Spoilt (19 page)

“
So, you did get lucky then?”

“
I might have.” He smirked at her. “What you working
on?”

“
Reading over the reports from Andy and Greg, oh and thanks
for the suck up coffee by the way.” It was Maggie’s turn to smirk.
“Where do we go from here? What did you find out from
Chelsea?”

“
I have a couple of possible leads to check out, an
ex-boyfriend of Chelsea’s, Wesley Robinson, and her delivery
driver, Gavin Morgan. At the moment, they seem to be the only
people that have a lot of direct contact with her, past or present.
The calls she’s been receiving are personal which indicates to me
that he knows her and where she lives.”

He tapped away on the keyboard for a few moments while Maggie
waited with anticipation. “So, what did you find?”

“
This is interesting. Robinson has a sealed juvie record. I’ll
request a copy of the file. Nothing came up for Morgan. Chelsea is
convinced neither of them could be involved but I’m not taking any
chances. I think Lindsay might be running out of time.”

“
Agreed, this is her fifth day missing.”

“
I’m going to ask Captain Shaw for some uniforms to watch
Chelsea’s house and Bloom.”

“
Might be a good idea.”

Lucas knocked on Captain Shaw’s office door and waited for his
response.

“
Enter.”

He went in and sat on the chair opposite and hoped he had
enough for his boss’s approval.

“
What is it, Hudson?”

“
Captain, Maggie and I believe that Chelsea Summerville may be
our perp’s target. She has been receiving threatening phone
calls.”

“
Her resemblance to the victims is certainly a
concern.”

“
With Elle’s murder and her family’s wealth it doesn’t seem
too far of a stretch. We may be wrong but I don’t think we should
be taking any chances.”

“
Are you talking about twenty-four hour
surveillance?”

“
Ah, no.”

“
I hope you know what you’re doing, Detective.”

Lucas nodded.

Shaw brought a hand to his chin while he mulled it over. Lucas
waited impatiently.

“
One uniform is all I can give and, as it won’t be continuous
protection, the overtime will be justifiable.” He pulled a form
from his desk drawer and filled out the acquisition of a uniform
for protective duty and handed it to Lucas.

“
Thanks, Captain.” Lucas stood and walked over to the door,
anxious to organise the officer.

“
Lucas,” Shaw called. Lucas turned as he opened the door. “Be
careful. I’m turning a blind eye to this and I don’t want egg on my
face. Are we clear?”

“
Crystal, Captain.”

Shaw offered a curt nod. Lucas set the wheels in motion before
returning to his desk.

“
Done,” he said Maggie.

“
Good. So any other suspects to consider?”

“
The only other option I think we may have is one of Chelsea’s
regular customers. She’s going to fax me a list of names this
morning. She told me they are mainly females though.”

“
Have you told her the suspect could be blond?”

“
No.”

“
Is Robinson blond?”

“
Yeah, I was able to get a description but no details of his
arrest or photo.”

“
So he could be a suspect?”

“
Yes, Morgan is also blond but I think it’s unlikely he’s a
suspect. The thing we can’t connect him to is the flour. I believe
our perp would have to have access to a lot of it to transfer it. I
can’t see any reason why Morgan would have this kind of
use.”

“
I can go and talk to him if you like, just in
case?”

“
It wouldn’t hurt. See how he reacts to the photos and if he
knows any of them. I have Chelsea’s phone records that Andy left
for me.” He scanned the document. “It appears all the calls she
received were from an untraceable pre-paid phone.” This was why
Andy hadn’t called regarding the log - there was nothing to
report.

“
Of course, have we gotten any sort of break so far? This
guy is really covering his bases. He’s definitely been planning
this for a while. Should we still be pursuing Matthews?” Maggie
said.

“
Yes, but I don’t know if we have enough for a court order to
compel him to have a DNA test.”

“
Hang ten, I’ll make a call,” she said as she picked up the
phone.

“
It’s done,” she said after she’d hung up. “We’ll have it this
afternoon. Someone owed me a favour,” she told him being her only
explanation.

“
Good, we can have two uniforms pick him up. Let’s hope he’s a
match and then we don’t have to look any further.”

“
Let’s say he isn’t, should we be looking at the flour angle
as well? Perhaps there is a bakery where all three girls went or
maybe he’s a customer at the café and he works nearby. What about
Robinson? Does it say anything about an occupation?”

“
Nothing on screen about Robinson. I’ll ask
Chelsea.”

Jumping onto the computer, Maggie looked up all the bakeries
in the vicinity of the café. There was only one and it was around
the corner. They hadn’t noticed it when they visited the café on
previous visits, as they’d come from the other
direction.

They found Ben’s Bakery four shops down from the Coffee Break.
An appetizing aroma of baking bread and cakes greeted
them.

“
Can I help you?’ a young assistant asked.

“
Yes, I’m Detective Johnson and this is Detective Hudson.
Could we ask you a few questions?”

“
Sure.”

“
Do you have any bakers working here with blond
hair?”

“
Yes, Chad.”

“
Is he here at the moment?”

“
No, he’s off today and tomorrow. He’s working on
Wednesday.”

Do you know his surname?”

“
No, I never asked.”

“
Is there someone here who may know?”

“
The manager would but he’s at the bank at the
moment.”

“
Can you tell us anything about Chad?”

“
He’s medium height with straight blond hair and blue eyes.
He’s very cute and charming but a bit shy. What has he
done?”

“
Nothing, we just need to talk to him about an
investigation.”

“
Oh, okay.”

Maggie placed her card on the counter. “Could you have the
manager call us when he returns?”

“
Sure.”

They decided to ascertain whether any of the staff from the
café recognised the name Chad. His description definitely piqued
their interest.

After they’d interviewed two of the three waitresses on duty,
with neither of them having heard of him or recalled anyone with
that description, they were starting to think that they were either
looking in the wrong direction or would have to interview the night
staff, when they struck gold with the third waitress.

“
Yeah I know Chad,” she said. “He’s super sexy. He asked me
out last week and said he would make arrangements with me the next
day and I haven’t seen him since.”

“
When did you last see him?” Lucas asked.

“
Um, it was Wednesday. I remember because Adrian wasn’t here
so I was able to stand and chat with him for a while without
getting in trouble.”

“
Would you say he was shy?”

“
Absolutely. I saw him watching me for days before he even had
the courage to talk to me.”

“
Thank you for your help.”

“
Is it me or did that waitress resemble someone?” Maggie asked
him.

“
Yes, she looks a little like Chelsea,” he said with hardened
expression.

“
He’s blond, a baker and is shy but charming.”

“
Sounds exactly like the guy we’re looking for.”

Maggie’s phone rang as they walked to the car. Lucas watched
as she listened to the caller.

“
We’ll be right there.” She ended the call. “The manager is
back at Ben’s”

* * *

“
I’ll go get him for you. One moment please,” the assistant
said when they walked back in. She disappeared out the
back.

About ten minutes later, she returned with a short man in his
fifties, with a friendly face and rosy cheeks.

“
Sorry to keep you waiting. You’re looking for
Chad?”

“
Yes sir. Do you have any details for him - surname, address?”
Maggie asked.

“
Wilson - that’s his surname.”

“
Do you have an address on file for him?”

“
This is the strange part. His file is missing.”

“
It hasn’t been misfiled?’

“
No, I checked all the employee records and it’s not
there.”

“
Do the employees have access to the records?”

“
Not normally. Sometimes my office door is open and the
cabinet isn’t locked when I’m here, so it’s possible that someone
could access them if they wanted.”

“
Well, if you could try to find his records for us, that would
be helpful.”

“
We’ll do our best.

“
And we’ll be back to see him when he returns to work on
Wednesday.”

“
Be my guest. I’m sure he’ll co-operate. He is a good
worker.”

When they’d returned to the station, Lucas immediately
looked up Chad Wilson, to fi
nd no record of him whatsoever.

“
This guy is a ghost,” he said when she hung up. “It’s quite
possible this is our man. He’s not in the system and has no
driver’s licence.”

* * *

What was left of the morning went slowly for Chelsea and
Charlotte. Chelsea filled her sister in on her day at the carnival.
Charlotte attempted all morning to get the juicier details but
Chelsea wasn’t forthcoming.

Chelsea’s phone rang early in the afternoon and she welcomed
the distraction. She checked the caller id before answering, to see
it was Lucas.

“
Hello, Detective,” she said seductively. “I was just talking
about you.”

“
Oh, were you now? I hope you found something nice to say
about me?”

“
Absolutely.”

“
What are you doing tonight?”

“
Just dinner and a movie probably. Then again, there is this
sexy guy with hazel eyes I was thinking about inviting
over.”

“
How would you like it if a certain detective came and spent
the night instead?”

“
I would say is the day over yet?”

Lucas laughed. “What about the guy with the hazel
eyes?”

“
He might be busy. You’ll do.”

“
You’re in big trouble now.”

“
What are you going to do, tickle me?”

“
Keep it up and you’ll find out.”

“
Empty threats, Detective.”

“
We’ll see about that. I’ll come over after work.”

“
I suppose you would like dinner too?” she teased.

“
I am a simple man who can’t cook.”

“
Dinner is at six-thirty. Don’t be late.”

Huskiness filled his voice. “I’ll be there earlier if I can. I
miss you already.”

“
I miss you too. I went back to bed after you left and I could
still smell you in the sheets.”

“
Ah, please don’t say anymore. I have to get through the
rest of the afternoon and I need to concentrate. Have you received
any more calls today?”

“
Yes, before I left this morning, just more of the same thing.
I think I’m going to stop answering the phone and let the machine
pickup.”

“
That could be better for us too. We may be able to use the
voice recording, if he leaves a message that is. Anyway, an officer
should be there shortly.”

“
Why?”

“
To protect you.”

“
Oh, he just walked in.”

“
I don’t want you going anywhere without him.”

“
Ok, will he be at the house all the time?”

“
Except when I’m there.”

“
Oh. So, how’s it all going?”

“
Well, that is another reason I called. Do you know a guy
named Chad Wilson?”

“
Name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“
Have you ever been to Ben’s Bakery? It’s near the Coffee
Break Café.”

“
No, I don’t think so. Do you think he is the one doing
this?”

“
We aren’t sure yet but he seems to fit in with the evidence
and he’s a customer at the café.”

“
Elle did say she met a guy there as she was coming out one
day.”

“
Yes, I remember, which only makes him more of a person of
interest. We just don’t know where he lives yet.”