by M A Comley
“Now you’re just being ridiculous, woman, not forgetting guilty of wasting our time. Come on, buck your ideas up, and yes, that’s an order.”
Lorne pulled a face at her partner. “Nice to know I can rely on you for a dose of sympathy when needed.”
Katy bared her teeth in a wide grin. They walked through the entrance along the wooded path and searched the area for nearly fifteen minutes. Disappointingly, they recognised only two of the clues Noelle had hinted at: a slight hill and a small bridge. So they decided to move onto the next area, where a similar result greeted them.
Lorne held her arms out to the side then slapped them against her thighs. “Crap! Nothing. So much for my creepy feeling.”
“Let’s not be so defeatist about this, Lorne. We’ve still got one area to look into. To me, it’s the most likely area, too.”
“Okay, we better get a move on then. It’ll be getting dark soon.”
“You’re right.” Katy opened the car door and jumped in behind the steering wheel. “I’m conscious of the timescale we’re working with, but the fading light could hamper our search. Okay then. I think we should carry out the search in daylight tomorrow morning. How’s that?”
Lorne tried not to react openly, but she failed miserably when a large breath left her body. “Works for me. Hey, maybe Carol will be able to give us some more clues before then.”
“Perhaps. Are you going to call in and see her again after work?”
Lorne tried not to show her apprehension, but the shudder winding through her spine had other ideas. “I wasn’t planning on putting myself in that situation two nights on the trot. Still, I will if you insist on me dropping over there.”
“Let’s weigh up the pros and cons.”
Lorne had an inkling that Katy was about to force her to call in on her psychic friend on the way home whether she liked it or not.
Two miles from Carol’s house, Lorne’s mobile rang. Pulling into the side of the road, she answered the call. “Hello, Carol. Is that you?”
“It is, my dear. I wondered if you could spare me… er, I mean us, a few minutes before you head home?”
“Uh oh! I’m not liking the sound of the ‘us’ part.”
“No need to be scared, Lorne. You know I’d never put you in any unnecessary danger.”
“Okay, I was on my way over to see you anyway. Put the kettle on. I’ll be about five minutes.”
“Marvellous news.”
Lorne spent the rest of the journey trying to soothe her nerves, but her previous night’s experience prodded unrelentingly at her temple. “Shit. I hope I can cope with this,” she grumbled as she trotted up the path to Carol’s home.
Again, the living room was lit by eerie candlelight. Carol had left the front door on the latch for Lorne. Anxiously, she tiptoed through the house and lightly tapped her knuckles on the lounge door.
“Come in, Lorne. We’ve been expecting you.”
Lorne anxiously glanced around the room, looking for the dim light she’d witnessed the previous evening. Carol patted the seat of the chair sitting alongside her. “Come, sit here next to me.”
Reluctantly, Lorne let her feet guide her to the table. She plonked down into the chair, and immediately, an emerging light in the corner of the room drew her gaze.
“Come closer, child. You remember my dear friend, Lorne, don’t you?” Carol reassured the spirit and rested her hand on top of Lorne’s to put her at ease.
“Yes. She’s trying to help me.” The spirit’s voice sounded a long way off in the distance.
Lorne tried not to let the incident affect her the way it had during their last meeting. “Hello, Noelle. Yes, I’m the policewoman dealing with your case.”
Carol smiled and nodded at Lorne. “Noelle and I have been trying to search for new clues to assist you, Lorne, and we think we may have found one or two.”
Her interest piqued, Lorne sat forward in her chair and clasped Carol’s hand within her own. “Really? That would be very encouraging if you had.”
“Before you got here, Noelle mentioned something that struck her. A tattoo of sorts. That’s all we’ve managed to establish so far. Well, that and what Noelle perceived to be a garage.”
“Hmm… that’s interesting. The tattoo I have an idea about. I don’t want to say more in case I influence what either you or Noelle has to say. However, the garage is flummoxing me, or is it?” Then Lorne recalled the problems they’d had with Simms. The garage owner! She continued, “One thing I forgot to mention to Noelle last night was the fact that we found her car.”
A gasp wafted across the room and made the hairs on the back of Lorne’s neck stand to attention. The dull light moved towards them. Lorne closed her eyes, urging herself to remain calm.
“That’s excellent news. Isn’t it, Noelle?” Carol asked, one eyebrow rising into her fringe.
“Yes and no. The forensics team is going over it now, searching for clues,” Lorne said.
Carol tilted her head and asked, “Where did you find it, Lorne? Or am I not allowed to ask?”
“Don’t be daft. Of course I can tell you. When the show aired the other night, we received a call from a scrapyard owner who recognised the car. Katy and I went to see the man, and voila there it was. The scrapyard owner even told us that a man with a distinctive tattoo dropped the car off on the back of a car loader.”
“That’s brilliant news. So he would have the man’s name and address then, I’m assuming?”
“He did, yes. I’m sorry it turned out to be a dud one.”
“Oh, nooooo!” Noelle wailed pitifully. The peculiar sound set Lorne’s nerves jangling.
“Stay strong, Noelle. Forensics will find the clues we need, I assure you. In the meantime, when I left here last night, Tony and I examined the map searching for places that matched up to the clues you gave me. We found three possible locations. Katy and I visited two of these places today and found nothing. We decided to investigate the most likely place tomorrow, during the daylight. So we’ll be going back there in the morning.”
Carol’s eyes narrowed as she absorbed the information. “Room for a little one on this excursion of yours?”
“You want to tag along?” Lorne asked, surprised.
“That was the plan, yes.”
“I’d have to check with Katy first, but as far as I’m concerned, I think you coming with us to the scene would make perfect sense.”
A sound like a round of applause filled the room. “Is that you agreeing with this scenario, Noelle?”
“Yes, it’s an excellent idea for all of us to go there.”
“Really? You’d do that for us? You’d guide us?” Lorne asked, flabbergasted.
“Yes. The clues are getting more pronounced. Where once upon a time I had doubts, now I am beginning to see things far more clearly.”
Lorne hesitated briefly before voicing her next question. “Are things clear enough for you to tell me the name of your attacker yet?”
Noelle sighed. “No. Not yet.”
Carol intervened, “Let’s continue to let things flow, not try to push the information too much, for now anyway.”
“Good idea. Although we have promised Noelle’s parents a swift conclusion to the case.”
Another sharp gasp came from the spirit’s direction. “My parents!”
“Yes, Noelle. They’re doing their best to remain positive. We all are. We’re so dreadfully sorry the original police officers in charge of the case messed up. Katy and I are pulling out all the stops to put things right. Katy even promised your parents that we’d get things wrapped up by the end of the week. With your help, we could do that, couldn’t we?”
Carol withdrew her hand from Lorne’s and threw it out in the direction of the spirit. She smiled when they saw the light drift towards Carol. Lorne saw a faint outline of the spirit standing alongside her friend, and a feeling of elation tickled her spine when Carol said, “With the A-Team poised and ready for action, we will do our bes
t to make sure Katy’s promise is fulfilled.” Turning to face the spirit, Carol whispered, “The day has come, sweetheart. It’s what we’ve been looking forward to for days. Your death will be avenged with all of us girls working alongside you to achieve it.”
“Let’s hope so, Carol. Can I ring Katy now?” Lorne asked.
“Of course you can.”
Lorne went into the hallway, leaving the door ajar. “Katy, it’s me. Will you promise to hear me out? Okay. I’m at Carol’s right now. We’re not alone… Noelle is here with us. Look, I’ve told them about us taking a trip to the wooded area site, and well…”
Katy gasped. “No way! You can’t ask me to go along with this, Lorne. You just can’t.”
“Why not? It makes perfect sense, Katy. We’re crying out for guidance on this issue, and we have two people…” Lorne paused for a second, considering her words. “We have two people putting their all into this case. The least we can do is share this experience with them. What do you say?”
“Go on, Katy. What are you afraid of?” Carol called out, stifling a laugh.
“Cheeky mare! Tell her I’m afraid of suffering the wrath of the chief and the super when word of this gets out.”
Lorne relayed the message, and Carol shouted back, “Excuses, excuses, Katy. Grow a pair, girl, and quickly. Remember that deadline you’ve inflicted upon yourself.”
“Have you got this call on speaker phone, Lorne Warner?” Katy demanded.
“Nope. Come on, what have we got to lose? It’s a win-win situation to me.”
“Oh my Lord, I can’t believe I—of sound mind and body—am about to agree to this absurd idea. I can just imagine it now when I go up for my achievement award. ‘Ms. Foster, please let us in on your little secret of how you managed to wrap up a six-month cold case in only five days.’ Holy crap, can you imagine what they’d say if I divulge that a psychic and a spirit solved the case, not my experienced partner and myself?”
“Yes! That’s excellent news.” Lorne pushed the door open, raised her thumb at Carol and Noelle, then joked, “Hey, those achievement awards are totally overrated. I bet if you looked back at the people who have received the awards, you’ll find a load of bent coppers on the list. I’ll even go as far to say that I bet Travers’s and Campbell’s names are on a list or two.”
“Yeah, yeah. Ever the one with a smart-arse quick retort. Do you want to go directly to the site in the morning?”
“That makes sense to me. What time shall we meet up?”
“Nine o’clock on the dot. No slacking, sergeant. You hear me?”
“Yes, boss. Have a good evening.”
“Huh! I’m sure to now, thanks to you sharing the news that I’m about to be guided by a spirit, in the flesh, so to speak.”
Lorne laughed, hung up, and returned to the room. “She said she’s looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow, Carol.”
Carol sniggered. “I bet she is.”
“If Noelle can’t tell me anything else, I better make a move and get home to my family. Do you want me to pick you up in the morning, or will you follow me in your car?”
“We’ll tag along behind you. If that’s okay?”
“Sure, I’ll be here at eight thirty then. Have a good evening. Try and get some rest.” Lorne glanced over to the corner at the dull light. “Make sure you rest well, too, Noelle. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
The light flickered several times and then disappeared.
“Is she all right, do you think?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll guide her through this. I suspect tonight will be a restless time for her, knowing that we’re so close. If—and it’s a big if—the area turns out to be where her life was taken.”
“I never really thought about that. Let’s hope, for her sake and ours, that turns out to be true. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning then.”
Carol walked Lorne to the door and kissed her on the cheek. “How’s Tony’s case coming along? Did you pass on the message about it not being what it seems?”
“Damn, I forgot to tell him.”
“I wonder why that was. You must learn to control the amount you drink, Lorne, especially when you’re in the middle of an important case such as this.”
“Thank you, Carol. I feel suitably chastised and will make amends as soon as I get home this evening.”
The second she stepped through the back door, Lorne blurted out what Carol had said regarding her husband’s case. “It’s not what it seems.”
Charlie and Tony looked at her as if she’d just escaped from the local asylum.
“Excuse me?” Tony crossed the room and hugged her. “Have you had a stressful day, love?”
She laughed. “Sort of. I just dropped in to see Carol, and she urged me to tell you, ‘It’s not what it seems.’ Thought I better say it as soon as I walked in as I forgot to tell you the other night, and she just emphasised the importance of you knowing that fact about your case.”
“Well, that’s interesting.” Tony squeezed Lorne.
She tilted her chin and frowned. “Why?”
“At the end of our shift today, Joe and I effectively got the boot.”
Lorne put her hands on his chest and pushed away from him. “He sacked you?”
“Yep. Pretty strange, huh?”
“Have you found anything that should question his decision?”
“No. The woman goes to work and carries out her job every day. Nothing suspicious at all from what we’ve witnessed.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What are you going to do then?”
“I know that look. Why don’t you tell me what you would do if you were in my shoes?”
“I’d revisit why the man employed you in the first place.”
“And? If the guy no longer wants to employ us, we can’t force him.”
“I know that. Aren’t you even slightly curious?”
“Of course I am. But Joe and I are of the same opinion—we can’t do anything else for the man anyway.”
“So you’re just going to walk away?”
“No, we’re going to look around for a new case where the person employing us is going to hopefully pay us some fees. I know what you’re getting at, wifey dearest, and I’m not about to continue with a case that isn’t going to pay to put food on our table. You might have done that once or twice in the past when you were running this business, but I have no intention of going down that route.”
“Don’t get angry with me. Don’t Carol’s words of wisdom mean anything to you?”
“Not really. I put up with that mumbo jumbo for your sake. Unlike you, I’d never use what she tells me to solve a case.”
Lorne moved away from him and sat at the kitchen table. Henry rested his head on her lap to say hello. Petting the dog, she replied, “Are you reprimanding me, Tony, in a round-about way?”
“No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know. I do think you’re putting too much focus on where Carol is leading you.” He sat in the chair next to her and gathered her hands in his. “I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear, love. It’s how I feel.”
Charlie, who’d been quietly watching the interaction with a semi-open mouth, stood up and gently pushed her chair under the table.
“Everything all right, Charlie?” Lorne asked, concern tugging her heartstrings.
“I’m all right, Mum. You know how I feel about confrontations.”
After exchanging guilty looks with her husband, Lorne jumped out of her chair to hug her daughter. “We’re not confronting each other, sweetie. We’re having a grown-up discussion. Please don’t think it’s anything more than that, Charlie. We wouldn’t do that to you. Would we, Tony?”
“Of course not. Honestly, Charlie, your mother and I are bound to have a difference of opinion now and again. It’s only natural. It doesn’t mean that we’re on the verge of falling out of love. She wouldn’t let me for one thing.” He winked.
“I’m glad to hear it. You guys are the perfect ma
tch, and I’d be mortified if you started having marriage problems. Maybe I’m feeling a little sensitive right now. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Hey, you can’t drop that bombshell on us and run up to your room. What’s going on, Charlie?”
“Nothing. Except Dad’s just split up with his latest girlfriend. Nothing new there, right? It’s fine, Mum. I just don’t want you guys to end up the same way.”
Lorne threw her arms around her daughter. “Tony and I would never split up. You have our word on that. We’re more solid than the icebergs of the Arctic.”
Lorne winced when Charlie tutted and shook her head.
“Not the best of analogies, Mum, considering how fast they’re melting due to climate change.”
Lorne waved the idea away. “Whatever, you know what I’m getting at. Now, get those silly thoughts out of your head.”
“Okay. I’m still going to let you guys get on with your conversation. I made a spag bol. You just need to heat it through and boil the spaghetti. Call me when it’s ready.”
Lorne shook her head and watched her daughter leave the room. “Thanks, Charlie. You’re an absolute angel,” she called after her.
“Yeah, I know,” Charlie shouted back, running up the stairs.
Lorne clutched Tony’s hand. “We are all right, aren’t we?”
Tony shook his head in despair. “Of course we are. Let’s agree to disagree on the Carol angle, shall we?”
“Okay. But saying that… maybe you should keep an eye on your client just for one more day. Go on, just to please me?”
He held his arms out to the side. “All right, if it means getting some peace and quiet around here. Not sure what Joe will think about the prospect of turning out for another boring shift of wife-watching, without getting paid. I do think there’s something strange about this situation that I’m having trouble pinpointing.”
“In that case, take care. We both know how many nutters there are around nowadays.”
“Don’t worry about me. You’re the one who needs to take care.”
Lorne kissed him and smiled. “I’ve got it covered, agent boy. Hey, I haven’t called you that in a long time.”
