by M A Comley
“Because… well, it’s not every day you coppers come looking for me.”
“Is there supposed to be some form of logic to your reply buried in that observation, Mr. Simms?”
“I’ve had some mates lose their businesses because of you guys snooping around and causing hassle.”
“Okay, let’s get one thing straight. That’s bullshit, and you damn well know it. For a start, we first laid eyes on you at the club. That had nothing to do with your business. Am I correct?” Katy asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as she folded her arms.
“I… um…”
“Yes, Mr. Simms? You can see where I’m leading here, can’t you?” Katy continued, impatiently tapping her foot.
“All right, you’ve got me on that one. What’s this all about then?”
“One of the dancers at the club,” Katy told him.
“Which one? I’m not sure what any dancer has to do with me. I’m still confused, and these cuffs are only adding to my confusion.” He clanged the offending items against the bench again to emphasise his point.
“Tough. Why should we trust you after you’ve given us the slip several times already? Anyway, as I was saying, the dancer is called Noelle.”
His eyes widened in recognition.
“The same dancer you climbed on the stage with about six months ago. Don’t tell me you can’t remember that incident?”
He shrugged his right shoulder. “I remember it, and I also regretted it the instant I did it. Oh, and just for your information, I wasn’t the only one to hop up on the stage that night. Two other guys took the plunge to chance their arms, too.”
“So, what you’re saying is that men are like sheep. You see one person do something, and you perceive it as though you’re missing out in some way. Is that right?”
“No!”
“Then tell me, enlighten me what goes on in that warped mind of yours. You knew the club’s rules about confronting the dancers.”
“Yeah, I know the rules. Look, if you must know, I took the chance to try and get to know her while the security guys were busy escorting that other guy off the premises. I liked Noelle, thought we could be good together, and wanted to ask her out.”
Katy and Lorne shared an incredulous look. “Make a habit of picking up dancing girls, girls who reveal their wares to a wide audience, Mr. Simms, do you?”
“No! Jesus, she was different. Anyone could see that just by watching her. She doesn’t like doing that job—any idiot can see that. She has to do it to get her through university.”
Katy tilted her head. “You seem to know an awful lot about this young lady. How come?”
“I’ve already told you, she was one of the friendlier girls. I chatted to her at the bar a few nights before. Nothing wrong in that, is there?”
“Nothing at all, ordinarily.”
“What’s that supposed to effing mean?” he demanded quickly, frowning.
Lorne could tell his anger was mounting again. Maybe he sensed that he was getting backed into a corner.
Katy glanced at Lorne. “Do you think we should tell him, Sergeant?”
Lorne nodded and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was almost four. “I think we should. Time’s getting on, Inspector.”
“You’re right. Okay, Mr. Simms, here’s the thing. After you confronted Noelle Chesterfield at her place of work, the very next day, the young lady in question had an intruder in her flat.”
“No way are you gonna pin that on me, lady. I ain’t no friggin’ perv.”
Katy raised a hand to silence him. “But that was only the beginning of the story, Mr. Simms. Not long after the incident occurred, Noelle went missing.”
“Along with her car,” Lorne added.
“What? I haven’t done anything wrong. You can’t lay this at my bloody door. You hear me? I’ll get the best solicitor I can find.”
“That’s your entitlement. I will point out something, though,” Katy warned. “You better tell your brief that in the past few days, you’ve avoided talking to us. Even he will think that’s a strange thing for an innocent man to do. Agreed?”
“Shit, all right. All right, here’s the deal. I’ll tell you the real reason I ran off, and it’s got nothing to do with this missing girl. I swear.” Simms paused and glanced around at all four members of the police standing in his workshop. “Jesus, I clock vehicles and issue dodgy MOTs.”
“What? And that’s why you ran? Seriously?” Katy asked, running a hand through her hair. “You mean we’ve wasted bloody hours of our valuable time trying to track you down, and this is why you took a hike?”
“Yeah. I swear I have nothing to do with Noelle’s disappearance. I just wouldn’t do that to her or any other girl.”
Katy exhaled noisily. “You’ll forgive me if I find that hard to believe given the line of underhand business you’re in and the fact that you jumped up on stage to confront the young lady, won’t you, Simms?”
Lorne pulled Katy aside before Simms could reply. “We’re going to have to take him in, after what he’s just admitted. My instinct is that he doesn’t know anything about Noelle’s attack, either directly or indirectly. He appeared too shocked when you gave him the information, for one thing.”
“You’re right. Let’s wrap this up and see if we can track this other bloke down—Dilbert, wasn’t it?”
Lorne gave a brief nod. “That’s what I’d do. Let the uniformed guys take Simms back to the station and deal with him.”
Katy turned and eyed the suspect with distaste then pointed at him. “This is your lucky day, kind of. We’re up against time on this case, so this is what’s going to happen. Our colleagues here are going to take you down the station, where you’ll tell an interviewing officer what exactly you’ve been up to here. Names, dates, the type of money involved in this scam. If you don’t cooperate, then we’ll have no hesitation in pinning Noelle’s disappearance on you. Got that? After all, you fancied the pants off her, excuse the pun, and that amounts to motive when someone is reported missing.”
Simms’s mouth hung open for several seconds.
Then Katy prompted him for a response. “Do I make myself clear on this, Mr. Simms?”
“Yes. I’m willing to divulge contacts, et cetera, but please, scrub me off the wanted list for Noelle’s case. I’d never hurt her, ever. I promise.”
“It depends how cooperative you are. Okay, guys, take him back and caution him.”
“What about this place? I need to lock up first,” Simms whined.
“Funny that, you weren’t too bothered about locking up earlier. Why should now be any different?” Katy asked.
“Please, I’ve said I’m sorry. I can’t leave this place unattended. There’s too much kit here to leave it open to all and sundry to rob.”
“All right. You have five minutes to secure the place. Uncuff him, lads. Lorne and I will stick around in case he tries to bolt again.”
The two uniformed officers temporarily freed the suspect from the cuffs and stuck with him like adhesive until the garage had been thoroughly secured.
Outside, with the cuffed suspect placed in the back of the vehicle, they watched the Panda car drive off before getting in their own car and heading off for the next location. “Let’s hope this Dilbert fella is at home.”
Lorne snapped her seatbelt into place. “My money is on him being either at work or out.”
“What’s with the negative attitude all of a sudden?” Katy asked, selecting first gear and driving out of the estate.
“I’m not negative. Just stating facts. After what else we’ve had to contend with today, I doubt things are going to start going our way now.”
“We’ll see in about twenty minutes. If he’s not there, we’ll head back to the station and call it a day. All right?”
The heavy traffic delayed them getting to Dilbert’s address, and when they knocked on the door of the shabby-looking terrace, there was no reply. Lorne and Katy nipped next door and asked
the neighbours a few questions about his comings and goings, but no one could tell them anything specific. In the end, they agreed it would be best to leave it for the day and return to try again the following day, providing nothing urgent showed up to distract them in the meantime.
* * *
Lorne opened the back door to her house and called out to see if anyone was at home. “I’m back. Where are you all?” She heard running on the stairs, then Charlie came through the door with an out-of-breath Henry at her heels.
“Hi, Mum. Did you have a good day?”
“Not really. What about you, sweetie? Have you heard from Carol since she left earlier?”
Charlie sat at the kitchen table and clicked her fingers to get the dog’s attention. “No, I was going to ring her and then thought better of it. Maybe we should leave her for today, let her catch up on her sleep. I can’t imagine what it must be like sitting up all night, having a conversation with a spook.”
Lorne placed two cups of coffee on the table and dropped heavily into the chair opposite her daughter. “I can’t imagine and never want to ever experience anything like that, either. Saying that, on the odd occasion when I’ve felt Pete and your granddad around me, it has turned out to be a great source of comfort.”
“Yeah, I can understand that, but a tortured soul such as this Noelle would definitely put the willies up me.” Charlie shuddered.
“Has Tony rung?”
“Nope. What shall we have for dinner? Want me to help you prepare it?”
“Crap, I haven’t really given it much thought, love. It’s been a super-hectic kind of day today.”
“Let’s have a makeshift meal then. What about those lovely filled jacket spuds you do? I’ll chop a few veggies while you sort out the potatoes, if you like.”
“Good idea. Let me have this first, eh?” Lorne savoured the first hot cup of coffee that had passed her lips all day and sighed contentedly. She groaned when the phone in the lounge started ringing.
“Stop. I’ll get it, Mum.” Charlie ran into the lounge and returned with the phone. “See you later. Here’s Mum now. It’s Tony.”
Lorne accepted the phone from her daughter. “Tony? Is everything okay?”
“Just ringing up to let you know I’m in for a long one tonight.”
“Seriously? Why? I hope your client is paying overtime rates?”
Tony chuckled. “Hardly. Hey, we both understand this isn’t a nine-to-five sort of job. I’ve got to go. We’re on the move. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”
“When’s that likely to be?” Lorne asked, but Tony’s response was the end-call tone ringing in her ear. She placed the phone on the kitchen table and went back to preparing their evening meal. “Maybe he got wind of what we’re having for dinner.”
Charlie laughed a full belly laugh. “That’s hilarious, Mum.”
“What is?” Lorne asked, amused and confused by her daughter’s reaction.
“Got wind of what we’re having. As in the type of wind that goes hand in hand with jacket spuds.”
Lorne cringed. “Oh dear, I honestly didn’t mean that. Have you got any plans for tonight?” Lately, she’d been concerned by her daughter’s reluctance to leave the house at night. Ever since Charlie’s best friend had died at a birthday party almost eighteen months ago, she had hardly stepped foot out of the house in the evening. Lorne feared that her daughter might need some form of counselling to get over the incident, but that really wouldn’t go down well with Charlie, given her past experience with a counsellor after her abduction by the Unicorn.
“Nope, the usual, listen to music on my iPod. Why?” She nudged her mother’s elbow and rested her head on her shoulder. “What did you have in mind? A girlie night in with a soppy movie and chocolate?”
“We can do that if that’s really what you want to do, love? Actually, I thought we could go over and see how Carol is doing. What do you think?”
Charlie stood upright again and started chopping a bunch of spring onions. “I don’t mind.”
Lorne picked up a note of disappointment in her daughter’s voice. Rethinking her strategy, she said, “We could see how Onyx has settled into her new home.”
Charlie shook her head and groaned. “Nice try, Mum. Onyx has been ‘settled into her new home’ for over six months now. If you want to go and check up on Carol, I’ll tag along, no worries.”
“But you’d rather spend some quality time with your mother, given the choice. Is that what you’re getting at?”
Charlie’s teeth glistened when she turned to grin at Lorne. “It’ll be cool to spend time together for a change, like the old days, just you and me.”
Lorne thought back to the period of their lives she felt Charlie was referring to and surmised it was before Lorne was involved with Tony, after her divorce from Tom. “You mean when I was between husbands? You don’t regret me getting together with Tony, do you, sweetie?”
Charlie turned sharply to face her. “Did I say that? Stop overanalysing my statements. You’re hopeless in that respect, Mum. Just accept it the way it was meant. I miss girly time with you. Every young woman feels that at some point in their lives, don’t they?”
Lorne leaned over and kissed Charlie’s cheek. “Nothing wrong in that at all. I’ll finish this off. You go sort out a movie. If you look in the bureau drawer, you might even find a box of chocolates I’ve stashed away for Christmas.”
“Really? You’ve started shopping early for a change. You usually leave everything to the very last minute.”
“I thought I’d be different this year. That doesn’t give you the go-ahead to start searching every nook and cranny for your present, either, young lady.”
Charlie clutched a hand to her chest. “Would I do that?”
“Yes, you would. Although I think you learnt your lesson a few years back after snooping in your grandmother’s wardrobe and munching on her Ex-Lax chocolate.”
Charlie retched at the thought. “God, don’t remind me. I spent two whole days on the loo, if I remember rightly.”
Lorne laughed. “That’s right. Hey, maybe that particular incident was behind me leaving the Christmas shopping until the last minute over the years.”
“Could be. Although, I think I learnt my lesson right then.”
“Oh dear, I hope the memory doesn’t put you off getting stuck into the chocolates this evening?” Lorne joked with a wink.
“No fear of that. I’ll go choose a film. Are you sure you don’t need a hand here?”
“Shoo! I’ll be fine. I’ll just give Carol a ring to see how she is, though, if that’s okay?”
“I’ll expect dinner in a couple of hours then,” Charlie groaned, leaving the kitchen.
Lorne wiped her hands on the tea towel and dialled her friend’s number. “Hi, Carol. Just checking in with you.”
“Hello, Lorne. You don’t need to worry about me. How is the investigation going?”
“Nonsense, I’m concerned about you. Katy and I have been chasing our tails all day. Hopefully, once the Crimewatch programme has aired, we’ll get a new batch of information that’ll lead us to the victim. I don’t suppose you’ve got anything else you’d like to share on that front, have you?”
“I know how bizarre all of this sounds, but this young woman has no intention of leaving me alone, not until her body is found. I did pick up on a couple of initials today that I wanted to run past you. The first is a C. Does that fit?”
Lorne nodded as if Carol were standing in the kitchen with her. “It certainly does. Anything else?”
“I’m glad to hear that because this woman was adamant about that. I also picked up on the letter N. How’s that?”
“Spot on again. Did the spirit just come out and give you the initials, Carol?”
“No. We’ve been at it all day. She’s given me numerous pictures of items and places all with the same initial. You know nothing is ever easy with these guys. Otherwise, I would have won the lottery by now. I’m glad t
hey fit, Lorne. I’ll keep working hard with her. She’s sure to turn up again later. She’s persistent—I’ll give her that.”
“Not wishing to push my luck, but any chance she can let us know the initials of the man who abducted her? If it was a man. Or who killed her, come to that?”
“I need to take things slowly. You understand, don’t you?”
Lorne let out a sigh. “Of course I do. Maybe if I gave you some initials of the suspects on the list we’re working our way through. Do you think that would help?”
“I doubt it. You know I don’t like working that way. I need to come up with the goods by myself for people like Pete, bless him—and Katy, for that matter—to believe in my abilities. I saw the expression on Katy’s face when I was running through my experience with this woman earlier today.”
“She doesn’t mean anything by it, Carol. You know as well as I do how many sceptics there are in this world. Give Katy time to adjust to how things work, eh?”
“I will. I’ll do what I usually do to win people over, Lorne—come up with the facts and the missing pieces for you to slot together. How’s Tony’s case going? He shouldn’t be too long out there tonight.”
Lorne laughed. “See, when you come out with things like that, it’s pretty difficult to doubt your abilities. Tony rang about twenty minutes ago, told me he was going to be late home. To be honest, we haven’t really discussed his case much. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own work the last few days.”
“Okay, one thing I can tell you on his case—it’s not what it seems. I don’t think it will end in murder or the death of anyone, so you can let Tony know that if you like.”
“Brilliant, that will put his mind at rest. Although, after the last few cases he’s helped me out on, I’m really not sure he’s feeling the ‘buzz’ of being a PI yet.”
Carol sniggered. “I can totally understand that. Tell him to hang in there. I sense some juicier crimes coming his and his partner’s way in the near future.”
“I’ll pass that message on. Well, I better get back to cooking the dinner. Charlie and I are making the most of our freedom tonight.”