by M A Comley
Jennifer rubbed her upper arm. “Don’t give up just yet. Let the SOCO team examine the place first, okay?”
“I can’t stay here, Jen.”
“I can understand that. Can you stay at your parents’ house for a few days?”
“No, my parents are on holiday. I suppose I can ring a friend from uni and ask if she can put me up in the meantime.”
“Great idea. I’d offer you our spare room, but I think it’s a little too close for comfort. It makes sense for you to get well away from here, just in case he comes back,” Jennifer said thoughtfully, nodding.
Her legs wobbled in protest as Jennifer helped her into the bedroom. Stopping just inside, Noelle whispered, “Jen, what if he raped me? How would I know?”
Jennifer flung a compassionate arm around her shoulders. “I don’t think he had time, Noelle. Maybe we should get the doc to examine you before he goes?”
“I couldn’t.”
“If you choose not to, then that question is going to remain unanswered and bug you for the rest of your life.”
Noelle conceded her friend was talking good sense. “Would you mind asking the doctor for me?”
Jennifer walked her over to the bed then went back in the lounge to have a word with the doctor. She returned with the doctor a few moments later.
“I think you’re doing the right thing, Noelle. I’ll be as gentle as I can.” He turned to Jennifer. “Do you mind leaving us alone?”
Jennifer nodded, rushed forward to give Noelle a hug, and left the room again.
Another three hours passed before everyone finally left the flat. Noelle surveyed her surroundings with such distaste that her questionable feelings began to scare even her. After hurriedly packing a bag, she rang her friend Abbie to tell her she was leaving and would be with her within half an hour.
Taking one final look around the flat, relieved, yet sad to be leaving her treasured home, she tested the windows several times to confirm they were shut properly. She secured the door then left. Her old reliable brown Ford Capri was parked in the car park at the rear of the building. Noelle quickly glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being watched, then she jumped in the vehicle and locked the car. At two o’clock in the afternoon, the traffic was far easier to combat than she’d anticipated. Two miles into her journey, she felt a shove from behind. Looking in the rear-view mirror at the vehicle, she gasped. “You!”
Noelle tried to outdrive the menacing car following her, but the flow of traffic hampered her attempt. Maybe the traffic is worse than I thought. She turned off the main road, trying to lead the other car away from Abbie’s house. The decision proved to be the costliest she would ever make when her car spluttered to a halt. Immediately, she glanced down at the dashboard to see that the petrol gauge read empty. She bashed the heel of her hand against the steering wheel. In her haste to get away from the flat, she’d forgotten all about needing to fill the petrol tank. She glanced over her shoulder to see the wicked smile lighting up her pursuer’s face as he opened his car door. A tidal wave of fear rippled through her. Within seconds, the man stood menacingly beside the driver’s door, as if expecting her to open it. She looked into his eyes. “Why?”
CHAPTER ONE
Lorne laughed when Tony walked into the kitchen. “You can’t wear that!”
Tony glanced down at the black suit he was wearing, and with a frown set in place, he met her gaze again. “Why? What’s wrong with it? I want to make a good impression, don’t I?”
She shrugged. “If that’s your intention, then fine. You look more like a funeral director than a bloody PI to me, though.”
“Crap, really?”
Lorne crossed the room, linked her arms around the back of his neck, and kissed him. “A dashing, sexy funeral director—that’s one good thing in your favour.”
“Funny. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mrs. Warner. What do you think I should wear then?”
“Dress casual. No one expects a private investigator to turn up in a whistle and flute. What time are you due to meet Joe?”
Tony looked up at the clock on the wall and ducked out of her arms. “Shit! About ten minutes from now. I haven’t got time to change.”
“You put your shoes on while I sort out a solution.” She went to the laundry basket tucked away in its hiding place under the stairs. At the bottom of the heap, she found his casual brown pullover. She walked back into the kitchen and placed the garment on the kitchen table, where she smoothed out a few of the creases with her hands. “This should do. Slip your jacket off, keep the trousers on. Add this to your ensemble, and that’s you looking smart but casual, sort of.”
Tony tied the final lace on his shoes, adjusted the strap on his prosthetic leg, and pulled on the sweater. Smiling, he grabbed Lorne, planted another kiss on her lips then bolted for the door. “See you later. Have a good day, hon.”
She followed him to the door and waved him off before she went in search of her daughter, Charlie, who was hard at work in the kennels.
“Charlie, are you in here?”
“At the back, Mum.” Her daughter’s voice drifted the length of the kennel run. Lorne could tell Charlie was still upset.
She opened the kennel door to find Charlie sitting on the foam bed, petting the hairy German shepherd named Sheba. “Is she still a bit down in the dumps?”
“Yeah. Poor girl won’t eat her breakfast.”
A few days before, Sheba had turned up at the rescue centre, which Charlie and Lorne’s friend Carol now ran. Sheba’s owner had lost her fight against cancer and had no living relatives to care for the dog. Lorne had a feeling that Charlie was getting very close to the dog and knew the inevitable question would soon leave her daughter’s lips. Glancing at the sorrowful-looking dog, Lorne’s heart lurched, and in that instant, she knew she would have a hard time turning Charlie down over this particular dog. Maybe the time had come to introduce another furry friend into the household to keep their Border collie, Henry, company while the rest of them were out at work.
“She’s had a huge upheaval over the last few days, sweetie. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.” Lorne stood behind Charlie and ruffled her hair.
“She’d do far better if she wasn’t cooped up in here all day.”
Brace yourself. Here comes that killer question! Lorne remained silent.
Charlie tilted her head back and smiled broadly. “Mum… don’t you think Henry would love a playmate?”
“He’s got lots of playmates right here.”
“You know what I mean, Mum. Stop being so awkward. I promise to look after her myself.”
“I have no doubts about that. You do a fabulous job caring for all the dogs here. No one is denying that side of things. My main concern is for Henry. He isn’t getting any younger. Maybe we should take a step back and consider him in all this. Have you thought about the possibility of his nose getting pushed out if we introduce another dog into the household? Henry loves being the centre of our little world, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, but you’ve seen him playing with the other dogs. It’ll help to keep him young, Mum. Go on, please?”
Lorne closed her eyes, blocking out both her daughter’s pleading face and the sadness emanating from Sheba’s eyes. They flickered open again when she heard another voice in the kennel. Saved by the interruption. “We’re in here, Carol.”
Carol appeared at the meshed door, a beaming smile sitting happily on her face. “Good morning, both. What a fantabulous day we’re having.”
“We are?” Lorne asked, amused by her good friend’s brightness.
“Oh, yes. The sun is out, the sky is blue, I’m in love, and so are you!”
Lorne burst out laughing, and tears filled her eyes. “When did you add corny poetry to your repertoire?”
“Oh yes, silly me. I’m a poet, and I don’t know it. Oh my, there I go again.” Her smile quickly vanished when she spotted Sheba’s demeanour. “How insensitive of me. Still not doin
g well, poppet? You know what you need? You need a loving forever home, and I know just the place.”
Lorne caught the look between her daughter and her psychic friend and clicked her fingers. “Nice try, you guys. If you think ganging up together and beating me into submission is going to work, think again.” Two cheeky grins greeted her, and even Sheba got in on the act when she lifted her head and their gazes locked. Lorne waved a dismissive hand. “I give up. I’m off to work. Have fun, you three.”
Charlie’s whining, pleading with her to reconsider, followed her out of the kennel and through the main door. She continued to shake her head as she got in the car and headed into London towards the station she called her second home.
DI Katy Foster and constable Alan Jackson, whom everyone called AJ, were studying a graph on the computer screen when Lorne arrived in the incident room. “Morning, you two.”
“Morning, Lorne. We’re just going over the latest case statistics,” Katy said.
Lorne frowned. “Any reason why?”
“Something the super hinted at, really. AJ and I are thinking we might get a directive from head office about the number of cold cases we’ve accrued over the past year or so.”
“Hmm… they don’t usually highlight cold cases specifically, do they? Why now?”
Katy perched her bottom on the edge of AJ’s desk and folded her arms. “Who knows? Maybe there’s been a change at the top. I’d need to look into that. I haven’t been made aware of any significant changes lately. Anyway, the super has called a meeting for nine thirty. AJ and I were just trying to get armed with the facts and figures in case she comes down hard on this particular team. Not that we’ve really had many cold cases over the past couple of years. Maybe some new evidence has come to light on one of our old cases.”
“Yeah, that’s a more likely reason as to why she’s called the meeting. Do you want me to do anything?”
“Nope, just the usual. Check if any cases need our attention from the nightshift. If not, it’s paperwork, dreaded paperwork, until then. Hey, how’s Tony feeling today?”
“A bit nervous. Not sure how he and Joe are going to find customers to sustain the business and, more to the point, their salaries, but apart from that, he seemed okay when he left this morning.”
“He’ll do well, I’m sure. He’s got an insider on the force, too. That’s always a help, right?”
Lorne tilted her head. “Really, you think I’d dish out information willy-nilly like that?” She covered her chest with her hand.
“Don’t give me those puppy-dog eyes. We all know what you’ll get up to if hubby comes a calling.”
“Not me, boss. Let me rephrase that. I wouldn’t go behind your back anyway. I’d make sure you gave me the go-ahead first.” She smiled broadly.
“Yeah, like I’m going to turn you down. What’s his first job? Any idea?”
“Looks like a domestic. The husband wants to know what his wife is getting up to while she’s working ten-hour shifts at work.”
“Does she work?” Katy asked.
“Apparently, she’s a social worker.”
“Really? And he’s doubting her because?” Katy frowned.
“Not sure if he has a case or not. He seems to think she doesn’t spend all her time at work for some reason. Hey, as long as he pays for Tony and Joe’s time, then who are we to question the ins and outs of a person’s suspicious mind?”
Katy shrugged. “I just don’t get some people. Maybe he should consider putting her on a leash to ease his suspicions.” Katy shot AJ a warning glance. “Don’t you ever get any ideas along those lines, will you?”
AJ’s eyes widened. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Katy patted the back of his hand. “I’m sure you wouldn’t. It helps that we know where each other is twenty-four-seven, doesn’t it?”
“Helps? Is that what you call it?” AJ grumbled unconvincingly, pretending that he felt henpecked.
Katy slapped him gently around the back of the head just as the super and DCI Sean Roberts stepped into the room.
Lorne cringed for Katy, whose cheeks immediately coloured up when she spoke to her two immediate superiors. “Morning, ma’am, sir. Lovely day today.”
The super and the chief looked at each other and shook their heads. “I wasn’t aware you treated this place as a playground when we’re not around, Inspector,” Roberts chastised Katy without any hint of a smile.
Katy tried to make excuses for her behaviour, but the super waved away her attempt.
“Gather around, team. The chief and I would like your full attention for this.”
The other three members of the team assembled their chairs close to Lorne, Katy, and AJ while Superintendent Anne White and Chief Roberts walked across the room to the incident board. Roberts picked up the marker pen and wrote a name on the whiteboard. He circled it three times.
“Noelle Chesterfield. Does the name ring a bell with anyone?”
Blank looks answered the super’s question. Lorne’s usually astute mind searched into every crevice but came up with nothing. “Should it?” she asked.
The super glanced at Lorne. “Well, she wasn’t one of this team’s cases when she went missing. Nevertheless, the file has ended up on my desk, and after briefly looking through it, I think we should take up the woman’s case.”
“Any particular reason why you’ve singled out this case, Super?” Katy asked. “I’m taking it that this is one of the cold cases you hinted at earlier.”
“That’s right. She’s sort of a friend of a friend, if you like. I know that head office is being picky about the number of cold cases each department have clocked up in the past year, and this one just happened to be mentioned to me when I attended a party at the weekend.”
“A party?” Lorne asked.
“What, Sergeant Warner? Are you surprised that I would attend a party or the fact that such a thing should be brought up as a topic of conversation?”
“Sorry, ma’am. I meant it’s strange to talk about such things when you’re supposed to be having fun.”
The super snorted. “Fun? I’ve never had fun at any party arranged by the force. Maybe ‘party’ was the wrong description for the little get-together. One of my closest friends retired from the force last month—Superintendent Colleen Cross. Anyone know her? Anyway, her friend Jennifer attended the party, and I was introduced to her. At first, the woman appeared a little reluctant to make my acquaintance. However, once I unleashed my dazzling personality, she opened up a little. I wasn’t expecting her to unveil such a heart-breaking tale, though. A few months back, six months to be exact, one of Jennifer’s neighbours and best friends went missing.” The super paused as if gauging the team’s reaction. “This is the key point that sparked my interest, if you will. The day before Noelle went missing, she’d found an intruder in her flat. He attacked her, and she managed to call out for help. Jennifer, who was in the flat above, realised the gravity of the situation and called the police right away. When the police broke down the door to the flat, they found Noelle Chesterfield lying unconscious on the living room floor. It looked like the intruder had escaped through a window at the back of the flat. No one saw him either enter or leave the property.”
“So when exactly did Noelle go missing?” Lorne was the first to ask.
“The woman was understandably terrified by the ordeal and just wanted to get out of the flat as soon as possible. She called a friend and arranged to stay with the friend for a few days until she felt safe enough to return home. The thing is, while en route to the friend’s house, Noelle just disappeared.”
“How was she travelling to the friend’s house? Public transport? Could this be leading up to a coincidental incident?” Katy queried.
“Her own car. That’s not the impression I’m getting, Inspector. Maybe that’s what the investigating officers on the case thought, too.”
Lorne frowned, annoyed that the two incidents hadn’t automatically been linked. “Who were t
he investigating officers?”
“Well, that’s the crux of the matter and why I thought we should tackle this case. The two officers dealing with it have since been suspended.”
“For what?” Katy asked before Lorne could get the question out.
“They were on the take. You name it, they did it, from forging evidence to beating up suspects and everything in between. I can’t really go into specific details at present because of the ongoing investigation into their activities. Let’s just say that almost a hundred of their unsolved and solved cases are being scrutinised right now.”
Lorne sat forward in her chair. “Shit! Does that mean some of the convictions they achieved are going to be likely overturned? Are they long convictions?”
“They vary considerably. It’s a total mess right now and is going to take months to sort out. Each department is going to be asked to re-investigate a mixture of all the cases these two morons had anything to do with. As if we aren’t under enough stress to meet targets already, now something as major as this comes our way.”
Roberts cleared his throat, ready to speak. “We’re used to working under pressure, Super, so I’m sure the team will do all they can to put things right on the cases they’re allocated.”
“I have every confidence that will be the case, Chief Roberts. I would like this case to be top of the list though, yes?”
“Of course, if that’s what you want, Super. We’ll get started on it today,” Katy said, eyeing Lorne for agreement.
Lorne nodded and took out her notebook to jot down what she’d heard about the case so far.
“Okay, that’s great. In total, we have five cases to tackle. I’d like you to work those into your schedule over the next week or so. Let’s show the higher-ups what a super-efficient team we are. That is, if they aren’t already aware of that snippet of information. I do my best to tout how great you are at every opportunity. Don’t let me down on this one, or these cases, right, guys?”