Virtual Justice

by MA Comley

  “Trying to get away from me, bitch?”

  “No. Please, I need to go home.”

  “Why? I haven’t finished with you yet. I want to know why you deserted me back at the restaurant.”

  Unable to support his dead weight on her back, her legs gave way. Lying on the floor, she felt the breath being crushed out of her as he shifted his weight to her upper back and chest area. She tried to tell him what had gone wrong, but he wouldn’t listen to her excuses. Instead, he yanked her head back and reached for something behind him. She felt the garment wrap around her neck, and it grew tighter by the second. She feared her life was in mortal danger as he twisted the ends of the cloth to form a kind of tourniquet. Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The ringing telephone brought Lorne out of her daze. “Hello?”

  “Lorne, how are you? More to the point, how is Tony?”

  She smiled when she recognised Carol’s voice. “Hello, love. Well, the doctor wasn’t happy with the amount of infection in his leg, told him off for delaying the inevitable. He’s been ordered to stay in hospital for a week. They’ll take care of him there. How are things with you?”

  “So so…‌Look I need to see you. Can I come over?”

  “Have you had one of your visions?”

  “I’ve had some confusing images that I’d like to run by you.”

  “Then come on over. Stop for lunch if you like?”

  “I’ll see you in an hour or so. I’ll drop by the baker’s and pick up a cream cake. Will Charlie be there?”

  “She will. That’s kind of you, Carol. We’ll see you soon.”

  Lorne got to work, making a plateful of sandwiches. Charlie entered the back door a few minutes later.

  “I’m starving. What’s for lunch?” Charlie pinched a slice of cucumber and quickly ran to the other side of the room before Lorne could slap her hand away.

  “Sandwiches. I haven’t had time to make anything else, sorry. Carol’s dropping by to join us. She’s bringing cream cakes with her.”

  “Yum. I better jump in the shower then. One of the dogs had the runs this morning.”

  “Just what I want to hear when I’m preparing lunch. Thanks for that. Which dog?”

  “One of the boarders, the chocolate Labrador. I know. ‘Cut him back on his food for the day.’” Charlie ran out of the room and thundered up the stairs to the bathroom.

  Cheeky madam!

  After finishing the sandwiches, Lorne rang the hospital to check on Tony. The nurse said that he’d had a comfortable night and that he was looking forward to her visit that evening. Lorne made a mental note to stop off at the newsagents to pick up a car magazine to help stave off the boredom. She knew he would be going out of his mind with nothing to keep him occupied.

  The crunching gravel outside indicated that Carol had at last arrived. Eager to hear what Carol had to say, Lorne went out to greet her and was surprised to see the woman struggling out of her car with an injured arm.

  “What on earth happened to you?”

  “Silly me. I slipped on a wet floor in the kitchen and damaged my wrist.”

  “’Damaged’ as in broke it? Here, let me get that.” Lorne reached across the seat to retrieve the box of cakes.”

  “No. I’ve just sprained it. Pretty badly, though. Lucky the car is an automatic, eh?”

  They both laughed as they walked through the back door into the kitchen.

  “You should have told me. I am capable of coming over to see you, you know.”

  “I know, love, but you’ve got enough on your plate at the moment. Anyway, I needed to get out. I’m going stir-crazy at home.”

  Charlie came in and pecked Carol on the cheek. “Ouch, that looks painful. What cake did you get me?”

  “Charlie! Don’t be so rude.”

  Carol waved away Lorne’s reprimand. “Leave the child alone. I know I was always thinking of my stomach when I was her age.” She looked down at her protruding stomach and grinned. “I still do, actually. I bought you a coffee éclair, dear.”

  “Cool. I haven’t had one of those since…‌oh yeah, since the last time you visited.”

  They all laughed again.

  “Oops, sorry to be so predictable.” Carol blushed.

  Charlie stepped forward and hugged her. “I’m only teasing. With Tony not here, I have to find another target to wind up.”

  Carol looked over at Lorne. “Tony is going to be fine. There’s no need to worry on that front.”

  “That’s a relief. Obviously, I’ve been out of my mind with worry, especially after what happened with Dad.”

  “I know. Honestly, the hospital will sort him out in the next few days and return him to you as good as new.”

  Charlie sniggered. “You make him sound like a broken-down car. ‘Gentlemen, we have the technology to rebuild this man.’ Isn’t that what they used to say in that programme Tony’s always on about? The Six Million Dollar Man or something weird like that?”

  Carol gasped. “Gosh, I used to watch that as a child. How on earth would any of you know about it?”

  “The Internet, I guess. Tony was doing some research into prosthetics one day and stumbled across a company with that quote, I seem to remember. I think he had a vision of being recreated to have superhuman powers.”

  “Bless him. Well, that certainly isn’t about to happen any day soon,” Carol informed them.

  They all helped to get the rest of the lunch ready, then after it was over, Charlie left the kitchen to put Rusty through his daily agility practice.

  Carol smiled at Lorne. “His new role is going to be far better suited to him.”

  “Rusty, you mean?”

  “Yes. It’s going to break Charlie’s heart in the short term, but the man who made the enquiry about the dog will invite her, and you, down to the training centre to see how he’s settled down. Rusty and the other two dogs will be awarded medals in the near future. You mark my words.”

  “Medals? As in for bravery?”

  “Of one sort, yes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are different roles these dogs can play, aren’t there?”

  Lorne turned her half-full mug of coffee on the table. “Jeff said that Rusty and the others might become drugs dogs, working with the police, or be sent out to join the bomb disposal unit in war zones such as Afghanistan.”

  “I see him doing the former option myself. I’d hate the thought of Rusty going abroad. I know the dogs do an invaluable job out there, but aren’t they being targeted more by the rebels? I think that’s what I heard anyway.”

  “I hope you’re right. Hey, you mentioned that you’d had a vision about the case I’m working on. Care to give me a clue?”

  “It’s not one hundred per cent clear, kind of muddled in places. However, I wanted to make you aware of the situation, what you could be dealing with.”

  “Sounds intriguing. Go on.”

  “At the moment, I can’t tell if there have been two or three victims. It’s kind of confusing me a little.”

  Lorne waited for Carol to reveal her vision fully before she offered up any information. Both of them liked to work that way. It meant, what Carol was telling her couldn’t be influenced by Lorne denying or agreeing with any of Carol’s revelations.

  Carol continued relaying the information her vision had revealed. “Of the two or three victims, the only thing I’m totally sure about is that one is a female, and one is a male. If that’s right, then that is what has been totally bamboozling me. Isn’t it unusual to have victims of different genders, especially if we’re talking about a serial killer?”

  Lorne shrugged. “It depends. Not unheard of, by any means. Anything else?”

  Carol closed her eyes and began rocking back and forth in her chair. “A river. A restaurant. A high-rise building. A dingy flat. An office.” Carol paused, and the intensity of her rocking increased significantly. “Two people. A man and a woman. Why am I getting the names Hindley and Brady?
”

  “I’m not sure.” Lorne thought over Carol’s suggestion for a second or two. “My God, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady?” She shook her head vehemently. “No. They were notorious child killers back in the sixties. Nothing about this case points to any similarities to them, nothing.”

  “I’m just telling you what I’m seeing. We’ll see if it makes any sense at the end of your investigation.”

  Lorne rushed into the lounge to fetch her pen and paper. She should have done so right at the beginning, before Carol started talking. Returning to the kitchen, she jotted down anything significant Carol had said. At the very top of the list, she wrote Hindley and Brady and underlined it three times.

  “Is that all?”

  Carol smiled and relaxed back in her chair. “Isn’t that enough?”

  No, nowhere near enough information. There’s very little to go on here. Lorne knew that Carol’s skills would come through more as the case developed. She decided to ring Katy later and run everything past her to see what they could come up with between them. “I’m greedy.”

  “What will you do now?”

  “I have to ring Katy later. I’ll run this little lot past her then. She’s going through one of her exams this morning.” Lorne looked up at the clock on the wall. “What am I talking about? She’s finished her exam by now. Let’s hope everything has gone well.”

  “You worry too much. That girl will get higher in the force than you did, Lorne. I can guarantee that much.” Carol tapped her nose with her finger and winked. “It’s not what you know, but who you know that really counts, isn’t it?”

  Lorne chewed the inside of her mouth. Right from the minute Katy had joined the force, she had been fast-tracked because her parents were friends with a very high-ranking officer. At first, Lorne had taken exception to that fact, but the more she got to know Katy, the more she had learnt to accept that Katy was worthy of any promotion or success heading her way. The force couldn’t wish for a more conscientious officer. In her time with the Met, Lorne had felt the brunt of the male chauvinism running through the force. Thankfully, Katy had only been subjected to a third of what Lorne had been forced to contend with. Yes, Katy had been suspended for hitting a prisoner, where a male officer in the same position would have received a slapped wrist, but since that incident, things had changed significantly in Katy’s favour.

  She felt Carol’s hand on top of hers. “No need to feel envious, love.”

  “I’m not. Truly, I’m not. I’m really pleased for Katy. It’s just galling that I had to put up with such shit when I was DI. Maybe if things had been different, I wouldn’t have put Tom and Charlie through hell. Perhaps I would still be married to Tom now.” Lorne shuddered at the thought.

  Carol laughed. “You know that wouldn’t have been the outcome. Yours and Tom’s marriage was doomed from the start. I’m surprised you lasted that long, really.” Carol patted Lorne’s hand again. “Anyway, if you and Tom had stayed together, you wouldn’t have met and married Tony, would you now?”

  “There is that. I’m far happier with Tony than I can ever remember being with Tom.”

  “They’re chalk and cheese, love. Yes, they’re both handsome devils, but it’s inside that matters, and Tony will always come out on top. Even though he was a paid assassin.”

  “Carol! He was not. He was an MI6 agent, dealing with the most ruthless criminals intent on destroying the UK.”

  “Yeah, I know, but he was still an assassin until the Taliban left their ugly mark on him.”

  “Actually, you’re probably right. The Taliban could have killed him rather than cut his leg off.”

  “Yeah, but this way, he has to live with the injury daily. That’s the worst torture they could have meted out to him, if you really think about it. The pain from the whipping he endured would soon be forgotten in their eyes. Yet to cut a man’s leg off…”

  Lorne nodded thoughtfully. She hadn’t really thought about that angle before. Carol never ceased to amaze her with her perceptions on life. She was a truly remarkable individual in more ways than one.

  Carol grew tired quickly, as she always did once she started to reveal a vision, so she made her excuses and left around two in the afternoon. Lorne saw her friend off and then wandered over to the paddock to watch Charlie and Rusty going through their routine. Breaking up the dynamic duo would be hard, but after what Carol had said, it would be even harder not to. If this gifted dog’s abilities would turn out to save thousands of lives, then it would be impossible not to hand Rusty and the other dogs over to Jeff.

  Slowly, Lorne turned and headed back into the house. The phone was ringing when she pushed open the back door. She ran into the lounge to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Lorne, it’s me.”

  By the sound of Katy’s voice, Lorne knew to expect the worst. She flopped down onto the sofa. “Go on. What’s up, Katy?”

  “We’ve got another one.”

  “Another body? In the same area?”

  “Yep. All the indications are that the girl was on a first date with the guy at a restaurant.”

  “Damn. Could anyone identify the guy? In a line-up perhaps?”

  “We’re not sure. I’m going down to the scene this afternoon.”

  Before Katy had a chance to finish her sentence, Lorne piped up, “Can I come?”

  On the other end of the line, Katy hesitated, then said, “Why not? Let me clear things around here with Roberts first. I’m sure he’ll be okay with you tagging along.”

  “That’s great. Shall I meet you at the station?”

  “If you like. Give me half an hour?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you then.” Lorne hung up and dashed upstairs to change quickly. On the way back down, she hit her thigh with a clenched fist. Bugger, I didn’t ask her how the exam went. “Come on, boy. Let’s go see Charlie.”

  Henry ran ahead of her towards the paddock. “Charlie, I have to pop out for a while. Can you man the phone et cetera while I’m gone?”

  “Sure. Nothing bad, I hope?”

  “No, nothing to worry about, love. Can you let Henry in with you?”

  Charlie skipped over to the paddock gate and opened it to let Henry in. She bent down to kiss the top of his head. “Now you sit there like a good dog. Watch and learn.”

  Lorne smiled and waved, then drove to the station.

  • • •

  Katy was just coming down the steps of the station when Lorne pulled into the car park. “We’ll go in my car.” Katy pointed where Lorne should park her car.

  After parking, Lorne jumped out of her car and in the passenger’s seat beside Katy. “Sorry, hon.”

  “What are you sorry for?”

  “I should’ve asked how the exam went.”

  “Don’t be silly. It went okay, nothing to shout home about. We’ll see what the outcome is in a few weeks. How’s Tony?”

  “He seems a little better, according to the nurse. I’ll see for myself when I visit him tonight.”

  Lorne spent the rest of the journey listening to Katy tell bizarre anecdotes about what the members of her team had got up to lately. Most both annoyed her and made her despair at times. Lorne couldn’t help thinking that she was better off being out of the force. Katy’s frustrations with her young team would tell on her in a few months, if she didn’t nip it in the bud right away.

  Crime-scene tape surrounded the exterior of the restaurant when they arrived. Katy showed her warrant card to the uniformed officer and introduced Lorne as her guest and an advisor on the case.

  They entered the restaurant to find a young brunette turning ordinary fabric serviettes into fancy fan shapes. She looked up at them with a sad expression. “Can I help you?”

  Katy flashed her warrant card and introduced herself again. “Is it possible to speak to the manager or owner of the restaurant?”

  “Mr. Clement is in his office. I’ll just go and get him for you.”

  The brunette returned with a s
martly dressed man in his early fifties shortly after.

  “Can I help you?” Mr. Clement eyed them curiously.

  “I’d like to go over what happened here last night. Were you on duty?”

  The man nodded and motioned for Lorne and Katy to take a seat. He sank into the chair opposite them. “Regrettably, yes. A shocking incident. Truly shocking.”

  “Did you know the girl who was found dead? Was she a regular here?”

  “No. We spoke about this earlier and last night. Neither the staff nor myself recognised her at all.”

  “My colleagues tell me that she was here with a man. Did you recognise him?”

  “No. Never seen him before, either.”

  “I don’t suppose you have any form of cameras installed on the premises?” Katy asked, scanning the walls and ceiling.

  “No. We’ve had no need for them in the past.”

  “Maybe you should consider having them installed in the future. Can you tell us exactly what your staff saw?”

  “I was a little distracted around the time the couple left. We had a woman trying to blag her way out of paying for the bill.”

  “Do you get many people trying to do that?” Katy asked.

  “Occasionally. Anyway, I wasn’t in the mood for any shenanigans. I put her to work in the kitchen doing the washing up.”

  Lorne and Katy glanced at each other and smiled.

  The man frowned as he thought things over. “Thinking about it, she was one of the first people to find the body, her and the guy she was working alongside. They were emptying the bins in the skip out back. Danny was the one who tripped over the body. He came tearing through the kitchen, screaming. The woman just stood there in a daze. I guess it must have been shock.”

  “We’ll need to speak to Danny and this woman. Do you have an address for her?”