by K Leitch
Carla burst out laughing, ‘Oh I don’t blame her for holding a grudge, bloody hell Tracy. Poor old Berta, I don’t think she’s ever shown more than an ankle, she’s so worried about propriety, and all of a sudden she’s showing off her knickers in the local rag…’
‘I know,’ wailed Tracy, ‘I did apologise to her over and over, and it was just an accident after all.’
‘Yes well sometimes things just can’t be put right,’ Carla said grimly, ‘the damage has been done.’
The atmosphere in the room plummeted.
Tracy turned to Carla, ‘So how have you been today love?’ she asked.
Carla rolled her eyes, ‘I’m fine Trace…I was fine yesterday, I’ll be fine tomorrow just as soon as everybody,’ she paused and gave Maggie and Tracy a meaningful look, ‘lets me get on with it, and as soon as my kids are back where they belong.’
‘Give yourself some time Carla love,’ Maggie began.
‘I don’t fucking need any more time Maggie,’ Carla shouted, suddenly angry. ‘What I need is my kids back, and for everybody to leave me the fuck alone. I mean what is all this…why are you here Tracy? You don’t normally show up on a Tuesday evening, and as for you Maggs…I can’t turn around without bumping into you…no I’m sorry,’ she went on as Maggie would have spoken, ‘but I think you should both leave now…’
‘But Carla…’ Tracy began.
‘No I’m serious Trace…I would like to be on my own.’
Maggie and Tracy exchanged worried looks, but they both stood up to leave.
‘Carla,’ Maggie began, ‘I’m really sorry if we overstepped the mark…we are really only trying to help you know and if you need…’
‘Yeh, yeh I know Maggie,’ Carla said impatiently, ‘but I’m fine…I mean what’s the big deal, my husband’s a fucking cheating bastard, it’s not like he’s the first is it…and I’m sure he won’t be the last, they’re all the same in the end.’
Tracy and Maggie tried a few more times to change Carla’s mind but she was adamant and soon they were walking back to their cars feeling worried and upset.
‘What the hell just happened?’ Tracy said shaking her head, ‘One minute we’re all laughing about Berta and the next she’s kicking us out. I just hope she’s not going to drink herself to sleep again.’
Maggie sighed as she pointed her key fob to unlock her car door, she turned back to Tracy who was getting into her own car. ‘Honey, why do you think she wanted us gone?’ she said sadly, ‘There were two new bottles of vodka under the kitchen sink…I expect she’d already poured herself a large one before the kitchen door was even closed!’
CHAPTER 27
‘DCI wants to see you ASAP,’ Sam called out to Frank as soon as he came into the office the next morning, ‘you been up to no good Frankie?’ he teased.
‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ Frank responded, ‘I don’t even have time for a piss these days,’ he grumbled.
With Carla on indefinite leave most of her workload had fallen to Frank. And now with the Twee children officially missing and the press on the prowl, he felt like he was chasing his tail just trying to keep on top of it all.
He didn’t bother going any further, just turned around and headed back towards the stairs that led up to John Tavener’s office. It wouldn’t do to get into the DCI’s bad books on top of everything else.
After the arrest, a few years earlier, of DCI Bob Riley for his involvement with a local paedophile ring which had sent shock waves throughout the higher echelons of the Surrey Constabulary, it had been decided that his successor needed to be an officer with a spotless reputation and impeccable record of service. John Tavener fitted the bill perfectly.
At 54 he had worked his way up through the ranks with impressive speed and had gained a reputation for thoroughness and attention to detail. He didn’t suffer fools gladly but, as Frank had found out recently when he had talked to him about his worries for Carla, he could be compassionate and understanding when necessary.
Always impeccably turned out, with short, light brown hair and a neatly trimmed moustache. He kept himself very trim and was a keen cyclist, there were several photos of him riding in various cycling events adorning the walls of his office. On his desk was a photograph of his wife Harriet and their two sons.
Frank knocked on his door and walked in, ‘You wanted to see me sir?’ he said.
‘Frank, yes…um take a seat,’ Tavener said with a distracted smile, ‘won’t keep you a moment just got to finish this email while I think about it,’ he said and turned back to his laptop.
‘Right,’ he said closing the laptop a couple of minutes later, ‘sorry about that, if I don’t do it now I’ll never get it done.’ He took off his reading glasses and sat back in his chair. ‘So how have you been coping Frank, without Carla I mean?’
‘Oh not too bad sir,’ Frank said, ‘of course it’s been a bit full on this last week with the missing kids, and of course we’re still trying to get some evidence to connect Herbert Twee to the biker thieves so…’
‘So you could use another pair of hands then?’ said DCI Tavener raising his brows.
‘Actually sir that would be a great help,’ said Frank eagerly, ‘even if it was just a couple of uniform officers to do the house to house that would take the load off a bit…’
DCI Tavener sat up and rested his elbows on the desk, ‘I was thinking more about bringing in another DI,’ he said. ‘I know just the man, he used to work with me in Liverpool. Excellent officer, had some amazing results…not your usual DI type though, Obie’s more of a thinker than an action man if you know what I mean. Not that he would shy away from a fight…ha, I could tell you stories about some of the hair raising situations we got ourselves into…’ he paused for a moment obviously thinking fondly of old times. ‘Anyway enough of that, I’ve asked DI Jones to step into Carla’s shoes for the foreseeable…just until she’s back on her feet so to speak. He should be arriving this morning sometime,’ he looked at Frank, who had been unusually quiet. ‘I hope this isn’t going to be a problem Frank?’
Frank swallowed down all that he wanted to say and pinned a smile on his face. ‘Of course not sir, as you say we need the help, if there was any way we could still have a couple more bodies helping us with the search for the Twee children that would be good…’
‘Why don’t we see what Obie has to say about that?’ DCI Tavener said, ‘I’m sure he’ll want to do things his way.’
‘Right you are sir,’ Frank said through gritted teeth, he stood and walked to the door, once there he stopped and turned, ‘Carla will be coming back though won’t she sir?’ he asked.
DCI Tavener sighed and shook his head, ‘I hope so Frank, but you never can tell in these cases. I’ve seen it so many times before when an officer has just had enough, been through too much…sometimes there’s simply no way back, let’s hope this isn’t one of them eh? Anyway you’ll be fine with Obie Jones on your team…I will expect your full co-operation in this Frank,’ he finished giving Frank a hard look.
‘Of course sir,’ Frank said as he left the office.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Frank swore long and hard. Carla’s fucking replacement, he didn’t think so, and there was no way that he was going to give this wanker an easy ride.
‘Oh Obie’s so wonderful, Obie’s going to solve all our cases blindfolded and standing on one leg while we run around like bleeding headless chickens. What sort of a bleeding name is Obie anyway?’
Frank was still muttering angrily under his breath as he walked into his office a few moments later. He was brought up short though by the sight of a scruffy little man rummaging through his desk drawers.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? he yelled grabbing the man by the arm and pulling him towards the door. ‘Who the hell are you and how did you get into my office?’ he went on regardless of Sam who was shaking his head at him furiously and making wild hand gestures.
Frank loosened his grip on
the man, who made the most of it and twisted out of Frank’s grasp. He dusted himself down and turned back to Frank who was looking at him belligerently.
Sam stepped forward before Frank could grab hold of him again, ‘Frank…um this is DETECTIVE INSPECTOR Jones, from Liverpool’ he said with deliberate emphasise. ‘I was just showing him HIS office.’
The man smiled somewhat nervously at Frank and held out a hand, ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I thought DCI Tavener would have told you I was arriving today. Um…you must be DS Hill, I’ve heard lots of good things about you, I’m Obie, by the way Obie Jones.’
Frank shook Obie’s hand unenthusiastically, ‘Oh…right, sorry about that sir,’ he said, ‘the DCI did warn…um I mean tell me about your arrival, I just wasn’t expecting you so soon that’s all.’
Obie nodded smiling, ‘Well that’s quite understandable sergeant, I didn’t realise you were using DI Rights office, I can always park my stuff somewhere else if…’
‘No…no I’ll get my stuff out, this is your office sir I was just using it for convenience, if you’ll just give me a minute.’ Frank went back into the office and began clearing files and papers off the desk and out of the drawers.
‘Please Frank,’ Obie began following into the little office, ‘there’s no rush, and I’ll need to look through some of those files. Listen why don’t I get us both a cup of coffee and you can get me up to speed on the missing kids, okay?’
‘Of course sir,’ Frank said stiffly.
Obie sighed and went off to get a couple of coffees.
Once he’d gone Frank sat down at his…or rather Obie’s desk. DI Jones wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting. From the way DCI Tavener had built him up, he’d expected a confident, self-assured man, probably in the peak of physical fitness and someone as smartly turned out as the DCI himself. Instead, Obie Jones looked like he’d slept in his clothes and lost his hair brush. He was on the short side, well, not really short just not as tall as Frank, with pale blue eyes that were magnified a bit by the glasses that he wore, he also seemed to be rather nervous…no not nervous, but a bit shy maybe…not at all like any Detective Inspector Frank had ever come across before.
‘I didn’t know if you took sugar so I brought you one of each,’ Obie said coming back into the office with three cups of coffee precariously balanced between his hands, Frank quickly cleared a space on the desk before he dropped them.
‘I don’t…thank you sir,’ Frank said taking one of the coffees.
Obie sighed again. ‘Please call me Obie,’ he said, and I hope I can call you Frank, it’ll make life so much easier don’t you think?’
Frank nodded, ‘Okay Obie,’ he said smiling slightly, ‘That’s an unusual name…is it short for something?’
Obie grimaced, ‘Well I suppose I might as well get it over with,’ he said shaking his head. ‘It’s almost always the first thing anyone ever says to me when I introduce myself, that or “so your mother was a big Star Wars fan was she?”. It’s actually short for Onesiphorus…I know, I know,’ he said at Frank's raised eyebrows, ‘it’s a family name, although I don’t know why I got lumbered with it and not my elder brother Johnathon…’
‘Don’t you have a middle name you could use instead?’ Frank asked trying not to laugh.
Obie rolled his eyes, ‘Butler…would you believe…I mean who does that to a little kid, Onesiphorus Butler Jones. You can just imagine what the kids at school made of that can’t you? I must have heard every “butt” joke known to man.’
Frank couldn’t help himself he burst out laughing, ‘Oh I’m sorry,’ he said when he’d got himself under control a moment later, ‘that must have been truly awful, and I thought Franklin was bad enough…’
‘Yes well now you know why I call myself Obie.’
The ice was broken somewhat and Frank and Obie spent the rest of the morning going through all they had on the whereabouts of Lola and Lewis Twee.
‘You’ve had dealings with these kids I presume?’ Obie asked Frank, ‘what’s your take on them, would they be the sort that would simply run away, do you think that’s what’s happened?’
Frank sighed, ‘At first if I’m honest I thought that this was an elaborate plan thought up by Herbert, that’s their dad, to divert our attention away from him. Now I’m not so sure…oh don’t get me wrong he’s capable of it, but the longer the kids are missing and the more desperate Herbert and Jane are becoming, I’m beginning to think that something has happened to them.’
Obie nodded thoughtfully, ‘They are obviously trouble makers…do you think they might have overstepped the mark with the wrong person maybe?’
‘Yeh…or they’ve been up to no good and got themselves killed accidentally, I don’t know on the train lines maybe, something like that.’
‘So you think they’re dead then?’ Obie said.
Frank realised then that he did think that, they had been missing for nearly two weeks now, with no sightings and no ideas from anyone as to where they could have gone. The only thing that Frank kept thinking about was what Joshua Glump had said, that Lewis had been excited about something, and eager to be somewhere. He said as much to Obie.
‘So maybe they were meeting someone,’ Obie mused, ‘but it wasn’t one of their usual friends because they all have alibis for that evening… I think we need to get them all in again, all of their friends…someone must know something about what those two got up to after they left Joshua’s house.’
After lunch Obie called all the team together in the incident room. He stood in front of the white board and cleared his throat nervously a couple of times before he addressed the little group.
‘Um…for those of you that don’t know I’m DI Jones…um… Obie, and I will be heading up this investigation in the absence of DI Right. Um…I’ve already spoken to a couple of you and I will try and get round to all of you in the course of the day.’ He paused as he chose his words. ‘No matter what our feelings towards Lola and Lewis Twee, they are minors and they are missing and we are responsible for finding out what has happened to them. Now Frank and I have decided that we need to speak to all their friends again, we think that someone must have had an inkling as to what Lewis was up to that evening so I want you… Sam is it?’ Sam smiled and nodded. ‘And DC Jones, can I call you Midge it would save confusion?’ Obie asked Midge who just raised his eyebrows, ‘don’t see why not sir, everyone else does,’ Midge said.
‘Actually most of us call him twat, sir…’ someone from the back called out causing everybody to laugh.
Obie smiled and nodded, ‘Well I think I’ll stick to Midge…to his face at least for now,’ he said, ‘anyway Sam and Midge can you round up as many of their friend as you can find and bring them back here to be questioned, maybe being brought into the station might jog their memories a bit better.’
Frank groaned, ‘That means we’ll have a station full of indignant parents…can’t wait.’
‘Well I’ll leave you to deal with them Frank,’ Obie said with an evil smile, ‘I’ve heard all about the legendary Frank Hill charm…can’t wait to see it in action.’
CHAPTER 28
Unable to look away, Jim Pickles stared transfixed at the horrific events that were unfolding on the camera screen in front of him. His breath quickened and sweat began to trickle down the back of his neck.
He hadn’t really believed Flora when she’d told him she was being terrorised by some kids, she was always moaning on about something that one, but there they were bold as brass. He’d felt his temper rising as he’d watched one of the little buggers throwing stones and banging on the windows, but then the other one had shown up and what he’d witnessed then had made his blood boil, cruel it was… cruel and evil. That poor little cat had been beaten and strung up and if Jim had been able to get his hands on the nasty little bastard then, he would have given him a hiding he wouldn’t have forgotten for a while. Nothing though, could have prepared him for what was coming next and Jim was struggling to take
in what he was seeing. This…this was something else, this was murder…no this wasn’t just murder this was sick, sick and terrifying.
‘Oh no…oh no,’ he repeated over and over as he watched the tiny screen, petrified, his hand absently rubbing at a dull ache building in his chest.
There was a ringing in his ears and he felt hot bile in his throat as he saw the boy squirming around on the ground to avoid the beating cane, he could feel the boy’s terror and he let out a moan of despair as the lighter fell and the kid on the ground turned into a human fireball, letting out high pitched animal like screams as he rolled around in unimaginable agony. He could hardly believe his eyes as he watched Flora Metcalf smash the boys head open and then casually throw the rock away into the garden…it beggared belief…it really did, evil it was…pure evil. And then that big chap had hauled the other one over his shoulders and taken her off somewhere….
With a shout of fury, Jim threw the camera away from him. His chest was getting tighter and he was struggling to breathe as he stumbled and groped his way down stairs towards the phone.
‘They need to know…they need to know…come on Jim…come on lad,’ he gasped as he willed himself onwards.
Half way down the stairs an overwhelming pain stopped him in his tracks. It squeezed at his chest, sucking the air out of him sending his head spinning. He fell down the remaining stairs and lay on the floor, the room was spinning round him, everything was fading into the distance. Another agonising pain caught him unawares, pressure on his chest, his lungs were screaming out for air…he thought of his son, ‘please,’ he begged, he wanted to see him again. He thought of his grandchildren, how long would they remember him he wondered, hot tears running down the side of his face. He thought of Flora Metcalf, another shaft of agony through his chest…the woman was a monster… not his problem…not his problem anymore, he thought as he floated away….
CHAPTER 29
Hilda Clegg walked briskly along the narrow dimly lit lane that ran between the bus stop and the road on which she lived, it was late to be out, going on midnight. She hadn’t realised how late it was getting until she’d looked at her watch, but she’d been having such a good time at the bingo with her friends. Madge Farley had won two hundred and fifty quid and had bought them all another round of drinks and then Sue Pennyfold had got all maudlin and cornered her with tales of her husband’s fling with the woman from the meat department in Tescos. Finally she’d made her escape and had only just caught the 11.48 bus which would drop her off at the end of the lane.