by El Edwards
“And you’re investigating the hotel? Don’t fancy your chances. It’s been empty for years.”
I shook my head. “I’m not exactly sure to be honest. Just following a hunch I guess.”
“Oh?”
There was something about the woman in front of me that forced me to confide in her, even if she’d only laugh at me. “I’m looking for a sausage dog. A bit of a favour really.”
“Another favour? You want to stop with that. Can’t pay the bills with favours, can you?”
“I do alright, don’t worry.” I shrugged. “What do you know about that place?”
“Nothing at all. I went to a few dances there, years ago, before Mr Williams passed, but I’m not sure there’s anything doing with it now.”
“I saw a couple of cars up there earlier. On my way here actually.”
“Seems like a long shot to me, not that I’d really know, but if I were you I’d tell your friend you tried but the animal’s gone.”
Her words felt like a punch to the gut. I knew, logically, that she was probably right but I was a stubborn ass. I hated to give up, even when it all seemed hopeless. I liked to think that was what made me such a great investigator. If I just kept picking at the pieces for long enough, chipping away, one of them had to give.
“Have you asked at the paper? They probably have archives.”
“Not yet. But that’s a great idea. Thanks!”
I finished my coffee, thanked Mrs Williams again for her help, reminding her to call me if she needed a plumber, and headed back to the van. After storing my bag of tools safely in the back I checked my phone again for a message from Rob. Nothing. I dialled into my voicemail in case he’d rung and left a message but the only message was an old one from my mother reminding me to call her. I dialled Rob’s mobile again but there was no answer. I was about to hang up when I heard a voice on the other end.
“Hello, Rob’s phone.”
It was a woman’s voice and the overly familiar tone made my tummy jolt with something I didn’t like. “Um, hi, could I speak to Rob please?”
“Sorry, he’s at a press briefing. Can I take a message?”
“No message. If you could ask him to ring me back though, that would be great.”
“And you are?”
“Charlie, Charlie Diamond.”
“Ah, he said you might ring Ms Diamond.”
“And?” I didn’t like the tone with which she said my name.
“I’ll ask him to call you at his earliest convenience.”
Before I could reply the line went dead.
SIXTEEN
I threw the van into gear and pulled away from Mrs Williams’s house with a screech of tyres. I could hear the blood thundering in my ears. I didn’t know who the woman on the other end of the phone had been but I didn’t appreciate her tone one bit. I also didn’t trust her to tell Rob I’d called so I decided that as soon as I stopped the van I’d send him a text message. If she still had his phone she’d be able to delete it of course, but just putting it out there would make me feel better. As I drove I thought about my next course of action. I needed the list from Rob before I could talk to the owners of the micro-pigs. The suggestion from Mrs Williams to speak to the local paper was also an excellent one. First though, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.
I pulled the van to a gentle stop at the side of the road and sent Rob a message telling him where I was and insisting he please phone me back as soon as he saw my message. Request delivered, I got out of the van. I looked up and could see the hotel in the distance up on the hill. The cars I’d spotted earlier had gone but I wasn’t going to let that put me off any longer. If this place held secrets or clues, I was determined to discover them and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
As I walked up the hill I listened for voices but the only sound came from the birds in the trees. My overactive imagination wanted to pretend they were calling out a warning but I knew that was all in my head. They were simply birds enjoying the first warmth of spring. A few minutes later and the dilapidated hotel loomed into view. The stench from the other day was still in the air, but fainter than before. I cursed Rob and his non-existent sense of smell. I needed someone to tell me why that scent was so familiar but he would be no help at all. After listening once more for voices or any sound to suggest inhabitants, I crept up to the front window and tried to peer in. The windows were set back from the building and too high even for tiptoes so I wandered around to the back of the building, listening as I walked.
The back door had two little panes of glass but they were too covered in grime to let me see anything. I tried the door handle but it was locked. I bunched my fist into my coat, raised my hand, and was about to punch the glass in when my phone burst into life.
With my heart still thundering in my chest, I reached into my pocket and glanced at the screen. Rob. As I answered the phone I headed back down the drive, reluctant to be caught should one of the cars show up.
“About bloody time too!” I said by way of a greeting. “And since when do you leave your phone with random women?”
“She wasn't a random woman, that was Jan, one of my colleagues. Not jealous were you?” He sounded like he was smiling.
“Not likely. Where's my list?”
“About that …” He hesitated. “There's been a few developments.”
“And?”
“And I need you to drop the case.”
“No chance! Your lot aren't interested in a missing dog. What's really going on?”
“I need you to trust me Charlie.”
“Trust you? When all you’ve done is given me the run around?” I could feel myself getting angry. He’d known I was waiting on that list, that it was my next line of enquiry, and instead of just being honest and saying no, he’d let me believe he could help.
“Look it’s complicated. I have people breathing down my neck. If I could give you that list you know I would.”
“I don’t know any such thing! Be honest, just for once, and tell me why your lot are suddenly so interested in a few missing pets.”
“I can’t.” I heard him sigh.
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Can’t. Hang on, I need to step outside.”
He put his hand over the phone and I listened as he made his excuses to whoever was with him in the room. A minute or so later he came back on the line.
“Look Charlie, I like to think you and I are friends. We’re good together, help each other out. And you know I do everything I can within the law to get you the information you need, sometimes skirting on the very edge of the law. That stuff with Abigail, if the bosses had found out about that, I’d have lost my job.”
“Why’s this so different? What aren’t you telling me?” I couldn’t keep the frustration out of my voice.
He paused and when he spoke his voice came out like a whisper. “It’s dangerous.”
“Ha! Since when did that bother me?”
“It might not bother you, but it bothers me, very much. You think I want to have to identify you in a morgue because I’ve let you stumble into something fatal?”
“It won’t come to that.”
“You don’t know that! This is serious Charlie. We’re dealing with some not very nice people, people who would think nothing of putting a bullet in your head if you were caught snooping around.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. This was a small town in South Wales, not the Big Apple. I knew I had a vivid imagination but Rob had clearly swallowed something a bit dodgy.
“It’s not funny Charlie. I mean it. Drop the case before you get yourself killed.”
“And what do I tell Beverly? She loves that dog.”
“Tell her you’ve passed her case back to the police. We will find the dog, probably, but it’s not worth getting yourself killed over a damn animal!”
Before I could reply, a bird squawked.
“Where are you?” Rob asked. “Please tell me you’re not at that bloody hotel a
gain?”
I didn’t answer.
“You are, aren’t you? Charlie, get yourself out of there right now. It’s not safe.”
SEVENTEEN
I wanted to tell Rob to sod off, to ignore his words and go back to my fist through the door pane routine but, as stubborn as I knew I could be, I wasn’t a complete idiot. If nothing else, I had to proceed with a little caution. I didn’t put it past Rob to send someone in uniform up here, just to make sure I wasn’t hanging around. The last thing I needed right now was to waste time being hauled into the nick for breaking and entering. I also didn’t want to get caught in here by whoever had been driving those cars. If Rob wasn’t going to help me I’d have to find someone who would but first I needed to get all the facts.
Rob hadn’t told me why those missing animals were suddenly so critical but I felt certain they held the key to what all this had to do with the hotel. With the list from Rob now nothing more than a distant memory, I decided to go back to Beverly and the other ladies in the charity shop. Jill had known about the pigs disappearing, I just had to hope she’d know who they’d belonged to. Two days ago I’d been quite content to drop this case but the more Rob refused to tell me, the more determined I was to get to the bottom of things. This was about more than a missing dog. After all, who would risk her life for a someone else’s dog? That would be madness. No, I decided, this was about honesty and never giving up, no matter what.
My phone pinged to signal a text message. I looked at the screen, saw it was from Rob, and ignored it. Instead, I walked back down the hill and into town, crossing my fingers that May and Jill hadn’t chosen today to knock off early.
The little bell over the door signalled my arrival and I was greeted by a smiling Beverly. The rest of the shop was deserted. May and Jill were nowhere to be seen.
“I didn’t expect to see you again today Charlie. Everything okay? You look a bit flushed.”
“What? Oh sorry, yep, everything’s fine. Just been rushing around. It’s actually Jill I came to see. I was hoping she might know more about those pigs she mentioned.”
“You’ve just missed her. Won’t be long though, she’s just popped to the post office. Would you like a cuppa while you wait?”
I groaned inwardly. All I wanted was to get the information and crack on with my enquires. All the waiting around was starting to get on my nerves. I knew that while I waited, Rob and his colleagues would be busy with their investigation. I wanted to get there first, not drink more tea.
Patience Charlie, I reminded myself. If there was one thing I’d always prided myself on, it was my ability to play the long game. Now was not the time to change that. I turned to Beverly. “Tea would be lovely, thank you.”
By the time Beverly had made the tea, pausing to tell me about some of the treasures she’d had donated that day, the bell rang signalling Jill’s return. I took a couple of big sips of tea before following Beverly back out into the main part of the shop.
“Oh hello Charlie. What are you doing here?”
“She came to talk to you Jill,” Beverly explained. “Sit down, I’ll get you a cuppa. Do you want a chocolate hobnob?”
“Please.” She sat on a little stool behind the till. “And what can I do for you?”
“It’s about those pigs you mentioned. My contact fell through so I’m back to knocking on doors. Don’t suppose you know any of the owners?”
“You’re in luck. My old man was saying just yesterday that Bill, the chap that lives a couple of streets over from us, was down the pub drowning his sorrows.”
“Really? That’s brilliant Jill! Thank you! Do you think he’d talk to me? I mean, if he’s very upset, I don’t want to make it worse but …”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to. That little runt was his pride and joy, took her to all the shows. If there’s one thing that fella likes, it’s talking about his woes.”
“Brilliant! I mean, I’m sorry for his loss, but …”
Jill smiled. “I know what you mean.” I watched as she wrote his name and address on a piece of till roll. “You know, that gives me an idea.”
“Go on?”
“I guess it depends how many of them you want to talk to of course but, what about an ad, the paper? The local rag’s very popular.”
I thought about Jill’s suggestion for a minute. An ad wouldn’t be cheap but if it meant I solved the case before the police and got all those animals home safely, that would be great publicity. If I could find a few missing pets, no-one would doubt my ability to find a missing person ever again.
My thoughts were interrupted by Jill’s voice. “Probably wouldn’t be that expensive either. Might even give you a discount if you tell them you’re doing it as a favour.”
“Or if they made it into a story. That would be free.”
“A story? Like a feature piece?”
“Sure, why not?”
My brain was galloping at one hundred miles an hour. If I gave them the right angle, explained what a beloved pet she was, they’d go for that wouldn’t they? And more people would read a story than an advert too. Excitement tingled through my body and I mentally congratulated myself for my brilliance. I swatted away Rob’s warning about how dangerous this case had become. I didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into but all I was doing was helping reunite a few nice people with their pets. There was nothing dangerous or untoward about that and if Rob and his cronies wanted to think otherwise, that was their problem, wasn’t it?
EIGHTEEN
The address Jill had given me was for a small house on the outskirts of town. Much like Mrs Williams’s home, it was a terraced house with a small patch of grass at the front. I tried to imagine a small pig running around on the grass, because I couldn’t think where else such an animal might exercise. This part of town was a little more neglected-looking than either Mrs Williams or Beverly’s homes. The grass had started to sprout after the winter hiatus and a few weeds were making an appearance in between the cracks in the pavement.
The door was opened by a sprightly looking man. He had to be at least sixty but he had a twinkle in his eye that reminded me of a naughty schoolboy. I handed him one of my cards.
“Bill? I’m Charlie Diamond. Jill in the charity shop gave me your address. Can I come in?”
“Private investigator? How much is this going to cost me?”
“Cost? No, nothing. I just need to ask you a few questions about your missing pig.”
“What about him? I’ve told the police everything I know.” The twinkle had gone and he looked suspicious. “Who sent you?”
I took deep breath, smiled, and explained again about my connection with Jill and her husband.
“So you’re not here about my license?”
“License? I don't know anything about that. I just wanted to hear about his disappearance. There might be a connection with the case I’m working on.”
Having satisfied himself that I wasn’t about to cause him any trouble, Bill invited me in. I followed him into the front room and perched on the edge of his sofa. Glancing around the room I could see no evidence of pig activity. I’d expected a little basket or a blanketed area but the room was empty of all creature comforts.
“I got rid of his stuff when he didn’t come back,” Bill said. “Police said there’s no chance now so I thought it best.”
“I’m sorry to hear that Bill. You think they’ve given up?”
He shrugged. “Guess there’s better things to do than worry about a missing pig. It’s probably for the best.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He was getting pretty big. And I don’t have the garden for him. I used to take him over the allotments, there’s a rough bit of ground there, but he escaped last month and destroyed a load of plants. Hell of a bother I got into with that.” He smiled but I could see tears in his eyes.
“How long had you had him?” I asked.
“About a year. Won him playing cards. The old girl would never have al
lowed it but, nothing to stop me.” He shrugged again.
I couldn’t imagine any reality where a little pig would be the stakes of a bet but I’d been in this game long enough to stop being surprised by the things people will do.
“Who’d you win him from? Local farmer?”
“Nah, just a bloke down the pub. Not seen him since, just passing through I guess. But he was a good little fella that pig, really cute.”
“Jill mentioned you took him to a show?”
Bill’s face lit up. “Just the once, last year. There was a show in London and I ended up there, showing him off. Treated like royalty he was.”
“And he’s registered? Or, he was?”
“Yeah. Me licence needs renewing but I’ve not bothered, what with him being gone and all. I could get another I suppose, now I’m registered to keep ‘em but I just didn’t have the heart for it.”
Other than them living in the same town, I couldn’t see any connection between Jim’s experience and Beverly’s. In their own ways they’d both suffered from their loss but there was nothing to suggest they’d been stolen by the same people.
“You mentioned the allotment. Any chance he escaped, the day he disappeared?”
Bill shook his head. “He was here. I left him sleeping on the sofa, right where you’re sitting in fact. Popped out for the paper and when I came back he’d gone.”
“Any sign of a forced entry?”
Bill’s faced coloured slightly. “Police asked that but it’s hard to say. The lock’s been a bugger for ages. I should have got it fixed I guess but, well you never expect it do you, not around here.”
“But nothing looked like it’d been disturbed? No mess?”
“Look around you girl, you tell me. This place is always a mess. Can’t say if it was any more or any less. Sorry, not been very helpful have I?”
I stood up. “You’ve been great, thanks Bill.” I pointed to my card which he’d put on the table. “You have my number. If you think of anything else, just give me a ring.”