by D. S. Butler
@lookingforacure: Perfect. What time?
@Fibromyalgiagirl: Can you make it today?
@lookingforacure: Yup.
@Fibromyalgiagirl: Two o’clock?
@lookingforacure: See you then!
He logged off, and Tammy was left staring at the screen. Her pulse was racing. This could be it. In less than a week, she could be feeling better. Holding a shaky hand to her chest, she stood up and carried her coffee cup back to the kitchen. She’d forgotten all about the biscuits, and now she was too nervous to eat.
Two o’clock! She’d better get ready.
Brendan shut down his PC. That had gone well. Easier than he’d expected. Now that he had a new assistant lined up, it wouldn’t be long before he’d have the breakthrough he needed.
Tammy seemed nice enough, and he’d felt a momentary twinge of guilt while they were exchanging messages, but when he finally found the cure, she would forgive him. Sure, it would take longer than the seven days he’d promised Tammy, but all good things come to those who wait.
He smiled as he walked back to the kitchen, all thoughts of the Ashley Burrows failure purged from his mind.
Chapter Fourteen
When Mackinnon got back to Wood Street Station, he found someone had left the briefing notes on his desk. He sat down and began to look through them.
The CCTV was still the bottleneck. Without viewing the footage, it would be almost impossible to track their suspect. According to the notes, the tech team were putting all their resources behind the problem and hoped to have it fixed as soon as possible.
Mackinnon hoped that was true. They could really do with a break on this case.
Despite a search of the local area and door-to-door enquiries along the street near to where Ashley’s body had been found, no new information had turned up. The team still hadn’t located Ashley’s bag or mobile phone.
Mackinnon turned the page, but before he could start reading, Tyler appeared at his desk.
The detective inspector perched on the edge of Mackinnon’s desk. “Any surprises from the postmortem?”
Mackinnon nodded. “Yes, a couple. Firstly, the cause of death was sepsis.”
Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Sepsis? Like blood poisoning?”
“Dr Blair thinks it was probably from the scratches on her forearms. The scratches got infected, and the infection spread to her blood. From there, it would have caused her organs to fail and her body to slowly shut down. It wouldn’t have been a nice death.”
There weren’t many nice deaths. But Mackinnon hoped he died in his sleep, comfortable in his own bed. The thought of Ashley slowly growing feverish and sicker and sicker before dying in pain was not a pleasant one to contemplate.
“Poor kid,” Tyler said. “So how do we treat this one? Was it an accidental death?” Tyler scratched his chin. “If it was, why would someone dump her body like that? She’d been restrained, hadn’t she?”
“Yes, the marks on her wrists were consistent with being tied up for hours, probably days, with plastic cable ties, according to Dr Blair. She’d been restrained and prevented from getting medical help. Dr Blair said if she’d gone to the hospital in time, it was likely she would have made a full recovery.”
Tyler nodded slowly. “Was there any sign she’d been sexually assaulted?”
Mackinnon shook his head. “None.”
Tyler grunted and folded his arms over his chest.
“That surprised me, too,” Mackinnon said. “I was expecting something quite different from the postmortem. But I still think we’re looking for a killer. He didn’t physically take her life, but he was still responsible for her death.”
“He?” Tyler queried.
“I think we’re looking for a man, don’t you?”
“In all likelihood. But we can’t rule anything out at this stage, Jack. Thanks for attending the PM. I hate going to them.”
“Not a problem. I’ve been going through the briefing notes, but it doesn’t look like we’re making much progress.”
“Slow and steady. We’ll get there. If we could get the CCTV to cooperate, that would be a great help.” He shook his head. “In this day and age, I can’t believe we’re having such trouble. There are cameras everywhere.”
“From the briefing notes, it doesn’t sound like a fatal problem. They are working to fix it, aren’t they?”
“Let’s hope so. Apparently the downloaded files are corrupted, and for some ridiculous reason, they’ve been wiped from the main system. So somehow the lads and lasses from tech are going to have to unscramble the files if we are to have any chance of viewing them.”
“Was it a computer or operator error?”
Tyler let out a long breath. “The corrupted files seem to be a computer error, but the fact they were wiped from the system is down to the operator.”
Mackinnon grimaced. Whoever had wiped the files from the system was in for a serious dressing down. He was glad he wasn’t in their shoes.
“And still no sign of Ashley Burrows’s phone?”
“No, Charlotte has contacted the mobile phone company and has requested her call log. We should have a copy of that soon. Did you happen to see a laptop when you searched Ashley’s bedroom?”
Mackinnon shook his head. “No, we did ask the Burrowses, and they confirmed Ashley had a laptop, but they didn’t know where it was. It’s possible it could have been elsewhere in the house. I’ll give Kate a call and ask her to speak to Mr and Mrs Burrows again.”
“Yes, do that.”
“There was something else unusual about the postmortem. Dr Blair thinks the insect bites on her forearms were the reason for all the scratch marks on her skin. It would explain why her arms were itchy and why she scratched her skin in the first place. He thinks they were bedbug bites.”
“Bedbugs?” Tyler pulled a face.
“Yes. If we presume she didn’t get them at home, then perhaps she got the bites from wherever she was held in the ten days she was missing.”
“Logical.”
“I did a bit of reading on my way back on the tube, but I think we need to talk to a professional. If we can get a list of reported bedbug infestations in the city within the last six months or so, that might narrow down the area where she’d been held while she was missing.”
Tyler nodded slowly. “That might just work. Give it a go. Who are you going to speak to?”
“I thought pest control at the council would be my first point of call and see what they suggest. I’d hope they keep records, but I’m not sure.”
“All right. Follow that up this afternoon after you’ve spoken to Kate and have asked her to double check on the laptop.”
“Will do.”
As Tyler got up to leave, Mackinnon said, “Nice tie, by the way.”
Tyler was wearing a dark blue tie with narrow cream stripes. It made a change from his normal, more garish neckwear.
Tyler tugged at the bottom of the tie. “Thanks. It was a present from Janice.”
“How is that going? Has she forgiven you yet?”
Tyler shook his head. “I sent some flowers yesterday, but I haven’t heard from her. I think the writing is on the wall for this one, Jack.”
After Tyler went back to his office, Mackinnon fished out his mobile phone and called the family liaison officer, Kate Squires. She answered on the third ring.
“Kate, this is Jack Mackinnon. I wondered if you’d be able to ask the Burrowses if they know where their daughter’s laptop could be? We didn’t see it when we visited the house, but it could have been stored out of sight, or maybe Ashley left it at a friend’s house.”
“Sure. I’ll ask them now,” Kate said.
“Thanks. How are they holding up?”
“About as well as you’d expect. Maxine’s devastated. She’s crying all the time. Tim is constantly pacing the house. He’s angry.”
Different people reacted to grief in different ways, and most went through stages. The death of a child was s
omething that never went away, but the nightmare parents went through in the immediate aftermath was an unbelievable strain, an experience Mackinnon wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.
“Thanks Kate. If you could get back to me about the laptop, that would be great.”
He hung up the call and then used his computer to search for the details of the pest control office at the City of London.
He dialled the number of the appropriate department, and the call was answered by Lyra Gray.
“Lyra, this is DS Jack Mackinnon of the City of London Police. I have an unusual request. We have a murder victim with what we think are bedbug bites. I wondered if you or anyone in the department could tell me where there have been reports of bedbugs in the city?”
“Oh, that is an unusual request,” Lyra said. “We do keep records of cases that have been reported to us, but we don’t keep records of those that have been treated by private contractors.”
“So there could be cases of bedbugs in the city where you wouldn’t have a record of them?”
“It’s possible, I’m afraid.”
“Right, well, I suppose we’ll have to work with what we’ve got first. Could you email me the records of bedbug cases in, say, the last six months in the City of London?”
“I should be able to… but, well, I have to check with my manager first. You know, people are quite fussy about privacy when it comes to this sort of thing.”
Mackinnon sighed. “The results won’t be made public. I just need the information to narrow down areas where our victim may have been in the days before she died. If you need to speak to your manager, I’d appreciate you doing so quickly.”
“Of course. I’ll check with him and then get the list sent straight over to you.”
Mackinnon gave Lyra his email address and said, “I’d appreciate it. Also, I have one more request. Is there someone in your department I can speak to about bedbugs…about their habitat and behaviour?”
“Um, probably not someone in this office. The thing is, when residents get in touch to report a bedbug infestation, we give them the details of a local pest control firm, and they go in to treat the bugs. It’s no longer carried out by the council itself, you see.”
“What company do you use?”
“It’s called A1 Pest Control. We’ve used them for a few years now, and they’ve been great. They offer council referrals a discounted rate to treat the bugs.”
“I see. Could you give me the details for the company?”
Mackinnon jotted down the contact details for the pest control company and thanked her.
As soon as Mackinnon ended the call, his phone rang again. It was Kate.
“Kate, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.”
“No problem. I spoke to Maxine, and she said that Ashley did have a laptop, but she hasn’t seen it recently. She’s going to take a look around the house and see if she can find it.”
“Thanks, Kate. That’s a great help. If we can locate that laptop, it may give us some desperately needed leads.”
“I’ll let you know if they find it.”
Mackinnon thanked her, hung up, and then dialled the pest control company.
After introducing himself, he said, “I was wondering if there was someone I could speak to about the methods you use to treat bedbugs in the city.”
The woman on the other end of phone stammered, “Oh…um… I can assure you that everything is above board… All the pesticides we use are fully licenced and used in accordance with EU laws.”
“It’s not about that. I’m working a case at the moment where the victim was bitten by bedbugs. I’m hoping understanding a bit more about them will help me to understand where she was in the days before her death.”
“Oh, I see.” Mackinnon could hear the relief in her voice. “In that case, talking to one of our pest controllers wouldn’t be a problem. They are all out at the moment, but you might catch them between appointments. Actually, I’m just looking through our appointment book, and Gary will have a half an hour break at four o’clock before his next job on Burdett Road. Would you be able to meet him then? I could ask him to meet you in the Lidl carpark.”
“That would be very helpful, thank you.”
“I’ll give you his number, and you can give him a ring when you get there.”
“Great,” Mackinnon said, taking down Gary’s mobile number.
When he hung up, it occurred to him how strange his job could be. This afternoon he was going to be learning all about bedbugs. That was something he’d never expected to have to learn, but this job constantly surprised him.
Chapter Fifteen
Tammy didn’t think she’d ever been so nervous in her entire life. It wasn’t just because she was meeting a random bloke from the Internet. It was because she now had the possibility of recovering her health. She had the chance to feel healthy again.
The thought made her tearful as she emerged from Whitechapel Underground and turned right.
Directly ahead, in the distance, was the Gherkin building. She weaved around the people walking towards her.
The Costa coffee shop was really close, which was fortunate because Tammy’s legs were shaky. Her mouth was dry too, and her palms felt sweaty.
She’d pushed back the sleeves of her blouse to get some sun and top up her vitamin D but now tugged the sleeves back down.
She’d read that most people in the UK didn’t get enough vitamin D because they didn’t get much sunshine. Most people worked inside. At one point, she had wondered if her condition was related to some kind of vitamin deficiency, and her GP had run a whole panel of tests before declaring Tammy perfectly healthy.
She was too early. Her heart rate quickened as she walked past the coffee shop and headed towards the market stalls lining the pavement.
She stopped beside a stall and pretended to look at the items for sale: a selection of cross body bags. She took the time to calm down her nerves. She was over five minutes early and didn’t want to get there first.
She pulled her mobile phone from her pocket and sent a quick text to her sister:
I’m just going to Costa Coffee on Whitechapel Road to meet someone who thinks they can help me feel better. They’ve got a whole protocol worked out. It sounds really helpful!
There, she felt a little better. At least someone knew where she was. She knew better than to meet a bloke from the Internet without telling anyone. She added as a quick afterthought:
His name is Brendan.
She laughed uneasily, drawing a concerned look from the stall-holder. If Brendan turned out to be a madman, at least her sister knew where she was and who she was with.
“Are you going to buy that bag? Or are you just going to pull it apart?” the stout, bald-headed stall owner asked.
Tammy glanced down and saw that she was holding one of the small bags. She hadn’t even realised she’d picked it up.
She hung it back on the hook. “Sorry,” she said and walked briskly away towards the coffee shop.
As usual, the place was heaving. Tammy’s heart thudded. She’d already had too much coffee today. The caffeine was adding to her jitters.
She pushed open the glass door, stepped inside, and looked around.
Was he here already? A glance at her phone screen told her it was one minute past two.
She should have asked him what he’d be wearing. Wasn’t that what people usually did when they had assignations with strangers? She was starting to feel light-headed. Was that the excitement of what he could have in store for her or the fact she hadn’t eaten anything apart from that disgusting celery juice?
She scanned the tables, looking for a man on his own, but couldn’t see him straight away.
She walked forward just as the blender roared to life behind the counter. Cups rattled, and steam hissed from the coffee machine. Tammy’s senses were overwhelmed, but she pushed on.
She squeezed past a buggy with a sleeping infant and walked further into the coffee
shop. Her phone beeped, and she glanced at the screen. It was a text message from her sister.
Great. I’ve got a protocol that would work for you: healthy eating and exercise. I’ll be at the gym at seven p.m. tonight if you want to join me as a guest?
Tammy narrowed her eyes. Sometimes she thought Julie was deliberately obtuse. Go to the gym? Was she kidding? Tammy could barely make it through the day without extra exercise on top. Come seven o’clock tonight, she would be tucked up in bed, already fast asleep.
It hurt to realise even her sister didn’t understand what she was going through. She pushed the pain to one side, trying to concentrate on the future. If things went well with this protocol, she could be back to her old self in no time.
She put the phone in her handbag, and when she looked up again, she saw a tall man with brown hair looking at her.
He smiled, stood up from the table and said, “Tammy?”
“Brendan! I mean, yes, I’m Tammy. Thanks for meeting me. I wasn’t sure you’d really be here. I thought maybe I’d imagined the whole thing. You know, being able to get a cure and feel better again…well, it’s almost unbelievable for me.”
Shut up, Tammy. You’re babbling.
She clamped her mouth shut and smiled back at him.
“I know exactly how you feel,” Brendan said. “I’ll get you a drink, and we can talk. What do you fancy?”
“I’ll have an English breakfast tea, thanks.”
As Brendan went to the counter, Tammy sat down in the unoccupied seat at his table and placed her hands on her lap. She pinched the skin on her thighs as a way to reassure herself she was awake and this was really happening.
Tammy shot a shy glance at his back as he joined the end of the queue. He seemed normal enough.
He was tall and looked fit and healthy. He didn’t send off any creepy vibes anyway. So far, so good.
Tammy swallowed and tried to slow her breathing. She didn’t want to come off like an anxious mess. The idea of him turning her down for the treatment was too awful to contemplate. She couldn’t mess this up.
