Ugly Duckling

by Malcolm Allen

  Chapter 19

  Jenni watched from her bedroom window as John left the hotel, she quickly dressed and went down to the dining room for breakfast, full English with Tea and fruit juice, she reflected for a while on the night before and checked out. On the way to her car she read the note she had been given “Jenni thanks for a great night, I'll call you later. John”. Driving back to her apartment two ambulances flashed past her on their way to the hospital but other than that her journey was quite uneventful. When she arrived at her apartment she picked up her post, opened her laptop, went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee, she was just about to settle to read the morning paper when the Skype call alert sounded.

  'Hello Wheeler how are you today?'

  'Not very happy with you my little chicken, when I call you I expect you to answer'

  'Sorry about last night, I was in a hurry'

  'To spend the night with D.I Dick' Wheelers face was angry looking and he had begun to raise his voice.

  'I met John Dickie for a meal; I keep telling you if you want to meet face to face I'm happy to do that'

  'Did you fuck him?'

  'That's none of your business!'

  'It is my business! You are my little chicken; I don't share you with anyone!'

  'If I want to see other men I will. It’s got nothing to do with you. You don't own me'

  'Not literally no, but we have such a good arrangement don't we? Or do I have to remind you of what will happen if you, or one of your boyfriends, annoy me.'

  Jenni knew what wheeler was referring too and didn't need any reminder,

  'No, you don't need to do that. Anyway, how did you know I was meeting John?'

  Wheeler let out a vomit inducing laugh. 'I've told you so many times my dear, I'm watching out for you; anyway D.I Dick shouldn't be a problem for a while'

  'What do you mean?' asked Jenni

  'Lets Just say I believe there was a little accident, a child's pram somehow rolled in front of D.I Dick's car and the fool crashed trying to avoid it' wheeler laughed again 'and the funniest part is, it was empty, no baby in sight.'

  'Is he ok?' Jenni sounded worried

  'I think he'll live, mores the pity, they took him to hospital but I'm sure he was alive'

  'How do you know all this?'

  'I know all sorts of things; all you need to know is that I'm never far away. But let it be a warning to you both. I don't want you seeing each other, and I don't want you mentioning me to him, otherwise you know what will happen don't you my little chick pea'

  'Did you do this just to stop me seeing him?'

  'I can admit or deny nothing.' he paused then continued 'I'm not in the mood for one of your little shows just now, I'll call you back later, do be a good girl till then.' The connection closed.

  A realisation swept across Jenni, it was a realisation she didn't like very much, Wheeler49 had not only become possessive, she was already aware of that and had been quite flattered by it, but there was something worst, much worst, but she would have to deal with that later, for now she had to get to the hospital to see John.

  Ian arrived at the hospital closely followed by Liz, he had phoned her to break the news to her and she had dropped everything to get there as quickly as possible. They were directed to where John was and rushed down never ending corridors to find the ward he was in. Before entering Ian turned to Liz,

  'Don't worry Liz, I'm sure he'll be fine, you know John, he's a stubborn old bastard at times he won’t give up, and he'll be glad you're here even if he can’t respond to you.'

  'Thanks Ian' Liz replied and they entered the ward.

  'Well that took you long enough, what'd you do stop for breakfast?' it was John, sat up in bed enjoying a cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich.

  Ian couldn't believe his eyes 'Life Support! We were told you were on fucking life support! Why are you drinking coffee and eating sandwiches? You should be nearly dead!'

  'Thanks a lot! I'm not on life support as you can see just a few bumps and bruises; I'll be out of here as soon as the doctors had another look at me. Hello Liz'

  Liz smiled at John 'You are an old sod' she said 'but I'm glad you're ok' she leant over and kissed him on the cheek 'What happened?'

  'Something rolled out in front of the car, it looked like a pram I swerved to avoid it but somebody put a bloody lamp post in the way'

  'Yes it was a pram, empty. Nobody's claiming it and nobody saw anything, apparently.' Ian said 'By the way they're sending you the bill for the lamp post.'

  'I bet they bloody are! Anyway the cars a bit of a mess but I'm relatively ok, like I said, back to work this afternoon'

  'You can take the day off' Liz and Ian said simultaneously

  'It’s nice to know you're wanted' John said

  'John, Oh John, are you ok' Jenni arrived and came dashing into the ward throwing her arms around John and kissing his head all over.

  'Yes I'm fine Jenni Just a few cuts and bruises, you can kiss them all better later'

  'Ehem!'

  'Oh yes, sorry, Jenni this is Liz. Liz Jenni'

  'Pleased to meet you Jenni, I've heard a lot about you, Mainly from Ian I have to say, John doesn't tell me much about who he's dating' she shot one of her looks towards John

  'It was only our first real date last night, but what a night it was, wasn't it John?' They all looked toward John who was blushing and squirming slightly in his bed.

  'Well I'm glad to see there's no paralysis' Liz commented while looking in the direction of John's crouch.

  John covered the little offender with his hands.

  'I'm just so glad you're ok. Who would've pushed an empty pram in front of a car? What a stupid thing to do'

  'How did you know?' Ian asked

  'How did I know what?' Jenni replied

  'About the pram, you weren’t here when we talked about it, so how did you know?'

  'I'm a journalist, I have my way of hearing these things' Jenni said slightly irritated by the question.

  'Have you been scanning the police frequencies again?' John laughed. Ian didn't look convinced but decided to let it go, for now.

  'Anyway J.D I need to talk to you if I could. Alone' he threw a piercing look in Jenni's direction

  Liz placed a hand on Jenni's back and guided her out of the ward so that Ian could talk to John; Jenni continued peering through the glass door wondering what was being said.

  'Don't worry too much about Ian, We've both known John a very long time and get a bit protective of him sometimes' Liz said with a friendly smile. It was not reciprocated. Ian came out of the ward whispered something to Liz then they walked together towards the exit still quietly talking. Jenni watched them for a while then went back in to see John.

  'I'll be getting out of here after the doctors been and it seems I've got the rest of day off, so do you fancy coming to mine to make sure I don't have a relapse' John said with a cheeky grin. ‘Tomorrow I've got to go to Brighton an inspector there thinks he may have something for us, don't know how long it'll take, Ian seems to think it could be a couple of days.'

  'OK' Jenni said 'But I'm not much of a cook, it'll have to be a take away.'

  Jenni sat in Johns living room while he made some coffee in the kitchen, looking around she noticed the picture of Sonia on the small coffee table next to the sofa, she picked it up to get a better look and replaced it, face down, on the coffee table, John entered with the coffee and put them both on the table, noticing Sonia's picture had been laid down he picked it up and stood it back in place, after a moments thought he said 'I have three pictures of Sonia, one here, one in the bedroom and one in my wallet, I like to look at them, it reminds me of the great times we had and I don't like people moving them'

  'Sorry, I just thought. I didn't want to feel she was watching when we, you know.'

  John’s demeanour softened 'No I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be abrupt. But you need to understand that I love her very much and whatever happens between us, no
body will ever replace her.'

  Jenni leaned over and began to kiss John, her hand slid down his chest to the front of his trousers where, for once, there was no sign of excitement; she began to undo his fly,

  'No Jenni, stop' John's hand reached down and moved hers away 'I've Just had an accident, I know it wasn't serious but I need a bit of time'

  'That's ok, perhaps you just need a bit more encouragement' and she started to undo her blouse.

  The doorbell rang and John leapt, almost vertically, from his seat to answer it. He could see through the glass panel in the front door it was Liz 'saved by the bell' he thought as he opened the door, never more pleased to see her.

  'Liz, come in' he reached out and almost dragged Liz through the door 'how are you? Nice to see you.'

  'I'm fine thank you John.' surprised by the greeting she studied John's face peering into his eyes 'Did you take a knock to the head this morning?'

  John laughed 'No, I'm just pleased to see you, Jenni's here, come through'

  'Oh, sorry John if Jenni's here perhaps I should go'

  'No!' Johns voice had a touch of desperation about it 'no, go through I'll get you a cup of coffee'

  John went to get the coffee and Liz entered the living room. Jenni, who had buttoned up her blouse and was sat with a fixed smile, greeted Liz. 'How kind of you to come round to check on John.' she said, never parting her teeth.

  'Oh its no problem, we go back a long way, we were at university together, me, John, Sonia and Ian, we had some great times'

  'I guess it must have hurt when John picked Sonia over you' Jenni was fishing but hooked Liz on the first attempt. Liz glared at Jenni, Soft on the outside but inside a completely hard bitch, she thought.

  'A little, but Sonia was my best friend, she knew how I felt about him and was ok with it, she made me promise that if anything happened to her, I would look after John.'

  'It looks like John would prefer me to do that, don't you think?'

  Liz chose her next words carefully

  'John hadn't dated anyone for three years, but after we spent the night together he seems to have a lot of wild oats to sow'

  'You spent the night together?' Jenni's face dropped

  'Yes. Didn't he tell you? That's strange he tells me everything, that's how strong our relationship is. But honestly what a night that was! One I'll never forget, can you imagine after three years of him not being with anyone!'

  John bought Liz's coffee into the room and placed it down beside her.

  'So what have you two girls been chatting about' John said cheerfully

  'Nothing much' Jenni stood up 'Sorry John I've just remembered I have some work to do. Call me when you get back from Brighton'

  John looked at Jenni and Liz, puzzled by what might have happened while he was in the kitchen 'ok, I'll see you out.'

  On returning to the living room he sat next to Liz on the sofa, she had a strange smug look on her face

  'Everything alright?' she asked, trying to sound as innocent as she could

  'What happened when I was getting your coffee?'

  'Nothing, we just had a girly chat, why?'

  John studied Liz's face looking for a clue but then Liz smiled and said

  'Are you ok John, really?'

  John's face suddenly went blank; he was remembering the accident, the way the pram shot straight out in front of him, the crash,

  'John?'

  He remembered the Ambulance and arriving at hospital, the way the pram shot straight out in front of him,

  'John!'

  He started to make comparisons between his accident and the one that killed Sonia. The drunk who stepped out in front of her and the way the pram shot straight out in front of him. It was no accident, he thought, the pram was pushed.

  'John, come here.'

  He felt Liz's arms go around him and hold him tight, realising there were tears rolling down his face he buried his face into her shoulder and put his arms around her to cuddle as tightly as he could

  'It's ok John, its ok'

  He snuggled in as close as he could and breathed in Liz's perfume he could feel the warmth and security of her arms around him, this is what he needed, somebody just to hold him and care about him, he could feel, in that moment, all his fears and worries disappear, but he knew it was no accident, the pram was pushed.

  Chapter 20

  John climbed into the passenger seat of Ian's Car 'Morning Ian, how are you?'

  'I'm good thanks J.D. Is that Liz's Car in your drive?'

  'Yes, she just came round before we left to make sure I was ok, I've just left her to have a cuppa before she goes into work'

  Ian looked at John and smiled, he could always tell when he was lying but knew not to push it, John would tell him when he was ready. John looked at Ian, he didn't want to tell him that Liz had stayed the night and yet again nothing had happened, they had slept in the same bed this time, but she had borrowed a pair of his pyjamas, and spent all night just cuddling him, spooning into his back. It felt so nice to be that close to someone, but he didn't want to tell Ian that they just enjoyed the night cuddling. Anyway, Ian would never believe it.

  John gestured Ian to start driving 'So you’d better bring me up to speed'

  'Inspector Wills at Brighton Phoned, Says he worked on a few cases there that have a similarity to ours, in as much as they were all severed carotid, never solved but suddenly stopped, he's invited us to look through the files ourselves, they don't have the spare manpower to do it for us.'

  'How many is a few?'

  'He told me there were three he feels are definitely linked to each other plus others that may have a link'

  'How long ago was this?'

  'They stopped about two years ago but go back about five'

  'Looks like we're going to have fun then, wading through piles of bloody paper'

  'And the Americans contacted us; apparently they are looking into the possibility of reopening the fire case'

  'Why?'

  'They say that with new technology they might now be able to get a definite answer to the third victim'

  'I didn't think there was much doubt'

  'No, I don't think there is, but a positive ID would be more conclusive I suppose. How are things with you and Jenni?' Ian tried to show interest even though he had taken a dislike to her since the hospital.

  'They're ok' John Smiled 'I think I might have upset her though don't know how, but she didn't seem very happy when she left yesterday, although I did tell her to leave Sonia's pictures alone'

  'That'll be it' Ian said 'either that or it’s the time of the month, Jane always gets moody every 28 days'

  'That's a really bloody sexist remark Ian, but you're probably right.'

  John's phone rang. 'Hello, Hi Jenni. That's great, no. OK we'll do that, see you later then.'

  Ian looked questioningly at John

  'Jenni, has a piece to do on the Gay community at Brighton, she's coming over this afternoon, we'll grab something to eat when I've finished work'

  'Oh, fantastic J.D! That'll be nice for you.' The words didn't match the thoughts running through Ian's mind, there was something not quite right with Jenni, he didn't know what, but he owed it to his friend to find out. He usually had this feeling about prostitutes, he could sense them a mile away, ever since that time in Thailand when he so nearly had sex with a lady-boy, it was only thanks to John who pointed out the enormous Adams apple that he didn't. Perhaps Jenni's a call girl or something. When he got back to Bournemouth he would make it a priority to ask around and find out.

  Arriving at the John Street police station in Brighton John and Ian were greeted by D.I Wicks, He was a long serving, old school police officer who knew Brighton like the back of his hand, when he heard about the Bournemouth case's he immediately thought of his own unsolved cases and called to arrange this meeting, he was pleased to see John and Ian and thought that between them they may finally close these cases.

  'Hi, you m
ust be Dickie and Cripp, I'm Wicks' he held out his hand to shake first with John then Ian. Introductions over he took them immediately to a room that he had set up for them, in it there was a desk with several large files on it two chairs and a filter coffee machine, 'It's not much I'm afraid but you should be able to work in peace here, the coffee machine's on and its a fresh brew, if you need any more there's a packet of coffee just underneath in the cupboard, I wouldn't be tempted to try the stuff out of the main machine if I were you, it's crap.'

  'That's Very kind of you, thank you.' John was already thumbing through one of the files 'Is there anywhere we can get a couple of bacon sarnie's? It’s been a long drive and I'm bloody starving'

  'No problem John, you're wish is PC Barnett's command.' Wicks leant out the door and shouted 'Barnett! Three bacon sandwiches for me and my guests!' he crossed to John and Ian who were now sitting either side of the desk and sat on the desk next to John forcing him to move to one side, 'could only find two chairs, but I won’t be with you long, other stuff to do, but if you need me at any time just ask someone to get me and if I can I'll get here. The files are the ones I spoke to Ian about, three murders all in the Kemp town area, if you don't know, it's quite a heavy Gay area and it’s where we are now. They all happened in the victims own homes, the first one was perhaps the most messy, I believe he was stabbed in the stomach first then there were several slashes around the neck' he was waving his hand around acting out his description of events 'Then I think he hit the carotid and bingo, poor sod was dead.'

  'You said they were all in a gay area, lots of drugs as well I suppose' Ian was quite sincere with his question but Wicks seemed to take offence at the suggestion, he swivelled round on the table to face Ian

  'You don't know much about Brighton and the gay community do you? Unfortunately there has been a lot of bad press about the crime rates and drugs in this area and its true to say that there is a drug problem in Brighton, but not only amongst the gay community, the drug problem knows no boundaries. All in all the people in this area are a good friendly lot; you're more likely to suffer crime from outsiders than you are from the residents.'