Storms (17 page)

‘Okay but getting back to the basics of the case’ said Geraldine. ‘I take it that Briers was able to use the white van without Tim Ryder knowing because Ryder was busy being an anonymous employee at the Blackpool hotel and not actually living at home full-time?’

‘Yes, ma’am’ said Jeff. ‘I do believe Ryder when he says he was completely unaware of what Briers was up to. The news has devastated him as much as it has everybody else. Briers’ daughter is in pieces which is not a good condition considering she’s about to give birth’.

‘To a child that was conceived in a rape’.

‘A gang rape, ma’am’ said Jeff. ‘That poor kid has already been through so much. It’s going to take a lot for her to move on from all this’.

‘Is she going to keep the child?’

‘She says she is’ said Jeff. ‘I don’t know if that’s such a good idea but she seems fairly determined’.

‘She’ll get a lot of help, Jeff’.

‘I know but … well I’d advise her to give the baby up for adoption and then take some time to work out what she wants to do with her life. But I’m just a police officer. I’m not a social worker or a therapist and there’s a lot about race relations in this city that we have to seriously think about, including that racism goes both ways and it isn’t racist of me as a white man to say that’.

‘You’re a very thoughtful officer who thinks way beyond the crime, Jeff and I value that although you do realise it wasn’t a good idea for you to go chasing up to Blackpool in pursuit of Tim Ryder when your sister was making a complaint against him involving your nephew?’

‘I do, ma’am, yes, but Annabel and Kyle are family and I needed to do it that way’.

‘Just so that you remember, and I’m sure you do, that a good enough lawyer might make something out of it when it comes to court?’

‘I do realise that, ma’am, but I stick by my decision’ said Jeff.

‘Okay’ said Geraldine. ‘But look Jeff, I’d like to change the subject completely and talk to you about something else’.

‘Of course. Is it something personal?’

‘How did you guess that?’ asked Geraldine who’d decided to tell Jeff about her home situation.

‘I think you’ve got some serious troubles at home. Am I right?’

Before Geraldine could answer they were interrupted by Ollie Wright knocking and then putting his head round the door.

‘Excuse me, ma’am, sir but something’s happened that I thought you’d want to know about straight away’.

‘What is it, Ollie?’ Jeff asked.

‘It’s Tim Ryder, sir. He’s been found hanged in his cell’.

STORMS FIFTEEN

‘This is lovely’ said Annabel who was sitting with Jeff in his back garden. They were sharing a bottle of Australian chardonnay.

‘It’s a shame we haven’t done more of it’ said Jeff. ‘But we’ll have to make up for lost time’.

‘We will’ said Annabel. ‘It’s also a shame of course that it took what happened to Kyle to bring us back together’.

‘Well we were never really apart, Annabel’.

‘No, but you know what I mean. I mean it can’t have been easy for any of you to accept me as your sister when I was the result of an affair your father had whilst married to your mother’.

‘I don’t judge that way, Annabel’ said Jeff. ‘Neither does our Lewis. My sister is another matter but then she’s so much like my Mum and our Dad’.

‘I guess the boys will be back soon’ said Annabel.

‘Well I told Lewis I’d be firing up the barbecue about three so I expect them any time soon’ said Jeff. His brother Lewis with his partner Seamus had taken Jeff’s son Toby and Annabel’s son Kyle to play football in the park down the road. Jeff’s live-in Nanny and housekeeper Brendan was on a day off and had gone to see his parents.

‘Lewis and Seamus seen very happy’ said Annabel.

‘Oh they are’ Jeff confirmed. ‘Seamus transferred a few months ago to being a pilot on long-haul flights from Heathrow so he spends a bit more time away now than he used to. But it seems to have made their hearts grow fonder for each other’.

‘I think they’re one of the few stable couples in the family’.

Jeff laughed. ‘Yes, I think you’re right. How’s Kyle coming on by the way?’

‘Well his therapist is pleased with his progress so far’ said Annabel. ‘He seems to be doing well but you never know’.

‘You know you could consider suing the estate of Tim Ryder for compensation just like the families of all those other boys are’ said Jeff.

‘No I’m not going to go down that road, Jeff’ said Annabel who had thought about what Jeff had suggested but felt that she and Kyle had had enough. ‘He paid all Clive’s debts off for me. I’ll take that as compensation’.

‘Fair enough’ said Jeff.

‘But Jeff how could he have come to hang himself? Wasn’t he being watched in case he tried to do that very thing?’

‘Yes he was and there’s going to be an enquiry’ said Jeff. ‘But it’s not unusual in cases like this. I’m not saying that the prison was complicit but we’ll see what the conclusion of the enquiry says’.

‘I wanted to have my day in court for Kyle’s sake’ said Annabel. ‘I think he needed to see just how wrong Tim had been towards him’.

‘I know and it frustrates me too’ said Jeff. ‘But look, Annabel, I’ve been thinking. The case I’ve just wrapped with had family bitterness right at its heart. Tim Ryder and John Squires were kept apart by family feud and if that had not been the case then perhaps Tim Ryder might have been able to get the kind of professional help that would’ve stopped him doing what he did. I don’t want our family ever to be estranged again, Annabel so I’ve got an idea to put to you’.

Annabel was intrigued. ‘Go on?’

‘You don’t want to go back to that job at the hotel so why don’t you and Kyle move in here with us for a while until you sort yourselves out with your own place?’

‘Wow’ said Annabel who was delighted at the invitation. ‘But have you really thought about this? I mean you’ve got a tight little unit here. Do you really want us to walk in on it?’

‘I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t’ said Jeff. ‘I just think it would be good for us all to live within a larger family unit for a while and really get to know each other’.

‘Kyle is about to start his final year before his exams though, Jeff’.

‘I know but he could transfer to a school round here and still complete them I’m sure. So what do you say?’

‘Well I’ll have to put it to Kyle first but if you’re sure and he says its’ okay then yes, why not? We’ll make a fresh start after all that’s happened and leave recent events behind us. Clive won’t mind. He doesn’t care enough to mind’.

‘Well I’ve already spoken to Brendan and he says its fine by him and I know Toby will be cool so speak to Kyle when they get back from football and we’ll move ahead with it’.

They clinked their glasses to celebrate. ‘Cheers, brother’ said Annabel.

‘Cheers, little sis’.

There was a ring of the doorbell and when Jeff went to answer it he was pleasantly surprised to see Rebecca Stockton standing there. He greeted her warmly and asked if she’d like to join him and Annabel in the back garden for a glass of wine and then stay for the barbecue.

‘I’ll see’ said Rebecca who hadn’t slept all night because of what she’d been planning to do. ‘But could we talk first?’

‘Sure’ said Jeff who led her into the living room. They sat down close to each other on the sofa. Jeff was sure he knew what Rebecca had come to talk to him about and perhaps it had been long overdue. ‘What’s on your mind?’

‘Jeff, I want to change my mind over the whole transfer request’ Rebecca began.

‘Okay’ said Jeff. ‘I never wanted it to happen anyway’.

‘I know. You, me and Ollie Wright are a good team’.

‘Well I think so and I certainly don’t want to break it up’.

‘But it’s more than that for me, Jeff. Look, I have feelings for you. I have done for a long time and I didn’t want to make it too obvious before because of respect for Lillie Mae and the grieving process you’ve been going through. I get that you never wanted to even consider a relationship with another woman until you’d worked it all out inside. I do get that, Jeff. But I felt that now was the time to tell you and that if I didn’t tell you I’d regret it’.

Jeff stood up and walked over to the window. ‘It’s not that I’ve never thought about us being more than friends, Becky. But that’s just it, I’ve never thought about it with any seriousness until recently’

‘And what conclusion have you drawn, Jeff? I mean, could you ever love me the way I love you? It’s taken a lot for me to come here with this and I need to know how you feel about me’.   

THE END

But Detective superintendent Jeff Barton and his team will be back in ‘No Questions Asked’ early in 2015.

Meanwhile, David Menon has also begun a series of mystery novels featuring the private investigator Stephanie Marshall and set in Sydney, Australia. The first novel in the series called ‘What Happened to Liam?’ is available now through all the usual retailers, including amazon, kobo, google etc. Here’s chapter one to give you a taster.

WHAT HAPPENED TO LIAM?

ONE

Stephanie Marshall was a Sydneysider who’d ran her own business as a private investigator for the last ten years. Her office was in Beaconsfield on the way into the city from the airport and was on the top floor of a grey three-storey building sandwiched between a pub and a bottle shop. If word of mouth was anything to go by she’d be as rich as bloody shit. She was good at her job. She did what she said and she was reliable enough to have gained an enviable reputation in the trade. She only wished her clients could be as reliable when it came to paying her fee after she’d got them their desired result. But too many of them seemed to run short of funds when it came time to pay up and that made her cash flow situation an absolute disaster at times. But it went with the territory. She couldn’t take the full fee in advance because the nature of the work meant that it was so unpredictable and she couldn’t accurately forecast her costs. So it was a case of sucking it all up and hoping that at least some clients would come through the door who would end up being able to pay their invoice in one go instead of dribs and drabs.
     She’d grabbed herself a coffee from the café on the corner where Ricardo the Italian owner flirted madly with her whilst his wife who also worked there laughed. She was well used to her husband taking the traditional Italian male view of the female species. Stephanie sometimes used it to her advantage though. Ricardo knew a lot of people who would talk to him and not the police and that made him a mine of useful information for her on some cases.
On the landing outside her office she caught herself in the long wall mirror. She should do something with her hair. It was the most boring shade of brown and just sat there, parted in the middle and the length catching her shoulders. She thought about maybe putting a colour on it but she had no idea what. Then there was the question of her hips. They were starting to be the first thing she saw when she looked at her body. Too many takeaway sandwiches eaten whilst conducting surveillance work were to blame for that. Too many curries, fish and chips, microwave meals, late night liquid suppers involving a bottle of Shiraz because she couldn’t be bothered to do anything with food. The trousers she was wearing had room to spare six months ago. Now she could barely get her hand down the front. She was going to have to do something to arrest this particular development. Her white shirt looked alright and her black jacket was okay if she left it undone. She used to be able to click her fingers and get any man. Now if she went next door to the pub and clicked her fingers they’d probably all run for the hills. She laughed at how ridiculously deceiving human beings can be with themselves. She wasn’t fat and she hadn’t lost it. She just needed to lose a bit to help her get some of it back.
It was almost ten o’clock on a Wednesday morning and it was pouring with rain outside. She had someone coming to see her on the hour and when the security buzzer downstairs was activated she looked briefly at the video shot and let her visitor in, telling her over the intercom to take the lift to the third floor.
     The woman who Stephanie greeted warmly at the door with a handshake had clearly been a particularly alluring beauty in her youth. She was still a very attractive woman now with her short white hair and large bewitching eyes. Stephanie would put her in her early sixties but she was preserving well and her light brown suede jacket and skirt also helped to take the years off her. She’d also taken care that her jewellery and make-up were subtle additions to her appearance and didn’t overwhelm her look. She had a poise about her that told you that she could be the best friend you’d ever had but also warned you not to cross her or you’d regret it. Vulnerable, insecure and yet with a barely hidden ferociousness that wouldn’t take much to be provoked into showing itself.
     ‘I’m Valerie Gardner’ said her visitor. ‘Mrs. Valerie Gardner’. Her voice was deep and throaty. She must be a pretty heavy smoker, thought Stephanie.
     ‘Yes, please come in, Mrs. Gardner and sit down’ said Stephanie.
     ‘Oh please call me Valerie’.
     ‘And I’m Stephanie. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?’
     ‘No, thanks’ said Valerie, smiling as she sat down in the chair in front of Stephanie’s desk. ‘I’m fine. It’s not been long since breakfast’.
     Stephanie sat down at her desk and folded her hands before resting them in front of her. ‘So, Valerie, how did you find me?’
     ‘You have a particular reputation for finding people’ said Valerie. ‘We saw the feature about you recently in one of the Sunday papers. That’s when I decided to get in touch’.
     ‘We?’
     ‘Me and my husband Ed’ Valerie explained. ‘He’s waiting outside in the car’.
     ‘He’s not coming in?’
     ‘No, he prefers to let me handle this kind of thing. We have a farm in the country and he manages that’.
     ‘I see’ said Stephanie. ‘So do I take it there’s someone you want me to try and find?’
     ‘Yes’ said Valerie. She took a paper tissue out of her handbag and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I want you to try and find a friend of mine who went missing over a year ago. He was my best friend actually and I miss him terribly’.
     ‘Okay’ said Stephanie. ‘What was his name?’
     ‘Liam Jenkins’.
     ‘And when you say he went missing, how do you mean exactly?’
     ‘His car was found abandoned on a quiet road near to some cliffs up at Palm Beach. The door to the drivers’ side was open and the keys were still in the ignition’.
     ‘Very mysterious’ said Stephanie. ‘And there was no sign of him I take it?’
     ‘No’ said Valerie. She stole herself for a moment and then carried on. ‘Sorry. It’s just that … well he was almost like a son to us. He was a good looking boy but obviously a lot younger than me and in any case I’m happily married to Ed so there was never anything like that involved’.
     ‘How did you know him?’
     ‘He was one of the tenants at a block of apartments we own over at Manly’.
     ‘So how did you become friends with Liam?’
     ‘We met when he moved in and Ed and I just hit it off with him. He’d been estranged from his mother since he was little and he’d never met his father. I think perhaps that we filled those roles for him in a way, you know?’
     ‘I do. Did he have a job?’
     ‘Yes. At the Southern Cross bank downtown. He looked after the business accounts including ours’.