Mortal Crimes 1

by Various Authors

  “Yes. How did you know that?”

  “Lucky guess. Care to share the names with me? I’ll be happy to get in touch with the families this morning. The quicker we move on this, the better. If we’re looking at something sinister happening here, time is of the essence. I can see if the other connections ring a bell with the families.”

  “I should ask my boss before I hand over any details, Ellen. You know how it works.”

  “Okay, it was worth a try. Can you go and see her now? I’ll hold.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Brian appeared and put a mug of coffee in front of her. She placed her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “Looks like we’re onto something. She’s got two girls’ files on her desk. She’s just gone off to ask her boss if she can share the info with us.”

  “Excellent. Do you want me to look up contact information?”

  “Make a start. I’m sure Jenny’s boss will sanction her sharing the info, but just in case she doesn’t.”

  Jenny came back on the line a few seconds later. “Ellen? The boss says in the circumstances, the fact we’ve had a spate of teenagers go walkabouts overnight and that you’re already looking into similar cases for us anyway, she’s willing to share the details on the two girls with you.”

  “That’s brilliant. Thanks, Jenny. I take it the police are aware of the latest girls?”

  “Yes, but again, they’re not being treated as an emergency. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”

  “It certainly is. I’m going to have a word with Jim, my brother, and see if he can alter that situation.”

  Jenny gave her the girls’ details and then hung up. Ellen paused for a moment to study the addresses, working out the best way to tackle her next chore. Then she looked over at Brian. “Don’t worry. I’ve got the details. Now what do I do with them?”

  She knew she had to visit the relatives, but after spending most of Friday doing the same thing, she wanted to get on with the rest of the investigation and start joining the dots with the connections they’d found.

  “What’s with the frown?”

  “I know I should go and see the relatives, but I want to dive in and start asking around down at the gym. Do you fancy going to see the families?”

  Brian shook his head vigorously. “Not part of my contract. I’m the office geeky bod, remember?”

  She smiled sweetly at him. “I know, but I thought you might help me out, just this once. I’ll treat you to a cream cake later.”

  However, when she recognised the panic in Brian’s eyes, she knew she was about to embark on one of the busiest days of the year. Even in the force, he’d had problems dealing with the general public. If there was muscle needed for a situation, he would have jumped at the chance of helping out, but empathising with strangers in such dire circumstances was a nonstarter for Brian.

  “No can do. Sorry, hon.”

  “Okay, fair enough. Let me plan my day out for the next ten minutes.” In other words, she was telling Brian to get on with something useful so that she could think. He took the hint and started messing around on his computer.

  Ellen sat back, mug in hand, and contemplated her day. She’d been given two addresses on opposite sides of town, and the gym, where she was eager to call, was slap bang between the two. Should she go to the gym between the two families or leave that visit until after? Sipping her coffee helped her tackle the dilemma.

  “Right,” she said, banging her hands on the desk.

  Brian almost leapt out of his seat. “Damn, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t you?”

  “Sorry. Right, I’ve decided to go and visit the families this morning, strike while the iron is hot, then go and snoop around down at the gym after lunch.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. I’ve been trying to fine-tune another software package I’m working on. I think I’ll input all seven girls’ details and see if I can attribute any further links to any of them. We haven’t looked at schools or colleges et cetera. What do you think?”

  “Great idea.” She grabbed her handbag, peeked inside to see if she had her trusty notepad and pen with her and then shrugged into her coat. “I’ll see you later, around lunchtime.”

  “Yep, okay. Pick up a Subway if you’re passing.”

  “Might do,” she shouted over her shoulder just before the door closed behind her. She jumped in the car and headed for the first house, the home of Tina Jones. She arrived at the small terraced house in Claines and took a few deep breaths before she left the car.

  A woman in her late-fifties opened the door sharply, as though she had been expecting someone. “Hello, Mrs. Jones? I’m Ellen Brazil from the Worcester Missing Persons Hotline.”

  “Thank God. Where is she?”

  “I’m sorry. We haven’t found your daughter yet. I wondered if I could have a quick chat with you.”

  The brightness Ellen had spotted in the woman’s eyes seconds before withered, along with her demeanour. She walked into the house. Ellen followed the woman through to a lounge that dated back to the floral seventies, which she recognised from watching UK Gold and reruns of old sitcoms. The woman sat down in the armchair situated in the bay window and reached beside her for a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Ellen noted how full the ashtray already was, and her heart went out to the woman.

  “But it’s been almost four days since she went missing. Why haven’t we heard anything yet? If she’s been kidnapped, wouldn’t the kidnappers have been in touch by now?”

  Ellen shook her head. “That sort of thing only tends to happen in the movies, Mrs. Jones. I know it’s only been a few days since Tina disappeared. I wanted to ask some personal questions if that’s all right?”

  Mrs. Jones took a long drag on her cigarette, then blew out the smoke almost immediately. “Of course, ask anything. I just want my daughter back.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t have many details about the night Tina went missing. Could you fill in the blanks for me?”

  “I’ll try. What do you need to know?”

  Ellen took out her pad. “Tina went into town on Thursday evening. Was that with friends?”

  “Yes, that’s right. With three other girls, I think.”

  “Friends from work?”

  “Yes, she works at a department store in town. Debenhams.”

  “Have you spoken to the girls who were with your daughter that night?”

  Mrs. Jones took another puff on her cigarette. “I believe the police did. They all said they didn’t see anything.”

  “Haven’t the girls been in touch with you since?” Ellen considered that odd, but quickly discounted the idea because the other girls were just work colleagues and not lifelong friends.

  “No. I don’t blame them. It’s not like I know any of them.”

  “This might seem an odd question, but did Tina attend any clubs that you know of?”

  “Clubs? I’m not sure what you mean by that, dear.”

  “Did she belong to any gyms or attend an aerobics session every week? Something like that?”

  “Let me think. She liked to go swimming at the pool now and again. Not sure if she was a member, though. Wait a minute… I seem to remember her talking about joining a gym in her lunch hour. I think she joined a couple of weeks back.”

  There it is again. The link to the other girls. The gym has to be the main connection behind the girls’ disappearances. Ellen tried not to hurry through her next questions, but it proved difficult because she was eager to get to the gym to demand answers.

  Mrs. Jones couldn’t answer any more of her questions anyway, so Ellen left not long after.

  As she showed Ellen to the door, Mrs. Jones seemed to be relieved that she was leaving. She had a feeling the minute the front door closed behind her, the woman would go back to the lounge and have a good cry. Ellen felt guilty for putting added stress on Tina’s mother.

  In the car, she contacted the office. “Brian, it’s me. We’ve got another connection to th
e gym with Tina Jones.”

  “That’s umm… great.”

  “Don’t sound too enthusiastic about it, will you?” She inserted the key and started the car.

  “Umm… sorry. Listen, Ellen, you better come back to base.”

  “What? I’ve got another call to make first.”

  “Now, Ellen. Just do it.”

  “Bollocks, Brian. You’ve gotta do better than that. What’s going on?”

  “You’ve got a visitor here.”

  “For Christ’s sake, it’s like getting blood out of a stone. Tell me who it is and what they want. I really haven’t got the time to trawl all the way back—”

  Brian cleared his throat. “It’s your mum.”

  “My mum? What? There?”

  “Yes,” he hissed at her. “Come back now.”

  “On my way.”

  During the twenty-minute journey, her mind was working overtime, thinking unimaginable things. Her mother had never turned up at the office before—ever. Her stomach churned until she had to suck in a few deep breaths to calm it.

  After parking in the car park, she leapt out of the car and ran into the building. Her mother was sitting at Brian’s desk with her back to the door. “Mum?”

  Slowly, her mum turned to face her, and Ellen gasped. She looked as though a boxer had been using her to practice his left hooks on. Ellen ran towards her and dropped to her knees beside her. “Mum… did he do this to you?”

  Her mother sobbed openly and collapsed against her. Ellen glanced over at Brian and motioned with her head for him to leave the room. He looked as shell-shocked as she was. Gently, Ellen pushed her mum upright. “Talk to me, Mum?”

  “I didn’t want to bother you… I’ve got no one else I can turn to.”

  “I’m glad you came to me. Is he at the pub? Why did he do this? Did he do it, Mum?”

  Her mother remained quiet.

  Ellen reached for the phone on Brian’s desk, but her mother grabbed at her forearm. “No! Don’t ring him.”

  “I wasn’t going to. I was going to ring Jim. He can deal with Colin, or rather, the police can.”

  “No! Please don’t do that, Ellen.”

  “Why? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t ring your son and make him aware of what this bully has done to you?”

  “Because.”

  “Because?” Ellen prompted, her anger building.

  “I forced him to hit me.”

  Outraged, Ellen stood up and perched on the edge of Brian’s desk. “What?”

  “It was my fault.”

  “How do you work that one out, Mum? Did you wear a sign around your neck saying, ‘Come on, give it your best shot’?”

  Her mother’s gaze dropped to the carpet. Ellen could tell her mum was ashamed. Over the years, she’d seen so many women who put up with abusive partners because they felt they had nowhere else to turn, to escape. Well, she didn’t want her mother to be, and had no intention of letting her become, yet another statistic.

  “Don’t you see? He has to be stopped, and quickly.”

  “There’s no talking to him when he’s in one of his moods, love. You, of all people, should know that.”

  She did. She had firsthand experience of Colin’s rage. He’d tried to strike her a few months back. However, Ellen had used her police combat training to fight him off. She could have wiped the floor with him, but, conscious of how attacking her stepdad would cause friction between herself and her mother, she had thought better of it. Now this! She ground her teeth together, thinking about how she’d pay him back for knocking the shit out of her mother.

  “We can’t let him get away with this. I won’t let him get away with it, anyway.”

  Her mother blew out a heavy, exasperated breath. “I told you, I don’t want any aggro, please.”

  “Umm… maybe you’re telling that to the wrong person. Mum, Jim and I have seen cases like this escalate drastically. Nip it in the bud now, before…”

  Her mother looked up at her sharply. “He wouldn’t.”

  “What? Hurt you? Have you actually looked in the mirror to see the damage he’s done?” Ellen riffled through her bag, looking for her compact. She opened it and thrust the mirror in her mum’s face. “Don’t turn your head away. Look at yourself!”

  Tears trickled down her mother’s face. Luckily, she didn’t wear makeup. Although over the coming few days, she would have to wear it while serving at the pub. If her regulars saw the bruises she was sporting, they would be the ones stringing up Colin, instead of Ellen.

  Her mother gasped, and her hand flew up to her mouth. Ellen noted how much her hand was shaking, and another burst of bile rose up to tickle the back of her throat. How could he? How could that bastard attack my mother like that? “I’m sorry, Mum, but I can’t keep this from Jim. I won’t keep it from him. If I did that, he’d never speak to me again.” She went behind her desk and picked up the phone before her mother could object.

  “Jim Brazil, please?”

  The girl on the switchboard put her through.

  “Jim, are you due a lunch break soon?”

  “Hi, Sis. Yep, I’m on early lunch today. What’s up?”

  “Any chance you can come to the office?”

  “Can you give me a hint what it’s about? Is it to do with your case?”

  “Yes and no. Just come. I’ll supply your lunch.”

  “Then you’ve got yourself a deal. See you in thirty minutes.”

  Brian came back in the office. “Anything I can do?” he asked tentatively.

  Her mother was blowing her nose on a tissue. Above the noise, Ellen asked, “Would you mind doing the lunch run? Mum, do you want anything to eat?”

  Her mother shook her head. “I couldn’t. I mean, I’m not hungry.”

  What did that mean, ‘I couldn’t’? Has the bastard hit her elsewhere, like in the stomach? As tempting as it was to enquire, she thought she should leave that question for her brother to ask when he arrived.

  “I don’t mind at all. The fresh air will do me some good.”

  “I’ll have my usual, and can you pick up a ham-and-cheese salad for Jim, too?” She handed him a tenner out of her purse, and Brian left soon after.

  She knew she had to tread carefully with her mother so she wouldn’t take flight before Jim got there. Ellen went back to put the kettle on. She returned to the office with two steaming cups of strong sweet tea.

  “Thanks, love. I’m sorry to lay this at your door.”

  “Nonsense. That’s what family are for, isn’t it? There to support each other in their hour of need?” Her mother’s head dropped, and Ellen mentally kicked herself. “I wasn’t having a go, Mum, honestly.”

  “I know you weren’t, love. It doesn’t stop me feeling guilty, though. I’m so sorry. I should never have let him kick you out like that. The pub is your home.”

  “He didn’t get the chance to kick me out, Mum. I left before he could actually order me to get out. What exactly is his problem?”

  Her mother shrugged her weary shoulders and sipped at her drink, contemplating her answer. “I think most of the time, he’s bored. I work eighty to ninety hours a week and have very little time off. Therefore, it’s impossible to go out together and do things.”

  “He knew what sort of life you had when you first started going out together. Why on earth should he want to change that now?”

  “I don’t know, love.”

  “He seems happy enough propping up the bar for hours on end.”

  “He stays in the bar to keep me company, mostly during my long shifts.”

  “Does he now?” And that’s when Ellen stopped questioning her mother—the moment she started to stick up for him, again.

  Ellen saw Brian and Jim pull into the car park at the same time. They shook hands and shared a joke as they made their way to the front door. Jim’s shock registered in his expression when he saw his mother. “What the…? Mum? Jesus, has the pub been done over?”

 
Her mother’s eyes welled up with fresh tears as Jim approached her. She held out a hand to him. He took it and knelt beside her. “Now don’t fuss, Jim. It’s nothing major.”

  “Nothing major? Are you bloody kidding me? You look as though you’ve just had the stuffing knocked out of you by Ricky Hatton.” Jim, always one for making light of situations, gave his mother a smile. He enjoyed making people feel good about themselves. Never taking life’s crappy deals to heart, he saw them as obstacles to climb over rather than to block the path permanently.

  Ellen jumped in before her mother could make up more excuses. “It wasn’t a robber, Jim. It was Colin.”

  Jim dropped his mother’s hand and jumped to his feet. “Mum? Is that true?” His head swivelled between Ellen and their mother. He looked mortified by the revelation.

  “It was an accident,” her mother whispered tearfully.

  “It was not,” Ellen retorted, sounding sharp, even to her own ears.

  “Am I understanding this right? Did he do this intentionally, Mum?”

  Her mother slowly bobbed her head, wincing in pain as she did so.

  Add possible neck injuries to the probable stomach injuries.

  “That’s it. I’m taking you to hospital right now.” Ellen stood up and set her mum into a panic.

  “Jim, don’t let her bully me into going to hospital, please.”

  Ellen opened and shut her mouth, like an out-of-water fish gasping for air. “Me bully you?” She plonked back down in her chair.

  Jim’s eyes pleaded with her to be patient. Ellen tutted, sat back, and crossed her arms while Jim tried to persuade their mother to get checked over.

  “Ellen’s right, Mum. We need to get you to the hospital. Here’s what’s going to happen. Ellen is going to take you to A and E while I go home and have a little chat with Colin.” He raised his hands to combat her objections.

  Sighing heavily, their mother finally agreed to go with Ellen. After three hours of sitting in the Accident and Emergency Department, Ellen’s stomach was groaning, and she regretted not grabbing her sandwich from Brian before leaving the office.

  Ellen insisted she go into the cubicle while the doctor checked her mother over. “I think she has possible neck and rib damage, Doc.”