The Sholes Key (An Evans & Blackwell Mystery #1) Read online

  “Those men could have sent me the letter. They could’ve killed me today,” she said, her voice rising with every word.

  “I don’t think they work that way, Evans.”

  “They had a gun, they shot at my car. What do you mean, they don’t work that way?” She slammed a palm down on his desk and coffee spread over the papers.

  “That’s not what I mean.” He stood up. “I don’t think the men chasing you and the dead girl are related.”

  “How do you know?”

  He put his hand on her arm. “Look, I know you’re scared.”

  Sophia turned her head away from him. Exhaustion was making her emotional and she did not want to cry in front of him. She bit down hard on her upper lip. “I don’t know how my life became so complicated. Five months ago this was a desk job, Liam.”

  “Do you know the name of the dead woman?”

  “I just want my quiet life back,” she said. She felt his hand touch her back, and she turned toward him. His face betrayed nothing. She allowed him to nudge her face into his chest. For just a moment.

  Almost as quickly, she pulled back and sat down. “The woman’s name is Lorna McCauley,” she whispered.

  “Do you know Lorna McCauley?” he asked, as he plopped loudly in a chair beside her. “Are you sure it’s not Marc? He could have planned this to distract us from the bomb he’s planting.”

  “Marc commits a murder to prevent us from focusing on another murder? That doesn’t make sense. Besides, we’ve had him under surveillance for months. When would he have had the time to sneak off and kill someone?”

  “Perhaps it was another person in the organization who thought you were getting too close and wanted to scare you off.”

  “Perhaps it was you, you pillock. You hate me getting close to him. Maybe you did this.”

  He stood up and walked around his desk. “I wouldn’t kill a girl. I’d just kill him.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Look, Sophia, I didn’t mean that. I can have you followed and someone can stay with you in your flat, if that will make you feel safe.”

  “You know I can’t do that.” She rose and headed toward her desk. Liam followed her. “If it is one of my current cases, it’ll become clear soon enough. The best way for me to catch the killer is by utilizing my skills, which means solving the code. Meanwhile, go talk to this detective and find out what he knows.”

  Liam sighed again and threw his hands in the air. “I don’t have time to do that.”

  “I didn’t take this job to do field work. I didn’t even want to go undercover in the Masters case. Sit at a computer staring at the screen, that’s me. Not tromping through fields, interviewing witnesses, putting my life in danger, that’s not me. Investigating Lorna’s case could put in jeopardy all the work I’ve invested in Masters. We can’t afford that—not so close to the deadline. I can’t be seen going anywhere near police officers.”

  “Just solve the code, all right, Sophia?”

  “Wait a moment, this number,” Sophia said. She grabbed the paper. “The first numbers at the beginning of the code—29065014495311—I recognize it.”

  “From where?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter 5

  "Today is Saturday, right?” Theo asked Dorland as he read the short report found in the file folder.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “The report says she’s been missing since Thursday morning. Interesting.”

  “What?”

  “I have to ring the hospital.”

  “Why?” Dorland asked.

  Blackwell didn’t answer. He was already on his mobile. “Hello, I need the number for the Royal London Hospital… Whitecastle.” He fumbled around in his pockets for his notepad and Biro. “7… 3… 7… 7. All right, thanks.”

  Dorland opened his mouth, but Theo held up his hand to stop him.

  “Yes, hello,” Blackwell said. “My name is Detective Inspector Theophilus Blackwell—with the police. I’m wondering whether you still have a patient there by the name of,” he glanced at the file, “Steve McCauley. You do? The room number?”

  He wrote it down.

  “Thank you,” Theo said. He looked up at Dorland and asked, “Do you know how to get to that hospital?”

  Dorland nodded.

  “Good. Then you drive.”

  “What’s going on?” Dorland asked as he started his old maroon 1997 Ford Fiesta.

  Theo was preoccupied and didn’t reply. He picked two empty coffee cups off the floor and tried unsuccessfully to scrape dried chocolate off the seat. Afraid the melted chocolate on his trousers would resemble something unsightly, Theo reached into the back seat, took one of Dorland’s clean work shirts, and placed it under his bottom as he sat down.

  “I’ll clean my car,” Dorland said. “Just with the move and all…”

  “Dorland, your car has been this way for months.”

  “So tell me, why do we have to go to the hospital?”

  “The missing woman, Lorna McCauley, has a six-year-old son named Steve. The neighbor, a Mr. Allen Barking, brought him to the hospital Thursday very dehydrated and with a high fever. According to the report, Mr. Barking’s buzzer went off at five-thirty Thursday morning and when he opened the door, he saw Steve curled up with his blanket on his doormat. The boy told him he didn’t feel well and didn’t know where his mother was. Mr. Barking searched the boy’s flat, and when he couldn’t find the mother, decided to call an ambulance.”

  “And?” Dorland asked as he pulled into traffic.

  “We’re going to go visit the son in the hospital.”

  Hospital parking was scarce. The closest place to park was two streets away in a residential area. An inhabitant of that neighborhood, obviously irritated by the constant flow of illegal parkers, was out of her house before Dorland could take the keys out of the ignition.

  “Can’t park there,” she yelled at Theo, pointing at the large “No Parking without Permit sign” above her head. “I’ll call the police, and then your car will be towed.”

  “Don’t bother,” Theo said to her. He reached into the back of Dorland’s car, pulled the ‘Police’ sign from underneath the passenger seat, showed it to the woman and placed it under the windscreen. “Watch our car for us, will you? Make sure nothing happens to it.”

  As they walked off, they heard her front door slam shut.

  The hospital was as full as the car park, but they had no problem finding their way around after locating the directory. They stopped at the gift shop before heading toward pediatric care. The brown-haired boy they were looking for was ready to leave the hospital. He sat on his bed wearing a Bart Simpson t-shirt, purple trousers, and Velcro trainers. He kicked his legs back and forth under the bed while flipping through a book about dinosaurs.

  “Funny that you like dinosaurs,” Dorland said.

  “Why?” the boy asked.

  “Because I found a dinosaur with your name on it down at the gift shop.”

  “It had my name on it?” He put his book down and leaned over to see the dinosaur hidden behind Dorland’s back.

  Dorland stood there. Finally, Theo grabbed the dinosaur from him and said, “See this dinosaur, do you recognize it?”

  “No.”

  “Well, this yellow polka-dotted dinosaur told me he’s lonely. What? What did you say?” Theo held the dinosaur’s mouth to his ear. “You want a friend named Steve? I don’t know anyone named Steve.”

  “My name’s Steve,” the boy shouted. “Do you think I could be his friend?”

  “I think you’d be a great friend.” Theo handed him the stuffed animal.

  “What do you say, Stevie?” said a woman’s voice from behind the officers.

  “Thank you,” replied Stevie, clutching the dinosaur tightly to his chest.

  Blackwell and Dorland turned around to see an older woman wearing a tracksuit. “You police?” she asked.

  Theo nodded and pulled out his warrant card. “We’re here about the m
issing persons report,” he said, quietly enough not to be heard by the boy. “Can we talk outside?”

  They left the room while Dorland entertained the young boy with dinosaur puppetry.

  “I’m Eva McCauley, Stevie’s grandmother,” she said. “This is awful, just awful. Stevie is confused right now; he keeps asking where his mother is. What am I supposed to tell him?”

  “I don’t know. Why is he here?” Theo asked.

  “Just a virus. He’s feeling better now.”

  “I’m glad. That’s a bit of good news in this situation. I just have a few questions. First off, has she ever left before? Or left Stevie alone for extended periods of time?”

  “No, she wouldn’t, especially when he’s sick like this. Never.”

  “Maybe she was frustrated or depressed or maybe she just needed to get away for awhile.”

  “You don’t know my daughter,” Eva said, getting angry.

  “No, you’re right, I don’t, but this sort of thing happens all the time when the situation at home proves to be too much.”

  “No. I can’t believe that, not when Stevie’s sick. No, never.”

  “When was the last time you talked to her?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Eva said. “Couple of weeks ago. Sometimes I avoid her calls. She’s always ringing but not wanting to talk or say hello, it’s always to ask me to watch Stevie. I can’t just drop everything and rush over. I’ve a job, too.” She lowered her voice when she heard Stevie giggling in the room. Standing quiet for a moment listening to him, she said, “But don’t get me wrong, she’d never abandon him, she wouldn’t. She loves him too much. He’s her life, but who wouldn’t need a break? Anyone in her position would need a break. God, I should’ve been more help.”

  Theo changed his line of questioning. “Can I get a list of friends or relatives she may have gone to?”

  “Friends?”

  “Yes, those she spent time with.”

  “She doesn’t have time for friends. She works and then has to be home for Stevie.”

  “What about the Internet? Could she have made friends there?”

  “She can’t afford the Internet.”

  “What does your daughter do for work? Does she work nights?”

  “Nights? No, she works at an office, architect firm. She answers the phones there Monday to Friday, nine to five. She refuses to work at night; she has to be at home with Stevie. Look, I know what you’re thinking. You think I should know more about my daughter, that I should be more interested in her life. But she’s an adult.”

  “Was Steve in childcare?”

  “Yeah, Lorna had to be to work by nine, so she has Stevie in childcare before and after school. I can’t think where she would’ve gone Wednesday night. Did she leave the house or was she… ?” She couldn’t continue.

  “Has she always been a single mom? From Stevie’s birth?”

  “Yeah.” She gave a little smile. Stevie was giggling on the bed as the dinosaur tickled his belly.

  Theo asked another question and got no response.

  “Sorry?” Eva finally said.

  “Oh no, that’s perfectly all right, I know this must be hard for you.” Eva nodded, not looking away from the boy, so Theo repeated, “I was asking if—as far as you know—she was seeing anyone? Dating anyone?”

  “I really don’t know.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “She wanted to get married, I know that. She was looking, but I don’t know if she found anyone. We didn’t talk much about those sorts of things. I had a hard time with my husband, and it made her relationships… well, she has difficulty with them. I don’t think she has the time to date, really. And she probably thought she had no chance, her having a child and all.”

  “Does the boy see his father?”

  “That piece of—” She stopped and crossed her arms. “He was useless. Never helped at all, not with money, rent, or food. I knew that relationship was doomed from the start. I warned her. When it was over and he left her looking after the baby alone, I told her she should go after the bastard. He should be supporting her. I don’t know why she didn’t. I don’t know why.”

  “Do you know his name or maybe his address?”

  “I don’t think Lorna even knows where he lives. But the bastard’s name is Everett Harrison.”

  “Grandma, grandma!” Dorland helped the boy down off the high bed, and he ran to his grandmother. “Mr. Dorland said I could go see a police station. He would let me. Can I? Can I?”

  “Someday, I promise,” his grandmother assured him.

  “Okay,” he said, grabbing on to Theo’s hand and looking up at him. “Are you going to find my mum?”

  “I’ll try my best, but in the meantime you make sure you take care of your dinosaur because I think he’ll want to come on the tour of the police station too, all right?”

  “I promise.”

  * * *

  The trip to the hospital left Theo drained. He took a deep breath when he stepped through the hospital doors onto the pavement. Being there brought back so many bad memories—the air inside suffocated him. He had spent agonizing hours watching and praying for his wife to recover from her accident and regain her memory. A damn waste. A damn waste of time.

  “I want to go back to the office for awhile,” Theo said. He wanted to sleep.

  “The boy kept asking me where his mother was,” Dorland said as they walked toward the car. “What do you say to that? How can I pretend that everything will end well when I know chances are unlikely?”

  “Did he tell you anything of value?”

  “He doesn’t remember much, and I’m not sure what he did tell me was accurate. Children, they don’t think in days or hours.”

  “When did he see his mum last?”

  “He told me he felt sick at daycare, and his mother picked him up,” Dorland said. “He said he woke up and went next door because he couldn’t find his mum—must be Wednesday or early Thursday.”

  “That confirms what the grandmother said.” Theo flipped through his notepad. “To be sure, I think we need to contact the childcare center. I wrote down the information Eva gave me.” Theo stopped and leaned against the brick of the building. Dorland didn’t notice and walked on.

  “You’re good with children, Dorland,” Theo said, pushing buttons on his mobile when he finally caught up to his partner.

  “There are lots of children in my family. I’ve had hours of practice in dinosaur ventriloquism. Kids are great; they’re not full of crap. If I want an honest answer, I’ll ask them. The adults, they’re so full of bloody fear.” He tripped over a metal bin that landed with a crash a few feet ahead.

  Theo laughed. “Is that your clown routine?”

  “Well, if I can’t make it as a police officer,” Dorland replied as he set the bin upright. “I bet you want children some day.”

  “You sound like my mother. She still holds out hope that Agneta will recover and that we can make up for lost time.” Theo shrugged. “I don’t know.” Half the time he felt like a bastard for wanting to move on, the other half, he knew he needed to move on to regain his sanity. Children? Who could think about children? Agneta was reliving adolescence. “That was all the boy told you?”

  Dorland nodded. “You could always file for divorce.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Moving on. Divorce.”

  “Dorland, I don’t want to talk about my marriage with you, all right?”

  “All right, boss. I just—”

  “You just nothing. It’s none of your business.”

  They remained silent until they reached the car. Dorland bent over and unlocked his door. “I should tell you—Steve said they arrived home and his mother let him watch videos all night until he fell asleep. He didn’t know what time he went to bed, but he said it was dark out. That confirms she went missing sometime Wednesday night, and before five-thirty the next morning. We need to find out what her movements were then.”

 
; * * *

  After Theo retrieved his Jeep, he drove around his neighborhood until he found a spot near a park. His head throbbed. After placing two small pills under his tongue, he pulled the lever on his seat and leaned back.

  When he awoke, it was dark. He looked at his watch—nine. Damn, the pills were wonderful. If only he could sleep all his days away.

  The next morning, Theo wandered into his office around half-ten.

  Dorland, feet held down by the sofa, was doing situps. “Almost done, Gov—fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty.” He hopped up.

  Theo ignored him and went to his desk. The frame— knocked to the floor the previous morning—now sat on his desk, glassless, the photo taped to the top of it.

  Dorland grabbed his towel from the back of a chair and wrapped it around his neck. “Lorna lives near Commercial Street. Do you want to know why that’s interesting?”

  “You should do that at home.”

  “What?”

  “Sweat.”

  “Sorry, boss.” Dorland lifted his arm and smelled his armpit. “Oh, yes, I’ll remedy that immediately.” He looked at Theo. “So, know why it’s interesting?”

  “I’m afraid to ask. Why?”

  “Jack the Ripper territory.” Dorland held a big smile.

  “Jack the Ripper? I thought you had some grand enlightenment into the case. At least something related to it.”

  Seeing his irritation, Dorland continued quickly, “And as interesting as that morsel of information may seem to you, it wasn’t the only thing I was thinking of. There’s a great place to eat nearby.”

  “You’re hungry?”

  “Famished.” Dorland patted his stomach.

  “I just got in.”

  “Can’t work on an empty stomach. Did you eat breakfast?”

  Theo shook his head.

  * * *

  They finally agreed on Italian. The restaurant decor was plain. White tablecloths covered small round tables. In the center of each table, cheap tapers sat in candleholders. A red cloth napkin in the shape of a bird sat in the middle of a simple white plate.

  A teenage boy with a blaring drumbeat coming from his earphone sat them immediately. Worried that the lack of patrons and the quality of service was indicative of the quality of food, Theo was pleasantly surprised at how appetizing the meal looked once the waiter laid it down before him.