The Sholes Key (An Evans & Blackwell Mystery #1) (13 page)

“I’m always faced with danger, Theo,” she said, laughing at him. “It’s my job lately. There’s a reason I live in a high security building. Believe me, I sleep more comfortably knowing there’s a person downstairs who gets paid to protect me.”

“Can I stay?” Theo asked. It was the thought of going home when this evening had been so enjoyable, so out of the ordinary, that made him swallow his pride and ask the question.

He expected her to tease him, but she just sipped her coffee as they watched more footage. Through the rest of Thursday night, they sped up the video a little more. The suspicious man with gloves, who was hesitant and unsure the first time he entered, re-entered with the woman who immediately invited him in. Lucky bastard. The traffic in and out of her building decreased dramatically in the wee hours and during the day, Friday. Those who came in had a key, and some came in with their partners.

Hours passed by. Theo’s mobile rang. “Hello? Hello?” he asked. No one answered. “Hello? Who is this? Is this you? Are you the one? What have you done with Lorna? Hello?” he said again, sitting up with a start. It took him a second or two to realize he hadn’t answered his mobile. It took him a few seconds longer to realize he wasn’t at home. And a few more to realize Sophia stared at him wide-eyed. “Bloody hell, did I fall asleep?” he asked.

She nodded. “For about an hour or so.”

“I’m sorry. Why didn’t you wake me?” The screen was dark. The video file had ended. Great. “Did you finish watching it?”

Instead of answering, Sophia got up and went over to the computer. Moving the scroll button back a minute or two in video time, the screen lit up, and she slowed the speed down two times.

“Is it him?” Theo whispered, almost afraid the man would hear his voice and walk out of the building.

“I think so.”

They watched the figure. Sophia took note of the time. Friday noon. The noon sun brightened the entrance enough to whitewash his figure and mute the color of his clothing. Nevertheless, they could make out the baseball cap and the sunglasses. As expected, plain as they come.

It wasn’t what the man wore as much as what he did that attracted their attention. He knew where he was going. Slight, quick glances at the boxes told him where to drop the envelope. Although his body blocked the actual box, the fact that he bent down to a lower one on the left side gave Theo a jolt. Almost as soon as he had come, he was gone. Sixteen seconds.

Standing upright, Sophia took in another deep breath and asked, “What do you think?”

“He fits. He’s exactly what we were expecting. Male, disguised, envelope, quick in and out. This is wonderful. I want a copy of this to take in.” He wanted to jump up and down in excitement.

“Don’t get too excited. The picture is incredibly grainy, and you may not be able to get anything of value from the footage.”

“Don’t rain on my parade just yet. I want to feel the last few hours were worth my time.”

“I’m sorry if it wasn’t.” A mobile rang. “That’s yours,” she said. “It rang a few times while you were asleep.”

“What time is it, Sophia?”

“It’s four in the morning,” she replied, looking at the clock on her kitchen wall. “Who would call you now? No one knows you’re here, right?”

Theo glanced at his display: Dorland. What now? He lifted the mobile to his ear. “Dorland? This better not be because you did three hundred press-ups.”

“No, I promised I wouldn’t disturb you with that again,” Dorland said. “I rang because I’ve received a call—as I suspect you have if you check your phone.” Theo did and noticed five missed calls. “I have good news and bad. Which first?”

“I don’t know, let’s go with bad. I’m feeling like shite now anyway.”

“They found a woman, a Margaret Hill,” Dorland said. “The chief wants you and I to go to the scene, meet SOCO.”

“Scene of Crime Officers? Why?” Theo asked. “It’s not our case. We already have a case.”

Sophia raised her eyebrows and came over to him.

“That brings me to the good news. Ready for it?” Dorland asked.

“Yes, what is it?” Theo said impatiently.

Sophia leaned closer, almost touching his head.

She’s quite nosy, Theo thought. But he was all right with that.

“We may have a serial killer on our hands. One thing’s for sure: Margaret’s killer is the same as Lorna’s,” Dorland said.

“How do they know?”

“Because etched into the victim’s back os the same code that woman spook received.”

Theo nearly dropped the phone.

“I’ll pick you up in a half hour. Be ready,” Dorland said.

Theo still wore the same wrinkled clothing from the day before. “That won’t work,” he replied. “Dorland, get to the scene as soon as you can. Whose case is this?”

“DI Shields.”

“Oh. That man isn’t too fond of me. He may be tempted to have SOCO take important evidence away before I can see it. Take photos of everything. I’ll meet you there. What’s the address?” He looked around for paper. Sophia went to her desk and retrieved a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Theo took down the street and house number.

Sophia grabbed the paper and said, “What the hell is this? What’s going on?”

“Meet me there,” Theo said to Dorland and hung up. He took back the paper from Sophia. “That, my dear, is police business.” For once, he felt as if he was one step ahead of her rather than three behind. “I have to go.”

“What happened at that address? Was someone else murdered?” She grabbed his arm tightly. Theo saw the fear in her eyes.

“Why must you know?”

“Theo, please tell me what happened at that house.”

“A woman was found dead.” He grabbed his hat and searched for his car keys. “It wasn’t Lorna.”

Silence. Sophia sat down on the sofa.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

“I’m scared.” She rubbed her face and took a deep breath. “I need to come with you, but I need to dress.” She rose from the sofa and headed toward her bedroom.

Theo followed her. “I can’t allow that.”

“I don’t care. I’ll get permission if I have to.”

He grabbed her arm and swung her around. “What do you know?” Three steps behind again.

She lifted her jumper over her head and that muffled her reply. The blood rushed to his ears when, within seconds, she stood in her bra and panties before him. She was a goddess.

“Turn around for heaven’s sake,” she said.

He did. “What did you say?” he croaked.

“My father and mother are going into protective custody. Damn, Liam, the bloody bastard.” She threw a hanger and it hit the full-length mirror across the room.

“Who’s Liam?”

Sophia came around him. She had clothes on now. “What’s the name?”

“Of Liam?”

“Of Liam? No, of the victim. And very soon Liam may find himself a victim. What was the name? You did find out the name, didn’t you?”

“Margaret Hill. She was a missing person.”

She thought for a second or two. “I don’t think I know her.”

He shrugged. “Were you expecting to? You didn’t know Lorna.”

“No, no I didn’t. I just thought…”

“Sophia.”

“Hmm.”

He waited until she looked at him. “I understand that I’m not as smart as you, that we don’t think on the same wavelength, I understand that. But you have to tell me what’s going on. What do you know?”

“I told you. You just don’t listen. That house, my family used to live there.”

“What did you say?”

She bent down for something under her chest of drawers. From a hook, she brought out a set of keys. “That was my family home. My parents put it up for sale last month after the divorce was finalized.” She held the keys in front of his face. “I’m going to take this car.”

“Why do you hide your car keys under the dresser?” he asked.

“Because some people—who will remain nameless—cannot know about this vehicle. Now tell me again why you assume the Lorna McCauley and Margaret Hill cases are connected.”

“The code.”

“He’s left the code at the crime scene?” From a jewelry box, she pulled out a set of glasses, dark and square, and put them on. Next she donned a brimmed hat and a multi-colored knitted scarf. She looked different—sophisticated. Dangerous.

“Apparently.” Theo ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know if you want to go to a gory crime scene. Have you seen a dead body before?”

Sophia didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Yes.” She bit her nails. “How gory? Well, it doesn’t really matter does it? I have to see what he’s done. It’s about me, and I don’t like it. What the hell have I done to make him hate me so?”

“Who?”

“Whoever. Ready? Are you going to take your car or would you like to go with me?”

Theo pondered the question but decided it was best to take his own. He accompanied her down the lift and told her he’d meet her at the entrance to the underground car park. She followed him in a red Fiat 500.

So the killer had left the body at Sophia’s old residence off Castlebar Hill in Ealing. What Theo hoped would be a short chance encounter with this woman was turning into an overpowering liaison, threatening to suffocate him. When he arrived at the crime scene, he locked his car and shuffled toward the spacious white abode looming before him. The light from the square, framed windows shone brightly like many beacons.

Sophia, who clumsily parked behind him in front of a gated drive, ran up and took his arm. “This is creepy. Why would someone want to leave a body here?”

“That’s a great question,” Theo replied.

The large overhanging trees blocked the moonlight, but the lights from the police vehicles had attracted many onlookers. Reporters had gathered and took photos of every person entering the gates. Sophia pulled her brimmed hat over her eyes and used Theo as a shield.

“Look at all these people,” Theo said. “There must be a hundred here. What the hell is our killer playing at? Why give us a body now?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, pulling him closer.

“Look what the killer is doing.” Theo faced Sophia as he carefully examined each person in the crowd. He knew there was a strong probability the killer was watching, but he didn’t want to appear to be searching. “He abducts Lorna and now Margaret Hill, and we suspect nothing. We’re naive. Then in the last few days, what does he do? He abducts a woman, sends out a letter proving it is murder, gives police cause to suspect that the others may be related, and now leaves the body to be found.” Though Theo studied the men standing around gawking in the night, no one stood out. As he headed toward the house, he instructed the crime scene photographers to surreptitiously photograph the crowds.

“What does he hope to accomplish with this publicity stunt?” he asked Sophia. “Is it fame he wants?”

“This really isn’t my field of expertise. My best guess is publicity or recognition. I will have a good look at the code though.”

He nodded. “I can’t believe you used to live here.”

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Sophia wasn’t listening. She was distracted as they approached, and the grip on his arm got tighter. Detectives and crime scene officers stomped in and out of the house carrying bags, boxes, and cameras.

Dorland met them outside the front door.

“Is the body still here?” Theo asked. “Is everyone here?”

Dorland nodded and cocked his head in the direction of the murder victim.

With a quick glance up and down, Sophia asked Dorland, “Are you any good?”

“Good at what?”

“Your job.”

“Of course, I’m good.” Dorland threw up his hands at Theo who just shrugged. “I’ll have you know, I’m one of the strongest officers on the force.”

Theo wasn’t sure Sophia heard as she pushed past.

“You can’t just go in there,” Theo said and pulled her back. “You need to dress.” He pointed to everyone wearing protective clothing. “You’ll contaminate the crime scene if you’re not careful. You do want to catch the bastard, don’t you?”

She followed him to a vehicle nearby and grabbed a blue suit and foot protection. Quickly, she exchanged her hat for a head covering and plastic glasses. Once again Sophia had transformed into a different woman, a woman who looked like she could get away with murder. She gave Theo a wink and asked, “Shall we go?”

He led her into the house.

“Here’s what I found out,” Dorland said then paused, looking at Sophia and back to Theo.

“It’s all right,” Theo said. “You can speak in front of her.”

That appeased Dorland. “The house was empty. Used to belong to some doctor. It’s been on the market only a few weeks.”

“Yes,” said Sophia. “My father said he planned to put the house up for sale. I didn’t want any part of it. When he asked me to sell the house, I refused.”

“What?” asked Dorland. “What are you on about?”

“I’ll explain later,” replied Theo. “Go on, Dorland.”

“The estate agent, wanting to confirm the house would be ready for viewing, entered and found… well, let’s just say there’ll be images in his head that he may never be able to erase.”

“How do we know Margaret Hill wasn’t just a woman interested in the house? This may be a case of wrong place, wrong time. She may have been murdered here.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why?” asked Sophia and Theo simultaneously.

“One of the first officers on the scene recognized her face from a missing person’s file,” Dorland replied and led them inside. “She’s been missing for a while.”

A grand staircase greeted them as they entered. The rooms on either side were empty. Only one thing would cause a person to suspect any activity in the house—the line of red rose petals up the stairs.

“How did the killer enter the house?” Theo asked.

“That hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Dorland replied. “The front door shows no sign of forced entry. SOCO is checking the rest of the house. He may have entered through a window or back door.”

“What do you think the petals mean?” Sophia said, following Theo up the stairs.

“That’s what Shields’s team was debating upstairs when I came out to get you,” Dorland replied.

“A romantic gesture?” she suggested.

Dorland laughed shortly. “You won’t think that when you see the body. It seems more like a runway, the red carpet, leading to his masterpiece.”