by M A Comley
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The cul-de-sac was as quiet as a graveyard. Lorne shuddered. “I have a strange feeling about this that I just can’t put my finger on.”
AJ got out of the vehicle and looked over the roof of the car at her. “I’m not feeling anything either way, to be honest.”
Lorne shrugged. “Trust me. I have a sensitive gut where these things are concerned.”
They walked up the garden, which still had the remnants of autumn colour in its borders, and Lorne rang the bell. “No one home. Let’s try the back—actually, you do that while I knock on the neighbours, see if they’ve seen anything suspicious lately.”
AJ nodded and set off around the back of the house. Lorne knocked on the door on the right first. An old frail-looking lady answered the door. Lorne showed the woman her warrant card. “Hello there, I’m DI Lorne Warner. Sorry to disturb you. I’m making enquiries about your neighbour, Amanda Oughton.”
The woman took a step towards Lorne and glanced over the hedge at Amanda’s house. “Isn’t she home? She usually is around this time.”
Lorne sighed and shook her head. “No. We’re following up a lead of a possible abduction.”
The woman gasped and covered her gaping mouth with a shaking hand.
“I’m sorry to shock you like that. I need to know if you’ve heard or seen anything suspicious going on in the neighbourhood recently.”
“Amanda has been abducted? By who? Do you know?”
“We have seen the man from a distance, but we have no facial recognition to go by as yet.”
“How dreadful. Who in the world would want to hurt a sweet person like Amanda? Oh my, you hear such terrible things on the news. I hope she’ll be okay.”
“We’re doing our best to find her. Have you seen anyone hanging around here lately?”
“No, dear. I pretty much spend my life in the rooms at the back of the house, overlooking my pretty garden, except in the winter months, when I pull all the curtains across to keep warm.”
“Good idea. The bad weather will be with us soon enough. Do you speak to Amanda much?”
“We have a natter now and then, maybe when I’m putting out the bins on a Tuesday, but nothing more than that, dear.”
“So you have no idea if she has any family members living nearby?”
“No, I haven’t got a clue on that front, sorry. Not even sure which area she used to live in before she moved here about three years ago. I do know that she inherited a large amount of money recently. I saw her with a bunch of those holiday brochures tucked under her arm and enquired if she was going away. She told me she’d come into a lot of money when a rich uncle had passed away a few months back. I haven’t seen any evidence of her spending the money so far, but like I say, I only really see her when I’m putting the rubbish out.”
“That could really be a huge help to our investigation; thank you for that. So you wouldn’t know if she had any visitors or not?” Lorne looked up to see if the houses were joined. “What with the homes being attached, maybe you’ve heard voices through the walls on occasions.”
“I have, but I think all I’ve heard is the TV or radio now and again. I don’t think she has many visitors as such. Sorry I can’t be of more help. I hope you find the sweet woman soon.”
“You’ve been very helpful. We’ll do our very best to find her and bring her home.” Lorne smiled and watched as the woman closed her front door. AJ appeared at the gate. “Anything?”
“Nope, nothing. I managed to gain access to the rear garden and peeped through the kitchen window. Everything was in its place, and I couldn’t see any lights on anywhere in the house.”
Lorne left the old lady’s garden. “Her neighbour told me that Amanda recently inherited a large sum of money—how much, she didn’t know, but she recently saw Amanda with holiday brochures. It’s not much, but it could lead us to something. I’m going to try the other neighbour before we return to base.”
“I’ll ring Karen, tell her about the inherited money and get her to look into it.”
“Great idea.”
AJ went back to the car, and Lorne entered the other neighbour’s garden, but the door to the house beyond opened, and an elderly gentleman popped his head out.
“They’re on holiday, love. Won’t be back until mid-February.”
“Wow, that’s a super-long holiday.”
“It is. They do the same every year. Frank has to have winter sun; otherwise, his arthritis is unbearable. Can I help you with anything? We’re quite close.”
Lorne walked up his pathway at the front of his cottage and flashed her ID. “DI Warner. I was hoping your neighbour would be able to help me with some details about the neighbour on the other side, Amanda Oughton. Do you know the lady at all?”
“I see her coming and going. Friendly sort. I didn’t know that was her name, so I suppose the answer is that I don’t know her that much. Is something wrong, Inspector?”
“We believe the lady has been abducted. Have you seen any strangers hanging around the neighbourhood lately?”
He thought about the question for a moment or two before he shook his head. “No strangers around here; I would’ve seen them. That’s not to say I’m nosey, but I am part of the neighbourhood watch scheme, so always keep a watchful eye out for things like that.”
Lorne handed him a card. “Maybe you could keep an eye open and let me know if anyone shows up at Amanda’s house in the next few days?”
“Of course. I’ll do just that. Good luck in your search. I’ll say an extra prayer for Amanda when I go to bed tonight.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate all the help she can get right now. Goodbye.”
Lorne dropped into the passenger seat and exhaled a large breath. “Well, that was a waste of time. At least I’ve made friends with the local nosey neighbour; I gave him my card. I hope he doesn’t bug the hell out of me when a new delivery driver picks up this route or something along those lines.”
AJ chuckled and pulled away. “Karen’s looking into the inheritance. Hopefully, she’ll have an answer for us by the time we return.”
“We live in hope, AJ. Think I’m going to call another press conference for the morning. I’ll drop by and see Rebecca on my way into work first thing.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The woman whimpered continuously as the man paced the hut. “What am I gonna do with you? Why didn’t you just hand over the money like I asked you to?” Maybe I’m losing my touch, getting too old for this shit?
“I’m sorry. Maybe I can rectify that now. Have the money, have it all, just please let me go. I promise I won’t go to the police, you have my word on that.”
“Ssh… quiet now.” His ear strained to listen to the noise outside the shed.
The woman’s head tilted. He pounced, trying to prevent her from calling out, but he was too late.
“Help me!” She shouted and began to sob as if relieved that someone was about to rescue her.
The door flew open, and his wife stood there, staring at the woman on the floor. “What the…?”
He yanked her by the arm, pulling her inside the hut. “I’ve told you not to come down here.”
“I wanted to know where you were. What’s going on? Who is this woman?”
“She’s our ticket out of here.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t want to leave here. I like living here.”
“You make me sick. You haven’t got an adventurous bone in your body. All right, this is my ticket out of here. Once she’s transferred the money to my account, I’m leaving the country.” He shrugged. “If you don’t want to join me, then that’s your prerogative. I’ve had this place up to here.” He pointed above his head.
His wife’s gaze drifted from him to the woman on the floor, then she asked meekly, “What will you do with her?”
His eyes widened at her dumb question. He pushed her outside the hut and grabbed each of her arms. His fingers dug into her flesh, and his
lip curled up as he spoke. “What do I usually do with them? You, stupid woman, if she knew I was about to kill her she won’t hand over her bank details, will she? Why are you so bloody dense sometimes? I know she has enough money tucked away to allow us to have an amazing life abroad in a hot climate somewhere. Why won’t you come with me?”
“Because I’m tired. All I want to do is put my feet up and enjoy life for a change. Why can’t we stay here? Why do we have to leave the country? The last thing I want to do is start learning a bloody foreign language at my time of life. Please reconsider.”
“Not gonna happen. My mind is made up. I want sun, sea, and whatever the third part of that sentence is. If you’re not prepared to drop everything and leave with me, then I’ll be forced to get the sex elsewhere. Go back to the house. Let me deal with this. I’ll be in shortly.” He spun her around and pushed her towards the house. He watched her take the first hesitant steps, then tutted and returned to the shed; this time he placed the bolt on the door.
The woman was trembling, her hands and feet bound with rope and her eyes blindfolded with an oily rag. He knelt on one knee beside her. “Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were about to tell me your bank details.”
“I will, only if you promise to let me go.” She gulped noisily.
“Of course. I’d have no use for you after you hand the money over. Let me get something to write on.” He stood up and searched the small chest of drawers where he kept his knick-knacks. Finding a pencil and an old envelope, he knelt beside the woman once more. “Okay, what are the details?”
She sobbed. “I don’t know. I need my handbag. My chequebook will have my details. I can’t remember them off the top of my head.”
He stood and began pacing the tiny space. The woman’s handbag was still in the boot of his car. “I’ll be right back. Not a word from you. Do you hear me?”
“I promise. Just please don’t hurt me.”
Her voice grated on him. Why do they always have to plead like that? He walked up the length of the garden and out to the front, where the car was parked. He opened the boot and removed the woman’s handbag, which he shoved inside a carrier bag. After slamming the boot shut, he returned to the shed. Nightfall was descending at last. He paused halfway up the garden, pounded his fist against his temple, and walked towards the back door of the house and into the kitchen.
His wife, who was tending to something at the stove, turned to look at him with her adoring eyes. “Dinner’s almost ready, love. I’ve made your favourite—steak and kidney pie with all the trimmings. It should be ready in five minutes.”
“Stick mine in the oven. I have more important things to attend to. Have you seen my laptop? Have you moved it again?” He marched across the room, gathered a clump of hair in his hand, and yanked her head back, forcing her to look at him. “What have I told you about leaving my stuff alone? Where is it?”
“Ouch, you’re hurting me. I put it in the bedroom. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you again.” She closed her eyes, waiting for her usual punishment.
He gripped her hair tighter and jabbed her in the stomach several times with his fist. She tried to double over, but he pulled her head back again and hit her half a dozen times more. She sickened him, the pitiful woman. He was delighted that she wouldn’t be going with him. If she had agreed, he would have killed her within the first day or two anyway.
When he released her, she fell against the hot stove, but he didn’t care that her hand landed only inches from the open flame.
When he returned moments later, he found her in the same position. “I’ll be ten minutes. We’ll eat then.”
He slammed the back door and walked down the garden path to the shed. He switched on the light and bolted the door behind him.
The blindfolded woman was looking in his direction, tears staining her cheeks.
“Right, let’s see what we have here.” He dipped his hand inside her handbag and started throwing bits and bobs on the floor until his patience got the better of him and he tipped the remains of her possessions into a heap beside her. “Here it is, your chequebook. I’ll start up my computer so you can access your account online.”
“But I can’t remember my online password. It’s been months since I’ve used the computer to view my account. I usually go in my local branch to get any funds I need.”
“Are you trying to piss me off, lady?”
“No, I swear it’s the truth.”
He pulled out his mobile phone. “Then you’ll just have to ring them to make the transfer, won’t you? You do know your security details? No funny business, or I’ll have no hesitation in killing you right here and now. Transfer the money, and I promise to let you go.”
She nodded vigorously. “I know it. You have my word.”
He unhitched the blindfold and allowed her eyes to adjust to the light for a second or two before he dialled the number on the back of her card. He held the phone between them to listen to the recorded message and prompted her to speak when the automated voice required an answer.
The woman paused before she remembered her security number. She let out a relieved sigh when the automated voice continued. The man thrust his own bank details in front of her, and she asked for fifty thousand to be transferred. The automated voice refused the transaction. Looking panic stricken, she turned her head away from the phone. “I’m being transferred to a customer advisor because the amount was over the phone limit.”
“Damn. Tell them it’s urgent and ask what the solution is. Bloody banks! They want our money, but when we try and get it back from them, they put dumb obstacles in the way.”
A friendly woman’s voice came on the line.
“Oh, hello. I’m trying to transfer a large sum of money, but your automated system wouldn’t allow it.”
“Sorry for any inconvenience. There is a twenty-five-thousand-pound limit on the system. I can do the transaction for you. May I ask how much you’d like to transfer?”
“Fifty thousand pounds. Is that okay? I’m buying a house, you see?”
He nodded his approval.
“There’s no problem. We’ll transfer the money in two transactions. I just need to verify your account with some security questions.” She reeled off two questions, to which Amanda gave the right answers. When the transaction was completed, Amanda hung up.
“There, the money should be in your account within the next forty-eight hours. Will you let me go now?”
“A deal is a deal.” He began to untie the rope around her wrist but then punched her in the face instead. The woman’s head lolled to the side. He laughed. “When are you women going to stop being so gullible?”
He pulled on his gloves and chose a blade from the bench. Regretting that she was unconscious, he placed the blade to her neck. Hearing their whimpers and screams turned him on.
Half an hour later, a satisfied smile stretching his mouth apart, he placed the dismembered body into two black sacks. In forty-eight hours, he would be free to live his life how he wanted to live it, without his wife hanging around his neck.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lorne pulled up outside Rebecca’s mansion at eight thirty the following morning. The housekeeper welcomed her into the house and showed her through to the lounge, where a dishevelled-looking Rebecca was waiting. Lorne shook her hand then sat down on the couch opposite her.
“Get us some tea please, Ruth.”
The housekeeper nodded and left the room.
“How are you, Rebecca?”
“Devastated, Inspector. My whole world has been destroyed. This time last month, I had everything to live for. My mother and I were busy arranging my wedding, to a man I was head over heels in love with, and now…” She pulled a tissue from the box on the table beside her and dabbed her eyes.
The housekeeper brought in a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. She set it down on the coffee table, paused, looking concerned for her mistress, then gazed at Lorne.
Lorne
nodded. “She’ll be fine. I’m not going anywhere for now.”
“Yes, Miss.” Ruth turned, and with her shoulders slumped as if burdened with huge problems of her own, she left the lounge.
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you’re having to contend with all this crap, Rebecca. My heart truly goes out to you.”
“Thank you. It’s just something I have to get used to. I’ll bounce back soon, hopefully, now that Mum’s funeral is out of the way. I’m just distraught at the way Robert has treated me. I never knew how callous a person could be until he dumped me.”
“Thankfully, there aren’t many in this world as insensitive and downright heartless as he is.”
“Please brighten my day by telling me you have caught the culprit who killed my mother.”
Lorne shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that, as much as that pains me to say. I feel we’re getting close, though, if that helps.”
“Slightly, but not much. What about Robert? Do you have any idea who that man was at the funeral?”
“Our contacts tell us that he’s a well-known loan shark in the area.”
Rebecca was taken aback for a few moments. “What? A loan shark? Why on earth would Robert need one of those?”
“You had no idea he was in money trouble, I take it?”
She placed her hands on either side of her face and shook her head. “No idea at all. What sort of sums are we talking about, Inspector?”
“I’m not sure of that yet, Rebecca. Bearing in mind the heated argument we witnessed at the funeral, I’d hazard a guess that we’re not just talking about what could be squeezed into a piggy bank. We’re trying hard to figure that out now.”
“Why? How could he?” Her hands dropped into her lap.
“Gambling debts, we suspect. Are you aware that he liked to frequent the casino?”
Rebecca blew out a breath. “I knew he went occasionally, mainly to socialise with his work colleagues or clients—at least that’s what he used to tell me.”
Lorne watched the woman think over the information for a little while.
“Is that why he was marrying me? For my money?” Rebecca finally asked, the words catching in her throat.
