kind of ironic, a twist on the photo he took of Daryl and Laura. I obviously couldn’t get him to do their exact pose, but this turned out to be even better.”

  “It’s brilliant. You’re a genius. He’s only half dressed which makes it look even worse. One hand over her boob in this shot!”

  “Not bad, eh? I had fun watching.”

  “But not as much fun as Mark had, once he got her inside.” I chuckled. “Did he spot you taking the photos?”

  “Mark looked desperate as hell to get the doll in the house and out of sight from the neighbours. I doubt he’d have even noticed a real naked woman in the street, let alone see me behind a tree trunk.”

  “This is great,” I said with excitement. “Let’s hope we catch him on these discs. If it is Mark who’s blackmailing Laura, I’m pretty sure threatening to plaster these photos across town will make him back off. It’d work for me.”

  Lee smirked. “Unless he wants to be the butt of jokes for a long, long time. Actually, I’m hoping these photos will spark a reaction, get him to retaliate and reveal himself.”

  “Mark’s not the sort to see the funny side in something like this. His reputation is precious to him. He’d crawl under a rock or move out of town rather than get sneered at. So yes, I expect he’ll react. Where did you get the doll?” I paused, then held a finger in the air. “No, wait. I don’t want you to answer that.”

  He laughed. “I won’t then.”

  I pushed myself up and gave him a kiss. It was the least he deserved. “So this was your stakeout?”

  Lee circled my lips with his finger. “Yes. I had to have a damn good reason for leaving you alone in that cosy bed this morning.”

  After bluetoothing the most embarrassing of the photos to my phone, I settled back on the carpet.

  Lee pointed the remote at the player. “Let’s see if we can spot him on a disc and end this thing.”

/>   After a fuzzy start and sections of random dates, an image flashed onto the screen. I spotted the date stamped in the upper corner, March 10th, and tapped Lee’s leg. “This is it. But I can’t see Daryl’s house.”

  “No, the camera’s pointing to the left. Try to look for cars you recognise and focus on the driver and plates. The photo was taken from inside a car, remember?”

  I nodded.

  Lee fast-forwarded the disc. We knew the photos were taken sometime after Daryl’s dental appointment in the afternoon.

  A few grainy waves distorted the image. No audio. The camera shot one static angle. We sat watching, the silence broken only by cars rolling down the street outside, providing the missing soundtrack. Lee fiddled with my hair and rubbed my shoulders to stem the boredom. He dotted ticklish kisses and softly nibbled the back of my neck every so often, which played havoc with my concentration.

  “Later,” I said playfully, pushing his face away. “We might miss something important.”

  Thirty fruitless minutes later, I began losing hope and my bottom was past numb. I jumped up, sat next to Lee on the sofa, draped my legs over his thighs and began stroking his arm. “I hope this isn’t going to turn out to be a waste of time.” I sighed, wishing that snuggling up in a cinema was actually where we were.

  “We won’t know until we watch them.”

  Lee’s determination grew at the point that mine wavered. He repeatedly stopped and started the footage, pausing on cars to focus on the driver and asking me to check the number plates. Those that I could make out, I didn’t recognise.

  I wanted to watch the footage, but I hoped that Daryl didn’t star in it, concerned about Lee’s reaction to viewing his dead brother large as life on the big screen.

  A hiccup in the footage gave way to a previous recording again. Lee skipped the disc ahead, stopping when March 10th came back. I shuffled around to get more comfortable, then, suddenly, lurched forward in my seat. “Freeze it!” I pointed to the screen. “There! On the left.”

  Lee jabbed the pause button.

  Squinting through the mottled freeze-frame, I studied the corner bonnet and bumper of a black car. “That could be Laura’s BMW. Press play again.”