by El Edwards
When Grace and I had visited Beverly’s street on Saturday, parking had been a nightmare but this time the road looked deserted. I left my car outside Beverly’s house and knocked on her neighbour’s door, two houses down. No-one had been home when I knocked on Saturday and after listening to a dog barking next door for almost a full minute, I was about to give up again. As I turned to try next door, movement from behind the glass door caught my attention and I knocked one more time. The outline of a figure appeared behind the glass and when the door was finally opened, I understood why it had taken so long for my knock to be answered. The lady standing in front of me was about my age but her face looked almost grey.
I held out one of my business cards. “My name’s Charlie Diamond. I’m helping one of your neighbours, Beverly? Her dog’s gone missing.”
The lady smiled but when she spoke it was clear she was in pain. “Do you want to come in? Probably easier.”
Without waiting for an answer she turned and slowly edged her way along the corridor from her front door. I stepped into her home, closed the door behind me, and followed her into a sitting room. She gestured to a sofa and I sat down, waiting while she made herself comfortable on a chair opposite.
I watched as she took an oxygen tube from the side of her chair. When she was all hooked up she smiled again. “Sorry, I can’t stand for long, especially not without this.” She gestured to the tank tucked away at the side of her chair. “Now you were saying something about Tortoise?”
“You know about the dog then?” Relief flooded my body as she nodded her head. Hers was the first positive reaction I’d had.
“I used to go round there, before I got sick. You know she can’t be left alone for too long?”
“Why not?” I’d always thought of sausage dogs as being quite low maintenance pets, it wasn’t like they’d need a lot of walking, so this was news to me.
She smiled. “Poor old girl, if she’s on her own too long she gets anxious. That’s why they’re better in pairs.”
“But Tortoise lives alone?”
The lady nodded. “Ever since the other one died. Before I moved here so I don’t know much about it. I’m Claire, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you Claire.” I stood up and shook her hand. “When did you last see Tortoise?”
“It’s been ages now, probably six months, maybe a bit more.”
“And Beverly? Do you see her much?”
“Oh yes, she pops in here a couple of times a week. Brings me bits and bobs from the shop. She’s so kind.”
“She told you her suspicions about the dog’s disappearance?”
Claire nodded. “Why would someone do something like that? Beverly wouldn’t hurt a fly, it’s so cruel.”
“I’m afraid your guess is as good as mine.” I felt myself hesitating. “You believe her then? That she’s been stolen.”
“Of course.” Realisation flashed across her face. “You don’t? Why not?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m just trying to explore all possible angles. Any chance she could have accidentally wandered off?”
“No way!” Claire shook her head emphatically. “Beverly adores Tortoise. Someone’s taken her. I just know it.”
Something about the way Claire spoke registered in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was yet but I was starting to get an inkling that maybe Rob was right and there was more to this missing dog than I’d been led to believe.
FOUR
After thanking Claire for her time and leaving her my card in case she heard anything about Tortoise, I knocked on Beverly’s door. She wasn’t a paying client but I wanted to keep her updated, even if I was currently drawing a blank. It had only been a couple of days but I loved to get an early break. The current dead ends were frustrating and I needed Beverly to know I was doing all I could. I also wanted to know more about their day to day routine. With Beverly out at work and Tortoise unable to be left alone for long, there had to be someone else helping to look after her elusive pet.
I knocked on Beverly’s door but there was no answer. After knocking a second time and with still no response, I decided to wander round the back. The side gate was locked so I climbed on the wall and peeked over. Online research had told me dachshunds liked to burrow so I’d expected Beverly’s garden to be a mess but hers was immaculate. It was possible she had an area for the dog round the other side out of sight but there was nothing about her setup that screamed “sausage dog” to the casual observer. When I’d spoken to Beverly’s next door neighbour on Saturday, she hadn’t even known Beverly had a dog. Her garden wasn’t overlooked. If Tortoise had been stolen, this had to have been planned.
It was time to speak to Beverly again. She wasn’t home so I decided to try her in the charity shop. She seemed to love her job so it wouldn’t surprise me to find her there. Having got myself a parking space I decided to leave the car where it was and head to the shop on foot. It was a warm day and the fresh air would do me good. As I walked I tried to imagine the route the dog might have taken, if she had in fact escaped, but it was impossible to guess. Besides, this was a close-knit community. Even if no-one had known about Tortoise, I liked to think someone would have handed a wandering dog into the police or local vet.
The bell above the shop door rang as I opened it and the two ladies inside turned to look at me. Beverly had told me she had a whole crew of different helpers every day of the week. I held out my card.
“Charlie Diamond, I’m here to see Beverly if she’s around?”
One of the ladies took the card and looked at it. “Charlie Diamond, private investigator. Oooh, what’s she been up to now?” She leaned in and spoke in a whisper. “Have you been tailing her?”
I laughed. “No, nothing like that. I’m helping her find her dog.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “She’s out the back. Show Charlie the way would you Jill?”
I followed Jill as she led me through the shop and out into the storage room at the back.
“Bev love? Someone here to see you. It’s your investigator.” She turned to me. “Go in, she won’t be a minute.”
I did as I was told and walked into Beverly’s kingdom. Judging by the bags littering the floor near the door, they’d just recently had a donation. Cuddly toys, if the outline in the bags were anything to go by. When I’d first met Beverly I’d been blown away by her attention to detail and ability to create order from apparent chaos. I knew it wouldn’t be long before order was restored.
“Beverly?” I called out as I walked in but she didn’t reply. The sound of a flush coming from the belly of the building gave her away and I waited, expecting her to appear any minute.
“Hi Charlie!” She smiled when she walked in to find me standing in her stock room. “Sorry, have you been here long?”
I shook my head. “Just arrived. Wanted to let you know that I’ve spoken to a few of your neighbours. It’s not good news I’m afraid. No-one’s seen her.”
I watched as her face, which was usually calm and composed, collapsed. She sunk into a chair and buried her face in her hands.
“I’m sorry.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m not giving up though.”
She lifted her head slightly and gave me a watery smile. “What will you do now?”
“Keep looking. Someone must have seen something.” I hesitated, not sure if she was up to too much questioning. “I wanted to ask you about Tortoise’s routine. She liked to play outside?”
“In the summer, but right now she’s indoors. Or, she was.” Beverly’s eyes filled with tears.
“You mean she was stolen from your house?”
Beverly nodded.
“You didn’t mention that. If you think someone’s been inside your house, that’s important.” I sighed and spoke more softly. “I wish you’d told me.”
“Sorry, I thought you knew. No-one would keep a little dog like Tortoise outside in this weather.”
After mentally cursing
my stupidity for not having asked about the dog’s living arrangements sooner, I decided that late was still better than never. I also knew what I would do next. Rob had told me to let him know about any developments but if he wanted the inside scoop it was time for him to make himself useful.
I smiled at Beverly. “Cheer up, this is actually great news. At least now I have a line of enquiry.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It means it’s time to call in a favour. What time do you finish here?”
“Not ’til about six. I need to close up and then run the hoover around.”
“Perfect! I’ll be outside your house at six sharp.” I turned and started to head towards the door.
“What favour?” When I didn’t reply she called to me again. “Charlie? What favour? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ll see. Six o’clock.”
I skipped off in the direction of Beverly’s house. I had a lot to do between now and then if I was going to keep my promise to Beverly and I knew exactly who was going to help me, whether he liked it or not.
The phone rang just once before he answered. I didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. “Rob? Got a lead.” I gave him Beverly’s address. “Meet me there at five. I’ll explain everything when I see you.”
FIVE
My mind flew into overdrive as I walked back to Beverly’s house. I still had a few hours to kill before Rob arrived but with this tiny hint of a break in the case I felt re-energised. For the second time that day I knocked on Claire’s front door and waited. This time I only knocked once, knowing that it would take Claire a few minutes to get to me, and my patience was rewarded with a smile.
“Charlie! Back so soon? Are you coming in?”
I followed her back into her sitting room and waited while she hooked herself up to her oxygen supply. It took all my self-control to wait and when she eventually turned her attention back to me, I could barely contain my excitement.
“The dog lives inside at the moment doesn’t she? Because it’s so cold?”
Claire nodded. “That’s right. Beverly’s got a lovely space set up for her. Have you seen it?”
“Not yet. She’s promised to show me around when she gets back from work later.”
“You’ll love it. It’s very impressive.”
“Sounds great. Tell me Claire, do you spend a lot of time in this room?”
She smiled. “I’m afraid so.” She gestured to the window. “At least the view’s not too shabby.”
I had to admit that, as street views went, I’d definitely seen worse. “Is it a busy street? Lots of people coming and going?”
“It’s not too bad. Busier at rush hour I guess.” She gave me a look. “Why’d you ask?”
I shrugged. “Just making conversation really.”
“Ha! I don’t believe that for one second Charlie Diamond. You’re sniffing for information. I can tell.”
I felt a giggle rise and catch in my throat. “Maybe I am.” There was something refreshing about Claire’s directness.
“What do you want to know?”
“How about I make us both a cuppa first? Kitchen through here is it?” I stood up and started heading for the door.
“Wait!” Claire’s tone was sharp. “Tell me what you want to know first.” She smiled. “And then we can make the tea.”
I sat down again and took a deep breath. “Have you seen anyone hanging about? Maybe a car you don’t recognise or someone wandering around?”
“Thank you.” She stood up and unhooked herself from the oxygen supply. “This way.”
Before I could say any more, she’d left the room and I was forced to hurry to catch up to her. When we arrived in her kitchen I watched as she hooked herself up to an oxygen tank on a little trolly then she filled the kettle.
“Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee please. Milk, no sugar.”
She bustled around the kitchen gathering mugs and a teaspoon. “Pass the milk would you?” She gestured behind me where a large American style fridge stood.
I did as I was told and passed her the milk.
“Thanks.” She poured milk into the two mugs. “There was a man. But I wouldn’t exactly call him suspicious.”
“Oh?”
“More like ‘drop-dead gorgeous’ actually.”
“Oh.” I waited but she didn’t elaborate. “How old?”
“Dunno, late forties maybe. Hard to say. You know how George Clooney has that ageless quality that makes him sexy even though he’s old enough to be your dad?”
“I’m certain George Clooney isn’t old enough to be my dad.” I smiled. “But I know what you mean.” A thought occurred to me. “Did you ever see him visit Beverly?” I watched as colour flooded Claire’s cheeks. Oh Beverly, you saucy minx! It was obvious from Claire’s reaction that Beverly and I had a lot more than just her dog to talk about. I couldn’t wait.
A couple of hours later I was outside Beverly’s house again waiting for Rob. Claire hadn’t been able to tell me any more about Beverly’s mystery visitor, other than that he arrived at very random times. Despite my probing, Claire wouldn’t be drawn on the nature of the man’s visits but she confirmed that she’d seen no-one else hanging around and the only cars that parked on the street tended to be her neighbours or the occasional delivery driver.
I glanced at the time on my phone as Rob pulled up. “You’re late.”
“Nice to see you too.” He unlocked the passenger door. “You getting in?”
It had started to drizzle and Beverly wasn’t due home until after six so I climbed in. “You owe me a coffee!”
“Sorry Charlie. Work. You know how it is.”
I did know how it was. I also knew when he was being evasive. “Anything you can tell me about?”
He shook his head. “Not a lot to tell. Got a few jobs on and one of the boys wanted me to go with him to lean on a scroat.”
“Sounds like an excuse straight out of NYPD Blue.” I laughed. “What really happened?”
“Shit Charlie. Why can’t you just accept it when I tell you it was a work thing? Why does everything have to be shrouded in conspiracy?”
“Woah, calm down Rob. I was only teasing.” It wasn’t like him to overreact.
“What did you want anyway? You said you had a lead?”
I nodded and gave Rob what I hoped was my most winning smile. “I do. What would you say if I told you our missing dog had gone missing from inside a locked house?”
“She wasn’t out in the garden?”
“Nope. Too cold.”
“Damn!” He rubbed his temples. “Our boys just assumed …”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, I did the same.”
“I take it she’s searched the house? The dog couldn’t have got stuck inside somewhere?”
“They like to burrow but no, I don’t think in the house.”
“Any signs of a forced entry? Finger prints?”
“None that she mentioned. But that’s why you’re here. I was hoping you’d take a look around, give the place the once over with your expert eye.”
“I should probably get a couple of the boys down here.”
“You’d do that?” Rob was usually reluctant to get his colleagues involved in my investigations.
“Of course. She came to us first. We have a certain duty of care, even if it is only a missing dog.”
“Stolen dog,” I reminded him.
He smiled. “Okay, sorry, suspected stolen dog. They should be finishing soon but one of the boys owes me a favour.”
He picked up his phone and I listened as he gave Beverly’s address to the person at the other end of the line. As he spoke I felt a niggle return to my insides. Rob was being very helpful. Too helpful? whispered a voice in my head. I had to trust him, he was my friend, but he was a police detective first and I knew where his loyalties lay if it was a choice between me and the job. I returned Rob’s smile and did my best to quieten the vo
ices in my head.
SIX
As Rob’s reinforcements arrived, I saw Beverly walking along the street towards us. They’d need to be fully briefed so I left Rob explaining the case to his men while I headed up the street to greet Beverly. She looked from me to the police vehicle parked in front of her house and visibly paled.
“What’s going on? Is this your favour?”
“Rob, the man in the jeans?” I pointed in his direction. “He’s the favour. He often helps me out with cases.”
“Police?”
I nodded.
“He’s not in uniform so I wasn’t sure. And the other two?”
“His colleagues. When I told him that Tortoise had been stolen from inside the house he insisted.”
“Oh, I guess that’s good then.” She smiled. “They didn’t seem very interested before.” She nodded towards the house. “Shall we go in?”
I followed Beverly into the house with Rob trailing behind at a distance.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” Beverly asked.
“That would be lovely. Can I introduce you to Rob first?” I knew Rob would be itching to poke around the house but to do so without first meeting the home owner would be just plain rude. “Rob, this is Beverly. Beverly, Rob.”
They shook hands.
“Good to meet you Beverly,” Rob said. “Would it be alright if myself and the lads took a look around? Dust for prints, that kind of thing.”
“Of course. Let me know if you need anything.”
We watched as Rob directed his men through to the dining room then headed in the direction of the kitchen. With the tea made we sat at the breakfast bar in Beverly’s kitchen and made small talk about her day. What I really wanted to ask her about was her handsome mystery man but I didn’t want to spook her by revealing my hand too soon.
“I met one of your neighbours earlier, Claire?”
Beverly nodded. “Lovely girl. Such a shame.”
“What’s wrong with her? I didn’t like to ask.”