by M A Comley
Ryan appeared at the top of the steps and waved the deeds in front of him. He neglected to see Helen’s outstretched leg and tumbled to the deck at Teagan’s feet. “Oops, how clumsy of you, Helen.”
The sisters chuckled as Teagan withdrew the knife from the back of her skirt and plunged it into Ryan’s neck before he had a chance to get back on his feet.
The blood spurted, pooling rapidly around him. He tried to suppress the wound with his right hand, but the blood oozed quickly through his fingers. “What the fuck? Why, Teagan? Why?”
She answered him by stabbing the knife first in the other side of his neck then several times in his back. “Don’t just sit there, Helen. Gather all the papers.”
Helen appeared to be frozen to the bench, and the colour that had been seeping into her cheeks during their conversation moments earlier had swiftly vanished. She was staring down at her brother-in-law, open mouthed, as he gasped for air and wriggled on the deck like a fish out of water. However, his thrashing soon died down.
A lifetime seemed to pass before Ryan’s body stilled at Teagan’s feet. She placed two fingers on his neck to check for a pulse—and found none.
Teagan clicked her fingers in front of her sister’s shocked face. “Okay, Helen, stay with me. Don’t go melting down just yet. Have you got all the papers?”
Helen nodded, her eyes glued to Ryan’s bloodied, motionless corpse.
“Right. We need to get out of here, sharp.”
Helen shook her head vigorously. “How?”
“We’ll have to take the dinghy. You organise that while I clear up here.”
“‘Clear up’? What do you mean?”
“All right, maybe that was the wrong term. I didn’t intend to say ‘clear up.’ Maybe ‘finish off’ would be appropriate.”
Helen cringed and ran a shaking hand over her face. “I don’t want to know, do I?”
“No, sweetie, you don’t. Just remember him as he used to be, all right?”
Helen rushed down the steps and left Teagan to finish off the task at hand. Stepping over Ryan’s body, she removed the trays of food and drink from the bench and lifted the cushion. “There has to be one in here somewhere. He wouldn’t be so daft not to have any aboard.” She threw the ropes and life jackets aside, revealing the items she was looking for. Picking up the two flares, she punched the air with her fist. “There you are, you beauties.” She leaned over the back of the bench to see Helen struggling to place the dinghy in the water at the stern. “Come on, tug it, Helen. You can do it, girl.”
Helen turned in her direction. Trails of mascara marked either side of her face. “I can’t. I’m too weak to lift it. You’re going to have to help me, Tea.”
For fuck’s sake, woman! Can’t you do anything frigging right? “I’ll be with you in a tick. Let me prepare things up here first. Take a chill pill until then. Stop crying. We’re nearly there.”
“That’s easy for you to say. I never wanted to get mixed up in this shit in the first place.” Helen threw herself against the side of the boat, pouting as she crossed her arms.
Teagan decided to ignore her sister’s childish behaviour and returned to the business at hand. She removed the cap from the two flares and got down on her knees, avoiding Ryan’s pooling blood. She shoved one of the flares in his mouth, keeping the ignition end exposed. Then she went downstairs and into the galley, where she turned on the gas to the cooker and the oven before running back up the steps to Ryan’s body. She picked up their handbags and dipped inside her own to find a lighter. Then she bent over and lit the end of the flare. It sparked into life immediately. She fled the area again, snatched up their shoes on the way, and threw the bags and the shoes into the dinghy. “Help me get it in the water. We don’t have much time.”
“What? What have you done? I thought we were just going to tug up the anchor and let the boat drift out here. Those were Mother’s instructions.”
“Shut the fuck up and get a move on. Now heave!”
Seconds later, they had lowered the dinghy into the water. They hopped aboard, and Teagan instructed Helen to start the motor, which again, she struggled with. “Jesus, do I have to do everything? Get out of the way.” She pulled the starter cord, and the boat’s engine phut phutted into life. Teagan picked up the flare and lit it, much to her sister’s shock.
“No, Teagan. Don’t do that, please—not to Ryan.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? He’s already dead. What does it matter what I do next?” She threw the erupting flare up onto the deck of the boat. Then she took control of the dinghy, directing it towards the shoreline at full pelt. “Keep your head down. She’s going to blow any minute.”
“Why? Why do this, Teagan? I don’t know you anymore.”
Teagan shrugged. “Someone’s got to be ready to step up to the plate when Mum retires.” The explosion drowned out her laughter. Blazing debris missed the dinghy by inches. In the height of the summer, the plan would have been impossible to execute. December was a different story entirely, since most people avoided the beach in the colder weather.
Teagan steered the boat towards Chalkwell Beach at Westcliffe-on-Sea, which was empty. Once the dinghy landed on the rocky shore, Teagan ordered, “Leg it, hon. Keep your shoes off and run as fast as you can.”
“Ouch, the stones are killing my feet.”
“Your frigging constant whinging is killing me. Do you want to get caught? You’re going the right way about it.”
They upped their pace as another small explosion struck Ryan’s cruiser. “There’s a taxi rank in the next road if I remember rightly.”
“Then what? Pick up the car or return to Mum’s?”
“Pick up the car, idiot. No need to get in Mum’s bad books about ditching the car on top of everything else.” A satisfied grin stretched across her lips. Teagan couldn’t believe they’d pulled it off without being seen. I guess not many folks venture down the beach in December. She rubbed the goose bumps emerging on her arms and legs. Again, she cursed the clothes she was wearing. But it had all been worth it in the end.
The taxi driver was a little Chinese man who spoke relatively good English. “Where to, ladies?”
“The Marina at Leigh-on-Sea, please. Make it snappy,” Teagan replied, watching the man raise a questioning eyebrow as he looked at them in his rear-view mirror. She answered him with a raised eyebrow of her own until he shrugged and started the car. She fidgeted with her handbag, and arranged it over the blood splattered across one side of her top, hoping the driver didn’t spot it.
“I’m...” Helen started to speak. Teagan bashed her knee with her own, warning her not to say anything incriminating. Instead Helen folded her arms in annoyance.
When the driver dropped them off, Teagan paid the man without adding a tip, she was tight like that. They rushed back to their car and set off. Both of them expelled a lengthy breath, relieved that they hadn’t been caught. All that was left for them to do now, was deal with the wrath of their mother upon their return.
CHAPTER THREE
Lorne burst into the kitchen, whistling the chorus from I’m So Happy. Everything was going so well in her life lately. It was good to be alive, surrounded by people she loved and admired.
“You’re super chirpy this morning. Any reason?” Tony, her husband, held open his arms to welcome her.
“Just happy. For you, for me, for Charlie now that she has a regular boyfriend in tow.”
“I figured Charlie’s status was the main reason. It is fabulous to see her walking around here with a light heart and a certain spring in her step. I know I’ve told you thousands of times before, but at the risk of repeating myself, I’m going to tell you again anyway. That girl is an absolute credit to you, darling wife of mine.”
“Hey, it’s been a team effort, keeping her on the straight and narrow. I can’t thank you enough for giving her the time to adjust, Tony.”
He pecked the tip of her nose and squeezed her tightly. “Nonsense
! We’ve all been forced to make adjustments over the past few years, what with me having to get used to this thing.” He stretched out his prosthetic leg.
“Talking of which, have you had any pain lately?”
“A few niggles, but nothing a butch ex-MI6 agent can’t handle.”
Lorne laughed. “What’s on your agenda today?”
He screwed up his nose. “Nothing much. The PI business is relatively quiet at the moment. Must be the time of year, what with Christmas approaching faster than a speeding bullet. I thought I’d give Charlie a hand today, cleaning out the kennels. I know she has an agility class to attend tonight with Sheba.”
Lorne glanced over at the German shepherd sitting on her bed, looking at them with her head cocked. “She’s a treasure, isn’t she? Apparently, she was the top dog in her class last week. Not bad for a dog who someone heartlessly kicked out onto the street, eh?”
“Their loss is our gain. She’s settled in well with us. Mind you, that’s mainly down to Charlie’s training and affection.”
“Yep, she’s a star. Right, I better grab a quick coffee and some toast and then set off for work.”
“Ah, the hectic life of a detective inspector in the Metropolitan Police Force, which never fails to interfere with life’s more pleasant moments.”
Lorne’s brow furrowed. “Why the sarcasm?”
Tony shrugged innocently. “No sarcasm intended. Purely stating facts. Maybe you’re being a little oversensitive?”
She walked over to the toaster, popped two slices of multigrain bread in the slots, and switched on the kettle. “Is Charlie around?”
“Yep, she was up early; another one feeling chirpy this morning. She’s out in the kennels, feeding the dogs.”
“No matter how late she gets in the previous night, she never neglects her duties. Not sure how many youngsters can say they’re capable of doing the same thing these days.”
“She’s twenty-one and no longer a teenager. That must count for something.”
“You reckon? Will you remind me to ring Jade later this evening? She was talking about going to Italy with Luigi and the boys for Christmas. I’m reading that as a huge hint not to forget sorting out a convenient time to exchange presents before their trip.”
Tony looked upset by the news. “Lucky for some. Maybe we could do that one year. Just book a flight and get away from it all.”
“For a start, we don’t have the money, and for another, you’re forgetting I don’t care much for flying.”
“What about a cruise?” Tony asked.
“Seasick.” The toast popped up, and Lorne spread it thickly with marmalade, no butter as she was cutting back on fats, then she poured her coffee in the Thermos cup sitting alongside the kettle. “I’m going to have this en route.” She kissed Tony on the lips and ran out the back door. “Love you, Agent Boy,” she called over her shoulder.
He appeared on the back step and wagged a finger at her. “I thought you promised never to call me that again.”
She placed a finger to her lips. “Did I? Oops, it must have slipped my mind. See you later.”
Shaking his head, Tony turned and walked back into the house as Lorne started the car and headed into London, before the rush-hour traffic had the chance to build up.
Her mood was still buoyant when she breezed into the incident room to find her partner, Katy, and Katy’s fiancé, AJ, already at their desks. “Am I late?” she asked, looking up at the clock on the wall.
“No, I couldn’t sleep, so AJ suggested we come in to work early.”
Lorne cocked her head. “Really? Are you mad?”
AJ shrugged and pointed at Katy’s bulging stomach. “When the little one can’t sleep, he plays up. No point lying there getting wound up because neither of us can get some shut-eye.”
“I can think of better things to do, AJ, than to begin your shift early.” She winked at Katy, whose face had turned pink. “Ha, on second thoughts, if you’d kept it in your trousers in the first place, Katy would probably still be DI instead of me.”
AJ’s mouth dropped open, and Katy burst out laughing. “You tell him, Lorne. I’m fed up of saying it.”
“Oh dear! I didn’t realise it was a touchy subject. I was only teasing, I promise. Any new cases come in over the weekend?” Lorne added, swiftly changing the subject.
“Nothing as yet. It’s still early. I’m tying up the paperwork for the child murder case from a few weeks ago, now the father is sitting in a remand cell.”
“Three cheers on that one. Can’t understand why people have kids if they’re going to kill them at the first sign of trouble. That little boy didn’t stand a chance with a thug like that for a father. Shame on the mother, too, for putting her son in harm’s way. Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now and see what awaits me in the office. Give me a shout if anything crops up.”
Katy and AJ nodded and returned to their tasks. Lorne left them to it and marched into her office. She paused in the doorway and closed her eyes. The briefest whiff of Cool Water aftershave tickled her nostrils as she entered. She smiled endearingly. “Morning, Pete.”
Of course, her deceased partner didn’t answer. He rarely openly made contact with her, just left her clues now and again, letting her know he was around—like the KitKat wrapper she’d found in the back of the taxi when Baldwin’s ex-partner had kidnapped her a few months before. A calmness descended in the wake of troubled waters when she recognised he was near. Her good friend and psychic, Carol, often told her that Pete was always around her, ensuring she was safe even when the odds were stacked firmly against her. That in itself was a source of great comfort to Lorne. She’d loved Pete as a brother and ribbed him constantly about his weight, but she’d loved him all the same.
Midway through tackling her post, Lorne heaved a sigh of relief when the phone interrupted her. She sat back in her chair and answered the call. “Hello, DI Warner. How can I help?”
“Are you busy?”
“Patti? Is that you?” Lorne sat upright when she recognised the local pathologist’s voice.
“Who else would be calling you, standing out in the cold on a soggy December morning?”
Lorne glanced over at her office window, which was splattered with tiny rain droplets. “I hadn’t noticed it was raining. Where are you?”
“Down at Leigh-on-Sea.”
“Dare I ask what you’re doing there?”
“Not really. But I think you should get your arse into gear and get over here ASAP!”
Lorne hitched her jacket off the back of the chair and placed one arm in the sleeve while she stood up. She recognised the seriousness of the situation if Patti was calling her directly from the scene. “I’m on my way. Give me your exact location.”
“The marina. As quick as you can, Lorne. It’s a biggie.” Patti hung up.
Lorne raced into the incident room. “Katy, get your coat on.”
A puzzled-looking Katy rushed over to the coat stand and slipped on her black woollen coat. “Dare I ask what this is about?”
“Your guess is as good as mine until we get there.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The area was cordoned off with tape when Lorne and Katy arrived. Patti waved at them and motioned for them to join her.
“What’s the mystery about, Patti?” Lorne enquired when the pathologist was close enough to hear.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Come with me.” Patti led them to the other end of the car park. A crane was nearby, with what appeared to be a burnt-out boat on the end of its wire.
“A boat?”
“Yes, but not just any old boat. This one had a dead body aboard,” Patti said.
“Okay. Tell me you’re not expecting us to get on that thing,” Lorne said, anxiously surveying the charred vessel.
“You’d have a job. It’s far too brittle for anyone to climb aboard to take a look around.”
“But you’ve been on, yes?” Lorne asked.
Patti nodded. “Yes,
I wanted to examine the body in situ but then realised the dangers and asked two of my men to take pictures of the scene before they transported the body off the vessel.”
Lorne scanned the area for the sheeted remains. “So, where is it?”
“In the boathouse, at the insistence of a kind mechanic. Given the weather conditions, I was relieved to get it under cover. This way.”
They made their way into a huge mechanic’s workshop. Several men nodded hello when Lorne and Katy entered. The body was in a secluded area just inside the door, away from the mechanics’ prying eyes.
Patti crouched and gently pulled back the sheet. Lorne gasped as Katy gagged.
Patti quickly covered the charred remains again. “Sorry, I should have warned you it wasn’t pretty. Maybe, given your delicate condition, you should sit this one out, Katy?”
Lorne urged Katy to back up several feet. “It might be for the best, hon. I’m feeling queasy after seeing that. Lord knows how you must feel. Leave this to me.”
Katy agreed, turning her back on the body, but continued to listen as she paced.
Once Katy had retreated and Lorne had prepared herself for the second reveal, Patti folded back the sheet once more. “So, the boat caught fire out at sea, I take it?”
“Yes, it did. If it was a simple case of this being a suspected accident, I wouldn’t have invited you down here, Lorne.”
“So what are we looking at, Patti? How do you know it isn’t just an accident?”
“How many folks do you know who would be willing to shove a flare in their mouth and set it alight?”
“Umm... someone intent on committing suicide, perhaps?”
“Maybe. Not that I’ve ever seen anything like that used before, I hasten to add. However, that doesn’t explain the wounds to the neck. Here.” Patti pointed to the slits in the scorched flesh.
“How the heck did you spot that? There’s hardly anything left of the head. Oh God, I think I’m going to puke.”
Patti shot to her feet and turned Lorne by the shoulders. “Not over the body, young lady!”
The bile rose and settled in her throat instead of making an unwanted appearance. “I’m fine. False alarm. I’d rather not look at the corpse anymore, if you don’t mind, just in case.”