Unfair Justice

by M A Comley

  Lorne nodded. “Okay. I suggest you run along then.”

  The two young men set off up the hallway ahead of Lorne and Pete, glancing over their shoulders every now and then.

  Pete leaned in and whispered, “Looks like they have a lot to say about us; that’s mighty suspicious to me.”

  “Me, too. Don’t react. Let’s just observe their behaviour for now. Damn, I should have got the other boy’s name.” At that moment, they walked past Miss Foster’s office, and Lorne dipped inside. “Is the principal available for a quick chat?” she asked the secretary, who was typing on her keyboard.

  “Yes, just a moment.” The woman left her desk and knocked on the principal’s door. She entered the room and pulled the door open for Lorne to join her.

  “Sorry to interrupt. We’re just heading off now. One last question before we leave if I may?”

  “Of course, Inspector.”

  “Jerome Tyler’s friend was waiting for him outside the interview room. I forgot to ask his name. Any idea?”

  “Was he quite tall and very skinny, acned skin?”

  “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “Warren Morris. They’ve been friends since junior school, I believe.”

  “That’s wonderful. We’ve got a few leads to follow up on. One thing I think you should be aware of is that a few of the girls felt as though they were being followed within the college grounds. None of them saw anyone when they turned around to investigate a noise behind them, however. Might be something your security guy should be made aware of going forward.”

  “How strange that no one has come forward to inform me.”

  Lorne shrugged. “Maybe they thought there was little point in doing that if they didn’t actually see anyone.”

  “You could be right, thank you. I’ll up the security for the next few days in light of what has happened. Please keep me informed, Inspector.”

  “I will. Thank you for allowing us to question the students. It’s been a great help.” Lorne left the room and joined Pete at the main entrance to the college.

  “Where to now, boss?”

  “Back to the station to do some digging on Jerome Tyler and his mate, Warren Morris. My gut is telling me that lad has something to hide.”

  “For once I’m inclined to believe your gut instinct on this one.”

  “Bloody hell, that’s a first,” Lorne said, playfully punching Pete’s upper arm.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  By the end of the shift, Lorne and Pete had discovered that both young men had minor charges laid at their door—one for shoplifting and the other for stealing another student’s car.

  “Strange that the principal didn’t mention that,” Lorne said, her brow furrowing. “Now this is interesting—the boys share a house. Let’s get a warrant for that address sorted first thing, Pete.”

  “On what grounds?”

  “Jerome was the victim’s boyfriend, and he was also the last person to see her the evening she was murdered. That should do, right?”

  “Too right. I’ll see if I can catch them now before they finish for the night.” Pete picked up his phone and put in the request while Lorne studied the incident board.

  Soon after, the team disbanded for the evening with the promise they would be back at their desks bright and early the next day. Lorne drove home through the heavy traffic and sighed when she parked the car outside her house, wondering what sort of atmosphere she would walk into this evening.

  She opened the front door and was immediately greeted by her faithful collie, Henry, and the beautiful aroma of something scrummy being concocted in the kitchen Tom had just finished fitting.

  “Hello, you. Have you had a good day?” Tom asked as soon as she appeared in the doorway.

  “So-so. How about you? Something smells nice. What’s on the menu this evening?” Lorne smiled and walked over to the cooker to inspect the pots.

  “Cottage pie with three veg. Will that do?”

  “Sounds wonderful. I missed out on lunch today because of this new case we’ve taken on.”

  “Mind if we talk about the case after dinner, especially if the details are gruesome?”

  “Okay, fair enough. Where’s Charlie?” she asked, ruffling Henry’s fur as he sidled up to her for attention.

  The smile on Tom’s face vanished, and he pulled Lorne’s arm, moving her away from the stove. “How many times do I have to tell you not to pet the dog near the food? You’re the first to complain when you find a hair in your dinner.”

  Lorne rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I forgot. He’s pleased to see me.”

  “I don’t doubt that. He’s been pining for you all day. Excuse me while I dish up.”

  “Sorry, Tom. Is Charlie upstairs?” she asked for the second time.

  “No, she’s out with her friends, said she’d be back by nine.”

  Lorne sighed inwardly. She’d made it clear that she didn’t want Charlie being out with her friends on a school night, especially as there was a gang of them and they’d started causing minor friction in the neighbourhood. Instead of voicing her concerns for the hundredth time, she took Henry out into the garden and threw the ball for him to fetch for the five minutes it took Tom to dish up their meal.

  “It’s ready!” Tom bellowed a little while later.

  Lorne called Henry to her and got down beside him to whisper in the dog’s ear. “Be good this evening, boy, and I’ll give you an extra treat later. Go straight in your bed when we go inside, all right?” She kissed the white patch on Henry’s nose, and he followed her inside the house, had a drink, and settled down in his bed. Lorne sat at the table, and Tom placed a heaped meal in front of her.

  “Are you trying to fatten me up?” She laughed.

  “You’re too thin. You need some meat on your bones.”

  “I am not. I’m the same size now as when you first laid eyes on me,” Lorne replied, feeling sensitive all of a sudden.

  “Yeah, and you were too thin back then, too.”

  Lorne shook her head and tucked into her dinner. The rest of the meal was eaten in a very awkward silence. Another joyful night of living on eggshells for the rest of the evening. After she’d cleared up, she took Henry for a long walk to put some distance between her and Tom. She walked to the nearby park and let her companion off the leash. He remained by her side as they completed a circuit of the park. Half an hour later, they headed back to the house. Up ahead, Lorne saw a group of teenagers messing around on the pavement. As she drew closer, she realised that Charlie was part of the group, who appeared to be harassing a black boy, pushing him between them and shouting in his face. Lorne upped her pace. Henry began to growl, so she checked the chain. “Ssh... boy, leave it to me.”

  Lorne was within ten feet of the group when she heard Charlie say, “Shit, it’s my mum.”

  The group dispersed, or tried to. “Wait just a second, you lot. What the hell is going on here?”

  A tall boy started to run off.

  “Get back here, Paul Butler.”

  The boy stopped and turned to face her.

  Lorne ignored the rest of the group and walked up to him, putting her face inches from his. “Just what do you think your parents would say about you bullying someone in the street like this?”

  His head hung low. “They wouldn’t be happy. We were only messing about.”

  “It looked pretty intense to me.” She grabbed the lad by his ear and dragged him back to the group. One look at Charlie’s mortified face told her that she would be in her daughter’s bad books for weeks to come. “Apologise to this young man.”

  “Sorry, man. We were just messing with ya.”

  The little black boy, whose white eyes shone in the darkening night, kicked a few stones by his feet. “That’s all right,” he mumbled.

  “Did they take anything from you?”

  “Yes, my phone.”

  Lorne held out her hand. “The boy’s phone now, or I’ll call for backup, drag you all down the station
, and charge you with disrupting the peace. I’m sure your parents will appreciate having to come out at midnight to pick you guys up once you’ve all been processed.”

  “Aww... Mum. There’s no need to be so heavy-handed about this.”

  Lorne glared at her thirteen-year-old daughter and pointed at her. “You’d be advised to keep your mouth closed, young lady. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

  A few of the kids sniggered, and Lorne immediately reached for her phone and pretended to punch in numbers. “Yes, this is Detective Inspector Simpkins. I’ve got a group of teenagers causing trouble. Please send a paddy wagon to haul their arses into the station ASAP.”

  “Please, Mrs. Simpkins, we didn’t mean any harm,” Paul Butler pleaded, his eyes sparkling with tears as he slapped the phone into her palm.

  “That’ll be Inspector Simpkins to you, Butler, as I’m never off duty. Now, I want you to apologise to this young man and then be on your way. Go straight home, you hear me? I’ll be ringing each of your parents when I get home and making them aware of the trouble you’ve been causing. If you ever, ever, give me reason to place a call like that again, I promise you I will follow through with my threat—you hear me?”

  “Sorry, Inspector,” a few of the youngsters said as they went their separate ways.

  Lorne placed an arm around the young black boy’s shoulders. “Will you be okay, or do you need a lift home?”

  “No. I’ll be fine. Thank you, Inspector.” He smiled and walked in the opposite direction to the gang.

  Charlie stepped forward, looking sheepish under Lorne’s gaze.

  “I’m disappointed in you, Charlie. You’re grounded for a month.”

  “That’s not fair,” Charlie complained, brushing past Lorne.

  “Keep up that stinky attitude, lady, and your punishment will be doubled.”

  Charlie disappeared through the front door, slamming it behind her. Lorne sighed and got down to hug Henry. “Why can’t she be more like you? You never give your mum hassle, do you, mate?”

  Henry licked her face, which always seemed to put everything right.

  Standing up again, she tugged the lead slightly. “Come on, let’s go face the music.”

  Lorne could hear Charlie crying in the lounge and Tom soothing her with his gentle words. After removing Henry’s lead, she hung it, along with her coat, on the rack and walked into the lounge.

  The glares emanating from her husband and daughter told her that she was in for a long, argumentative evening, so she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of white wine before returning for the onslaught.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The following morning, after spending the night in the single bed in the spare room, Lorne set off for work feeling a failure on the domestic front. She wondered how many other mothers had to contend with their husbands and children ganging up against them in a heated discussion. Tom had infuriated Lorne when he’d called her punishment of grounding Charlie for a month way over the top and reduced the sentence to only a week. The second Charlie had left the room, he’d turned on Lorne with a spiteful tongue and a vile rage that was becoming ever more present in their marriage. Tossing and turning all night, Lorne had contemplated their future together, not for the first time.

  Lorne wore a smile, hoping to ward off any intrusive questions from her partner, as she entered the incident room. “You’re here early, Pete. Thought I would be the first to turn up for work this morning.”

  “I have a good feeling about today. Thought I’d come in early and finish up some paperwork before that warrant comes through.”

  “Let’s hope it comes through early. We could do with a break on this one.”

  At ten o’clock, Pete poked his head around her office door to tell Lorne her wish had been granted. “We’ve got it. Do you want to set off now?”

  Lorne shuffled the papers she was signing and shoved them into the manila folder. “You bet. This lot can wait. Organise some form of backup from uniform, will you, Pete?”

  “Already done. Four officers are waiting for us downstairs.”

  “Gosh, maybe you should come into work early on a regular basis if this is the result.” She winked at him when he rolled his eyes.

  “Whatever,” he mumbled before leaving the office.

  She enjoyed winding him up. Having a gullible partner by her side every day made coming to work all the more pleasurable. She loved working with Pete and regarded him like a brother. If anything ever broke up their partnership, she wouldn’t know where to turn. Stop being so maudlin. Pete loves being wound up as much as I love winding him up. He isn’t going anywhere in the near future.

  “Are you ready, Chunky?” Lorne tapped Pete on his shoulder as she headed for the door. She heard Pete’s heavy footsteps behind her on the stairs moments later.

  “Hello, boys. You can follow us out to the house. Two cars, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the youngest constable replied.

  “Good. The suspects can be brought back here in separate cars. Let’s make a move then.”

  Pete climbed into the passenger side of Lorne’s Vauxhall Vectra and fastened his seatbelt. “Are you going to bring the boys in for questioning if they’re there?”

  “Let’s see what the search uncovers first.”

  The three cars pulled up outside a run-down terrace house close to the college grounds. Lorne leaned forward to survey the building. “Bloody hell. I wouldn’t be happy if Charlie paid rent to stay in a tip like this.”

  “It’s obscene what some landlords expect their tenants to put up with in some of these properties.”

  “I hope it’s better on the inside, but I have severe doubts about that.”

  They left the car and joined the four uniformed officers outside the house. Lorne knocked on the door. Seconds later, a door banged inside the house.

  “Shit! Someone’s gone out the back. Get round there, now!”

  The uniformed officers sprinted to the back of the house while Pete shoulder-charged the front door. A sleepy-looking Jerome staggered out of a room on the right and ran a hand through his hair. “What the...”

  Lorne looked down at his black boxer shorts, the only item of clothing the young man was wearing. “Morning, Mr. Tyler. If you’d like to get some clothes on, we have a warrant to search this address.”

  His hands dropped to the front of his shorts, and he looked perplexed. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  “We’ll ask the questions. Where is Warren Morris?”

  “I’m guessing he’s in his room.” Jerome pointed at the room next door.

  Lorne motioned for Pete to try the door.

  Pete stuck his head into the room and shrugged. “Nothing except an unmade bed.”

  One by one, the out-of-breath uniformed officers joined them in the hallway.

  “Nothing, ma’am,” one said.

  Lorne slapped her thigh. “Damn. Okay, get on to control, put an alert out for Morris.”

  One of the older officers walked back into the street, actioning the request on his radio as he walked.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why would Warren run?” Jerome asked, his brow still wrinkled with puzzlement.

  “You tell me?” Lorne enquired. “How long have you known him?”

  “Since primary school. We moved in here together at the beginning of term back in September.”

  “Did he and Maria get along?”

  “What sort of question is that? Yes, they got along.”

  “Get some clothes on and take a seat in the lounge, while my people search both of your bedrooms.”

  “Wait a minute. Search for what?”

  “Any incriminating evidence. Clothes,” Lorne insisted for the third time.

  Jerome stepped back into his bedroom and emerged wearing a pair of jeans and pulling a blue T-shirt over his head to hide his hairless chest. “Can I make myself a drink?”

  “Yes, then sit in the lounge. Don�
��t move.”

  The young man walked along the hallway and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “I’ll take Morris’s room. You search Jerome’s. Okay?” she instructed Pete.

  Lorne’s nose twitched from the rank smell of body odour when she entered the room. In spite of the ample storage in the form of a wardrobe and chest of drawers, the floor was covered in piles of clothes, most of which Lorne thought should have been heading for the washing machine. Alongside the unmade bed was a bedside table. Lorne pulled open the top drawer, and amongst all the unopened letters, she found the boy’s course sheet.

  The second drawer was full of personal letters, and in the third drawer, Lorne found something that really piqued her interest: a bunch of photos of Jerome with Maria. In each one, Maria’s face had been circled several times with a red pen. “Pete, in here.”

  Within seconds, Pete was standing by her side, looking down at the evidence she was holding. “Crap, that’s pretty damning.”

  “Yeah, but not enough. It could just point to Morris being besotted with Maria. Doesn’t actually say that he killed her. We need a weapon or something else to back up our claims.”

  “Trouble is the lass was strangled with her bra. No other weapon was used. What about DNA?”

  Lorne nodded. “You read my mind. Let’s give SOCO a call to gather some evidence to match to what Arnaud possibly found on the corpse during the PM. Our priority has to be to find Morris, too. The longer he’s on the run, the harder it’s going to be to track him down. He knows we’re onto him now, so I doubt he’ll return here, but just in case, we should have someone sitting on surveillance outside.”

  “I agree. I’ll ring Forensics now.”

  Pete placed the call while Lorne continued to rummage through the boy’s belongings. In a shoebox under his bed, they found a silver locket. Inside was a picture of Maria and her mother. “Bingo!”

  “A trophy?” Pete asked, standing alongside her once more.

  “Yes, looks like it’s not the only one. There’s a watch, a ring, a bracelet. I’m hoping they’re all Maria’s, but I have a sinking feeling they won’t be.”