by Ford, P. F.
‘So what happened after he told you to “f” off,’ asked Goodnews. ‘Did you see anyone else around? Perhaps there was a car waiting for him.’
‘I don’t remember seeing anyone else, or any car,’ said Slowly, who now actually appeared to be thinking hard. ‘He just marched off on his own like he knew where he was going.’
‘So where was he going?’ asked Slater.
‘He headed off down the hill,’ said Slowly. ‘I didn’t see after that. I was heading back to me car to wait for the next train.’
‘Did anyone else come out of the station after that?’ asked Goodnews.
‘There was a girl, walking in the other direction. She must have got off the train after your mate.’
‘What did she look like?’ Slater was keen to know more about the mysterious girl on the train.
‘I only saw the back of her,’ said Slowly. ‘She was in shorts and trainers. I think she was wearing a tee shirt. And she had a big bag on her shoulder.’
‘You never saw her face?’ asked Goodnews.
‘No, sorry. I can tell you wasn’t very tall, and she had black hair.’
‘You’ve never seen her before?’ Slater felt disappointed.
‘No,’ said Slowly. ‘But then I’m usually only here during the day. For all I know she could come back at that time every evening.’
Goodnews looked at Slater.
‘What do you think?’ she asked.
‘Sounds true enough,’ he said. ‘And I can vouch for the fact Slowly here isn’t known for violence.’
‘Okay, fair enough.’ Goodnews turned around in her seat to face the front and slumped back in her seat. She looked as disappointed as Slater felt.
‘Are we done now?’ asked Slowly. ‘Can I go?’
‘Just wait a minute,’ said Goodnews.
A car had pulled up behind them while they were talking. Now they’d finished talking, Goodnews pressed a button and her window whirred down. She stuck her arm out and made a “thumbs up”. Two officers climbed from the car and headed for Slowly’s side of the car. The door opened and a face appeared.
‘Did you get a statement when you took her home?’ Goodness asked.
‘Yes, Boss,’ said the officer.
‘Good. Now take this piece of pond life away from me. Charge him with trying to cheat the old lady, and then check out his car. I’m sure you’ll be able to add a few more charges such as no tax, no insurance, etc.’
‘You can’t do this,’ protested Slowly. ‘You promised-’
‘What I promised,’ interrupted Goodnews, glaring at him, ‘was that I would make sure DS Slater doesn’t charge you, and I’ve kept that promise. DS Slater isn’t going to charge you. DC Ashton’s going to do it.’
She gave him her very sweetest smile, and then nodded to Ashton to take him away.
‘Come on,’ said Ashton, taking Slowly by the arm. ‘Let’s go.’
‘You rotten bitch,’ spat out Slowly, as Ashton guided him from the car. ‘I hope you get what’s coming to you.’
‘Yes, whatever,’ said Goodnews, turning back to face the front. ‘I love you, too.’
Slater climbed from the back of the car and into the driver’s seat, smiling broadly. His opinion of DI Goodnews had just gone up another notch.
‘So, what now?’ asked Slater, once Slowly had been led away.
‘Aren’t you going to admonish me for misleading that man?’
‘What, Slowly? He’s not a man. Like you said, he’s a piece of pond life who’s spent most of his life conning innocent people. Now he’s been conned. Why would I have a problem with that? It’s called karma, isn’t it?’
‘I didn’t have you down as a philosopher,’ Goodnews said.
‘I’m full of surprises and contradictions, me,’ Slater said, smiling mischievously. ‘You said so yourself.’
Goodnews smiled too.
‘Now,’ she said. ‘The pub’s not open for another twenty minutes, so how about we take a little drive down the road here. If our man was actually telling the truth, that’s where Norman was heading when he last saw him.’
‘It has to be worth a look. He can’t have just vanished into thin air.’
‘Tell me something,’ she said, as he started the car. ‘Why aren’t you panicking? I was expecting you to be tearing off all over the place.’
He gave her a rueful smile.
‘Inside I am panicking. I’m worried sick about Norm, but like you said before, running around like a headless chicken isn’t going to achieve anything, is it? If we’re going to find him, we need to keep our heads.’
She tilted her head in acknowledgement.
‘Maybe you really are an adult, after all,’ she said, grinning at him.
‘Look, it’s true I had my nose put out of joint by someone being appointed over my head,’ he admitted. ‘But I do understand the reality of the situation, and I know it was the right thing to do, although I think it could have been handled rather better. The thing is, we need a level head in charge, and from what I’ve seen so far, that’s exactly what we’ve got.’
‘Wow!’ she said. ‘I hope I can live up to that.’
He chose not to respond to that, and pulled away from the station.
‘Of course someone could easily have picked him up in a car,’ he mused.
‘Just pootle along here and let’s see where it goes,’ she suggested. ‘I know we’ve got no idea what we’re looking for, but at least we’ll maybe get a feel for the place.’
They crawled slowly down the road for a few seconds before she added another comment.
‘But you’re right, he could have been picked up by someone and driven miles away from here.’
They spent the next ten minutes driving along the road, taking in the surroundings. After about a hundred yards, they came to the village green on the left. It was a rough triangle, with houses on all three sides. The road they were following ran along the right hand side, and then turned left across the far end. An old-fashioned red telephone box stood resplendent at the roadside, with a matching post box close by.
‘There you go,’ Slater said, grandly. ‘Ye oldey red telephone boxey.’
They followed the road down the side of the green, and then around to the left and across the bottom of the green. After another half mile, the houses seemed to be few and far between, but there were also a couple of side roads that wandered off into the countryside offering the possibility of more houses.
‘We could just raid every house,’ Slater said.
‘Yes, that probably wouldn’t be such a bad idea if we knew he was here somewhere, but it’s farming country, isn’t it?’ Goodnews sighed. ‘There’ll be hundreds of barns and outbuildings. We’d need an army to carry out an exercise like that, and without any sort of proof we’ll get a result – that sort of expensive operation just isn’t going to happen.
‘I know he’s your friend and you’re worried about him, but don’t forget we have no idea what’s really going on. I know you don’t want to think about it, but we still have to consider the possibility he’s planned all this and just doesn’t want to be found.’
Slater pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped.
‘I can’t believe Norm would have planned something like this,’ he said. ‘He wouldn’t fake it. If he really wanted to disappear, he’s the sort of bloke who would tell everyone he was going and that he didn’t want to be followed.’
He turned to look at her.
‘But that’s exactly why you’re here, right?’
‘Aye, Miss Objectivity, that’s me,’ she said, with a wry smile. ‘Come on, let’s head for the pub and see if we can grab some lunch. Maybe we can learn something there that actually helps us.’
The Red Oak looked like it had once been a small village pub, judging by some of the décor and the small bar area at the front. However, it had clearly been transformed into a ‘family friendly’ establishment, with a children’s play area and huge garden with
tables and benches scattered freely around. A sign proudly proclaimed that the chef had recently won an award, and even on a weekday lunchtime it was fairly busy.
Having flashed his warrant card at the landlord and explained why they were there, Slater had been delighted to learn that the girl not only worked as a part-time waitress, but that she was actually working that very lunchtime. The landlord promised he would send her to their table with two menus in a couple of minutes.
‘I wish it was that easy to find all our suspects and witnesses,’ Goodnews said, as they made their way out to the garden. ‘It would save so much time.’
There were at least twenty tables scattered around, but Goodnews seemed to be looking for something in particular. She surveyed the garden for a suitable table, finally spotting one.
‘That one over there looks like a good one,’ she said, pointing at the table in question.
‘Why that one?’ asked Slater. ‘They all look the same to me.’
‘Granted they’re all made of the same materials,’ she said, leading the way. ‘But what I’m looking for is one that’s got plenty of shade. It’s the price I pay for having fair skin, you see. I burn very easily.’
‘Ah! I see.’ Slater smiled as he followed her. ‘You’re not one for beach holidays, then.’
‘Och, no.’ Goodnews laughed as she reached the table. ‘That’s hopeless. I can bathe in factor 50 and still burn after five minutes.’
Most of the time her accent was hardly noticeable, just enough to give a musical tone to her voice, but then, just occasionally, an odd word or expression would give her voice a sudden Scottish twang. Slater found it very pleasant to listen to.
They had barely got settled before Goodnews spoke.
‘Aye, aye, heads up,’ she said, looking over his shoulder. ‘Here comes our girl now.’
When she arrived and placed the menus on the table, the girl looked very nervous. She was small, with long, jet black hair.
‘Mr Harris said you wish to speak to me,’ she said.
‘It’s Josie, isn’t it? I’m DI Goodnews, and this is DS Slater. We’re from Tinton CID. We’d like to ask you some questions about an incident that happened at Little Balding train station. Why don’t you sit down for a minute?’
Goodnews indicated the chair on the end of the table and the girl sat so she had Slater to her left and Goodnews to the right.
‘What incident? Am I in some sort of trouble?’
‘A man has gone missing,’ said Goodnews. ‘He was on the same train as you and he got off just before you at Little Balding. We thought perhaps you might know something that might help us to find him.’
‘Me? Why would I know anything?’
‘CCTV shows he got off the train, and then about a minute or two later you got off as well,’ said Goodnews. ‘Maybe there was someone else on the train with him. Perhaps you saw someone meet him at the station. Anything you can tell us might help.’
‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything,’ said Josie.
‘You seem very sure about that,’ said Goodnews. ‘We thought you might be able to help us a bit more than that.’
‘Why would you think that? I can’t even remember seeing the man.’
Goodnews stared at her but said nothing.
‘That’s funny you can’t remember him,’ said Slater. ‘Do you remember picking up his jacket, and then stopping to stuff it into your bag as soon as you got off the train?’
The girl’s cheeks flushed guiltily.
‘I did no such thing,’ she said.
‘You were clever enough to turn your back so the CCTV camera overlooking the platform couldn’t see what you were doing,’ said Slater. ‘But unfortunately you didn’t make a very good job of packing the bag. When you left the station there was a sleeve hanging out. It shows up clearly on the CCTV camera at the front of the station. Josie, the missing man is a friend of mine. I’d know that jacket anywhere.’
Her mouth flapped open once or twice, but she seemed to be lost for words.
‘Do you make a habit of stealing other people’s clothes?’ asked Goodnews.
‘It was just lying there,’ said Josie. ‘It would only have ended up in lost property.’
‘So that’s a yes,’ said Goodnews.
‘You can’t tell my parents about this.’ Josie looked and sounded horrified.
‘Oh, but I can,’ said Goodnews.
She let Josie stew for a minute. The girl stared at the table and fidgeted uncomfortably.
‘Do you live in the village here, Josie?’ asked Slater.
She nodded.
‘In one of the new houses,’ she said.
‘And you work here while you study?’
‘Yes,’ she said, nodding again.
‘Well, if you’re not stealing clothes because you’re short of money,’ said Goodnews, ‘why are you doing it?’
‘I’m studying fashion.’ Josie sounded unhappy. ‘Re-styling old clothes is something I do.’
‘Well I hope you haven’t restyled DS Norman’s denim jacket yet,’ said Goodnews. ‘It could be very useful to our enquiries.’
Josie was crying quietly now.
‘I’ve never been in trouble before,’ she said, tears running down her cheeks. ‘Please don’t tell my parents.’
Slater fished a clean handkerchief from his pocket and passed it to her. He always carried one for use on these occasions.
‘Thank you.’ She wiped her eyes.
‘How old are you, Josie?’ asked Goodnews.
‘Eighteen.’
‘Well, technically you’re an adult,’ said Goodnews. ‘So maybe I won’t have to tell your parents. It depends.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We want that jacket,’ said Goodnews firmly. ‘And I want you to tell us everything you recall about your journey home that night, especially anything you can remember about DS Norman. Can you do that?’
‘I’ll try,’ said Josie.
‘Right,’ said Goodnews, when Josie had finished her story. ‘Rather than send two of my officers to your house, I’m going to arrange for them to meet you here when you finish work today and you’re going to sit with them and make a full statement.’
Josie looked relieved to know she wouldn’t have to explain the arrival of two police officers at home.
‘But I need that jacket as soon as possible,’ continued Goodnews. ‘How long would it take to get to your house?’
‘Five minutes.’
‘Okay,’ said Goodnews. ‘I’ll square it with your boss to give you ten minutes off while Sergeant Slater here arranges for someone to drive you home and back.’
‘So, what do we think?’ she asked as Josie headed back into the pub.
‘I dunno about you,’ said Slater. ‘But I think she’s probably for real. It’s a bit weird going around stealing clothes like that, but if everything checks out okay that’ll do it for me.’
‘So you don’t think she’s some sort of ninja kidnapper in disguise, then?’
‘I accept she looks a bit Oriental, but that in itself doesn’t make her a ninja anything,’ Slater said, smiling. ‘I don’t think any sort of ninja would burst into tears, do you?’
‘Yeah.’ Goodnews sighed loudly. ‘I know. We’ve drawn another blank. Bugger it.’
‘Maybe Norm’s jacket will help us.’
‘What? You really think it’s going to give us some sort of clue?’ asked Goodnews.
‘Norm’s attached to that jacket like it was super glue,’ explained Slater. ‘When he’s wearing it he doesn’t usually take it off, so it would have taken some sort of seismic event to make him leave it on the train. There has to be a good reason why he left it there.’
‘Don’t you think his situation would have been a big enough event?’ asked Goodnews. ‘I mean if it was me being directed like some sort of puppet, I think forgetting my jacket would be the least of my worries.’
‘Well, with respect,’ said Slater, ‘let’s h
ope you’re wrong and I’m right about this, because like you said, all we’ve done so far is draw blanks.’
‘Your respect is acknowledged,’ she said. ‘And I hope you’re right, too. Because if you’re wrong, we’ve not got much else to go on, and the longer this goes on… Well, you know the odds.’
Slater knew exactly what she meant. The longer it took to make progress, the more likely they were to find a corpse at the end of the trail.
‘Two club sandwiches,’ called a voice, breaking his morbid train of thought.
‘Over here, please,’ Goodnews called back.
‘How much do I owe you?’ asked Slater.
‘I’ve already paid for them,’ she said. ‘You’re paying next time.’
‘Oh. Right. Fair enough.’
He was beginning to admit to himself that, so far, working for Marion Goodnews wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it might be. He had no doubt she could be as hard as nails when she needed to be, but she also seemed to be fair, was prepared to listen to his opinion, and didn’t seem to mind paying her way. He could think of more than one boss he had worked for in the past who couldn’t match any one of those things, never mind all three.
They chewed in silence for a minute or two before she spoke again.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ she said. ‘I can see it written all over your face. It won’t help, you know. You need to stop thinking about the worst-case scenario and start thinking about a positive outcome. We are going to find him.’
And there’s another thing, thought Slater. It was like she could read his mind.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Just as Josie had said, it took almost exactly ten minutes for her to retrieve Norman’s old denim jacket from home. She handed it over rather sheepishly.
‘I haven’t taken anything from it,’ she said.
‘Good,’ said Goodnews. ‘I’m glad to hear it. Now you’d better get back to work, and don’t forget, if you don’t want your parents to know about this, you need to make that statement before you go home.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Josie hurried away, her relief palpable.