His Twisted Smile

by Chris Thompson

  Once done, he glanced at the clock and saw it was a little before eight in the morning. Derek would either still be at home or on his way or at work. It was going to be a tough call to make and he’d need to play his cards right in order to secure a face to face interview. He took a deep breath then began to dial the number he’d been given by Millie’s friends. Gordon was disappointed to discover the number had been disconnected; it seemed Derek was determined to put as much distance between himself and his acquaintances from university, which would make his task harder as he would doubtlessly stretch his exclusion to include anyone asking questions about his relationship with Millie. He figured he should’ve guessed the number wouldn’t work after his lack of success trawling through the social media sites, but he hadn’t, making it his first and hopefully last setback of the day.

  Gordon quickly came up with an alternative plan, and dialled the contact number from the website. It was answered promptly by a perky-sounding woman.

  “Good morning, Leland Security. How may I direct your call?”

  “I’d like to speak with Derek Leland.”

  “He’s not in at the moment. Would you like to arrange an over the phone or in-person appointment?”

  “In-person if possible.” Gordon stated. He heard tapping on a keyboard and then she spoke again.

  “You’re in luck; we have an opening at eleven thirty today. May I take your name and the purpose of your appointment?”

  “Gordon Crane and it’s in relation to a private matter. I’m sure you understand.” Gordon responded.

  “Of course, we value your privacy as well as your security.” She responded, tapping away at the keyboard. “Okay, your appointment is logged in. We’ll expect you at eleven thirty, Mister Crane.”

  “Thanks.” Gordon responded and hung up. “So far so good.” He commented to himself.

  Gordon idled through the morning, having no line of investigation he wished to pursue until after he had spoken to Derek. Growing bored at the inactivity, he started making his way to his appointment early. He sat in the visitor’s parking lot for about a half an hour, observing the building. It was large, modern and featured the company logo along the width of the building: a metal plate bound in chains, with ‘Leland Security’ in silver below it. Gordon saw a few people coming and going escorted by athletic, suited men and women who Gordon imagined were armed. The latter appeared to be personal security, leading him to assume the former were people of importance, wealth or a combination of the two. The more suspicious part of his mind couldn’t help but wonder at the secrets the company had amassed about them; would they go as far as hiding something criminal, he speculated. It was an irrelevant line of thinking; there was no way to know for certain and idle conjecture wouldn’t get him any closer to resolving his current case. But it was still an amusing way to pass the time, imagining the darkness each client was harbouring as they walked in and out of the building.

  Eventually, with just five minutes to go before his appointment, Gordon exited his vehicle and approached the entrance, feeling slightly underdressed as he passed by formally dressed individuals. He considered going back to his car and grabbing the tie he kept in his glove compartment, but he was more comfortable in his informal attire and besides, there was no way he could compete with the clients he’d seen, tie or no tie. He stepped into the space in the revolving door and followed it through to the blessedly cool lobby of the Leland Security building. A pair of receptionists sat behind a wide, faux-stone topped desk in front of a wall featuring the company logo and name. Left and right of the wall were corridors to elevator banks and further along, some kind of large metal plate that perhaps served as a registry of sorts, indicating notable company members, the floor they worked on and their position. To enter the corridor one had to pass by a security station, manned by a uniformed, armed guard, and walk through a metal detector. There were a couple of men wearing black suits, whiter than white shirts and black ties lounging at each end of the reception desk trying to look inconspicuous, but their earpieces led Gordon to suspect they were part of the security team for the ‘Greeting Area’, as it was called. They observed him in a casual way as he approached the leftmost receptionist, a young, dark haired woman who had a firmly affixed fake smile that widened slightly as Gordon approached.

  “Good morning, how can I help you?” She asked brightly.

  “Gordon Crane, I have an appointment with Derek Leland at eleven thirty.” He stated.

  “Of course.” She responded, tapping away at her computer, which seemed to be embedded into the desk. She reached and grabbed a visitor’s badge that she handed to him.

  “Take the elevator to the fifth floor and speak to Emily, she’ll direct you to Mister Leland.”

  Gordon thanked her and followed the woman’s instructions, being stopped at the metal detector where his weapon was confiscated by security. Once he had verified he carried the appropriate permit, he was handed a ticket to have it returned when he came back from the meeting. Once through, he took the elevator up and was eventually escorted to Derek’s office. It wasn’t a corner office; it sat roughly in the centre on the side of the building. It commanded a nice view of Carlson Flats, but given the more junior position Derek held, he imagined it was noticeably smaller than some of the others on the same floor.

  Derek Leland was sitting behind his desk, but rose as Gordon was ushered inside.

  “Mister Crane! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He announced, extending his hand. Gordon took it and they shook.

  “The pleasure is all mine.” Gordon replied.

  Derek indicated the chair on the other side of the desk with a sweeping gesture of his hand. “Please make yourself comfortable.”

  “Thank you.”

  When Gordon was seated, Derek started speaking again.

  “I understand you have something private in nature to discuss with me.”

  “Yes, I--”

  “We offer a variety of private security services, from bodyguards to secure couriers. All we need to know are your requirements; no questions are asked about the nature of your business or item.”

  “Well--” Gordon tried again, but was cut short by Derek’s continuing sales pitch.

  “Depending on the nature and length of your contract, we might also be able to offer an enhanced package for a lower price - provided the time invested would be worth our while.”

  “Listen, I’m--”

  “We also have excellent rates available for returning customers, so be sure to think of us when you next have security needs.” Derek continued. He was a poor salesmen in Gordon’s opinion. Derek tried way too hard and was so focused on his script it seemed he was oblivious to what a potential client was saying; perhaps, Gordon considered, this was why he had a small central office despite being the owner’s son. Gordon waited a few seconds after Derek stopped speaking to ensure he was truly done before he made another attempt to tell him why he was visiting.

  “That’s all well and good, Mister Leland, but--”

  “Derek, please.”

  “I’m not here to purchase your services.”

  “You’re not?” Derek questioned, a look of deep confusion passing over his face.

  “No, I’m here because I need your help.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You went to university with Millie Reese-Smyth, right?”

  Derek’s face seemed to turn pale and he leaned forward and placed his hands on his desk.

  “Uh, yeah. Yeah I went to university with her.”

  “Great. I’m a private investigator and I’m trying to piece together her final days.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.” Derek declared flatly.

  “Sure you can. You just said you went to school with her; you can give me some important background information on her.”

  “I’d really rather not. I think it’d be better if you left.” Derek said, reaching towards his phone.

  “Now, before you go
and call security, how about you take a breath to think about what you’re doing.” Gordon stated, leaning forward. Derek’s hand hovered above the receiver.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, from what I’ve heard you might have been one of the last people to see her alive.” Gordon lied. “Moreover, you had an affair with her at university, which led to some bad blood between you, her friends and Millie.”

  “That’s… that’s not true!” Derek erupted.

  “Then don’t you think it’s best to give me your side of the story? After all, I’m obligated to report any criminal findings to the police and I would hate to give them incorrect information.” Gordon told him threateningly.

  From his expression, Derek appeared to be having an intense internal debate and, after a few quiet moments, he nodded in submission and took his hand away from the phone.

  “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Excellent.” Gordon declared. “Mind if I record this? It’s for the protection of both of us and, if it leads to anything, it can be given to the police as evidence.”

  “I guess.” Derek agreed warily. Gordon set out his phone and started the recording with the date, the names of those present and with Derek verbally giving his consent to the recording.

  “So,” Gordon began the interview proper, “how did you meet Millie?”

  “In university.”

  “I asked how, not where.”

  Derek cleared his throat and reached to fill an empty glass from the jug of water at the edge of his desk. He took several long sips and then cleared his throat again, replacing the glass.

  “We didn’t meet properly until about halfway through our time at university. We took a lot of similar classes but I was always on the edge of her social group so we weren’t really friends until then.”

  “And how did that change?”

  “By accident really. We in a study group and I noticed her promise ring and we got to talking about it.”

  “Were you interested in making the pledge yourself?”

  “No… by the time we met that particular boat had sailed for me. I was just interested because I’d never met someone who was trying to live that way.”

  “Trying?” Gordon questioned.

  “Yeah. I mean she said she was living that way but who knows what goes on behind closed doors, right?”

  “Do you think she didn’t keep her vow?” Gordon challenged.

  “N-No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant… I don’t want you to think I’m being disrespectful to her memory or anything, but you never really know people, is all I meant. People hide things all the time.” He offered by way of explanation, then hurriedly added: “I liked Millie, I liked her a lot.”

  “Interesting. So, how did you fit in with her other friends?”

  “Pretty good. I mean, her boyfriend didn’t like me that much, but I think I got along with the others pretty well.”

  “So, there were no disagreements between you and the rest of them?”

  Derek swallowed hard and looked a little nervous.

  “I’m assuming they told you about the, uh… incident.”

  “That’s a good way of putting it. Give it to me from your perspective.”

  “Millie and I were studying when her boyfriend burst into the room and took everything way out of perspective. Josh is a hot headed moron, and quite honestly I don’t know what she saw in him.”

  “Did you get into a fight?”

  “No, Millie kept him in check and then he stormed off, swearing he’d never speak to her again, which I think might have been the best thing for her. Millie deserved better; she deserved someone who wanted to be with her because they loved her, not because they were chasing a difficult conquest.” His opinion of Millie conflicted slightly. His opening remarks were not quite as complementary, perhaps to fit with what he perceived as the general opinion, but Gordon let it pass and moved on rather than spend his time brooding on why.

  “I hear it was true love; he was changing his ways just for her.”

  Derek scoffed. “I doubt that.”

  “He was cheating on her?”

  “I don’t know… maybe. He could never keep his eyes in his head, always looking at her friends, Tamsin especially.”

  “Did you have anything more than suspicion?”

  “No. If I had I would’ve told Millie.”

  “So, after Josh caught you and Millie studying, what happened?”

  “Things were weird. Most of the people who knew her really well didn’t think there was anything going on between us but, despite that, I think some didn’t understand we were just close friends. They were convinced we were more than that, but she simply chose not to discuss the situation with them.”

  “Because she wouldn’t tell them what was really going on between you?”

  “H-how do you mean?” Derek questioned.

  “As I understand it, she told one of her friends there were some things that needed to come out first before she could reveal the truth about your relationship.”

  Derek leaned back in his chair.

  “And she never mentioned what those things were?” Derek asked carefully, as though he was doing his best not to betray a single emotion.

  “No. Actually, I was hoping you might be able to tell me.”

  “I’ve no idea.” Derek said calmly but, monitoring his features carefully, Gordon suspected Derek was relieved.

  Gordon shrugged. “Personally, I’m inclined to think she was hiding something about you.”

  “How could it be about me?” Derek asked, clearly becoming nervous.

  “That’s what I was wondering.”

  “I… I don’t know.” Derek definitely looked... shifty, that was the only way to describe it. What was the secret he shared with Millie? Gordon decided to change the topic and see what else might shake loose.

  “So you extricated yourself from the group. Did you keep in touch with Millie?”

  “Uh, sort of. When I accepted this position, I decided to close down my social media and change some of my contact methods. New phone, new email, that kind of thing.”

  “So you kept in touch with Millie but not any of the others?”

  “I got the feeling they wouldn’t mind, and truth be told, the feeling was mutual.”

  “I thought you said you got along well with her other friends.”

  “I did, but sometimes it’s just nice to change the people in your life.”

  “Right.” Gordon responded, feeling certain that Derek was being ‘flexible’ with the truth. “So, when was the last time you saw Millie?”

  Derek made a sucking sound and shook his head.

  “Actually saw her? It’d have to be a month or so before she went missing.”

  “And the last time you spoke to her?”

  “Probably a week or so before. We were talking about her trip; she was really excited.”

  “And you spoke over the phone?”

  “Yeah, on our cell phones.”

  “Did she mention anyone new in her life? Anyone she was seeing?”

  “No. I was hoping she’d meet someone who would make her happy while she was touring.”

  “You didn’t hope that might be you?” Gordon asked bluntly.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Well, Millie was a beautiful, young woman; you’re a handsome, successful man. You were close… it never occurred to you that it might be interesting to take things to a different level?”

  “We were friends, nothing more.”

  “And you never wanted more.”

  “No.”

  “Are you seeing anyone now?”

  “That’s hardly any of your business.” Derek replied with a dismissive shake of his head. When he re-focused on Gordon, he saw the dark, extremely serious look he was giving him and shrank back a little. “No… I’m too busy for a relationship right now.”

  “So, why didn’t you go to Millie’s funeral? It sounds like you were prett
y close.”

  Derek sighed and looked genuinely saddened.

  “Because I didn’t want there to be any hassle. Working here is a heavy responsibility and the last thing I needed were old wounds being opened and trouble stirred up - not just for me,” Derek hurried to add, “but for Millie too. She deserved to be laid to rest with dignity. She was a good person; kind, understanding, sweet.”

  Gordon nodded slowly, brushing his chin with the back of his fingers as he considered what to say next.

  “Do you believe she went out, got high, had sex and then accidentally died in an alleyway?”

  “I… I mean... that’s how the police say it happened, right?”

  “It is indeed, but that’s not what I asked. The Millie you knew, the woman you were friends with, do you believe she would’ve done those things?”

  Derek stared at him for a few moments and then shook his head slowly from side to side.

  “I don’t, no. She valued her vow too much. One thing that Millie was extremely good at was keeping her word; if you asked her for a favour then no matter what it took, she’d keep her promise to you. If she would do that for other people then she would do it for herself. Besides, she hated drugs.”