Mortal Crimes: 7 Novels of Suspense (94 page)

“Come on. I’ll go and see.”

They walked through the reception area and into the bar. The nightclub looked totally different from how she remembered it being during her last visit. She couldn’t decide if they’d had a recent refit or if they used different lighting when the club was open to the punters. The young man pointed at one of the tall tables, which had four stools placed around it. “Wait there. I’ll see if he’s available.”

Within a few minutes, the young man returned with another man in his early forties, who was dressed immaculately in what was obviously a designer suit. His eyes searched hers as she introduced herself.

The man held out his hand to shake and dismissed the younger man.

“Dave Jenkinson. You wanted to see me?” His voice was firm but quiet. He was business-like and not flirty in the least, unlike the man who’d shown Ellen in.

She smiled. “I did.” She handed him a business card. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about people, girls actually, who have frequented your nightclub and been reported missing the next day.”

Jenkinson studied the business card and put it in his pocket, then pulled out one of the stools opposite her and sat down. “Your partner rang me, tried to contact me about this last week, didn’t he?”

“That’s right. You weren’t forthcoming with the information. Why is that?”

“To be honest, I didn’t feel as though it was any of his business. I’m a law-abiding citizen, and I’d rather deal with the police directly if there are any problems connected to my club, not some two-bit outfit who wants to snoop around.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. Jenkinson. In general, most people don’t have a problem dealing with our ‘two-bit outfit.’ We’re an important firm, which has had a lot of success reuniting people with loved ones they thought they’d never see again. That might not be high up on your priority list, but to some people, it’s a load off their minds.”

“I didn’t mean to cause offence. It’s just that I prefer to deal with the authorities. That’s all.”

“I can understand that. The thing is that the few cases which have come to light haven’t left many clues. Therefore, the police aren’t that interested in them. Hence my ‘two-bit outfit’ taking them on.”

Jenkinson had the decency to look slightly embarrassed by his unwarranted dismissal of her firm. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. Although, I have to say that I don’t appreciate the inference you made connecting my club to these disappearances.”

“It’s a fact. It’s hard to argue with the evidence we’ve uncovered. It might be a bizarre coincidence in a few of the cases, but when all the cases lead back to this club, it would be foolish of my partner and me to look the other way. You’d have to agree with that, surely?”

His gaze swept the club, and Ellen could tell by the way his jaw was clenching and unclenching that he had trouble disagreeing, given the proof. She could also tell that he was struggling to admit openly that she had made a valid point.

Before he could respond, she added, “All we’re asking is to view your CCTV footage from the specific dates on which these girls disappeared. I don’t work with the newspapers or anything like that, if that’s what you’re concerned about. Any proof I find will remain confidential. If at a later date, I have to inform the police of my findings, then things might alter. However, you have my word that neither I, nor my partner will say or do anything that will show your club in a bad light. On that, you have my word.”

He thought over her words for a minute or two before reluctantly throwing his arms out to the side. “Okay, I’ll give you the discs. How far back do you need?”

“Two weeks should do. Thank you.”

He left his stool and went to an office on the other side of the dance floor. He returned a few minutes later with several disc cases in his hand. “Fifteen discs. Return them to me as soon as you can, please?”

“Of course. I’d like to thank you on behalf of all the girls’ families. I’ll get these back to you within the next day or two.”

She left the club on a cushion of air, triumphant about her afternoon’s work.

She pulled out her mobile to call the office. “Brian, get the kettle on. We’re going to the movies.”

“Huh? Are you mad? It’s the middle of the day.”

She shook her head as if he were in the car with her. “Just do it! I’ll be back in a short while.”

________

Brian still had a perplexed expression on his face when she stepped through the office doorway minutes later. Two steaming-hot coffees sat on each desk. Ellen picked up her mug, dropped the file on her desk, and dragged her chair over to Brian’s desk.

She handed him the pile of plastic cases containing the nightclub’s CCTV discs. “I think we’ll start with the earliest date first, yes?”

“Ah, now I get it. I see your womanly charms worked a treat again.” His eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Ellen shrugged. “What can I say? Some of us have it, and some of us don’t. Come on. I’m eager to see what we have here.”

They searched through the video, easily spotting each of the girls and their friends, but very little else in the earlier discs warranted further investigation. Things changed when they reached the most recent ones, though.

“There.” On the edge of the screen, Brian pointed out a figure lurking in the shadows, looking as if he were spying on a group of girls. “What do you think?”

Ellen squinted, placed her hands on the desk, and eased out of her chair to get a better look. Her head twisted this way and that, until her mouth dropped open and she slumped back into her chair.

“What? Who is it?”

“I can’t be definite, but I think I know him. Can you tweak the picture? Get closer, maybe?”

“I can try.” Brian frantically pounded the keys, and inch by inch, the picture grew larger. However, as the person in the picture became bigger, the clarity got worse.

“Damn!” She took a sip of coffee, and her focus remained on the screen. “Okay, I’m just going to go with my first instinct and say who I think it is.”

“Get on with it, then. The bloody suspense is killing me.”

Brian was still trying to improve the image, and Ellen could tell his frustration was growing because the way he’d snapped at her was totally out of character for him.

“You remember when I went to the gym to speak to Will the other day? I said he was with two men who were giving me the creeps. I think one of them is that guy there.” She pointed at the screen.

“Whoa! Really?”

“Really. It would tie in with what we’ve assumed already. The connections we’ve stumbled across. I think, looking at that image, we’ve just joined another dot in our case. Hang on a minute. I have his name here somewhere. The receptionist gave it to me along with all the dates the girls joined as members. This guy was down there with Will. I took the liberty of asking the receptionist for his info also.”

“Good girl. I’m impressed.”

Ellen flicked open the file on her desk and handed the sheet of paper to Brian.

“Okay, let’s see what we can find out about one, Mr. Mike Fallon.”

Excitement blazed across her partner’s face. Ellen sat back in her chair as she watched him work wonders on his computer, and she thought back to her encounters with Fallon. She shuddered, the way she had done a couple of times already under his watchful gaze. Why had she dismissed her first instincts about the man? She wondered how much her awkward relationship with her stepfather affected the way she reacted to the men she met.
It has to somehow, doesn’t it?

“Here we go. Mike Fallon. He’s got a slight record, nothing major. Attempted robbery in his teens, that’s all.”

“It might be how Will Endersbe met him. By his own admission, he’s been a naughty boy in the past. What else have you got?”

Brian scrolled down the screen. “He works in a care home of sorts. It actually states that it’s a private hospital, but reading the blurb about it, it sounds more like a care home to me.”

“That’s interesting. Not a role I can imagine him filling, to be honest.”

“Have you got an address for that?”

“I have, but I insist, you’re not going there alone.”

“Brian… we’ve had this conversation before. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“I know, but if this guy is the one abducting these women, I don’t want your name being added to the list. Call me stupid for caring about what happens to you.”

Ellen brushed her hand down his forearm. “I know you care. On the other hand, I’m a big girl now, Brian. You’re always on the end of the phone. We set things up so that I would ring you between visits specifically so that you wouldn’t worry while I’m out there. Let’s be fair, up until now, the cases we’ve dealt with have been simple compared to this one.”

He sat back in his chair and stared at her. “Even more reason for me to be concerned about you. I appreciate you can look after yourself, Ellie. We don’t have to take that risk though, do we?”

“For a start, one of us has to stay here to man the phones. No point us advertising ourselves as a hotline if there’s no one here to answer the phone. Right?”

Brian tutted. “Yeah, you’re right, as usual.

“That’s settled then.” Ellen glanced at her watch. At approaching four o’clock, she thought it was too late to visit the private hospital and decided first thing in the morning would be better. “I’ll pop in on the way to work.”

“That’s probably best. Do you know what time this Fallon goes down the gym to train?”

“No idea. He was there today before lunch, but it could have been his day off.” She lifted the phone, reconsidered her actions, and replaced it in its docking station.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was going to ring the hospital to see what time Fallon’s shift was. But then thought it would be silly to pre-warn them of my visit.”

“Yeah, not one of your brightest ideas. Why don’t we do another half an hour and then call it a day? We can start on the different angle tomorrow, eh?”

“You know what? You can be very wise when you want to be. Shame it doesn’t happen more often.” She leapt out of her chair before he could slap her.

________

The new girl was stirring. A couple of the other girls had complained they were cold, so his heart had softened momentarily, and he had covered them with the few grain sacks that he’d found at the back of the barn. He hadn’t really thought things through that well. He hadn’t anticipated the girls feeling the cold in the barn because despite it being December, the weather had been mild. Anyway, he liked staring at their naked flesh—their curvaceous breasts and shapely thighs.

That evening, he’d arrived at eight, to watch each girl in the dull moonlight entering the barn from the half-moon in the clear night sky.

Inching nearer, he could hear the girl’s teeth chattering and see the goose pimples protruding on her flesh. He would have loved to run his fingers across her skin, to draw an invisible line to join the swollen dots on her flesh. She started sniffling as she became aware of her surroundings, the coldness, and the awkward way she was trussed up.

“Help me. Please, help me, someone?”

He tilted his head and angled his ear to see if the others had the courage to answer the new girl’s cry for help. Straw rustled in the stall next door. Diane was awake.

“I’m here. But I can’t help you. None of us can.”

Sandy Cox gasped at the sound of the other girl’s voice. “How many? How many others are here?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe three or four. It depends how they respond to the meds he gives us. Some don’t do so well.”

“How long have you been here?” Sandy whispered.

“I’m not sure. I have no concept of time. I see light under the blindfold sometimes, but not always. Depends if my eyes are sore or not.”

“Why are we here? Do you know what he intends doing with us?”

“He never really says much. He takes what he wants and then leaves.”

Sandy began to sob.

Diane tried to comfort her. “It’s not so bad. Just lie there, do nothing, when it happens. Thankfully, he never lasts long.”

His eyes screwed up with hatred as Diane mocked him. She would be first in line for her punishment that night. He always lasted longest with the first one he screwed.

Sandy’s breath came short and sharp. “I don’t want him touching me or giving me medication. I feel sick.”

“None of us do, sweetheart. But what can we do about it? Take a couple of deep breaths.”

Sandy’s sobbing increased, and her rounded breasts rose and fell with her stuttering breath.

“But… but… I’m pregnant.”

Several gasps sounded in the barn, including his.
Pregnant! Shit!
Panicked, he ran outside and flung himself against the side of the barn, trying hard to hold back the acid burning his throat. Through the open barn door, he could hear all the girls crying in sympathy with Sandy.
Shit! What do I do now? Get rid of her and the baby? Set her free?
The dilemma continued to fire possible solutions through his mind, but none of the answers grabbed him enough to act upon them. Everything had been going so well, to plan.
Until this!