The Sholes Key (An Evans & Blackwell Mystery #1) (6 page)

Sophia held out her hand. The pages contained the DI’s case notes and all related information regarding the officer in charge. “DI Theophilus Blackwell. Wow, how do you find this information? Did you hack into H.O.L.M.E.S. again?”

Crystal raised her eyes to the ceiling and shrugged.

“Amazing detail. This report lists what color trousers our diligent Detective Blackwell wore today. How could they possibly have this much information about a person? I’m going to have to discover what’s out there on Sophia Evans.”

“There’s a lot,” Crystal signed. “I check regularly. In fact, I’ve created a program to collect the information so I can make sure you stay safe while undercover, and beyond. Only what we want them to know, that’s my motto.”

“I love you, Crystal. You know that, right?”

Crystal curtsied. Before she went to her workstation, she discreetly signed, “The top file.” She pointed to Liam’s desk.

When Crystal walked away, Sophia rose and crept into Liam’s dark office. She caught sight of the bright orange file that lay atop a stack of unopened letters and envelopes. She opened the folder and flipped through the contents of the McFee case. Liam’s case.

“What are you looking at?” Liam said behind her. The lights went on in the room.

Sophia lifted a photo from the file. “This is the picture I took with my mobile. These men followed me through the forest this morning trying to kill me. Your case, Liam, your case.”

He nodded and sat down in his chair.

“What, no explanation? Why the hell are they following me? Why are they trying to kill me? How do they even know we work together?”

“We don’t know yet.” He put down one of the coffees and held out his hand to her. Sophia handed him the file.

“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 missing 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.