by M A Comley
They walked down the narrow hallway to a room at the rear, which might be described as a lounge if it had the appropriate furniture in place. As it was, there were a few plastic dining chairs and a couple of deck chairs nestled amongst cardboard boxes and piles of clothes and rubbish, mainly consisting of remnants of several takeaways. The smell was atrocious.
“Jesus, I can’t believe you guys live like this,” Lorne said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Someone groaned in the corner. Lorne peered to try to make out where the person was. It was impossible to see until Ryan tossed aside a couple of boxes. Lying in a sleeping bag was a figure, but all that could be seen was a tuft of red hair.
“Go back to sleep, Ging,” Ryan said, kicking the man in the butt.
“I was in a lovely sleep until you guys interrupted it. Keep the bloody noise down, for fuck’s sake.”
“You might want to curb that foul tongue of yours. There are ladies present, and not only that, they’re cops.”
The young man sat upright in his sleeping bag. “Er, okay. Sorry. Can you turn your backs, and I’ll shoot out of the room? I’m kind of naked in here.”
Lorne and Katy both tutted and turned to face the wall. They heard the young man curse as he tore through the living room and stubbed his toe on a few objects blocking his path.
Ryan laughed. “It’s all clear. He’s a card. He’s not a lazy bugger usually. He works nights in a factory.”
“Understandable. Seriously, though, you should clear this place up. Otherwise, it’ll encourage vermin.”
“We do our best. I’ll have a word with the lads. What did you want to speak to me about?”
“Emma Lansbury. Does her name ring a bell?”
He scratched his head. “Of course it does. I worked with her for a few months. What about her?”
“She’s gone missing. I take it you haven’t seen the news this afternoon?” Lorne glanced around the room and spotted a portable TV sitting in the corner. It was switched off.
“Hard to watch it during the day with Ging having a kip. Missing? I’m not with you… how can she go missing?”
“We were hoping you could shed some light on that for us,” Lorne said with a taut smile.
Ryan shook his head and seemed confused, then he raised his hands in front of him and his eyes widened in realisation. “No frigging way. I ain’t going to let you pin anything on me. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen her.”
“You were quite insistent that she should go out with you. At least that’s what we’ve been told.”
“I liked the girl. Who wouldn’t? She has a nice nature, a pretty face, and a figure men would willingly lose a limb to run their hands over.”
Lorne tilted her head and pointed at him. “See? Saying things like that is going to do nothing but raise my interest levels. I’m sure you can understand that.”
He shook his head firmly. “Call it a slip of the tongue. I ain’t got it in me to go around hurting girls or, as you seem to be suggesting, abducting them. I haven’t seen her since I left the library. I swear I haven’t.”
“If that’s the case, you wouldn’t mind if we had a quick snoop around your flat then, would you?”
His arms flew out to the side. “Hey, if it’ll get me off the hook, then feel free. But I wish you’d take my word for it because I can’t be held responsible for the crap you’re going to have to wade through in your search to get to the truth.”
Lorne cringed and turned to Katy. “We better get started. Looks like our gloves will protect us rather than a crime scene this time round.” They extracted their blue plastic gloves from their coat pockets and slotted them into place.
“It’s a shame we didn’t bring a couple of masks along with us.”
Lorne chuckled. “I think you’re right.” Turning back to the young man, who was watching them with interest, she said, “You realise this place is a health hazard. I’m going to have to report you to the council once we leave here. You’re not being fair on your neighbours. They shouldn’t have to put up with this stench twenty-four hours a day. It’s disgusting and totally uncalled for.”
He shrugged. “You better tell my flatmates that. I’ve tried, and it’s like talking to a brick wall. They just ignore me.”
“Try harder,” Lorne said, then she walked past him and headed back into the hallway.
“Yeah, try harder,” Katy added, following Lorne out of the room.
They searched the other rooms in the flat. Each of them was in a state similar to, if not worse than, the lounge, and they stank to high heaven of body odour and dirty laundry.
Lorne’s stomach clenched, and she had to fight hard to hang on to the contents of her stomach. “Jesus, how can anyone even contemplate living in this shithole? It’s making my skin crawl.”
“Fucked if I know,” Katy agreed. “Going to need an extra-long soak in the bath later to combat this stench.”
“You’re not wrong. Let’s get started.” She lowered her voice to add, “Although I believe we’re barking up the wrong tree with this one.”
Katy nodded. “I’m inclined to agree with you on that.”
She sifted through the debris in each of the other three rooms, but nothing sparked their interest. There was very little evidence that any females, abducted or otherwise, had stepped foot in the place. With the search complete, they returned to the living room, where they found Ryan and Ging in conversation.
“You’re in the clear.” Lorne handed Ryan a card. “If for any reason Emma should contact you over the next couple of days, will you give me a ring?”
“Of course. Hey, I’m sorry about the mess. Please don’t report us to the authorities. We’ll get it cleaned up today.”
Lorne snorted. “I think you’ll find you need to set aside more than a day to clear this mess up. More like a couple of weeks. I’ll hold off contacting the authorities in that time and come back to inspect the place two weeks from now.”
“Thanks. We appreciate that. Don’t we, Ging?”
Ging ran a hand through his mop of red hair and pulled a face. “Yeah, I guess,” he replied uncertainly.
When Lorne and Katy left the flat, the first thing they did when they got outside was pull in a deep breath of fresh air, then they removed their gloves and stuffed them back into their pockets.
“Okay, I’m officially calling this day over,” Lorne said. “I’ll drop you back at the station.”
“I’m up for that. I’ll ring Karen, see if there’s any news from the appeal, just in case.”
They reached the car, and Lorne looked over the roof at Katy. “Is it bad of me to hope there isn’t any news? I feel bad, but I’m in dire need of a bath and a cuddle with my hubby—in that order, I hasten to add.”
“A cuddle with Tony? Funny, you never say anything like that usually. Care to share?”
Lorne opened the door and slipped behind the wheel, then she exhaled a large breath. “I’m swearing you to secrecy here, Katy. Got that?”
Her brow furrowed. “I’m actually offended that you should say that. I always keep what you tell me between us. I’m no idle gossiper.”
“Crap, I really didn’t mean to insinuate that you are. Just ignore me.” She started up the engine and slotted the car into gear before Katy’s hand caught her forearm.
“Lorne, for Christ’s sake, tell me what’s going on. You’ve been a bit distant since Sean left your office. Is that what this is about?”
Lorne switched off the engine again and slumped forward to rest her head against the steering wheel. “Shit, I don’t know what to do.”
“You can tell me what the hell is going on, for a start. You’re beginning to worry me. Lorne, look at me.”
When she sat back in her seat and turned to face Katy, her eyes were brimming with tears. “All right, I’m just going to blurt this out because I really don’t have any idea how or why it happened.”
“Jesus, get on with it, Lorne. What are you talking about?�
�
“Sean… well, he… damn, he kissed me.”
“Whoa! As in full-blown kiss? A smackeroo-on-the-lips kind of kiss?”
Lorne nodded as a lump the size of a tennis ball lodged itself in her throat.
“Hey, why are you getting so upset about this, Lorne? Are you telling me you still have feelings for Sean?”
Lorne swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump so she could refute Katy’s claim. “No way. I’m saying anything but that. Surely you can see what I’m getting at here, Katy. You’re far from dense.”
Katy shook her head. “Not really. Spell it out for me.”
Lorne slammed her fist against the steering wheel. “How about what an invidious position this has put me in? How the hell am I going to be able to face him again without thinking of his lips covering mine?”
“Okay, I get that. He must have given you an explanation, and I expect he probably apologised after the event.”
“He did. Blamed it on feeling emotional about Emma being abducted. I just got the impression there was more to it than that. Maybe that’s my fault, my mind overreacting.”
“Or could it be that, deep down, you wanted it to happen, Lorne?”
She swivelled in her seat to face her partner, her mouth hung open like a fish gasping for air. “Jesus, I can’t believe you’d say such a thing.”
Katy shrugged. “Look at it from my point of view. You said it was an innocent kiss, but your reactions are telling a whole different story.”
Seething, Lorne twisted in her seat and turned the key in the ignition. She yanked her seat belt into place and pulled away from the kerb before she spoke again. “Thanks for that. Remind me to keep shtum about things in future. I had hoped for some understanding, even sympathy, on your part, but I was clearly wrong about that.”
“Oh great, now I’m in your bad books for speaking my mind. I thought better of you than that, Lorne.”
“Let’s agree to differ on this one,” she said harshly, hoping to put an end to the conversation. In the five years or more that she had known Katy, Lorne had never regretted telling her anything. She mentally kicked herself for divulging what had gone on between her and Sean in her office.
They made it back to the station in record time. During the journey, Katy contacted Karen, who had informed her that it was all quiet on the phone lines.
Katy left the car without either of them saying goodbye. Lorne put her foot down and spun her wheels as she left the station’s car park. More than anything, she was furious that sharing a secret had caused a rift between her and Katy. She would have a lot of making up to do in the morning by the look of things—although why the onus should fall on her shoulders, she had no idea.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lorne stopped off at the supermarket and loaded her trolley with a sack of dog food and quality pieces of steak from the in-house butchery department before adding a bottle of wine, which she had a feeling would help put her life back into perspective. Then she drove home, thankfully managing to avoid the congestion of the traffic on the M25.
Tony was crossing the drive, making his way towards the house, when she pulled up. He changed direction, smiled broadly and waited for her to join him. “Can you give me a hand, love?”
He kissed her on the cheek as she opened the boot. “Of course. I’m sure the delivery came today,” he said, eyeing the sack of dog food sitting in the boot.
“It doesn’t matter. I bought it just in case it didn’t show up. Can you drop it off at the kennel while I make a start on dinner?”
His nose sniffed the air surrounding her. “Umm… you might want to reconsider that notion.”
“Damn, is it that noticeable? No wonder I was getting some weird looks as I was flying around the supermarket. I suppose my nose has got used to the smell by now. I’ll explain over dinner. I’ll jump in the bath first. Is Charlie home?” She scanned the drive for her daughter’s car, which was nowhere to be seen.
“No, she rang earlier to say she was going to Brandon’s house for dinner. It’s his dad’s birthday apparently, and they’re throwing him a surprise dinner party.”
“Ooo… very posh. Well, I bought us a nice piece of steak, so we can have a fancy dinner of our own before we have a snuggle on the couch. Think I’ll throw my PJs on after my bath, if that’s okay?”
“You’re nuts. Since when do you need my approval to do anything?”
She kissed him on the lips. “I’d hate to take you for granted.”
“Crazy woman. What utter nonsense you talk at times. I mean that in a kind and caring way, of course.”
“Thanks, Tony. You mean the absolute world to me. You know that, right?”
He stopped hauling the bag of food out of the car and studied her for a moment or two. “Is something wrong, Lorne?”
She could feel her cheeks warm even in the cool evening air. “Nope, everything is just hunky-dory with me.” She fished the carrier bag containing their dinner out of the boot and headed towards the house. “I won’t be long.”
When she reached the house, she glanced back over her shoulder to see Tony at the car, still watching her. She bit her lip and waved before she entered the back door. Crap, the trouble is he knows me better than I know myself at times. Get a grip, girl and start acting naturally. Damn you, Sean Roberts, for causing this confusion!
Lorne soaked for ten minutes in the bath of luxurious lavender bubbles then, dressed in her Winnie the Pooh PJs, went downstairs to begin the preparations for dinner. She found Tony in the kitchen, one step ahead of her. “No, you sit down. I want to spoil you for a change.” She spun him around and pushed him gently towards the kitchen table. “Looks like Sheba could do with some of your attention.”
“You’re the boss. Come on, girl, where’s your ball? We’ll have a quick game in the paddock before dinner.”
Sheba trotted to the back door via her basket, where she retrieved her favourite ball. Lorne quickly prepared the steak, seasoning it with salt and pepper, before she moved on to chopping and slicing the vegetables to accompany the large piece of meat. Tony had already switched on the oven. She peered through the glass door and saw a tray of oven chips. They made a great team.
The back door flew open, and Sheba bounced into the room, still carrying her ball. Lorne turned to look at Tony, who had a pained expression on his face as he hobbled his way across the room then collapsed into a chair.
“Tony, what’s wrong?”
“Sheba had trouble stopping when she was returning the ball to me. Took me out. I ended up in a heap on the ground. Not her fault. Don’t blame her.”
“I wouldn’t. Are you all right? Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asked, fearful that he’d damaged his prosthetic leg.
“No, it’s a little niggle. I’ll check it out thoroughly after dinner. You worry too much.”
She crossed the room and held his face in her hands. “I love you. Of course I worry about you.”
“What’s going on, Lorne? Is it the case you’re working on? You seem different this evening, soppier, dare I say without causing offence, more caring for some reason.”
Lorne walked back towards the counter to continue her preparations, and avoiding eye contact with him, she said, “Thanks. You mean that I give the impression I don’t care at other times?”
“Not saying that at all.”
“I just want to spoil my man for the evening. Show you how grateful I am to have you in my life.”
“Look at me,” he ordered.
She faced him with tears welling up in her eyes, not an onion in sight that she could blame. “Sorry for being a daft mare.”
“No apologies needed. We’ll talk later. Now get that dinner on the table, wench. I need food in my belly.”
Lorne laughed as he rubbed his stomach like a six-year-old. “Coming up. It shouldn’t be long now.”
While she cooked their meal, the conversation going on in her head whether to tell Tony about the kiss almost drove her nu
ts. At one point, she even said out loud, “I can’t.”
Tony had his head buried in a car magazine and distractedly asked, “Sorry? You can’t what, love?”
Her cheeks flared up, and she turned to look at him. “Did I say that out loud? Goodness me, I must be losing my mind. I’m busy going through what tasks I have to action the team with in the morning. Didn’t realise I had spoken my thoughts. Just ignore me. Maybe this case is getting to me more than others have in the past.”
“I’m not surprised. If the clock is ticking, it’s bound to be consuming your thoughts. Anything I can do to help?”
“I don’t think so, love, not at this point, anyway. I’ll be sure to give you a shout if there is further down the line. One thing I haven’t told you is that we’re under added pressure on this one just because of who the victim is.”
He frowned and tilted his head. “A celebrity?”
“I wish. It might be a darn sight easier finding the poor girl if she were. No, Emma Lansbury is Sean Roberts’s goddaughter.” She could feel the heat intensify in her cheeks when she mentioned her boss’s name.
Tony’s magazine dropped onto the table, and he stared at her. “Holy crap! Seriously? Bloody hell, no wonder you’re feeling the pressure. He must be going out of his mind with worry.”
“You could say that. He’s usually so self-assured, but today in my office… well, he… just crumbled before my eyes. It was soul-destroying to see him like that. It’s made me even more determined to get Emma back safe and well. She obviously means the world to him.”
“Do you know the family from when you two were a couple?”
Lorne gulped and turned the steaks over in the pan before she responded. “No, I don’t recall knowing the Lansburys back then. We stopped seeing each other around twenty-two years ago, and Emma is only eighteen. Not that it makes a difference what age she is. I suppose I’m simply trying to work the timing out in my head. I definitely didn’t recognise the parents when I met them.”
