by M A Comley
She looked down at her notes, pondered whether to mention the money, then sighed. “We also have it on good authority that Amanda Oughton has transferred a large amount of money to this man’s account within the last twenty-four hours. Has this man approached you, knowing that you have funds tucked away somewhere? Please, if he has, come forward and talk to us. We need your help. However insignificant you believe that to be, just get in touch with us, today. Remember, this woman’s life is in danger. Any questions?”
A young man at the front of the crowd raised his hand, and Lorne pointed at him.
“Inspector, are you not dealing with a number of murders in that area?”
“Sadly, yes, we are.”
“What’s the likelihood that the murder cases and this abduction case are connected?”
“It is a possibility we are looking into at present. As yet, we have no actual proof that’s the case.”
“Seems odd, given the events happened in the same vicinity,” the young man prompted.
“I agree. But, as I say, it’s hard connecting the cases without any actual evidence. Anyone else?” Her eyes swept the room and picked out a middle-aged woman in the centre of the room. “Yes, Gillian.”
“Inspector, perhaps you can tell us how these funds were transferred from this missing woman’s account?”
“It’s regrettable, but we have now put a stop on Miss Oughton’s account, preventing it from happening again. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to get on with trying to solve this case. Please, please get in touch if you think you can help us with our enquiries. Thank you all for coming.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After the appeal ended, Lorne remained behind for a few minutes, tapping up a few of her contacts in the press. She asked them specifically to make enquiries with their informants on the streets to see if they’d heard anything about the man in question.
“Hey, Inspector, that’s a little hard to ask if we haven’t got a name to go on,” Johnny Wise asked, with a smirk.
“Cards on the table. We have a name—I just didn’t want to broadcast it and scare this bloke off.”
“Great, what is it?” Johnny asked, his eyes widening when he thought he was about to get a scoop ahead of the papers attending the appeal.
“Eager beaver. I’m not about to tell you that, Johnny. You know better than that. Just do me a favour and ask around, please?”
Johnny tutted. “Yeah, only as it’s you. Anyone else on the force can take a jump off a cliff.”
Lorne felt the heat rising in her cheeks. “Aww… you certainly know how to make a girl feel special. I’ll remember that at Christmas when the mistletoe is hanging in the reception area.”
Johnny shook his head as his own cheeks flushed with colour. “Get out of here. I’m practically a married man. The wife-to-be would have a fit. When can we expect this man’s name to be exposed, Inspector?”
“How long’s a piece of string? We really can’t give you any more about the case at present without endangering this woman’s life. I hope you understand that and won’t hold it against me.”
The crowd dispersed after reassuring her that they would put the call out to their informants and get back to her within the next twenty-four hours if their efforts produced any results.
Lorne trudged up the stairs on very weary legs. “Well, that’s out of the way. All we need to do now is sit back and wait for the phones to start ringing.”
“When’s the first appeal going out, boss?” AJ asked.
“In about an hour. Why don’t we grab some lunch in the meantime? I’m buying.”
~ ~ ~
The man was in the bedroom, packing a suitcase when his wife walked into the room. She gasped and ran to him. “No. You can’t leave me. I won’t let you.”
He struck his arm out, catching her on the side of the head and sending her reeling. Her back slammed into the chest of drawers behind her.
“I’ve given you the option to join me on more than one occasion. Don’t start playing the guilt card on me, woman.”
“But I need you. I’ve always needed you. I can’t live without you in my life, especially now, at our age.”
“There’s another suitcase under the bed. Start packing then and join me.”
“I can’t. Why won’t you delay your intentions for a few more days or weeks?”
He marched across the room until his face was inches from hers. She flinched when his heavy breath touched her face. “I have to get away from here now. It’s only a matter of time before the police track me down. If that happens, all my hard work over the past few months would prove to be pointless. Do you want that?”
“No,” she mumbled.
“Then either pack a suitcase, or get out of my bloody face, woman.” He stomped back to the bed and threw a handful of underwear in the case. “Make yourself useful and get my shirts and trousers out of the wardrobe.”
She froze on the spot. Her hand trembled as she swept the grey hairs back off her colourless face.
Within seconds his impatience got the better of him. Two strides and he was standing before her once more. His hands grabbed both of her upper arms in vice-like grips. “Do me a favour—don’t piss me off. Not today. Just do as you’re told for a change. Otherwise…” He left the threat dangling in mid-air. A smirk pulled at his lips when he saw the fear fill her insipid grey eyes. Oh, how he hated those eyes. He sighed when he saw the fear give way to large tears. “What now? Fucking hell, woman. Get a grip and help me pack. Time’s getting on, and I want to be away from here by three at the latest.”
He released his grip and she rushed to the old-fashioned wardrobe, pulled open the door, and removed the hangers holding his shirts. She detached them one by one and folded them neatly into the case, then she returned to the wardrobe to collect his trousers and repeated her actions. All under his watchful, amused gaze.
“I knew you’d see sense eventually. This is your last chance to come with me.”
She took a few steps back from the bed and buried her head in her shaking hands. “I can’t. I belong here.”
Sneering, he grabbed her by the throat. “You belong with me, to me. How easily you women forget your wedding vows. To honour and obey—you said those words in the eyes of God. How do you think He’d feel that you’re now going against them?”
“You’re being unreasonable. Please see it from my point of view. I’m content here. I don’t want to leave this country. If we must, then let’s leave the county, find a nice little holiday home in Cornwall. What do you say?”
“That you’re nuts and I’ve had enough of your whining. Here’s the truth, please or offend: I’m glad you’ve decided not to come with me. I’ve put up with your whinging and nagging for far too many years. I’m sick to death of living a life of misery. I want to be out there enjoying myself, not regretting what has passed me by because you stopped me from having an ounce of fun.”
“You’re being unfair. I love you. I thought… you loved me.”
“Ha, see? You know nothing. You’re too wrapped up in your own maudlin world to see what we’ve become. We don’t have a life. We have a poor, miserable existence. I’ve had enough. We’ve now got the funds and the opportunity to enjoy our old age. I’m willing to do that alone rather than put up with waking up to your despicable features lying on the pillow next to me every day. Look at you! When was the last time you did something with your hair?”
“But you’ve always said that going to the hairdressers was a waste of your hard-earned money.”
“It is. I told you years ago to learn how to cut it yourself. Other women do it. Instead, you have it plonked on top of your head every day in that ridiculous bun.”
“I’ll change. I promise. If you give me some of that money, I can spend it on altering everything about me that you hate so much. Just give me the chance.”
He snorted. “I didn’t say I had millions. The pittance I’ve managed to put away would come nowhere near the amount nee
ded to give you an extreme makeover. I’d rather spend the money on enjoying my life, without you. Now get out of my face. Just looking into your insipid eyes makes me want to retch.” His annoyance piqued, and he lashed out. His fist connected with her face. A bruise instantly formed around her right eye. He groaned internally and shoved her aside. “Get out of my sight before my temper gets the better of me.”
She sobbed as she left the room.
His packing sped up as his desire to get away from the home he shared with his insufferable wife intensified. His stomach constricted as his excitement built. Another half an hour, and he would be out of there for good. Sod waiting a few more hours.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The team had just finished their lunch of pasties and cream cakes. Sod the diet for once, Lorne thought as she tucked into the calorie-laden feast AJ had brought back from the bakers. She switched on the TV and put the sound up on the lunchtime news when she appeared on the screen. Lorne cringed; she hated watching herself. But she had to admit that she came across as sounding very professional, unlike some of her colleagues who volunteered to speak to the public during an appeal.
Once the appeal had aired, they waited patiently for the phones to start ringing. Before long, a call came in that ranked highly on the interesting chart.
“Can you hold the line a moment, Mrs. Franklyn?” Karen covered the mouthpiece of the phone and spoke to Lorne. “This lady had a similar incident with this man a few months ago. Do you want a word with her, boss?”
Lorne nodded and took the phone from Karen. “Hello, Mrs. Franklyn. This is Inspector Warner. I’m in charge of the case. What can you tell me about this man?”
“I was just saying to the other young lady that I believe I met this man at the bowls club. We got chatting, and he asked me out to dinner. He seemed a nice enough chap, very smart and extremely well mannered. Anyway, we got chatting about financial issues. He said he had amassed his fortune dealing in stocks and shares over the years. I said that I was the cautious type, but as the interest rate at most banks were too low to consider placing my money with them, I was on the lookout for other secure possibilities. I always have the stock market crash at the back of my mind, so really didn’t want to go down that route.”
Lorne scribbled notes on a sheet of paper on Karen’s desk. “I see, very interesting. Please continue.”
“Well, let me see. He started saying that he was looking into a new scheme that he’d heard about in recent weeks. Something to do with some kind of offshore windfarm. He told me the need to go green was getting more and more necessary what with the greedy cats in the electricity industry continually hiking up their prices. I was interested in what he had to say; he appeared to be very knowledgeable on the subject. I told him that I had over a hundred thousand pounds that I’d be willing to invest in such a project. We met a few times after that to discuss the project in depth. I felt in that time that I could trust him; I’m usually a good judge of character, Inspector.”
“Did you invest in the end?”
“No. He had the paperwork for me to sign and wanted me to transfer the money to his account. I said that I wanted a good friend of mine to appraise the deal before I actually put my signature on the deal. At first, he accepted that, but then he just flipped for some reason. When we left the pub where we’d met, he tried to force me into his car—” Mrs. Franklyn took a deep breath.
“I know this must be hard. In your own time… whatever you can tell us will help us nail this man and put him away.”
“I hope so, dear. I watched your appeal, and all I could think about was that could have been me he abducted. Lord knows I think that was his intention.”
“How did you get away?”
“I’m afraid it wasn’t very ladylike. A well-aimed knee to the groin and a clout around the head with my heavy handbag gave me enough time to get out of his grasp. I screamed to attract the attention of a couple passing by, and the man came to my aid, but this chap took off.”
“Did you report the incident to the police, Mrs. Franklyn?”
“I’m ashamed to say I didn’t. I just didn’t see the point in bothering you overworked officers. Of course, in light of this woman going missing, I must say I’m feeling very guilty for not informing you.”
“There’s no need to put yourself through any anguish. You’ve done the right thing coming forward now. Did this man give you his name?”
“Yes, it was George Rogers.”
“Would you be willing to identify him in a line-up, should we catch the man?”
“Of course. Anything I can do to help; you only have to ask.”
“You’re most kind. Will it be all right if I send a uniformed officer around to take a statement down of the events that happened that day, Mrs. Franklyn?”
“Please do. Again, I’m mortified and apologetic that I didn’t contact you sooner.”
“Honestly, what you’ve given us now will help us immensely. Thank you. We’ll be in touch soon. I’ll hand you back to my colleague, and she’ll note down your details.”
“Very well. I hope you find the man and that poor woman he’s abducted soon, Inspector.”
Lorne gave Karen the phone and smiled. Then she walked around the rest of the team to see if they had received any other interesting calls. None of them had, so she made her way over to the whiteboard and wrote George Rogers in capital letters. What are we missing? How do we track this man down if he’s using a fake address, or is he?
“Boss, I’ve got another call that you’re going to be interested in taking,” AJ announced.
She rushed back to his desk and covered the mouthpiece. “While I’m doing this, action a warrant for the address we tried this morning AJ.”
AJ frowned. “But it was empty, boss.”
“Or was it meant to look that way? Just do it to satisfy my suspicions, okay?”
AJ walked over to a spare desk to place the call.
Lorne sat in his seat and spoke to the caller. “This is Detective Inspector Warner. You have some information for me regarding the appeal that’s just aired?”
“That’s right. I’m Mrs. Driver. I’m afraid I feel a little foolish not to have contacted you before this.”
“At least you’re doing it now. Why don’t you start at the beginning, Mrs. Driver? Do you know this man?”
“Only from a distance. Actually, he was a friend of a friend. We met up on an arranged night out. Our friends had invited us both to the gathering. We were the only single people there and got thrown together. During our conversation, we discovered that we had a lot in common. He said he was a widower, and I’d lost my husband a few years before. We got on really well. He was excited to be going out to America soon to get involved in some investments into the windfarm industry. At the time, I had some funds I was tempted to put into stocks and shares, but his plans piqued my interest.”
Hmm… the same story he told Mrs. Franklyn. Maybe there’s some truth behind the plan. “Did he go into further detail? Invite you to get involved in the scheme, perhaps?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what happened. He said that these people needed the funds right away in order to proceed. Told me that people were queueing up for the opportunity. That’s when the alarm bells started ringing in my head. Once it looked like I was interested, his casual manner became more urgent. I told him that I would need to think things over and consult my solicitor before I parted with any large sums of money. He said he understood but seemed to back away from me at that point. I remember thinking at the time that I’d had a lucky escape, and after learning that a woman has been abducted, I bloody know I have.”
“Did this man tell you his name, Mrs. Driver?”
“Yes, I think it was George Rogers.”
“Did he mention anything else that you think might be of help?”
“Let me think. Nothing that I can think of, apart from saying that he was finding it hard to keep on top of the upkeep of his mansion.”
“I don’t suppose he mentioned where this mansion was located?”
The line went quiet for several moments while Mrs. Driver thought. “I’m sorry, no. I can’t place him ever saying where it was he lived.”
“No problem. Honestly, what you’ve given us already will be a huge help, I’m sure. One last thing. If we find this man, would you be willing to pick him out in a line-up and possibly be a witness if the case comes to court?”
“Of course. How could I not? Please do your best to find this woman he’s abducted, Inspector.”
“That’s the plan, Mrs. Driver. I’ll send someone round in the next few days to take down a statement, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course. Just tell them to ring me first as I’m in and out all day running errands for a few of my disabled neighbours.”
“Will do. Thank you again for contacting us.”
Lorne hung up and clapped her hands. “Whoa, this appeal is finally getting us somewhere. The two ladies I’ve spoken to have both indicated that George Rogers was trying to get them to invest in one of these green energy schemes. Let’s see if we can track that down. Not sure how. Karen, can you do that for me?”
“I’ll try, boss.”
“The last woman told me that he hinted that he was having problems managing the upkeep of his mansion, but I’ve got nothing further on that. AJ, maybe you can plan all the crime scenes out on a map, to give us an idea of the area we should be searching and go from there. I have a good feeling about this, guys. We’re getting close to finding this man and Amanda Oughton—let’s hope so anyway.”
Lorne stepped into her office as her mobile rang, and Tony’s number appeared on the screen. “Hello, love. What do I owe the pleasure?”
“Now I need you to remain calm, Lorne.”
Her heart pounded every time he told her that. “Jesus, Tony, what’s going on?”