by M A Comley
“Some what? Oh please! Take a listen to yourself.”
Lorne encroached his personal space. “You and I are going to fall out big time, buster, if you don’t take that cotton wool out of your ears and start listening to someone trying to give you some good advice.”
“Trying to run my life, you mean.”
Lorne heard the door open behind her. She leaned in toward the man and warned, “If I hear you’ve laid a hand on that boy, those boys, after we’ve gone, there’ll be trouble…you got that?”
Fryatt shrugged. “Whatever. I got news for you, lady. They’re my kids, and I can do what I want with them.”
Seething, Lorne grabbed him by the shirt collar. “Listen very carefully, wise mouth. You lay one hand on those kids, I’ll have your arse thrown in jail quicker than you could ask for a can of beer.”
Fryatt’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling as if he knew she was bluffing. “Whatever.”
“You dumb, shit-for-brains idiot. Have you any idea how child abusers are treated in prison? If I bang you up, I’ll be sure to exaggerate the charges and have the pleasure of putting the word around on the inside myself, you got that?”
Katy patted Lorne’s back. “I think the man understood clearly where you are coming from, Sergeant. It’s time we were going now.”
Lorne released her grip, but gave the man a final warning shot, “I’ll be contacting Social Services this afternoon…just in case.”
She followed Katy out the front door. Once they were out of earshot of the house, Katy asked, “What the heck was that all about? I’ve never seen you react like that to an innocent bystander.”
“Ha…innocent bystander, my arse! That guy has got some serious problems in my opinion. I didn’t want him taking our visit out on those poor kids, that’s all.”
“I had a word with the wife, and she assured me that wouldn’t happen. I’m sure she’ll stick by her word.”
Lorne wasn’t as confident as Katy. Mrs. Fryatt seemed like the type who’d been knocked around a bit in the past, as well as her poor sons. “We’ll see. The boys seemed genuine enough, yeah?”
“I’d say. The poor mites were crapping themselves when they realised the person wasn’t moving. All they could think of was high-tailing it out of there, sharpish. They couldn’t really give me any further details. Johnny said he wanted the other kids away from the scene immediately before it caused the younger ones too many nightmares.”
“So, we’re still no farther forward now.”
Katy sighed as she unlocked the car and they got in. “Let’s call it a day and start afresh tomorrow. I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day. Is it good to be back?”
Lorne didn’t have to ponder her answer for long. “Yep, it’s great being back and kicking shitheads’ arses, like that one.”
They laughed as Katy pulled away from the Fryatts’ house.
CHAPTER FOUR
After stopping off at the Indian take-away, Lorne arrived home at around six-thirty that evening. Tony greeted her with open arms and a lingering kiss. “That was nice to come home to, thank you.” She put the brown bag on the table while Tony collected the warmed plates from the oven.
“How was your day?” Tony asked, dipping into the bag and extracting its contents.
Lorne helped remove the lids from the foil containers. “Interesting. Is Charlie around?”
“Upstairs, I’ll give her a call. Interesting as in…?” Tony went to the kitchen door and called up the stairs. “Charlie, dinner’s ready.”
“The day started off by going out to a murder scene and meeting the new super. It ended, well…with me pinning a bloke to the wall.”
Tony’s eyes widened. “Wow, you don’t hang around. Nice to get your feet under the table early in your return career, eh?”
Lorne laughed. “You wouldn’t have stood the crap that guy was giving me either. Actually, I predict you would’ve decked the guy halfway through the conversation, if you can call what we had a conversation.”
“That bad? Well, I’m sure you put him in his place and felt good afterwards.”
“Sort of. It amused Katy no end. She chuckled all the way back to the station.”
Charlie breezed into the room and greeted her mother with a hug. “We missed you, Mum.”
“Aww…that’s nice to know, hon. How are the dogs?”
“Well cared for and looking for suitable homes,” Charlie replied. She sat at the table and reached over for a plate piled high with three different curries and boiled rice. Henry, the Border Collie, sat beside her and placed his chin on her lap. Charlie leaned forward to whisper, “Soft lad missed his mum today too.”
Lorne left Tony to finish dishing up the meal and knelt on the floor to call the dog. “Not speaking to me, sweetie? Do you think mummy abandoned you today?”
With his head low to the ground, Henry walked towards her and sat in front of her. He gave her a slobbery kiss and then glanced up at the table.
“Missed me, my backside. Didn’t you guys feed him while I was out?”
Charlie’s mouthful of food almost tipped onto the table. “Bloody cheek, of course we did. He’s always on the lookout for food, you know that.”
“Just teasing, hon. I know we have a doggy dustbin in our midst.” Lorne gently pushed the dog away from the table. “Lie on your bed until we’re finished, good boy.”
“Tell us, what crime are you dealing with, Mum?” Charlie asked, excited to hear all the gory details, despite eating her meal.
“We’ve got ourselves a Jane Doe, Charlie, with very few clues to go on for identifying who she is. Her torso…”
“Torso? That’s an odd thing to say,” Charlie stated, puzzled.
“Torso…as in, there isn’t a head, Charlie.” Lorne watched her daughter gag a little and regretted telling her the details during dinner; however, she knew once Charlie’s interest was piqued, it would be difficult to contain.
Tony laughed. “That’s a little too much information even for me to swallow, pardon the pun, at the dinner table, Lorne.”
“Gosh, sorry guys. Maybe I should have left that particular fact out.”
They continued their meal in silence. It was clear that Charlie’s heart wasn’t into finishing what was on her plate. She spent more time tossing it around the china than shovelling it into her mouth like she usually did with take-away. Finally, Lorne asked, “Didn’t you mention that it was Wendy’s birthday this week?”
“Yeah, tomorrow. I was wondering if I could get the day off on Wednesday? I’ll need at least twenty-four hours to recuperate—her mother is letting her have a party, as it’s her eighteenth.”
Tony carried on with his meal, ignoring the obvious question that had been aimed at him. Lorne cleared her throat to gain his attention. Still nothing. She reached over and placed her hand on top of his. He looked up and shrugged. “Like I have any say in things. Go, Charlie, I’ll take care of the dogs on Wednesday.”
Charlie shot out of her chair and hugged her stepfather. “You’re the greatest, Tony.”
“Yeah, but only when you need something, right?”
Lorne squeezed his hand, winked, and said, “Thank you. I appreciate your support.”
After finishing their meal, Charlie went up to her room, no doubt sorting through her wardrobe to find a suitable ensemble for the following night’s party. Tony and Lorne spent the rest of the evening snuggled up in each other’s arms in front of the TV. Although she had missed his company throughout the day, it hadn’t been as bad as she’d anticipated. Still, she was glad to be back in his arms now, at the end of a very long day.
• • •
The following morning, Lorne was the first of the team to arrive at work. She bought a coffee from the machine and booted up one of the spare computers in the incident room. The first place she looked was on the Missing Persons register to see if anyone new had been added. No luck there.
The door swung open and AJ entered
the room. “You’re early. I thought I was going to be the first here this morning.”
“Hi, AJ. How are things going with the CCTV footage?” Lorne left her desk and went over to perch on the edge of his as he slipped off his jacket and draped it carefully over the back of his chair before he dropped into it.
“I was just getting somewhere yesterday when I had to leave. I had a prior engagement that I couldn’t postpone.”
“Oh, a hot date?” Lorne teased. Alan Jackson, otherwise known as AJ, was the son and heir to the MP of Gloucester, Lord St. John-Jackson. He’d been told by his father at a very young age to get out and make it on his own and not to expect handouts. Lorne had admired both the father’s and son’s attitudes when she’d heard that snippet of information after he’d first joined the team—although nothing apparently would stop AJ from driving around in a sports car and enjoying the ladies’ company. He was young and free, so why not enjoy himself? Plus, she had an inkling that he still had a keen eye on Katy.
“Chance would be a fine thing. Dad’s retirement party actually. I made my excuses and left early, around midnight, just as the party was getting under way.”
“Why? You should have stayed and enjoyed yourself.”
“If there had been a roomful of beautiful young ladies there, I might have reconsidered. Most of the partygoers were, sadly, around Mum’s and Dad’s age. Not really my scene.”
“That explains a lot. How are things between you and Katy? I always got the impression you were keen on her.”
He pushed the button on his monitor and the glow from the screen lit up his eyes, at least that’s what Lorne thought had happened. “She’s special, ma’am…I mean, Lorne. The problem is, now that she’s been promoted she’s way out of my league. There’s no way she’d be interested in me, even if we did manage to obtain special dispensation from the higher-ups, allowing us to get involved.”
Lorne frowned. “I understand. Maybe you should consider moving teams, or even joining a different station?” She leaned in and whispered, “Just for the record, I think you’d make a lovely couple. Only my opinion of course…I’m no budding matchmaker.”
“I appreciate that. I’ve been thinking it’s about time I settled down. Dad’s always on at me to do so anyway. Worth thinking about…Katy is kind of special, and we seem to hit it off quite well.”
With that, the door opened and Katy stepped into the room. She eyed them with curiosity, as though suspecting she had been the topic of their conversation. Quickly, AJ brought up a few files and got to work. Lorne followed Katy through to the office.
“Should my ears have been burning then?” Katy sat in her chair and began sorting through the paperwork on her desk.
“No. AJ and I were just catching up. His dad held a retirement party last night.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Lorne.”
“I am? Actually, it happens to be the truth. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”
“And what would that make me look like, eh? One warning: stop interfering.”
“Warning taken on board, ma’am.” Lorne saluted her.
AJ called out from the incident room, halting any further discussion on the subject.
Lorne and Katy hastily joined him at his desk. “I’ve got it,” he said excitedly. “A dark blue Ford Mondeo. I picked up on it before I left last night. Why didn’t I give that damn party a miss and carry on with the search?”
Katy smiled apologetically at Lorne.
“AJ, don’t beat yourself up. You’ve nailed it now. Can you find the plate for us?” Lorne asked, her heart rate rising slightly, like it used to when a piece of puzzle slotted into place.
“Let’s see. Here’s the route it took.” He pointed to a map he’d scrawled on a sheet of folded A4 and began pulling up various photos of the car on the screen, taken at different locations. “I have half a plate here.”
Lorne picked up a pen and jotted down the information. “It’s a start. Can you make out how many people are in the vehicle?” She leaned forward trying to get a closer look at the occupants. “Is that two people I can see in the back? I can’t really tell because of the shadows.”
Katy leaned over AJ’s shoulder. “Looks like it to me. You keep trying to get the full plate AJ, and I’ll run what we have through the system, see what I can find.”
“I’ll do that if you like,” Lorne offered, understanding how stressful the morning routine can be for a DI.
Katy smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Lorne. Keep me informed with your progress, the pair of you.”
Searching through the database, Lorne stumbled upon a few possible matches, but they ended up belonging to a van and a Mini, not the Ford Mondeo they were after. “Anything else, AJ? I can’t find a match on the plate, maybe it’s a fake one.”
“That sounds like a possibility. Nothing further from me. I’m trying to make the images a little clearer, but not having much success so far.”
By this time, the other members of the team had shown up and were already getting to work at their desks. Lorne looked them over one by one. There was Stephen Elliot, whom Lorne had met briefly once on a prior case, that of a killer working his way through an Internet dating site. She estimated his age to be around twenty-five. Like AJ, he looked as though he took pride in his appearance. He always smiled at the appropriate times but, other than that, kept his head down while on the job.
Also on the team was Karen Titchard, a twenty three-year-old woman, who looked like she could and would burst into tears at any moment. Katy had told Lorne a few months back that she was going through a rough time after losing her fiancé in a car accident two weeks before they were due to be married. Lorne intended to be compassionate with the girl, cutting her slack as needed while working the case. The final member of the team was Graham Barlow, who looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks. Katy had informed her that he was married and had two kids under the age of three. Lorne couldn’t imagine bringing two kids up at such a young age, he was probably in his mid-twenties. Lorne herself had fallen pregnant with Charlie at a young age, and she’d struggled to bring her up, although the brunt of the childcare had landed in her ex-husband’s lap. A mutual decision, it made financial sense for Lorne to return to work after the birth. A promotion had been the reward for such a sacrifice soon after.
Feeling downhearted despite the initial excitement she’d felt about the discovery, Lorne grabbed two cups of coffee and walked in the office to report her findings to Katy.
“Thanks,” Katy said, blowing on the coffee before taking a sip. “I’m really not sure where to turn next.”
“I’ll leave AJ to continue that side of things. I don’t want to step on your toes, but I wondered if it would be all right to contact Social Services about the boys?”
“I forgot about that. Yep, go right ahead. Tell them that if they have any reports of either of the boys being abused by their families, we want to know about it immediately. It’ll cover our backs anyway; there have been far too many child abuse cases recently where the police were blamed for negligence in interceding on behalf of the child.” Lorne made the call from the incident room rather than the office she shared with Katy. The woman at the switchboard at Social Services sounded stressed when she put her through to the right department. Lorne explained the situation about the respective families, and the woman said she was aware of these families already and would put a note on their files to do follow-up visits with them the next week. Appreciating the woman’s assistance in spite of adding to her daily workload, Lorne thanked her and hung up. As she replaced the phone, a thought hit her. She placed another call, this time to the BBC Crimewatch team.
“Hi, my name’s DS Lorne Warner.”
“Hello, DS Warner. John Truscott here. What can I do for you?”
“I’m in need of a favour really.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I take it you’d like us to include a case you’re working on in the programme?”
“You’re very astute, Mr. Truscott.”
“Please call me John. We get calls all the time, especially when a programme is about to be aired. I’ll check the schedule due to go out this week and see if we can fit you in. What sort of case are we looking at?”
“A murder, unfortunately. I hope you have a strong stomach?”
“I have,” he assured her with a brief chuckle.
“A group of young boys found a body in a warehouse in the East End.”
“Are we talking male or female here?”
“Female. The crucial point is that the body was headless. Of course, we wouldn’t want that piece of information getting out. She’s a Jane Doe at present, and we’d like to know more about her and, of course, find the culprit who carried out the heinous crime. Can you help me?”
“I can try. What if we state that a body was found and give the location and approximate time of death, but no other specific details? Would that help?”
“That’s great. I’m not sure we have anything else we can tell the public right now anyway. The pathologist reckons the body had been at the warehouse between one and two weeks. I’m going to chase her up today to see if she can give us a more accurate timeline. I can get back to you later with the details.”
“Surveying the schedule, I think we can squeeze in a thirty second slot for you. Good?” Lorne punched the air. “That would be brilliant. Let me gather all the pertinent facts and ring the pathologist, and I’ll get back to you within the hour, how’s that?”
“Speak to you then, DS Warner.”
The next call she placed was to the forensics department. “Lorne, hi, I was just getting around to ringing you.”
“Any luck, Patti?”
“Not really. I managed to have a brief look at the body before another case came in. I’m still unable to pinpoint exactly when the crime was committed. What about if we say ten days? That’s the best I can do without carrying out a thorough examination.”
