Dinosaur Diet

by Sam Speed

  Was it obvious to the whole world then, well except for Dawn?

  'I like Jean,' I said, 'but we're not at the stage of a relationship yet.'

  Wendy looked surprised.

  'Are you a virgin?'

  'No, I'm not but I haven't been with a woman.'

  'Ah don't worry about that. Many of us experiment before we are sure what we want. Lots of us have a go with a man.'

  'I didn't have a go with a man. Some men had a go with me.'

  It wasn't until I saw the shocked understanding on Wendy's face that I realised what I'd done. I don't know why I'd spoken so frankly. I was annoyed about the day before and the way she was prying so it had slipped out.

  'Do you want to talk about it?' asked Wendy. 'There are specialist teams now.'

  'No point. It was when I worked in Africa.'

  'You didn't...'

  'What get pregnant? Become HIV positive? No, it's ironic.'

  'Ironic?'

  'The clinic I worked in was involved in a trial to educate the local men about the risks of unprotected sex. We handed out free condoms. We were finally getting through to them so the gang... all wore condoms.'

  'Surely, that's lucky, not ironic?'

  From the puzzled look on Wendy's face it was obvious she didn't realise what I meant. Hardly surprising it had taken me a while to figure it out myself.

  'Ours was the only clinic involved in the trial so the men who attacked me must have come to our clinic and I must have given them the condoms.'

  'Oh my god. You must have felt so betrayed.'

  'Well, when I handed out the condoms I certainly didn't think it would make it safer for them to rape women. Even so, I took the preventative drugs and was able to do my follow up checks without anyone ever knowing.'

  'You never told anyone? Not even Dawn?'

  'No.'

  'I have a friend who runs a support group. If you want...'

  'Let's just drop it.'

  'If you change your mind...'

  I wouldn't have chosen to tell Wendy, or anyone else for that matter, but now that she knew I did somehow feel relieved. I had no faith in talking therapies or councillors, but somehow sharing my secret brought me closer to Wendy. We curled up in my comfy armchairs and chatted for over an hour about anything and nothing.

  'Did your DI give you grief for yesterday?' I asked.

  'Oh hardly. He can't talk about anyone else. He's got the hots for Dawn.'

  'That's obvious.'

  'Yes, but he was annoyed with you for showing him up when he failed to investigate Yvette's death. And he resents how close Dawn is to you.'

  'That explains how I graduated from witness to suspect in one easy lesson.'

  'I should have pulled him up. I'm sorry.'

  'No point in making things difficult for yourself. You have to work with him. Anyway, it's over.'

  'You're a good person Lisa.'

  'Please don't say that in public. You'll spoil my reputation.'

  We laughed together until Snowball mentioned she was being neglected. So I went to get dressed while Wendy amused her ladyship. Wendy had never seen a cat chase a laser pointer before and I could hear her shrieks of laughter as I got dressed.

  'Want to go get a bite of lunch?' Wendy asked.

  'Why not?'

  When I opened the front door, Dawn stood there ready to knock. She looked confused as she saw Wendy standing behind me, and then her face went red.

  'I'm sorry,' she said flustered. 'I wanted to talk... I thought you and Jean... Never mind. I'll see you on Thursday.'

  She fled down the street to her car before either Wendy or I could speak, even if we hadn't been doubled up laughing.

  Lunch was tasty, greasy, heart attack fodder and I enjoyed every bit of it. I also enjoyed Wendy's company, but at the end, Wendy said she would take a step back until I sorted out where I was going with Jean.

  'I hope we can still be friends,' she said.

  'I'd like that.'

  So Mikey was in trouble over messing up Yvette's murder. If I could solve it before him he'd be seriously pissed.

  Wendy said she could not discuss either Yvette or Christine's death with me so there was no point in asking her to help.

  I called Jean after lunch and asked her if she'd like to come over to work on Yvette's paperwork.

  Jean's face fell when she arrived and saw my table ready for the papers she brought with her.

  'I had hoped that was a euphemism,' she said.

  'We'll see.' I knew I couldn't keep her hanging on for much longer.

  'Let's presume,' Jean said, 'that Christine's murder was a result of her nosing into Yvette's death. So, we can concentrate on who might have wanted to kill Yvette.'

  'It might be quicker to see who didn't want to kill her. She wasn't the nicest of people.'

  'Maybe Wendy could help us. Give us some clues about where the police investigation is going.'

  'Doubt it. When she was here this morning she said Detective Mikey is watching her because she turned up with the notebook. She can't discuss the case with us.'

  Jean sat up straight, her face went slightly red and she clenched her hands.

  'Wendy was here?'

  'It wasn't anything like that. She felt guilty about the way I was treated yesterday.'

  'I warned you.'

  'I know you did and I was grateful for your advice.'

  'Can't trust them.'

  'I didn't. But this isn't about Wendy being police, is it?'

  'I'm trying to help.'

  'Look there is nothing between Wendy and me. Why don't you talk to her? I'm sure she still has feelings for you.'

  'You don't understand.'

  'Tell me then.'

  'It's not Wendy I care about. It's you.'

  I felt the blood drain from my face. This was going way too fast for me. I liked Jean and enjoyed her company, but she knew how I felt about Dawn.

  'I'm sorry,' she said watching my face, 'I didn't mean to pressurise you.'

  'Let's just get back to work,' I said bending over the paperwork to hide my embarrassment.

  'Fine.'

  I would have to decide soon.

  Yvette's Work

  We found it easier than expected to get into Yvette's work. The Healthy Working Lives group was going for their silver award so they were more than happy to agree to a free exercise and diet class. They would then use that as an example of something they did for the staff. They must be managers of the future taking credit for other peoples work.

  'We thought,' I said to Angela with my fingers crossed behind my back, 'that it would be nice to do the class for Yvette's team. Sort of tribute.'

  'Humph, I doubt many would want to attend a tribute to her.'

  I must be slipping to have half believed Angela when she said she would miss Yvette.

  Fortunately, it turned out that Yvette and Angela were on the same team. Angela wanted the class during her working hours. That way, as an organiser, she could get to skive off from her job. And we were happy because we could speak to the people Yvette worked with. The class was set provisionally for the following Wednesday. We'd do it at one in the afternoon so the staff could attend during their lunch break. The managers were happy to take the credit for the idea but not prepared to give the staff time off to do it. Angela would contact her manager to see if we could talk to people at their desks.

  Wednesday was one of my days off that week so that worked out nicely. Jean put in for a day's leave, not wanting to miss out on anything.

  We arrived at noon to give us time to get organised and to round up customers.

  Angela met us at the door and signed us in past the security guard.

  'My manager is delighted you're here and would like to meet you for a few minutes if you have time.'

  'No problem.'

  Angela's manager turned out to be a short, chubby young man with shaved dark hair and thick glasses. He looked as though he should still be in school.
<
br />   'Thank you so much for coming,' he gushed with a lisp. I'm happy for you to talk to the staff. I can arrange short talks with a few staff at a time away from their desks. Or if you see someone who is not busy on a call, I don't mind you talking to them at their desk. Wednesday is our quietest day so I don't think there will be a problem. If you want to speak to any particular person just sit next to their desk and they will log off the system once they have finished their call.'

  Jean and I exchanged glances. We didn't want to talk to a group of people. The desk scenario would suit us much better. And the staff would be happy to talk to us rather than go back to their work.

  'Rosy,' I said, 'why don't you go and set up the room ready for us and we'll go around the desks to drum up business.'

  'I'll show you where it is,' Angela bubbled.

  This must be heaven for her. An extra exercise class and an excuse to get away from the phones.

  'Why do you call Dawn, Rosy?' asked Jean.

  'When I was younger I had a thing about Homer. Then I found the passage ...the young Dawn with finger tips of rose lit up the world... in the Odyssey. It seemed so appropriate for my Dawn.

  We didn't have much time left before the class was due to start so Jean and I quickly introduced ourselves to a few of the people working in the section. We explained about the diet and encouraged them to come along to the class. I did have time to discover that Lorna and Suzy sat beside Yvette. That wasn't particularly helpful. We wanted to talk to people we didn't know. We could have questioned them at the class and we already knew they were her friends. However, the way the other women spoke of Yvette's friends caught my interest. Jean and I would work on that after the class.

  The class was a triumph. The manager child had arranged cover for anyone who wanted to come and a lot of people did. And not just women. It's not often you get something for nothing with no catch. We ended up splitting them into two classes. Jean and I took one and Dawn the other. Angela, Lorna and Suzy considered they were experts. They proudly helped to show others what they should be doing. I liked that there was more giggling and collapsing in heaps than actual serious exercising. But some people said they would try coming along to the evening class.

  Jean's short talk on foraging went down well and she promised, with her half smile, to go around the desks, to give people more information.

  I left Dawn surrounded by several adoring men and a couple of adoring women as she explained the thinking behind her dinosaur diet. Michael Black had better watch out.

  Meantime, Jean and I did the rounds. My first stop was a short plump girl with shoulder length mousy brown hair.

  'Hello,' I said' 'I'm Lisa. I don't think I saw you at the class.'

  'I couldn't get away,' she lied.

  'That's a shame. You'll still be welcome to come along to the class to try it out.'

  'I can't get out in the evening. I babysit my young sister.'

  Like I believed she could never get a night out. Enough of this. Let's get down to business.

  'Were you a friend of Yvette's?' I asked.

  'Not really,' she said, 'Yvette tended to go in more for the beautiful people. Well, except for Lorna of course.'

  'Did she have a lot of friends then?'

  'Mostly Suzy and Lorna. Senga, Nancy and Louise sucked up to her as well, but that was so they wouldn't get landed with the worst jobs. Suzy and Lorna were the only ones who actually went out with her.'

  My next stop was at the desk of a tall thin woman with short dark hair, a couple of desks down from where Yvette sat.

  'Hi, I'm Lisa,' I said.

  'I'm not deaf,' she said.

  A woman after my own heart.

  'I would hope not working in a call centre,' I joked.

  She didn't find it funny.

  'Are there any questions about the class or the diet you would like to ask?'

  Please don't.

  'No.'

  Ok, this was going to be a challenge but no Lisa clone was going to outdo me.

  'Do you think you don't need to look after yourself because you are so skinny?'

  Skinny was not exactly diplomatic, but I didn't think diplomatic was going to work with this one.

  'I am slim, not skinny.'

  'No, you're skinny. I should know. I'm built the same. I've found that Dawn's classes have helped me to build up muscles and I now have more curves than I did before.'

  She looked at the tiny bumps on my chest and didn't seem impressed.

  This was going nowhere so I decided to get down to the real business of the day.

  'Did you know Yvette?'

  'Of course, I knew that slut. I worked close enough that I couldn't avoid hearing the bitch flirting on the phone when she was supposed to be working.'

  I seemed to have touched a nerve.

  'I thought Yvette was popular with all the people here.'

  I could feel a smile poking at the sides of my mouth trying to get out.

  'Oh, she was popular enough with her cronies.'

  'You weren't included then?'

  From the look she gave me I suspected she had seen right through my phony sweet tone of voice.

  'I had no wish to be included. She might seem nice on the surface, but that bitch was a gossip and bully. She even got George MacDonald sacked. She claimed he'd stolen money from her. The management sacked him without giving him a chance to defend himself. Even they did what Yvette told them.'

  I noticed a tear trickling out of the corner of her eye. Maybe this would-be Lisa had a soft side. Or at least, a soft side for Anne's son George. She'd have to do better if she hoped to emulate me.

  I had a hunch.

  'I heard he was a nasty piece of work. His girlfriend couldn't wait to drop him because of his temper.'

  'It wasn't like that at all,' she yelled. Then looked around hurriedly, but luckily for her, there were no supervisors about. 'He lost his confidence after he was sacked. Then he couldn't afford to keep up his flat and had to move back in with his parents. And his mother didn't like me.'

  I thought that probably likely. I tried to imagine this beanpole with Anne's five-foot four inch son and decided maybe I didn't want to imagine it after all.

  I felt a hand on my arm and was pulled roughly away from the desk. The normally sweet face of Angela was red and contorted.

  'What the hell do you think you are doing?' she said. 'You're supposed to be here to advertise your class not pump people for information about Yvette. You used me to get in here.'

  'You were quite happy to be used when you thought your manager would give you the credit for it. And he's still going to think the day went well if you keep quiet.'

  Angela looked up and following my gaze she saw her manager watching over the room.

  We both smiled and gave him a wave. Angela blushed and I realised she didn't just want to impress him because of work.

  'Why are you so upset I'm asking people about Yvette?' I said. 'What have you got to hide? What happened between you and her? Did your manager prefer her to you? Did he like that he could get a hold of her curves? Better than skin and bone.'

  Angela waited smiling grimly until her manager left the room then she exploded.

  'Get out. Don't ever come back here. And don't think Dawn will forgive you for this. I'm going to tell her all about it. She'll not be your friend when she realises what you are really like.'

  That wasn't going to happen, was it? Rosy already knew what I was like. But what if she thought it would affect the numbers in her class? She wouldn't put her class before me. Would she?

  Lisa Ignores the Detective

  I hung about outside the call centre for a while until Jean and Dawn appeared. Jean was grinning. My Dawn was not so rosy.

  'This was all a ploy to do some investigating?' she said.

  'Yep.' No point in denying it. I'm sure Angela would have explained at great length what I had done. 'But it was a good chance to advertise your class as well.'

  'That's tru
e and you are investigating to help my business.'

  She laughed as she saw me relax.

  'You didn't seriously think I'd be angry with you?'

  'Course not. Angela made enough noise about it to attract the interest of everyone in the room. I can guarantee a lot will come along next week in the hope of a fight.'

  'Angela said that she would stop attending the class if I didn't stop you coming. I told her I would regret it if she doesn't come, but that I could not manage without the help from you and Jean.'

  I knew it was true, but it was still nice to hear it from her.

  'How did you get on?' Jean asked me.

  'I discovered that Yvette got Anne's son sacked by claiming he had stolen money from her. We should have a look at him.'

  'George couldn't hurt anyone,' said Dawn. 'Remember Lisa when we were at school and he found that injured dog. He cried when they had to put it down. I don't believe he has a bad bone in him.'

  Although Dawn could be naive I had to agree with her about George.

  'He might not, but Anne is another matter. You have to be tough to run a small business and a mother will do just about anything for her child.'

  'True,' said Jean.

  'His girlfriend was very bitter about Yvette. I didn't get her name, but I should be able to wangle it out of Anne. How did you get on Jean?'

  'I managed to collect a few names that might match with initials in the notebook. I'll take all our notes home and try to link our info with Yvette's notes. I discovered that Yvette's little group was very unpopular with the other staff. And Suzy and Lorna have been friendlier with the others since Yvette died.'

  'Allo, allo, allo what have we here?'

  Even if I hadn't recognised the low sexy voice behind me, I would have known who it was from Dawn's reaction. She blushed, opened her eyes wide and licked her lips. Then put her hand up to check that all the little wisps of hair that escaped from her ponytail were curling nicely around her face. I knew she would have no idea she did this and be horrified if I pointed it out.

  Jean, on the other hand, knew exactly how she felt. Her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned. I could see her hands clenching as though they longed to punch someone. And I knew who that someone was.