Daily Quotes 29

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 29

The woman, Emma couldn’t think of her as Anne, not her Anne, not the good old always ready for anything Spence, stood motionless. From the door the reflection in the mirror was only partial, marred by the bleak sunshine seeping dustily from an out of sight window. It tinted the skin above the scooped neck vest shiny pink, soft with sweat and twitching where the neck met the shoulder.

‘Take it slowly now.’

It came out so clearly that Emma wondered if it was meant for her. It wasn’t. The back tilted to the right, pulled by the force of the right arm. As the motion continued fraction by fraction the hum that Emma had learned to accept as a controlling mechanism was replaced by a chant, a sound between a cry and a tune.

‘One and two, and three and four and one and two and three and four and one and two…’

The left foot came off the floor. The neck and arm muscles quivered, the chant was replaced by silence. Emma watched a small stream of sweat run down the spine and into the now clinging woolly fabric. The left arm quickly reached out, the hand grabbed the bar a few inches further down and in one quick move the left foot made a step to the side, the entire body swung to the left, dragging the right foot behind.

The second step to the left seemed quicker, but the near hand nearly slipped off the rail just as both feet steadied themselves in the new location.

Emma suppressed the urge to run over.

The hands, first one then another, dipped into a small wall mounted basin. Minute particles of white powder danced in the sunrays as the fingers wound themselves around the wooden bar again.

‘Just two more. You’ve done it before, you can do it again.’

The torso started its tortuous trip to the right again, slower than before. Emma’s stomach muscles contracted and she pressed her clenched fists on her mouth. Something was missing. Something was wrong. It was the muscles on the back and the neck. They remained flaccid. The elbows, sticking backward under a sharp angle were shaking. And the chant, it wasn’t there. The sound was rapid, hissing. Shit. The woman was hyperventilating.

Emma dropped her bag on the floor to free her hands, inhaled sharply and pushed herself further in. The woman’s head dropped forward, slamming into the mirror tile. The feet started sliding backwards. Emma pulled again, nearly tearing a button off her blouse. The door handle. It got stuck in between two button holes. She stepped back, pushing the unyielding door away with both her hands, freed herself from the handle and pulled out.

The gaze, tears streaming down the flushed face, met Emma’s own in the mirror as her arms wound around the sweat stained bodice of the corset and her knees took the weight of the falling body.

‘Your hair’s still all over the place, House Martin. Isn’t it time you’ve smartened yourself up a bit?’

It was all right. It was all right to cry and chide, swear a little and laugh a lot. 

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 29

He was still grinning when Lynn Cooper entered the office carrying an empty tray, shoulder high and on the tips of her fingers.

‘Mail for my lord,’ she bowed and offered the tray for Grant’s inspection. ‘Hand delivered to the front desk.’

‘The heat must have gone into your head.’ But one look at the cream coloured envelope, addressed to Mr. S. Hamilton-Grant, Esq. in perfect cursive, made of thick, expensively ribbed paper explained the butler act. ‘I’ve seen on of those before, I’m afraid. Wonder what he wants.’

‘What’s with theHamilton?’ she asked. ‘And the hyphen?’

‘There’s never actually been any hyphen so “Hamilton” simply dropped off the edge. Okay?’

‘Yes, Sir.’ She moved off quickly and closed the door behind her.

There were no prizes for guessing that back in the general office Lynn was going to tell everyone in a loud whisper that He, the “he” more closely defined by a thumb pointing at Grant’s door, was in a lousy mood and that this was the last time she did anything nice for him. Some people just didn’t deserve it.

The inside of the letter was as pompous as the outside. The same gold and verdigris lettering, the same handsome watermark.

‘Dear Chief Inspector Hamilton-Grant’,

Some research obviously went into this, just not precise enough.

‘I shall be lunching at the Palace at one pm today and would be greatly honoured if you could spare the time to join me as my guest. I have some information that might be of some modest interest to you.

Sincerely yours

Dr. Gordon Bennett

Grant looked at his watch. He had seven minutes to make it.

On the way out he popped his head around the door to the general office. ‘I shall be lunching at the Palace today.’

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Daily Quotes 28

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 28

‘Mary phoned. Said you’ve got some news for me.’ Unsworth drove up just as Grant was unlocking the door to the mobile unit. Persistent rain was rapidly covering the vet’s rough tweed sports jacket in shiny droplets.

Grant went around the make-shift office, switched on the lights and the wall mounted kettle, checked the answering machine – four messages, but they’d have to wait until there was some privacy – and entertained Unsworth with the story of how he’d hijacked Gary earlier.

‘I forgot all about him. Lennie always sees to that.’ Unsworth seemed mildly upset. ‘It won’t do you much good, you know. Pinching Gary. He won’t do any work in this weather. It seemed fine first thing in the morning, but look at it now.’

With instant coffee and milk in its carton on the tray between them, there was nothing else for it.

‘Has your wife been in touch since Monday?’ Grant went for the obvious. The answer was going to decide on the next question. Only, it didn’t.

‘No, I’m afraid not. No news is good news, I was told. Thanks for asking.’ Unsworth sat opposite him, uncomfortably wedged in between Grant’s desk and two filing cabinets too many in the cramped space.

Bloody hell. The man thought that was a polite enquiry. Grant leaned forward. ‘Are you sure?’

That worked. Unsworth looked up in surprise. ‘Yes. Absolutely. What do you mean?’ A trace of anxiety crept into the question.

Grant told him. Briefly. Emphasised that the Croatian police believed that Helena eft voluntarily. He didn’t mention the absence of fingerprints or the Englishman. For the moment. The face staring at him showed no change.

‘So, where has she got to?’

‘I was hoping you’d tell me that.’ Unsworth still looked as if he was an unwitting participant in an impromptu quiz show.

Grant wished he’d had someone with him. Debbie, for preference. She could have handled the lost wife theme, leaving Grant to concentrate on the real issue. ‘Heading for Montenegro?’

Unsworth considered the possibility. ‘I don’t think so. They’re cut off in more ways than one. Besides, what would she want to do that for? She was very careful not to breathe a word about her trip to Bosniato her parents. They wouldn’t be any happier to see her in Budva. Too risky, too dangerous, they keep saying.’

‘Maybe she’s aiming for Italy?’ Grant tried to ignore the emptiness of the gaze.

‘Yes,’ said Unsworth quietly as if he was loath to contradict. ‘Italy.’ Then he fell silent, his eyes still on Grant. Expecting more.

Jesus, this was going to be difficult. ‘Have you any idea why your wife may have wanted to leave the camp?’

Unsworth shook his head. ‘All she ever wanted was to do her bit for charity,’ he muttered into his chest.

Grant was preparing another unsettling “are you sure?” when the phone rang.

 

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 28

‘I love you.’ That wasn’t what he was going to say. This was meant to be a serious, adult conversation. No emotional mush. Simple facts. But, he loved her. That was a fact. Probably the most important one. So, from that he moved onto the next most important fact. ‘And if you love me too, we haven’t got that many choices, do we? I don’t know if either Pippa or Phil suspect anything already. My guess is that they don’t. Which, at least as far as I’m concerned, makes it worse. I don’t enjoy abusing their implicit trust.’

‘There was a time when Phil was jealous of you,’ she whispered. ‘Or, maybe he was jealous of everyone. I quite liked that. Made me feel important. As if what I did mattered to him.’

‘I’m sure everything you do matters to him a great deal.’

Emma lifted her head off her palm a little. A few strands of hair, still wet at the ends, were stuck to her cheek. ‘He doesn’t make love to me any longer. Says it would be rude to the baby.’ She pressed her foot deeper into his palm and the skin meeting skin made a small popping sound. ‘I’m not allowed to ride, he’s fussing about the surgery, says I could catch any old infection there, I can’t do this, I can’t do that, and I certainly, under no circumstances, can’t have any of the other.’ The foot in his lap wriggled about, seemingly aimlessly.

But Simon smiled. ‘Forget your womanly wiles for the moment.’ He grasped her ankle with one hand and started massaging her sole and toes with the other. ‘We really do have to sort this out. Let’s set a date. Let’s all the four of us meet, here if you wish, or wherever, and we’ll tell them together. Or…’

‘That’s nice,’ she murmured and curled her arm under her head like a pillow.

‘Or,’ he continued pointedly, making sure she knew he wasn’t to be distracted, ‘we could tell them separately, in private first, then we could all meet together and discuss it further.’

‘Shall I ask Heather to come along and take minutes?’

‘I wish you’d be serious for a moment. Don’t you want to sort it out?’ He hesitated before launching, head first, into the next question. ‘Don’t you want us to be together? You, me and our baby?’ Good job his fingers were busy. He would have crossed them otherwise.

She was chewing at the corner of her thumbnail, half her face covered by her sleeve, the other by the now rampantly curling hair. ‘I don’t know what I want. It doesn’t seem that what I want matters to anyone, does it. You all ask things from me, all of you, all the time. Everybody will be terribly hurt if I don’t’ do exactly as I’m told…’

‘You haven’t answered my question.’

It was such an incredibly beautiful evening. The air was motionless, warm but not sultry for a change, with a thin line of flame coloured light still lingering at the very edge of the deep blue horizon. No one should be hurting on a night like this. He forced his gaze away and concentrated on gently pressing the tips of his fingers into the nodes under her toes.

‘You haven’t answered my question,’ he repeated.

‘You’re asking me if I love you enough to leave Phil, take this baby away from him, lose my sister forever, and live with you?’ Emma was still hidden behind the sleeve and by the way her words were coming out, smudged at the ends, probably still gnawing at her thumb. ‘Or, are you asking me if I love them little enough not to care. You want me to choose between two lies. Can you do that? Can you honestly say that the two of us…’

‘The three of us…,’ he whispered.

‘Can you honestly say that we could ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after?’

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On This Day – Fictional Characters

Sarah Barnard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Portal Series: THE PORTAL BETWEEN

Kate Morgan: December 21st, also called Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year. On that day I became a mother for the first time. The first contractions woke me as the sun rose, and Cameron was born as the sun set at the end of that short day. The hospital was hot but snow lay thick on the ground outside.

He had a full head of dark, curly hair, just like his dad, and he screamed like a banshee, hating being outside my body until I held him close and he heard my voice. It was the final part of a blissful family dream, or so I thought. He was perfect, even if he didn’t sleep much for the first few weeks. Christmas was interesting that year. Three years later his sister was born and she was just as special.
Six years later, on his birthday, he managed to summon something from another world into his bedroom and I finally believed that there was magic in the world, in my home.
December 21st has changed my life in so many ways. This day has brought adventure, pain and grief, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

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Daily Quotes 27

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 27

Grant was theorising in a big way. On Thursday, 17. October, he speculated, Lennie Unsworth went to see Humberside at the Old Mill while Frances was at work. They hatched a plan to get Humberside out of the country. Lennie phoned Frances at the office.Frances approved of the plan and noticeably brightened up. Lennie was going to help Humberside find a safe place where he can stay until the dust settled. Like her parents’ retirement home at the coast of Montenegro? Probably. Beside Serbia, Montenegro was the only other remaining member of the extinct Yugoslav Federation. The international community had just broken off diplomatic and other ties with the pariah state. Yes, Montenegro was a very good place to head for.

After his return from London last night Grant spent hours at the station, catching up on Balkan politics. With Matthew’s help at the other end of the phone. The boy was getting his info off something called the Internet that Grant had flatly refused to have explained to him. Matthew never seemed to need any sleep.

So, assuming he was on the right track, how much did Unsworth know about all that? Did he drive both his wife and Humberside to London? Was that why they had called at the Old Mill? To collect Humberside? And what part if any did another old friend, Dominic Hale, play in it?

Of course, that fresh theory made a big, gaping hole in his first half baked, never really seriously considered conjecture that Humberside tried to pay off his debt to Boyson by acting as his hitman. If the man in Split was Humberside there was no way he could have killed Frances Swan. The convoy had left the country long before the young woman died.

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 27

‘Look here, son.  It’s worked out for you this time, but next time you want to follow a hunch, make sure it’s based on good, solid information, there’s a good lad.’ DS Spitfire. Real name Charlie Mason, and the origins of the nickname long lost in the mists of time. Along with any fire that he once may have been spitting.

Grant had hardly been with the Wiltshire police a year, probably less. A rookie, a greenhorn if there ever was one, straight out of the police training college. On an impulse he’d followed a woman into a department store, and from there, through the goods entrance into a shopping arcade where he nearly lost her and had to go back on himself because she’d turned into a small news agency but only to get herself a packet of crisp, then from there into a pub where she went straight past the bar and towards the toilets. At that point he was certain he was onto something. He stayed at the bottom of the narrow wooden stairs, listening to her climbing to the second floor, and radioed for backup. Sure enough, she was visiting her brother who had, with four others, escaped from a medium security prison a fortnight before.

‘What made you follow her in the first place, son?’ asked DI Lichfield. The accepted wisdom in the CID was that the fugitive was going to steer clear both of his home town and his relatives and known associates. The others did.

‘Don’t know why I followed her into the department store at first, Sir. But when I saw her buying the tooth brush and the shaving gear, I knew she was up to no good.’

Lichfield smiled, a rare occurrence, and exchanged glances with DS Spitfire. ‘I’d better warn my wife. She buys my Brill cream and my Colgate every month, regular as clockwork. You know that woman is married and has two teenage sons?’

Grant didn’t actually know that but he wasn’t going to admit to it. ‘Yes, Sir, but it was the way she went about it. Women …’ Eve would have had a fit, ‘er… people I mean, people usually look at what they buy, check the brands and sizes and prices, turn things around in their hands. She did no such thing. She just threw the items into the basket, whatever happened to be there…’

More exchanges of glances. More half smiles. ‘We’d better watch ourselves, Sergeant. We’ll be out of a job soon with so much young talent about.’

The DI bought them all a pint later but couldn’t hang about, and that was when Spitfire delivered his famous line.

‘ Next time you want to follow a hunch, make sure it’s based on good, solid information.’

That wasn’t the only good advice Grant had repeatedly ignored over the years, but it was probably the best one.

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Daily Quotes 26

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 26

‘That’s a regular occurrence, Inspector. The Croatian port of Split is up and down all the time. The convoy was meant to leave forBosniain the early hours of yesterday morning. But there was heavy fighting on the way and they had to wait. Janet, a New Zealander, is the convoy leader. She’s very good. Very responsible. She’s run many a convoy for us. They moved on today. The fax was eventually dispatched by someone else.’ Saytee handed over a curled up sheet of greyish, limp paper.

Split, Croatia

Tuesday, 20 October, 1992

Leroy, my old mate,

I don’t know how to tell you this, but we’ve lost a volunteer. Helena Unsworth, a veterinary surgeon from Hallbrook, has been missing since this morning. Or, I should say last night because no one’s seen her since about ten p.m.

I saw her in the queue for the phones straight after dinner along with everyone else. The lines went down soon afterwards and I don’t know if she’d managed to get in touch with her folks back home or not. Somebody thinks they saw her talking. That will need checking out at the other end to see if she said anything that could provide a clue to what’s happened.

The camp was full, the whole world and her husband are here. There was no room at the inn so we slept in our vehicles. Unsworth was lucky to drive a camper and could use one of the beds if she cleared the boxes away a bit. I was on my way to the washroom this morning when I saw a neat looking man coming out of there. Disgraceful I know, especially under the circumstances, but I couldn’t help wondering where her stamina came from. I was also a bit envious. He was nicely blond and clean, designer clothes, nothing like our usual bearded sandal wearers with dirty fingernails. If he were taller I wouldn’t have minded a bit of that myself. What the hell, he didn’t even have to be taller. I know, I should be ashamed of myself. But, while I’m at it, tell Alex to make sure he’s there when I return.

Back to the mystery man.  He asked if his sister, Helena Unsworth, was about, so I suppose I jumped to conclusions anyhow. I had no idea the woman was meant to meet up with her brother in Split, but then there’s a lot I don’t know about my fellow-travellers. There are at least three of them whose very gender is unclear to a casual observer and quite a few who could easily belong to entirely different species from an entirely different planet. The man had the same eyes and nose as our Helena, and a very similar jaw line, even though that was obscured by a short stubble, so I had no reason to doubt him. I told him to look in the canteen and that was that. Now, of course, I regret that I didn’t at least ask him his name, but it’s no use crying over spilt milk, is it.

I had my breakfast and coffee on the hoof because I had to see the UN captain. I got the “we admire your work but you put additional strain on our scarce resources” all over again from him. But he agreed to give us protection through western Herzegovina. After that we’ll be on our own.

By the time I returned to the camp it was official. The Unsworth woman was missing. The police was already there and the local commander of the British troops is involved. So, it’s all down to them now. We’ve all been interviewed but what can we tell them? We’ve been driving hard and sleeping by the roadside for the past three days. There was no time for chats and socialising. We hardly know each other’s names as yet.

One interesting thing, though. The police suspect foul play. (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase.) They found no fingerprints in the camper. NONE AT ALL! What do you make of that? They’re looking for the Englishman who’d said was her brother. They can just as well look for the proverbial needle in this beehive.

I haven’t typed this much in months. My two fingers are going stiff. As usual, you don’t need to do anything. It’ll all be handled through the official channels, but I wanted you and Alex to know.

Right, I’d better be off now. Somebody will send this through when the lines are back. Talk to you in two or three weeks, with luck.

Take care and get yourself some sleep on occasion.

Love Janet

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 26

Grant put down the cutlery with exaggerated care and got up on his feet. ‘What can I do for you, Mr. Hale?’ he asked with an impeccable small bow.

Hale frowned a little, apparently not sure how to take the show of excessive politeness. ‘I’ve just returned from my holiday.’

Grant acknowledged the information with a nod. ‘Were you supposed to report to the police immediately on your return? If so, the desk sergeant across the road will be delighted to see you.’

The studied impudence had the desired effect. The man’s face turned puce and the veins in his neck swelled up. ‘Stop pissing me about, Grant! Just who do you think you are? You’ve been causing trouble at the Hut, just as you used to when we were still at theRiverside. And,’ Hale lifted his hand imperiously, ‘you found nothing then, and you’ll find nothing now. Back off, d’you hear me.’

‘I wouldn’t call a spot of blackmailing exactly nothing.’

Hale’s head jerked backward as if he was hit in the face. ‘You couldn’t prove anything.’

Grant bowed a little again. ‘No, we couldn’t, could we. The victims were conveniently dead. If you’d excuse me,’ he resumed his seat, ‘my lunch is getting cold.’

Uninvited and without even a nod of acknowledgement to Warner and Cunningham, Hale lowered himself into the remaining free chair. ‘Listen, Grant,’ his tone was quieter, conciliatory, ‘we’ve been through a lot. Us at the theatre. Fran’s legacy has given us a new start. The theatre has attracted some new talent and there are a lot of good things going on there. Come and see for yourself. The last thing we need now is another scandal. It’s undeserved, I assure you.’

‘And you’d know, would you? How well do you knowDee?’

‘Well enough to know that he was telling you the truth. I saw him at the Hut myself that night. Sunday, 4th July. He was there, working away. I saw him.’

‘And you’d able to tell us precisely who you saw and where each and every night for the past two weeks?’ Tully bent over the table and placed half a lager in front of Hale. ‘On the house.’

Whether Hale recognised the former detective sergeant or was just too keen to prove his point to care where the question came from, he nodded. ‘As a matter of fact I probably would. And I do remember that Sunday night perfectly well, as it happens. Anne and I were flying out toCyprusthe following morning. I wanted to make sure everything was on track for the next show.’

‘What time did you see Dee?’ asked Warner.

Hale hesitated. ‘Don’t know exactly. Does it matter? It’s quite a distance, you know, between Holdenby Wood and Wellingborough andDeehasn’t got a car. He can’t even drive. Whatever time it was, he couldn’t have been at two places at the same time. That’s all I’m saying.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Hale. You’ve been most helpful. Someone will come to see you in due course and take your statement.’ Grant wiped off his mouth with a small, single ply paper napkin and sipped at his almost cold coffee. ‘They’ll be bound to remind you that false evidence is an offence punishable by …’

‘Bloody hell, Grant,’ snapped Hale, ‘‘why would I want to make that up? You asked how well I knewDee. He’s been with the company longer than myself. Bird watching and working on the scenery is his entire life. Apart from that crummy job at the bank. He’s one of our most dedicated members. We are still using the props he made years ago. That’s quality, if you ask me.’

‘That’s a character reference, Mr. Hale, not a proof of innocence,’ said Warner unwisely.

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Daily Quotes 25

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 25

The marriage celebrant was called Hilda and was very pally with Bruno, wrapping her freckled arm around his narrow shoulders while they talked. She lived above the Marriage Shop and it had taken her a few minutes to open up. An abundance of white and pink nylon lace was squashed underneath a brown and green floral dressing gown.

Some more gaps in his memory. Simon recalls women’s voices, voices other than Pippa’s and Lisa’s, but not who they were or what they looked like. Stork had brought a bottle of rye along and was sharing it with everyone, Hilda included. Simon and Pippa were given a selection of marriage vows to chose from, but Pippa decided to write down the English service, as far as she could remember it, starting with ‘Dearly beloved’. Simon wasn’t much help. The paper in Hilda’s hands was shaking while she read the lines, incomplete, inaccurate and in a wrong order, but she put on her best English accent and Simon thought she must have watched a lot of Britcoms.

‘…to the exclusion of all others.’

Pippa smiled at him there, waiting.

He said ‘I do,’ at the appropriate time, Pippa said hers.

‘I proclaim you now a man and wife. You may kiss the bride.’

He kissed the bride and so did everybody else after him on a somewhat hurried way out. A woman Simon couldn’t remember ever seeing before the ceremony, suggested they all go to an all night lobster and champagne place no more than half an hour drive up the road, but no one seemed interested. The noise was still high, festive, everybody was warmly hugging everyone else. Schlitz shook Simon’s hand several times and reminded Pippa that he was always there for her. Lisa sat at the wheel with the newlyweds in the back seat. ‘I never drink,’ she explained unnecessarily, then drowned the silence with a four-speaker radio that soon changed from rock to country and western followed by a phone-in for the insomniacs. They’d probably snuggled closely to each other, but Simon’s recollection of the trip is hazy. Lisa’s parting instruction was to go forth and multiply. Only by the time she left them at a roadside motel boasting cable TV, private swimming pools and gambling machines in each chalet, there was a yellowish line spreading along the horizon and jetlag wasn’t helping.

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 25

Even if he wasn’t blinded by the setting sun and the sweat that was running into his eyes, in his agitation he was unable to register the exact order of events. The oars were still splashing and there was a lot of screaming. Someone was shouting orders, then just shouting. Not all the screams sounded scared. A few kids must have thought it exciting and were calling to each other, looking for spectators and admiration as they jumped into the murky water before the boat completely overturned to its side. A single child’s voice rose above the din in a continuous, unnerving wail.

Dr. Bennett somehow remembered to slip off his shoes before stepping into the water. Before he was in up to his knees he grabbed one little body that floated towards him, lifted it up and deposited it onto the bank. The boy shook Dr. Bennett’s hands off with a ‘I was doing very well on my own, thank you’ look and headed straight back into the water. His second attempt met with more appreciation.  Mrs. Warmisham pressed one of her muddy and dripping little girls to her silky floral outfit.

‘Thank you. Thank you. You’ve saved her life.’

The gratitude was a hugely exaggerated but pleasant.

For a moment the incident seemed to be little more than a scary mishap. The other Warmisham girl made her own way to the shore with a small group of spluttering but high-spirited children. A few were led out or even carried out by the trip attendants. The remaining two boats docked safely and their occupants were quickly frog marched into the marquee in spite of loud protests. Several parents packed their own offspring and those they’d brought along into their cars and drove off. Others, the more public-spirited ones, stayed on to look after the over-excited little crowd in the marquee until the appointed collection time.

Dr. Bennett kept wading around, pushing one or another straggling child in the right direction or passing it on to the next pair of helping hands. Occasionally, when he lost the footing, he had to keep himself afloat by paddling doglike in circles and twice he even dived under to inspect two large rocks that protruded a fair way into the stream.

Angel and Bella were among the last to be found. Angel had been hanging for dear life to the stern of one of the other boats and her fingers had to be prised off the edge before she could be moved.

Bella was carried out unconscious. One of the attendants stripped and dived around until he spotted her under a rock, possibly the same one that Dr. Bennett had examined before. Grace Warmisham had the wisdom and the foresight to run to the pub half a mile away and ring for an ambulance as soon as it was obvious that not all the children were immediately accounted for, and the white vehicle was screeching to a halt on the bank just as Bella and her rescuer emerged to the surface.

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Daily Quotes 24

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 24

‘Risk is our business. Sooner or later such characters turn up somewhere, wanting more money,’ Boyson got up to leave even though Grant had in no way indicated that the interview was over. ‘If the police can’t find him, what chance do we stand?’

Grant beat him to the door. ‘What makes you think we’re looking for him?’

There was a flinch. Only a small, momentary one, but Grant was sure it was there. The eyelids dropped for a split second, the fingers of the left hand twisted the rim of the brown suede hat that was still speckled with raindrops gathered on the way from the car park.

But the amused gaze returned, the mouth twisted into a another unshakable grin. ‘I did my homework, Mr. Grant. DS Loveland had the decency to warn me I was going to be interviewed by your good self. I’m usually not much into provincial news, but I felt I had to look you up. A week ago a child in your village was run over by a big, unidentified white car. A large, white Mercedes was found in the garage of the girl murdered over the weekend. And you come all this way in person to ask me questions about Cedric Humberside, the keeper of a large, white Mercedes.’ Boyson chuckled and quickly patted Grant on the arm with his hat. ‘Give me some credit. Bookmakers may not be on the top of anyone’s trustworthiness list, but we can always be trusted to put two and two together.’

Bloody Carlton and his passion for press releases. The man didn’t know where to stop.

Loveland waited for Grant. ‘Any luck?’

‘Damn all. Don’t know what I’ve expected. But, I’m sure he’s been paid. Someone’s paid off Humberside’s debts. And I’m fairly certain that it wasn’t Humberside himself. Can’t prove any of it, of course. Not yet.’

‘I’m looking into some rumours that are flying about at the moment. Apparently, Boyson and his son-in-law are expanding into contract market,’ said Loveland. In spite of the rain he walked Grant out to the car park.

‘Contract as in contract killing?’ Grant threw his briefcase into the boot and slammed it shut. That piece of information opened up mind-boggling possibilities.

‘Anything that’s going, I shouldn’t wonder.’Lovelandpulled up his collar and moved closer to the wall of the station building for some dubious protection from the rain. ‘Insurance fraud, child snatching, big business that, child snatching, a lot of demand, and yes, I suppose contract killing as well. I’ll let you know if something turns up.’

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 24

‘No one does that any longer,’ laughed Angel.

‘No one does what any longer?’ If Sara had stayed around or if Angel had some other woman friend, someone older and with taste and style, she wouldn’t be wearing those embarrassingly tight whatdoyoucallthem? – leggings – over her ample thighs with both her bottom and her stomach sticking out like two split-level halves of a water melon at the front and the back of her. The cropped top, low cut and sleeveless, did little to cover the excess flesh above the waist either.

‘Open the letters with a paper knife.’

‘There are certain advantages in being a dinosaur. You get to touch a lovely object like this one.’ He stretched his arm to show her the finely carved ivory of the handle.

She stepped back quickly and brought her right hand up to her throat. ‘Does it need to be that sharp?’

‘Angel’s afraid of you,’ Sara had said years and years ago. Twenty-six years ago. Angel was only nine then. Sara said it just once and quickly apologised, insisted it didn’t mean anything. Then she went off and married Max Buxton. She was still limping as she walked on Dr. Bennett’s arm down the isle. That broken ankle had never fully recovered. ‘It would have been a damn sight worse if it was my neck,’ she’d said cheerfully.

He shrugged. ‘This is hundreds of years old. Made not far from Tito’s home village. Somewhere near Zaragoza my research and Sotheby’s experts tell me. It may not have been originally meant for cutting paper.’ He smiled slowly when she stepped even further away.

‘How many will be coming?’ Patches of red had spread from the tip of Angel’s breastbone, across her neck and to the lobes of her ears.

Whatever she was after had to be seriously important to her or else she would have left by now. ‘We should expect thirty to forty. That includes the spouses.’ He carefully fitted the knife back into its slot in the tray.

‘Partners, Father, partners. Not spouses. Not these days. Partners or significant others.’ She laughed a little.

Dr. Bennett lifted his pale eyebrows. ‘Whatever. The invitations say so’n’so and guest. As they’ve always done. The regulars almost regularly arrive with someone new in tow. Someone we haven’t seen before. Or if we have seen them, they were with someone else on the previous occasion.’ The “we” and “us” were deliberate. Dr. Bennett and Daughter. Nothing to be afraid of, Angel. Nothing at all. Your father would never harm you, Angel. ‘None of our business.’ He unfolded another letter. ‘Superintendent Spriggs will be joining us. I’m surprised she took the trouble to write back. It would have been more her style to phone or have someone else do the phoning for her. She’s a big fish now.’

‘Who’s she bringing along? PC Plod and a pair of handcuffs?’

‘She doesn’t seem to be bringing anyone with her,’ he smiled, ‘and there’s no mention of handcuffs either. But, who knows, maybe she’ll entertain us with a party trick or two that will involve the use of handcuffs and a caution. You have a right to remain silent…et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…’ he completed the phrase he wasn’t entirely sure of with a wave of his hand. ‘And talking of entertainment, Rufus will be joining us again.’ He cast a cautious glance at her.

‘Milking it, isn’t he?’

That was an answer he hadn’t expected. ‘Well, my dear,’ he procrastinated, wondering whether to continue down that line, ‘I wouldn’t quite call it that. Not at all.’ Oh, what the heck. It had to be said. ‘This is Marcus’ tenth anniversary, after all.’

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Daily Quotes 23

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 23

His stomach was hurting and his own little feet, even smaller than Adam’s, could have used some rest. And now he could see the lions across the street, glimpses of them for lots of people were already there. Rudi was going to have a job finding that cosy place where they could lick ice cream quickly before it melted down their hands and into their sleeves and talk of rugby. He wished Eve would hurry up and cross to the other side, over to the Nelson’s Column, but she stopped at the curb and was looking up and down the street as if watching for the oncoming traffic. There were no cars, none at all, only the police moving people along in one direction or another.

‘What’s the message to the world today, Mrs. Hamilton Grant?’

The man with two cameras around his neck and one in his hand was friendly, Simon thought. Eve ignored him, still looking anxiously down the street.

‘You’ll give us the transcript of Adam’s speech, won’t you?’ The man crossed to the other side of her, hoping for more attention.

‘Hang about, Rick. Hang about. Hamilton Grants are always good value. All of them.’ That was when she smiled brightly down on Simon. It went right through him, that smile. He had to catch it and hold it, not let it slip away this time as it had always done before. The trouble was, he never knew when it was coming, couldn’t get ready for it. He smiled back and squeezed the hand that held his. The smile lingered there, pouring out all over him, making him wriggle and stretch out onto his toes to get closer to it. Then a harsh light flared nearby and killed it off. The smile and the flash died together.

The man Eve called Rick didn’t seem friendly any longer. He was replacing the lid onto the mouth of one of his cameras, unconcerned about the murder he’d just committed.

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 23

She rewarded him with another smile. Ruefully. Then she left her seat and headed for the door. ‘Dr. Pinder didn’t think it was necessarily a rape.’

‘I know, Debs.’ Grant rubbed his face with the heels of his palms. ‘But I can’t risk another body cropping up. My first duty is to prevent another murder.’ Now that he had a name and some glimpse of the person, serial killing seemed more remote. It wasn’t just opportunistic robbery and violence. Someone had gone to great lengths to hide her identity. And she co-operated. Must have done. Why else would she have given a false name at the hotel?

And yet, who or what could Lucille La Chasse and Nicola Finsbury have had in common but an itinerant serial rapist and killer?

‘I’ve re-read all of Dee’s files,’ he continued. ‘I’m fairly convinced that he wasn’t responsible for Julie Craven. I’ve checked out the dates with the Met Office. The witnesses who said they saw him near the crime scene also talked of rain, cold and poor visibility. But, on the day or rather early evening when she was killed, it was dry and reasonably warm for the time of the year…’

‘Clever old you.’ She didn’t seem really interested. Over six feet tall and normally hefty, muscular rather than fat, and with an abundance of tightly curled, long, naturally ginger hair, Debbie was attractive in an overtly sexy way when her lights were on and all her life juices kept oozing.

Grant suddenly became aware of just how much weight she’d lost recently. And all of her flair. An inch or so of the hem of her skirt had come undone and was hanging down her right leg, with a length of curly thread dangling off it.

Grant pointed his finger at the offending part of her usually immaculate uniform. ‘Your sergeant will have you guts for garters for this.’

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Daily Quotes 22

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 22

‘We’re here for a business meeting.’ Alicia Masters draped herself around the remaining unoccupied chair. She wore her tightly tailored coat over very little underneath. Giving in to some previously hidden provincial instinct, Emma checked that the buttons on her blouse were earning their keep.

‘David and I are going into a partnership,’ Alicia announced not just to the table but the entire dining room. A couple of heads turned in their direction.

‘Congratulations.’ Dominic obviously knew what she was talking about.

Emma maintained a politely interested smile and drank her coffee in small, creamful sips.

‘Maya and Mr. Man are becoming a permanent item.’

The three of them laughed. Emma patted her lips with the napkin, making sure there were no traces of yellowish cream left on them.

‘A gold mine,’ said Dominic. ‘A veritable gold mine.’

‘My own Mr. Man hasn’t come up with the goods yet, but he will.’ Alicia fished a green coloured packet of MORE cigarettes out of her crocodile skin effect bag and lit it for herself with a gold effect lighter. The smoke coming out of the thin, brown cylinder was slightly menthol scented. There were no No Smoking signs on the wall, but there were no ashtrays on the tables either.

‘You’re very good at getting what you want, Alicia.’ The smoke was spiralling straight into Dominic’s face and he moved his chair out of its way. ‘I’ve re-arranged the meeting with the Riverside landlords for next Thursday. You said you’re free on Thursday morning, didn’t you?’

Emma pricked her ears. This was becoming interesting.

‘Don’t push it, boy. I haven’t started earning big bucks yet. And you have to be realistic. If I manage to squeeze Roddy enough to buy myself into the partnership, he just won’t have enough readies to pay your rent as well. He’s been expanding in all directions recently. You can’t squeeze blood out of stone.’

‘True. Very true, m’dear,’ said Bowles.

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 22

‘The lady’s an asthmatic,’ said the young trainee doctor. She had dark rings under her eyes and a habit of pushing the wisps of her hair to the back of her head. ‘That’s made it worse for her. It wasn’t CS, it was a pepper spray. Mrs. Mihedji’s eyes are swollen and painful. Her respiratory tract has been affected as well.’

‘Can I talk to her?’

‘I don’t think questioning her would be a good idea just at the moment. We’ll be keeping her in overnight for observation. Come back in the morning.’

‘I can’t help unless she tells me who did it,’ Grant said helplessly but the white coat was walking away.

At least she wasn’t seriously or permanently injured, he kept telling himself. She was in good hands, she was safe. For now. It’s occurred to him that now that young Clint Tibb was kept under strict protection by his parents and teachers alike, the Avenger – a stupid name but somehow it stuck – the Avenger was venting his anger on anyone he could put his hands on.

‘Go away. Instantly. Just go. She won’t talk to you. Not now, not ever.’ Paul Mihedji was a tall, exceedingly thin man in his seventies, with thick glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose. With his arms raised in the attempt to push Grant out the small cubicle he looked like an enraged spider. ‘She should have never talked to you. You’re all the same. You use people.’

‘But, you called me,’ Grant protested with ill judged reason. ‘Why did you ring me if you didn’t want my help?’

‘To punch your nose in. Which I will if you don’t get lost by the count of three.’

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Daily Quotes 21

TWO SIMON GRANT MYSTERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiding the Elephant – Chapter 21

‘The Boss has sent out a message,’ Debbie whispers hoarsely. ‘Oh, my God…’ Her hand is on her throat.

Emma tries to swallow, there’s nothing, and her eyes water from the dryness and the effort not to make a noise.

‘Play it again,’ says the woman Emma had seen talking earnestly to Leon Lewis when Tully first brought her here.

‘Play it again, Sam,’ someone on the left ventures predictably with a nervous giggle, but gets no response.

The silence is sliced by

Peeeng, peeeng, ping

Ping, ping, peeeng, peeeng

Peeeng, peeeng, ping, peeeng, peeeng…

A crackly pause in the recording, then again

Peeeng, peeeng, ping

Ping, ping, peeeng, peeeng

Peeeng, peeeng, ping, peeeng, peeeng…

And again.

It sounds like a half hearted attempt at a xylophone.

‘That’s Morse code!’ Emma didn’t mean to say anything at all, and certainly not as loudly.

‘Yes, we know that, thank you, Dr. Martin. You don’t pay your rates for nothing.’ Lewis’ head pops up from behind one of the screens. ‘You wouldn’t happen to know what it says as well, would you?’

Emma shakes her head, smiling at him for he’s just joking. He’s got to be. They’ll decode the signal in a flash and it will tell them all they wanted to know to end this dreadful wait. Simon has given them the vital clue, as they do in books and films, and in a minute it’ll be all action stations, all go. They’ll move quickly but orderly, daring but organised, efficient but caring. It will all start happening. In a minute.

‘It may not say anything,’ says someone Emma can’t see and Lewis nods.

‘Probably doesn’t,’ he confirms aloud for the benefit of everyone around and no one seems to disagree. How can they not disagree with something so absurd? Why would Simon send out a message at probably great peril to himself if it doesn’t say anything?

Lock Up Your Daughters – Chapter 21

Rerun of the security tapes on Friday morning showed a tall, probably quite young, most likely male person in a hooded black jacket, black shell-suit trousers and light coloured trainers quickly walk away from the police staff parking area at 09.21 on Thursday morning. It was reasonable to assume they were looking at the tyre-slasher, even though the camera failed to record him or her in action.

‘It’s the angle, Sir,’ said Sergeant Duncan. ‘You left your car right bang in the middle of the blind spot.’

‘Is no one keeping an eye on unauthorised access?’ Grant bellowed in frustration. ‘This is a police station, not a cash-n-carry, for crying out loud.’ The video recorder was in the downstairs conference room and his voice echoed through its emptiness.

‘Exactly so, Sir.’Duncanused the time away from the front desk to light up. ‘Do you know how many undercovers and plain clothes from all over pass through in a day?’ He used his cupped palm to shake off the ash. ‘No, neither do I but it’s far too bloody many to keep asking everyone their business before they actually come into the building. Robin Carr came in dressed as a stripogram at about two in the morning last night. Cheered up the night relief no end. She said she had more indecent proposals in between the staff car park and the canteen than on the assignment. Who could have it in for you, Sir?’

‘Just about half of Wellingborough, one third of the entire county and very possibly all of Branton.’

‘Well, that narrows it down pretty nicely.’Duncanwalked away to enjoy the rest his cigarette in peace.

Grant rewound the tape and looked it over once again. The size of the trainers and the height of the person indicated a man. The back of a tall, fast walking young man dressed in black. A needle in the haystack.

‘Someone for you at the desk, Sir. And there’s a Mrs. Hopkins on the phone. Says she’s your neighbour. Will you take it in my office?’

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