Virtual Justice (14 page)

“Is the psychiatrist getting anywhere, do you think?”

“Not really. He’s just stirring up old memories.”

“Maybe that’s the way they work. Perhaps things have to get worse before they get better.”

Jade glanced up at her. “That might be true. I know Luigi and the boys are finding it hard to live with me at the moment. They just don’t understand what I’m going through. None of you do. Sometimes I just want to give up all together. Maybe they—and you—would all be better off without me. I’m such a misery guts.”

Lorne leapt out of her chair and knelt beside her sister. “Jade, please don’t ever say that. You’re not a burden on us, never have been. A pain in the arse at times, maybe.”

Jade looked at her open-mouthed, and then a small smile broke out when she realised Lorne was joking. “I feel lost. Totally lost without Dad around. My whole world collapsed when he died, without me being here.”

“Do you feel guilty?”

“I suppose I do.”

Lorne held her sister’s hands firmly in hers. “I’ll let you into a little secret, shall I?”

Jade frowned slightly.

“You can’t feel any guiltier than I do. I knew Dad wasn’t well, and yet I left him, put myself in danger. I feel guilty that I caused him so much stress. If I hadn’t gone after those human-traffickers, then Dad would still be here today. I’m sure of that.”

Jade gasped and flung her arms around Lorne, squeezing her until the breath had left her body. Releasing her, Jade pushed Lorne back, and their eyes met, really met for the first time that day. Lorne noticed how lifeless her sister’s appeared. The sparkle had disappeared, and they looked dead, which rocked Lorne to the core.

“Don’t blame yourself, Lorne. I know I’ve always had a go at you for putting your work before your family, but I don’t blame you for what happened to Dad. Honest, I don’t.”

Her admission was a relief for Lorne because she had thought the opposite and suspected that Jade blamed her constantly for her absence at the end of their father’s life. “You know you can talk to me anytime, don’t you? I know I haven’t been the greatest sister in the world over the years, but you do know how much I love you, don’t you?”

The dam burst, and they both fell into each other’s arms and sobbed. After a while, Lorne pulled away from her sister and wiped away the tears from both of their faces.

“Give me time. I just need to work through my emotions.”

“Just do one thing for me?” Lorne asked.

“Sure, what’s that?”

“Don’t exclude us. Any of us. Luigi misses his wife, and the boys miss their mum, their devoted mum. Oh, and I kind of miss my moody sister. We want you back, love.”

Jade pecked Lorne on the cheek, and the tears flowed again. “I’ll do my best, I promise. Give me time.”

Lorne linked little fingers with Jade as they used to do when they were kids. “That’s a deal.”

Lorne heard a car draw up. She dashed across the kitchen to retrieve a kitchen towel for them both. She looked out of the window to see Katy heading towards the house. “Katy’s here. Dry your eyes, sweetheart.” She handed Jade the kitchen towel.

“Hi. Oops, not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Come in, Katy. We’re just being silly. A good cry sets you up for the day, don’t you know that?”

Katy laughed. “Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong then. A cup of coffee would be nice.”

“Take a seat. I think we could all do with one. Jade, did I tell you that Katy has been put forward for her inspector exams?”

Jade seemed surprised by the news but didn’t let on. “That’s great. When?”

“This week,” Katy replied unenthusiastically.

“Don’t you want to go for promotion?” Jade asked, taking her mug of coffee from Lorne.

Katy followed Lorne to the table, and they both sat down. “I think it’s too soon. Roberts suggested I should go for it.”

Jade glanced at her. “It took you years to get that kind of promotion, didn’t it, Lorne?”

“It did. But that was back when dinosaurs ruled the earth.”

“How’s the case going?” Katy asked.

Lorne sensed that her former partner was keen to change the subject. “I’ll tell you what we’ve found later, after lunch, if that’s all right?”

Jade stood up. “I’ll give you some space, no problem. I’d like to see what renovations Tony has carried out on the kennels anyway. Plus, I think I’m missing out on some fun out there.” Distant laughter came from the paddock where Lorne knew Charlie would be showing off Rusty’s skills to her little cousins.

After Jade left, Lorne ran through what had happened at the agencies she and Tony had visited.

“Interesting. So she met this guy, but he didn’t have a profile picture to go by. Christ, not sure I would meet someone off the cuff like that, would you?”

“Definitely not. I’m thinking it was totally out of character for Karen to do that, too. Also, there’s the question of why she used her own name to meet him.”

“Do you have a copy of their interaction? Maybe that will shed some light on things.”

Lorne left the room and came back holding a file. She opened it, and together, they sifted through Karen’s conversations with the man.

“Wow, he comes across creepy to me.”

Lorne frowned. “Really, I thought he came across a real charmer. Just goes to show different people’s perceptions of folks.”

“The question is, would what he had to say entice you to meet him?”

“Definitely not. Karen was doing research, though. If he was different to the other guys she had contacted, maybe that piqued her interest more than it should have.”

“I can see that. If you’re writing a book about Internet dating, you would want to get different people’s opinions on things. What if this guy got antsy about the fact that she was doing research?”

Lorne scanned the conversations again. “Well, not once does she intimate that she’s researching for a book. If he did get ‘antsy’ about things when they met, would that have made him kill her?”

“Seems implausible. Maybe he was trawling the agency, looking for a possible victim in the first place. What’s the betting he also used a fake name?”

“Probably. Have you looked back through the system to see if this case highlighted anything similar?”

“That’s the first thing I did. Nothing. Which kind of surprised me. I thought we’d be looking at a lot more crimes along this line. Perhaps killers haven’t cottoned on to the fact that these sites aren’t regulated at all.”

“Maybe. Can you do me a favour and look into his ISP address when you get back to work on Monday?”

Katy nodded. “I’d already thought of that. Any idea when Karen’s funeral is?”

“No, I have to ring Stacy over the weekend anyway. I can check then. Will you be going?”

“It depends how my week pans out. Roberts suggested that the exams, or part of it, might take place on Wednesday. I’ll have a lot of swatting up to do before then, which reminds me. I’m going to have to leave early today to make a start on my revision.”

Disappointed, Lorne wrinkled her nose. “That’s a shame. I’m sure you won’t have a problem with them, though. The thought of sitting the exams is the most daunting part. In fact, I’m willing to make a bet that you’ll achieve top marks. Ninety five per cent, I’ll wager.”

“I wish I had your confidence. Roberts is of the same opinion.”

“There you go then. We both can’t be wrong, can we?”

Tony entered the back door with Jade and Luigi, putting an end to their conversation.

“Is Carol coming over today?” Katy asked.

Lorne left the table to turn on the kettle. “No, she said she couldn’t make it this weekend. Something about her niece going into hospital.”

“Has Carol picked up anything on the case at all?”

“Nothing as yet. To be honest, I haven’t rung her to ask. No doubt she’ll be in touch soon if she has one of her visions.”

During the break in the conversation, Jade asked quietly, “I don’t suppose Carol has ever picked up anything on Dad, has she?”

“You know what? I’ve never asked. I just presumed she would say something if anything had occurred. The only time she’s had contact with Pete is when I’ve been in trouble. She calls him my guardian angel, rather than a normal spirit. He tends to watch over me.”

“It would be nice to know if Dad is still around us.”

“Remind me to ask Carol the next time I see her, Tony, will you?” Lorne glanced over at Tony, who was gingerly lowering himself into a chair.

“If I remember. Sorry, folks, my damn leg is giving me some jip lately.”

“That’s it. I’m going to ring the doctor. Jade, can you finish making the coffee for me?” Before Tony could stop her, Lorne slipped into the lounge and rang the doctor’s surgery to make an appointment. The receptionist told her that Tony’s usual doctor was away and that the locum could see him on Tuesday morning at ten. She went back into the kitchen and placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Ten o’clock, Tuesday. No arguments.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Can I take a couple of painkillers in the meantime?”

“I think you’d be foolish not to. Just sit there and relax. That’s an order.”

The rest of the day consisted of eating and endless fun and games with the boys. Katy left not long after lunch had finished, to “revise hard” for her exams. Lorne’s little chat with her sister had apparently worked its magic, because Jade smiled her way through the afternoon until she and her family left around six.

•\ \ \ \ \ •\ \ \ \ \ •

After arriving back at the flat, Bella watched Morris warily all night. After killing Richard, she was transported through the adrenaline rush stage and finally levelled out with a slight feeling of remorse. One unanswered question continued to constantly whirl through her mind:
Why?
Why had she allowed Morris to manipulate her? And why had she plunged the knife into Richard like that?
How weak did that make her?

The only upside to the events had been that their lovemaking the previous night had been powerful, urgent, and more fulfilling than any time they’d shared before. In the morning light, she perceived the major downside. She knew if she didn’t do as Morris told her in the future, he wouldn’t think twice about ending her life, too.

Once dinner was out of the way, Morris had set up his laptop in the lounge and patted the sofa beside him, inviting her to sit next to him. Then together, they trawled through several more agencies, looking for additional victims. At each agency, Morris created a new account. Bella noticed that he signed in with a different e-mail address each time, but she didn’t have the courage to speak up and ask him why. She could only presume that he had some form of software on his laptop that disguised the computer’s ISP address.
How else would he be able to make up different accounts at these agencies?

“What do you think of her?”

Bella narrowed her eyes at the beauty he had pointed out. She had raven hair and intense marine-blue eyes that gave the appearance of being coloured contact lenses. Or was that merely Bella’s jealousy rearing its head? Smiling, not wishing to cast aspersions on his choice, she said, “She’s beautiful. A real stunner.”

“That’s what I thought. Do you want to fix a date with her, or shall I?”

“Me? But…”

“I’m teasing you, darling. You stick to the boys, and I’ll have all the girls.” He laughed and squeezed her thigh, hard. That squeeze sent an extra message that she was neither comfortable with nor willing to question.

“There. I’ve contacted the girl. Let’s see if Miss Natalie Swanson takes the bait and proves desperate for a date.”

Morris pushed the laptop aside and swung an arm around Bella’s shoulder. “Now, what do you suggest we get up to while we wait for her to respond?”

Bella was still sore from their recent sexual exploits, so a cuddle was fine by her. However, the way his hands started wandering, she knew from experience where their journey would end.
Ping.
Saved by the bell.

Morris opened the e-mail and punched the air. “Houston, we have lift off. She wants to make the final arrangements on Monday evening.” He laughed raucously at his own joke, but Bella was momentarily distracted. She wondered if once Morris had met, dated, and presumably murdered Miss Swanson, she would be expected to choose an unsuspecting victim again. Maybe she’d be forced to out of fear of what might happen to her if she refused to play his game. She was thigh-high deep in this shit already, and no matter what angle she looked at things from, she saw no way out of her compromising position.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T
he ringing telephone woke Lorne at seven on Monday morning. “Hello?”

“Lorne, sorry to ring you so early. There’s been a development.”

Lorne sat up against the headboard and prepared herself for what was to come. “Go on, Katy.”

“I got into work early this morning. Couldn’t sleep for some reason or other. Anyway, another body has been found.”

“Crap! Where?”

“Here’s the thing. It’s in the same vicinity where Karen’s body was found.”

Lorne reached for the notepad and pen she always kept on the bedside table for emergencies. “Do you have a name for the victim?” She poised, ready to take down the name.

“We do.”

“Well, can I have it?” Lorne was surprised that she had to ask Katy openly for the information, since her former partner usually cottoned on quick to what she was getting at.

Katy exhaled noisily. “It’s one Richard Lowe. That’s according to the credit card we found in his wallet.”

“What? A
man
?”

Tony stirred and sat up beside her. “What?” he mouthed.

Lorne put the phone between them so he could listen to the conversation.

“Yep, he’s definitely a man.”

“How do you think there’s a connection to Karen?”

“Our guys questioned the staff at the restaurant, and the hostess said that he was meeting someone on a first date. They left together, let’s just say, acting friendlier than when they arrived.”

“Long shot, I know, but does the restaurant have any cameras?”

“No. Which is the frustrating part, because the incident happened just outside, round the back, by the rubbish bins.”

“Nice. Romantic even,” Tony murmured.