Twisted Justice: A combined investigation. DI Lorne Warner and DI Sally Parker (Justice series Book 13)

by M A Comley

“No, Mum, their families come first on a Sunday. I really can’t see them being interested.”

  “Well, it was just a thought,” Claire replied in a huff.

  Lucy looked up at her mother as if she’d offended her. “I’m sorry, Mum. I know you’re only trying to help, but I think I know my husband and his friends better than you do.”

  Claire took a few paces to her left, picked up a gold lighter, tapped a cigarette out of a packet, and proceeded to light it. Lorne’s gaze flicked back to Lucy, who seemed annoyed by her mother’s actions, although she remained quiet. Lorne sensed a certain amount of angst drifting between the mother and daughter. She’d never witnessed such behaviour in similar circumstances before. It was intriguing and uncomfortable at the same time. Don’t all mothers set out to support their daughters after devastating news of a family member’s death? Had the awkward conversation been taking place on her patch, Lorne might have tackled the mother about her attitude. Instead, she bit her tongue and watched the proceedings with mounting curiosity. She jotted down a few notes referencing her general thoughts about the strain in the relationship between the two women.

  Thankfully, Sally stuck to her word about not mentioning the two women they suspected were involved in Ryan’s death. “It would be helpful if you could supply us with a few names to contact, Lucy.”

  “And I’m expected to think of those names off the top of my head when all I can think about is my husband lying on a slab at a mortuary?”

  “I understand it’s asking a lot, but it would help us immensely to make a start on our investigation.”

  Her hand swept over her pale face. “I’m confused. What investigation? Oh, I see—you’re investigating the explosion on behalf of the insurance company.”

  Sally exhaled a breath. “Not exactly. Although we will be getting in touch with them shortly. So if you can give us the details of the policy, that would also be a great help.”

  “Then what? I sense there’s something you’re keeping from me. I demand to know what it is,” Lucy said as the colour rose in her cheeks.

  Although Lorne’s concerns were growing regarding Lucy’s discomfort, her gaze continued to remain focused on Claire. The second her daughter’s voice rose, Claire’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling. Again, it lasted only for an instant before the deadpan expression settled on her face once more. But Lorne caught the mother’s annoyance nevertheless. She made another note to tell Sally what she’d observed once they left.

  “I’m struggling to see why your husband felt the need to keep his activities for the day a secret?” Sally asked.

  “He didn’t,” Lucy retorted sharply. “He told me he was going out on his boat. There were no secrets between us. I can assure you of that, Inspector.”

  “And yet you had no idea of his intention to head south for the day. He clearly neglected, or avoided, informing you about his possible lengthy absence, because you didn’t break your routine of preparing the Sunday lunch that you expected him to attend. Now can you understand my confusion, Lucy?”

  The young woman took a few short breaths before she responded. “I’m sorry to fly off the handle. Yes, of course I understand your line of questioning and confusion. I’m afraid it won’t alter my reply. Wait a minute, if Ryan died on the boat, are you telling me he was alone?”

  Sally nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you, another reason for my confusion, considering you’ve just told us that he was heading out to show off his boat to friends. Something doesn’t add up.”

  Lucy buried her head in her hands and started to cry. An uneasy silence descended over the room. Lorne eyed Claire to see if she would rush to her daughter’s side again to comfort her—she didn’t. Instead, Claire pulled heavily on her cigarette and simply stared at Lucy. Lorne sensed then that the woman lacked any kind of maternal instinct and that the initial signs of concern she had shown her daughter were likely for Lorne and Sally’s benefit. Claire glanced Lorne’s way and caught Lorne studying her. Any normal mother would have blushed, reconsidered her actions, and swept down to at least throw an arm around her daughter’s shoulder. Not Claire Knight. Her eyes sparkled with a challenge. Lorne trawled her mind and realised she had encountered an equally uncomfortable reaction from only one person in her working life—from her all-time nemesis, the Unicorn. Thankfully, Lorne suppressed the temptation to shudder. The last thing she wanted to do was to let on that this woman had a strange effect on her. She held Claire’s stare for a moment or two longer until the other woman’s gaze returned to her daughter.

  “Come now, Lucy, breaking down every five minutes isn’t going to bring Ryan back. The detectives have work to do. Just tell them what they need to know and let them get on with their investigation.”

  Glaring at her mother, Lucy slowly lowered her hands and took a tissue from her sleeve to wipe the tears from her face. Lorne sensed Lucy was chewing large lumps out of her tongue rather than have a screaming fit at her mother in front of them.

  Sally cleared her throat and smiled at Lucy. “There’s no rush. We’d much rather stay here with you to ensure you’re okay before chasing up other lines of enquiries.”

  Claire’s eyebrow rose for a split second. Lorne wondered what that indicated. Do you know more about your son-in-law’s death than you’re willing to let on about, Claire Knight? If we pushed you hard enough, would the cracks begin to show? Maybe you’re one of the women we’re trying to track down.

  “Other lines of enquiry?” Lucy asked after she’d mulled over the statement for a few seconds.

  “Yes. Until we have something concrete to hand, I think it would be best if I didn’t say anything further about that.”

  “Why? Because you’re lying?” Claire challenged, surprising Lorne with the amount of venom resonating in her accusation.

  Sally shrugged calmly. “Not at all. We have a few witness statements that we need to look into over the next few days. Our main aim was to visit Lucy as soon as her husband’s identity had been verified. That’s the usual sequence of events in this type of enquiry.”

  “Accidents happen all the time on boats. Do you always get involved in such crimes?” Claire asked.

  “Sometimes. It depends if these ‘accidents’ turn out to be something far more sinister instead,” Sally replied.

  Lorne mentally high-fived Sally for handling the woman’s obnoxious behaviour the way she would have. Yep, I can see we’re going to have a lot of fun tackling this case together, Sally. It’s going to be like old times.

  Mother and daughter exchanged confused looks. “So, does that mean you’re intending to treat this investigation as something other than an accident, Inspector?” Claire demanded.

  “As I’ve already told you, Mrs. Knight, our investigation has only just commenced. Very rarely do these types of cases get solved with a click of the fingers. There will be witness statements to corroborate, DNA evidence to sift through... the list really is endless. That’s why it’s essential that we get the investigation off to a good start. I have to ask, Lucy, can you think of anyone who would wish to harm your husband?”

  Lucy’s forehead wrinkled. “No, not in the least. You’re not making sense. Are you saying that you think my husband has been murdered?”

  Claire left her position beside the fire and walked over to the patio doors overlooking the rear garden.

  Lorne swivelled in her chair to keep an eye on the mother.

  Claire lit up yet another cigarette and tutted. “Looks like developing that new barbecue area will need to be put on hold for now, Lucy.”

  Lorne fought hard to prevent her mouth from dropping open. She turned to look at Lucy.

  The poor woman looked stunned by her mother’s incomprehensible observation. “Mother! How could you think of such a thing at a time like this?”

  “Life goes on, cherub. I’m just trying to be practical, as always. Sorry, ignore me. You usually do anyway,” she replied tersely, her gaze never leaving the landscaped gardens.

&
nbsp; Sally repeated the question, “Sorry, did your husband have any enemies?”

  Lucy heaved out a quivering breath. “No, not that I can think of. Please, can this wait a few days? I haven’t come to terms with my loss as yet, and you’re asking me to come up with details that I really can’t do right now.”

  “I understand. I’ll leave you my card. If a name suddenly comes to mind, will you ring me, immediately? Day or night. The quicker we can get on the trail of a possible candidate, the better.”

  Lucy accepted the card. “I promise. At the moment, my mind is just a blur. I don’t know what I’m going to do without my husband. I need time to grieve before I can even contemplate helping you with your investigation. Please don’t think I’m being awkward.”

  Sally smiled. “I don’t. One last question before we go.” She turned to address the mother. “Mrs. Knight, do you live here?”

  The woman turned to face the rest of them and laughed, then she puffed on her cigarette. “Oh no, I couldn’t live out in a dingy backwater like this. No offence, Lucy, but we’ve had this conversation many times over the years.”

  Sally inclined her head. “I see. May I ask why you’re here if you are so anti-Norfolk?”

  “I would have thought that was obvious, Inspector—to support my daughter. Her husband was missing!” she added sarcastically.

  “And where do you usually reside, Mrs. Knight?” Sally asked with the tautest of smiles.

  “The bright lights of London. There’s no better city in this world and nowhere else I’d prefer to call home.”

  “Ah, my neck of the woods,” Lorne told the woman.

  “I thought I caught a London accent when you spoke. Are you on some kind of exchange?”

  “No. This case will be a jointly run investigation, covering the two counties. Look at it this way: you get two reputable police forces and two indomitable inspectors working the case. We’ll get the answers we seek in half the time. That’s our aim anyway.”

  “As long as you don’t get in each other’s way and end up looking like that inept mob the Keystone Cops.” Claire laughed at her own joke, even if no one else in the room did.

  Lucy tutted, her annoyance clear.

  “No fear of that, Mrs. Knight. Lorne and I have both won numerous accolades for our expertise over the years. We don’t stop until we have the criminals put behind bars where they belong, even if that means putting our own lives in harm’s way.”

  Claire raised an eyebrow. “That’s very reassuring. I hope you don’t end up living to regret making that fine speech, Inspector.”

  “We won’t. I can assure you of that.”

  Sally and Lorne rose from their chairs at the same time. Lucy also stood and showed them to the front door. Sally shook Lucy’s hand. “Don’t forget, ring me day or night with any concerns or if a name comes to mind. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you. You’ve both been very kind.” Lucy looked over her shoulder then added, “You’ll have to excuse my mother. She’s not the easiest of people to get along with. She’s stubborn and prefers to be in control of everything she does. This happening has meant that she is out of her comfort zone.”

  Lorne shook Lucy’s hand. “Maybe it would be better if she left you alone to grieve in that case.”

  “I think you might be right, Inspector. I’ll make sure she leaves by the end of today. My nerves are in tatters now. Another few hours of her demeaning put-me-downs will serve neither of us well in the long run. Please, don’t let her lukewarm attitude hinder your willingness to conduct your investigation.”

  Sally smiled. “No need to worry about that, Lucy. It’s already forgotten. Take care. We’ll be in touch again soon.”

  Tony was outside the car, enjoying the odd ray of sun as it peeped through the clouds. “How did it go?”

  Lorne and Sally looked at each other and shrugged. Lorne opened the passenger door of the car. “Hard to say really. One thing I’m certain about though is that the mother, Claire Knight, has put herself firmly on my radar. I’m going to have fun delving into her background to see what she’s been up to over the years. I get the impression she doesn’t care much for other women or female police officers.”

  “I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there, Lorne,” Sally replied, jumping behind the steering wheel.

  “Perhaps we missed a trick.”

  Sally turned in Lorne’s direction as she started the car. “What about?”

  “Maybe we should have told them about the two women, if only to gauge their reaction.”

  Sally put her foot down and drove a fair distance from the house before she replied. “Let’s look at it as a piece of evidence we can use in our favour to tease some more information out of them during our next visit.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Lorne replied, nodding thoughtfully.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The instant Lucy left the room with the policewomen, Claire sprang into action. She fished her mobile phone out of her handbag and prodded angrily at the number one on her keypad. The call was answered after the second ring.

  “Hello, Mother. How’s Lucy holding up?”

  “Cut the crap, Teagan. Your sickly sweet disposition might work on the others, but I see through that bloody façade, girl.”

  “I don’t know what you mean, Mother. All I did was enquire about my sister’s good health. Have I done something wrong?”

  Claire inhaled a sharp breath, letting her daughter know how annoyed she was at being given the run-around. “You did this! Your twisted way of dealing with things has brought all this trouble to our door. Now, because of your misguided judgement, we’ve got not one, but two, bloody police areas on our backs. Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  “So what? Let them investigate the crime. They’ll come up blank. We covered our tracks properly, Mother, just like you instilled in us from a young age.”

  “I doubt that. Why did you have to kill him?”

  “Because...”

  “I don’t have time to listen to your bloody ludicrous excuses. I have to figure out a way to get us out of this mess, and quickly. Are you aware that you left a trail of witnesses?”

  “Nope, none as far as we could see. The coppers are just trying to scare you. They’ve got nothing to prove that we were ever on that boat,” Teagan suggested arrogantly.

  Claire knew that her daughter had approached things like a downhill skier and come up short before the end of the slope. “We’ll see about that. These women have what appears to be a steely determination about them. I wouldn’t go thinking you’ve got away with anything just yet, my girl. It will serve you right if you get caught—you shouldn’t have challenged me. Will you never learn?”

  “You’re right about one thing, Mother. In your eyes, I’ll never do anything right. However, I have learnt something over the years, while you’ve been rubbing your hands at my lack of progression.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, girl?”

  “I’ve learnt to always have a card up my sleeve. In my case, that just happens to be an ace.”

  “I repeat, what the hell are you talking about, Teagan?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Just remember one thing, Mother dearest: over the years you’ve moulded me to be just like you. What you hadn’t bargained on, is me being smarter and more determined than you’ve ever been.”

  Claire was seething at the disrespect Teagan was showing, but she had no intention of revealing how much her daughter’s attitude was getting to her. “What are you planning, Teagan? I demand to know!”

  “You’ll discover that when everyone else finds out.”

  Claire angrily disconnected the call just as Lucy entered the room.

  “Mother? Is everything all right?” Lucy asked, looking perplexed.

  Claire pulled her shoulders back and stood erect. “Nothing for you to worry about. It’s just your sister playing silly buggers again. Now the police have gone, I suppose we should begi
n to organise Ryan’s funeral, then there’s the life insurance cover to sort out. Do you intend to remain living out here, or are you going to move back to London to be with the rest of your family?”

  Lucy’s eyes fluttered shut, and when she opened them again, bulging tears dripped onto her cheeks. “I can’t think about that kind of thing at the moment, Mum. I need to grieve. I loved Ryan. He was my soulmate. The one man who made me feel whole, like a real woman. Please allow me to grieve before insisting I deal with all the damned paperwork associated with someone’s death.”

  Claire walked over to the patio doors again and muttered, “Do what you have to do, child.” Falling out with Teagan is as much as I can take for one day.

  CHAPTER TEN

  During the return journey to the station, Lorne and Sally agreed that the investigation would take two routes. Since Claire had shown her hand, Lorne urgently wanted to dig into the woman’s past. Most of all, she was intrigued to find out what kind of involvement she’d had with the police over the years. Lorne contacted Katy and relayed the information they’d gathered, which was minimal, regarding the woman’s name and where she lived. She instructed Katy to carry out thorough background checks on Knight and the rest of the family residing in London.

  This left Sally and her team free to investigate Lucy Timcott and Ryan’s friends and colleagues.

  Tony looked on in admiration as the team went about their tasks.

  Lorne pulled up a chair and sat alongside him. “Are you regretting coming up here, Tony? You’re looking a little lost.”

  “Of course not. I must admit I’m feeling a little left out. Perhaps if you gave me a job to do, I might feel more included in the case.”

  Lorne pecked him on the cheek. “I have to admit, I’m feeling a tad like that myself. What do you suggest we do about that?”

  Tony shrugged. “I know what I’d prefer to be doing right now.” He winked and reached over to squeeze her thigh.

  Lorne’s cheeks heated up. “Control yourself, Mr. Warner.”

  “Killjoy! Seriously, I need something to occupy me, Lorne. Sitting here, twiddling my fingers like this, is going to drive me nuts.”