Killer on the Run

by M A Comley

  “Do you think we should ask Carmen’s boyfriend if he knew Adam?” Dave asked.

  “Yep, there are a few people we need to get out there to see. One thing I forgot to ask Anita in the early hours of this morning was where Adam was playing darts.”

  “You’re thinking it was at the Jolly Roger? The same place Carmen and her mates were drinking the other night?”

  Kayli nodded. “Maybe that’s the link, rather than the victims. I’m just throwing it out there at this early stage. I’ll give Anita a ring in an hour or so to find out. Sod it, we need to know now.” She walked into her office to place the call. The phone was answered within two rings. “Hi, Anita?”

  “No, this is Mandy. Who is this?”

  “Hi, Mandy. This is DI Bright. We met earlier this morning. Is Anita around?”

  “I ordered her to get some sleep, Inspector. I’d rather not disturb her if that’s okay?”

  “Of course. Maybe you can answer the question I have.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Adam was out last night, playing darts at a pub. Any idea which pub that would be?”

  “You’re in luck, yes. It’s the Jolly Roger in Sea Mills.”

  “You’re a star. Thank you, Mandy. How is Anita?”

  “A mess. She was strong when you were here, but as soon as you left, she crumbled. Around six this morning, I told her to try and get some rest. I haven’t heard her walking around up there for a while, so she must have gone to sleep.”

  “Damn, I hope my call hasn’t woken her. Send her my best wishes and reassurance that we’re doing our best to find the culprit now.”

  “I’m sure she slept through the phone ringing. I’ll pass on your message.”

  “Thank you for taking care of her too, Mandy. You’re a good friend.”

  “I like to think so. Goodbye, Inspector.”

  Kayli hung up and began jotting down a plan of action before tiredness interrupted her day and forced her into taking the wrong direction. She left her mail unattended, something she never did, and rejoined her team. “Bingo, guys. Adam was at the Jolly Roger, his regular pub, last night.”

  “I take it we’re going to take a trip out there then?” Dave asked.

  “Yep, first I want to go to Carmen’s place of work. See if there’s anything we should be looking at on that front. The more questions we ask, the easier things will be for us in the long run, right?”

  “I’m with you on that one. Do you want me to drive?”

  “That’d be great, Dave. I can note down the questions I want to ask on the way. Not sure about you, but my mind feels like it’s on go-slow already because of lack of sleep. I dread to think what I’m going to feel like come six this evening.”

  “I’m with you on that one. It’s best if we keep ourselves occupied. I think I have a few matchsticks in my drawer in case we need them later.”

  Kayli laughed. “It might come to that. Graeme, can you try and get a better image of the bike for me? Just so we have it to hand. I might call a press conference in the next day or two.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, boss. I tried to get a good look at the number plate, but it was obscured by mud.”

  “Do your best. When you can, maybe you can send a copy to my phone? We can ask around at the pub, see if anyone recognises it.”

  “Good thinking. I’ll get onto it now, boss.”

  “Donna, I want you to contact the control centre. We need to get a patrol keeping a constant eye on the B4054. The driver seems to enjoy wreaking havoc on that stretch of road in particular. I don’t want us to be blasé about this.”

  “I agree. I’ll do it now.”

  “We have a number of stops to make. I’m on the end of the phone if anything else crops up while we’re out, guys. See you both later.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Twenty minutes later, they pulled up outside the building society where Carmen Drinkwater worked. Kayli showed the girl standing at the reception area her ID and introduced herself. “I’d like to speak to the manager please on an urgent matter.”

  “Of course, I’ll see if he’s free. Take a seat,” the brunette said, wearing a wary smile. She walked across the tiled floor to the office at the rear. After knocking, she entered the room and reappeared a few seconds later. “Mr. Boyd will see you now. If you’d like to follow me.”

  They entered the room to find a tall gentleman in his early forties standing in front of his desk, straightening his tie. “Hello, I’m the manager, Mike Boyd. How can I help?”

  Kayli slipped her hand into his and introduced herself and Dave before the three of them sat down. “It is with regret, Mr. Boyd, that I have to inform you that Carmen Drinkwater was involved in an accident the night before last in which she lost her life.”

  Mr. Boyd bounced forward to sit upright in his chair, clearly surprised to hear the shocking news. “What? She’s dead? I don’t believe it.”

  “It’s true. I’m sorry. I know she’s recently achieved a promotion. It’s very sad that her life should end when things are going well for her.”

  “It’s just terrible. Unthinkable this should happen to Carmen. She had so much going for her. A great prospect for the future. I believe she would have become a branch manager in the near future had she not ...” His hand covered his face. “I don’t know what to say. I’m stunned by this unwanted news.”

  “It is hard to take in. I’m sorry. Did she have any enemies at work? Had she fallen out with anyone recently?”

  His brow wrinkled into a puzzled frown. “I don’t understand ... you said she died in an accident. Why are you asking such questions if that was the case?”

  “There are accidents and accidents, Mr. Boyd. Some accidents force us into making other enquiries. If you could answer the question ...?”

  He shook his head. “No. My staff all get along well. They’re always supportive of each other. Crikey, they’re going to be devastated by this news.”

  “Was she especially close to anyone in particular? Maybe we can have a chat with the staff? Would that be possible?”

  Mr. Boyd ran a hand over his face. “Yes, she was close to Angela Silverton. She’s going to be stunned when she learns of Carmen’s death.”

  Kayli nodded her understanding. “Is there some place we can interview all the staff?”

  “Yes, there’s a small staffroom at the rear. I can arrange that for you now. I’m at a loss what to say about this. Can I ask how she died?”

  She looked him in the eye and said, “A car accident. That’s all I’m prepared to say at this point, until we get the pathologist’s report back. Thank you. Before we speak to the other members of staff, are you sure nothing comes to mind about any arguments or ill feelings that you’ve sensed recently?”

  “No, I can assure you, there’s nothing that has come to my attention. I run a happy ship, and if I discovered anything of that ilk going on, then I would summon the two staff members to thrash things out. No such thing has occurred. You have my word on that, Inspector.”

  “Okay, that’s good to know. If we could interview the staff now? Only we have a few places we need to visit today, and time is of the essence at the start of every investigation.”

  Mr. Boyd left his chair and walked out of the room. He returned a few moments later and remained in the doorway. “I’ve arranged for the staff to see you one at a time in the staffroom. Angela will be the first person you see. I haven’t told them the nature of your presence. Be gentle with them, Inspector.”

  “No worries on that front, Mr. Boyd. Thank you for being so accommodating.”

  He showed them through to the room where the staff enjoyed their breaks. It was a square room that had a kitchenette area and a table with four chairs around it. A window overlooked the staff car park at the rear of the property. Mr. Boyd left them, and a few moments later, a young woman with her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail entered the room.

  “Hello. Mr. Boyd asked me to come and see you. I’m Angel
a Silverton.”

  Kayli smiled and gestured for the woman to take a seat at the table with her and Dave. “Thank you for seeing us. Our visit here today is primarily to break some bad news, but we’d also like to ask some questions, if that’s okay?”

  “Bad news?” The young woman gasped. “No, this isn’t about Carmen, is it?”

  “Why do you ask that, Angela?”

  “She didn’t turn up for work neither yesterday nor today. I’ve tried ringing her and received no reply to either my calls or the dozens of texts I’ve sent. I’m worried about her.”

  Kayli sighed. “Yes, this is regarding your friend, Carmen. Unfortunately, she was involved in an accident the night before last. She didn’t survive.”

  Tears ran down the woman’s heavily made-up face. “I don’t believe it! You’re telling me that she’s dead?”

  “I’m afraid so. If it’s any consolation, we think she was unconscious for quite a while after the collision.”

  “It’s kind of a relief to know that. My God, I can’t believe it. Sorry for repeating myself. Bloody hell, she had so much to live for what with her promotion.”

  “It’s very sad. As you were close to her, maybe you can tell us what her relationship was like with her boyfriend, Lincoln?”

  “I don’t understand. Why would you want to know that?”

  “We’re simply dotting all the Is, if you like.”

  “They were happy enough. They’d have to be if they were talking about getting married, right?”

  “I suppose so. No arguments that you can think of?”

  She shrugged. “Crikey, everyone has those. Why should they be any different? They always worked around them, though.”

  “Did you know she was pregnant at the time of her death?”

  Angela’s hand covered her mouth, and she shook her head.

  “I know it’s very upsetting for you, but please, can you think back to any recent conversations you’ve had with Carmen, regarding anyone she might have had a slight contretemps with, perhaps?”

  “How awful ... now two lives have been lost. No, I really can’t think of anything that might help you. We were close, but we didn’t burden each other with our personal lives much. I suppose we saw our time here at work as a release from all the pressures going on at home.”

  Finding the woman’s statement intriguing, Kayli pressed harder, or as hard as she could under the circumstances. “From your point of view or from hers?”

  “Both, I suppose. I’m in a dubious relationship, shall we say?”

  “Care to enlighten us further?”

  Angela sighed, and her gaze dropped down to the pile of magazines sitting in the middle of the table. “No. Let’s just say my fella and I are going through a rough time of our own at present.”

  “I see. Was Carmen aware of this?”

  “No. Although I think she suspected all wasn’t well at home. She made a point of never sticking her nose in where it wasn’t wanted.”

  “I see. She was indeed a good friend then. There to talk to if you need her but one that knew there were also boundaries between friends.”

  “That’s exactly how we saw things, Inspector. She was a very special lady. We’re all going to miss her around here. That’s for sure.”

  Kayli nodded. “Are there any male members of staff here?”

  “Only the manager and the mortgage manager, her immediate boss.”

  “And how did they get on with Carmen?”

  “Very well. They appreciated her aptitude for mortgages, hence why Mr. Boyd promoted her so quickly.”

  “Quickly? You mean ahead of others at the branch?”

  “Yes. I can see where you’re going with this, and you couldn’t be further from the truth. We were all ecstatic for Carmen when she went for the job. No one thought badly of her jumping ahead of them. We support each other’s careers at this branch, no backbiting or bitchiness. Everyone has the chance to go for promotion when the timing is right for them. Some people prefer to put their families first and to avoid any extra pressure that this type of promotion throws at them. Carmen had a lot of surplus studying to do in that respect once she left here at night, but with Lincoln working opposite shifts to her, she was craving something to fill her evenings.”

  “So there could have been some animosity between Carmen and her boyfriend. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I suppose I am in a roundabout way. She always had her head in her studies during her lunch hour, so I guess she’d be the same at home on her days off and in the evenings. However, Lincoln and Carmen didn’t really see much of each other. Maybe I’m talking bullshit there.” She grimaced, as if to apologise for her bad language.

  “We need to question Lincoln, so we’ll see what he has to say about that. Did Carmen ever mention if she’d had a problem with a customer perhaps? Or maybe a neighbour who was pestering her?”

  “Nothing that I can think of. Again, I don’t see why you’re asking these questions if she was involved in an accident.”

  “It’s just something we do with every accident,” Kayli lied, determined to keep her suspicions under wraps for the moment. “Is there anything else you can think of that might be of interest to us?”

  “No, nothing. Maybe something will come to mind once my head is a little clearer. I’m a bit overwhelmed by the news, if I’m honest.”

  “Sorry. It’s always sad when we hear about someone losing their life together with their unborn child.”

  “You’re not wrong there, especially when Carmen had so much to live for. Did she know about the baby?”

  “Yes, she was aware. Apparently, she wanted to keep it quiet until after her twelve-week scan. Her boyfriend was unaware of the baby, however.”

  “Poor Lincoln. How dreadful for him. How will he cope?”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Time is a great healer.”

  “Can I get back to work now?”

  “Yes, would you mind sending the next person in? Thank you for all your help, and I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  When Angela left the room, Dave said, “Something isn’t sitting right with this boyfriend of hers. Don’t ask me to pinpoint what it is, but there’s something that’s prodding me to dig deeper on him.”

  “You think? I’m not so sure. Donna carried out a full check on him and came up with zilch. It’s not as if Angela said Lincoln and Carmen argued a lot. By all accounts, they rarely saw each other.”

  “I know, but ...” His voice drifted off when another young woman knocked on the door and entered the room.

  They spent the next few hours questioning all the staff, but frustratingly for Kayli, they all had nothing but kind words to say about Carmen. Before leaving the premises, Kayli and Dave sought out the manager again to thank him for his cooperation.

  “Where are we going now?” Dave asked once they were strapped into the car.

  “Let me check if Graeme has sent that image to my phone yet.” She opened her messages app to find it empty, then she rang the station. “Graeme? I haven’t received the image of the bike yet. Is there a reason for that?”

  “Sending it through now, boss. Sorry for the delay. I wanted to send you the best image I could find. I think this one will suffice.”

  “Great. We’re heading over to the Jolly Roger now. We should be back soon.”

  “Good luck.”

  Dave drove them to the pub on the outskirts of Sea Mills. The exterior of the pub was in dire need of a good paint, but inside, it felt super cosy. The pub was somewhere she wouldn’t mind visiting once Mark arrived home from his manoeuvres. She made a mental note to ring Annabelle once she got back to the station to see if she’d kept to her word to make an appointment with the doctor.

  As Kayli approached the bar, a young man smiled and asked, “How are you doing, folks? What can I get you to drink?”

  Tempted to have a glass of wine, partaking in one likely meant she would fall asleep at her des
k once she got back to the station. She produced her warrant card and said quietly, so the other customers couldn’t overhear, “Is the manager around?”

  The man leaned toward her and said, “You’re speaking to him. Phil Drake.”

  Kayli sniggered. “Sorry. Crikey, you don’t look old enough to be drinking in a pub, let alone running one.”

  “You wouldn’t be the first to make that assumption. Believe it or not, I’m actually twenty-nine.”

  “Really? Wow, you must have good genes in that case, Phil.”

  “I have. How can I help you, Inspector?”

  “Can we speak to you privately?” Kayli asked, sensing a few of the locals turning their way.

  “You’ll have to wait ten minutes until my barmaid arrives. She just rang to say that she’s held up in traffic on the B-road, because of some incident or other.”

  “No problem. We’ll take a seat over there, if that’s okay?”

  “Sure. Can I get you a drink?”

  “I’ll have a pi ... maybe a coffee would be better,” Dave said.

  Amused, Kayli nodded. “Two coffees would be lovely. Thank you.”

  Phil poured the two coffees and refused payment when Kayli handed him a ten-pound note. “On the house. I’ll be with you shortly.”

  Kayli led the way through the small gathering of customers, some more intrigued than others, to a table close to the window. “This seems a nice place. Have you been here before, Dave?”

  “No, never. I wonder what their food is like.”

  “Excellent,” the old man on the next table replied.

  “Is that so? Then we’ll definitely have to come out here and sample it for ourselves soon, in that case.” Kayli smiled at the gentleman, who tipped his flat cap at her. “I need to ring my sister-in-law while I’ve got five minutes.” She picked her mobile up from the table and punched a button. “Hello you. How are you feeling this morning?”

  “As sick as the proverbial dog. How are you? I was expecting you to come back after you’d attended the scene.”

  “Sorry. Dave and I decided it wouldn’t be worth it by the time we’d got to the scene and visited the victim’s next of kin. Have you made the appointment yet?”