Toxic Justice, page 7
part #18 of DI Lorne Simpkins Series
“I’m feeding the dogs, nearly finished,” Carol shouted, emerging from the small storeroom at the rear of the kennel they had built after the recent fire.
“Want a hand?”
“No, I’m fine. How are you?”
“So-so. Tell you about it after dinner. You’ve never sampled one of Tony’s curries before, have you?”
“No. I hope it’s not too hot. It smelt divine when I popped over there about ten minutes ago.”
“It’s a different kind of heat. I much prefer the Thai curries to the other variety. Anyway, you’ll find out for yourself soon enough. Thank you for standing in for Cindy at such short notice.”
Carol waved away the thanks. “My pleasure. You know you guys can always count on me to come to the rescue, in more ways than one. You look a little peaky, love, you’re not sickening for something, are you?”
“I’m fine. Heavy case we’re dealing with. Something a little different for us, and I’m struggling to get my head around it at the moment. It’ll come together soon enough, I expect. Let me help and we’ll get it finished quicker.” She took a couple of silver feeding bowls from the tray Carol was holding. “Hello, Khan, I hear you’re going off to your forever home soon.” She patted the large Rottweiler on the head, and he jumped up and planted his nose in the bowl, eager for his dinner. Lorne laughed and placed the dish on the floor and retreated from the kennel. By the time she had secured the cage with the bolt, Khan had finished his meal. “Bloody hell, talk about a gannet.”
Carol laughed. “He’s always been the same. I hope his new owners feed him well. He’s always hungry, that one.”
“I’m sure they’ll be up to the task. Two more to go.”
She entered the next kennel to find a shy poodle sitting on its bed at the back of the cage. “Benji, come on, boy.”
The poodle hesitated a little until the smell of the food wafted over to him. He took a few steps forward then retreated again. Lorne stayed perfectly still until the little black ball of fluff gained enough confidence to walk towards her. She put the food dish down and held out a hand. The dog ignored her hand and homed in on the food, which he nibbled carefully, unlike Khan. Lorne left the kennel, smiling at the dog’s gentle nature.
“He’ll find a home soon. He’s getting less and less timid every day under Cindy’s guidance. She’s an absolute godsend. I swear she cares more about the dogs than her own well-being, hence her forgetting her dental appointment today. She was so embarrassed when she rang me, even suggested she should postpone it. I told her that was nonsense and jumped in the car. It’s not like I was doing anything important. I was pottering around in the conservatory, that’s all. It’s nice to feel wanted now and again.”
Lorne placed an arm around her dearest friend’s shoulder. “You’re always wanted, you know that. We’d be lost without you. Sorry if I’ve neglected you lately.”
“Now don’t go thinking I was telling you off. Your priorities need to be with Jade and her family right now, ignore me.”
“We’re having a barbecue on Sunday, you’re welcome to join us.”
“Only if you’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t. Bring Ted with you. Has he proposed yet?”
Carol shuddered. “Not yet. We’re both fine with how things stand at present. I’m too bloody set in my ways to get tied down, and I think he feels the same way.”
Lorne frowned. “The last I heard, you two were super keen to settle down.”
Carol raised an eyebrow. “Things change. People change. More to the point, men change once they get comfortable in a relationship. I think they stop trying to impress their ladies.”
Lorne sniggered. “I’ll tell Tony you said that.”
Carol slapped a hand over her mouth. “Bother. Don’t you dare, there’s always an exception to the rule. You’ve got an absolute gem there. He loves the very bones of you, that one.”
“Ditto. He’s definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“It shows. You two were made for each other. Not every couple is capable of overcoming what the Lord throws at them the way you two have.”
“Thanks. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest woman to ever walk this earth. It’s amazing how I can feel that after the disappointments I’ve had to endure in my other relationships. Anyway, enough about that, I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
They completed the task and walked back to the house arm in arm with Sheba running along beside them.
Tony was about to dish up the curry when they arrived. “Smells scrummy. Sorry, we got waylaid feeding the hounds.”
Lorne and Carol washed their hands in the sink and sat at the table while Tony entered into his second role for the evening and played waiter.
“I’ve put a glass of water on the table for each of you in case it’s too hot.”
Lorne laughed at the horror on Carol’s face. “It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll taste it first.” She placed a forkful of curry and rice in her mouth and pretended to choke.
Carol shot out of her chair and patted her on the back. “Lorne, Lorne, are you all right?”
Lorne dropped her hand from her throat and burst into laughter. “I’m fine, silly, I’m only teasing.”
Carol sighed and returned to her seat. “I wish you wouldn’t pull my leg like that. One of these days something serious might happen, and I won’t be as quick to react.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist it. Go on, try it.”
Carol tentatively forked the curry and rice together and then placed a small amount in her mouth. Lorne and Tony eagerly awaited her response.
“Wow! Who’d have thought it? My compliments to the chef, this is incredible. You two are bloody wind-up merchants, it’s not hot at all.”
They all laughed and continued eating their meals. During dinner, the conversation flowed effortlessly between them. Tony revealed what he and Joe had got up to the evening before while on the stakeout, much to Lorne’s disgust. “Eew…how could you eat a bloody kebab? They’re so full of fat.”
“I agree with Lorne. How could you, Tony?”
“All right, there’s no need to gang up on me. That’s the only form of takeaway we found available in the area. Actually, it’s the first one I’ve had in ages, and it was quite nice.”
Lorne’s mouth turned down in disgust. “I can’t stand the damn things. Half the time you can’t make out what meat you’re eating. Vile things.”
Carol fell silent and appeared to drift off. Lorne knew from past experience what that meant. She placed a finger to her lips to warn Tony to be quiet. It was a few minutes before Carol spoke to them.
“Lorne, I’ve got a John here.”
“You have? I don’t know a John…oh wait, could it be a Jonathon?”
“He’s clapping. Told me to tell you that you are hot stuff.”
Lorne blushed. “Oh right, I’m not sure how to take that. Dare I ask in what respect?”
“Says you’re good at your job and that you were spot-on today.” With that, Carol closed her eyes and heaved a large sigh.
Lorne patted her hand. “Are you all right, Carol?”
“I will be in a second or two. I take it this young man is to do with a new case you’re dealing with?” Carol’s watery, sad gaze met Lorne’s.
“Yes, unfortunately. It’s an unusual case for us that revolves around Jonathon committing suicide. The thing is, Sean asked me to delve into it because the figures are horrendous for cases such as this.”
“He looks very young. How old was he?”
“Only fifteen. Just before he died, he received a despicable message, basically instructing him to end his worthless life. Within half an hour, that’s exactly what he did. His father found him hanging in his bedroom. After speaking with his parents today, we discovered the poor lad had been subjected to months of bullying.”
“Do you know why? Why he was being bullied?” Tony asked, his shock reflected in his expression.
“It’s heartbreaking. It wasn’t because he was deformed in any way. He didn’t wear spectacles or was excessively overweight. No, the reason he was bullied was because he was bright. The brightest lad in his class actually.”
Tony shook his head in disgust. “Crap, seriously?”
“Seriously. They did wicked things to him for months apparently. The thing is, Katy and I went on surveillance at the school after it finished this afternoon and think we know who the culprits are.”
“That’s great. Can you arrest them?” Carol asked.
“Not without any evidence. We’ve got a gang of six youngsters hassling him on CCTV footage, but nothing more than that. Forensics are examining his mobile and laptop in the hope we can trace any calls or emails back to this mob. Until that information surfaces, we’re up the creek on what we can do about these kids.”
“What did you observe them doing on surveillance?” Tony took a sip from his glass of wine.
“We followed them at a distance. At first there were four of them, and then two kids joined up with the group. One of them was a girl. They pulled hoodies from their school bags and then went on the hunt for another victim. We followed them to the precinct where they began picking on a young girl called Amelia. The mother in me couldn’t stand them hassling the poor kid, so Katy and I leapt out of the car to tackle them about it. Amelia went on her merry way while we spoke to the kids. There were some pretty challenging glares coming at me from the girl, I can tell you. I was incensed, but again they didn’t actually lay a hand on the girl, so I couldn’t do anything about it, like drag them down the station. I warned them of their future conduct, and Katy and I got back in the car. We caught up with Amelia up the road and drove her home. She was pretty quiet in the car.”
“Did you tell her parents what had gone on?” Carol wiped away the sweat that had broken out on her forehead, not uncommon once a spirit had made contact with her.
“We spoke to her mother, made her aware of what had happened.”
“Does she go to the same school as Jonathon went to?”
“No. She attends St. Jacob’s. Maybe that’s where the other two kids came from. Katy’s taken some pictures of the youths. I’ll ask the team in the morning if any of them recognise the school uniform the newcomers were wearing. Anyway, enough of this. Anyone fancy some ice cream to cool down their mouths?”
Sheba moaned, lying on her bed in the corner. Ice cream was a magical word in her doggy vocabulary.
Lorne laughed. “I have one taker at least. What about you, Carol? We picked up a new variety this week, salted caramel, it’s delicious.”
Carol’s eyes widened. “Oh, go on then, you’ve twisted my arm. Just a small portion,” she added, rubbing her bloated tummy.
The back door opened, and Charlie walked into the room with Brandon. “Hi, everyone. Hope you’ve all had a good day. I have some news for you if you want to hear it?”
Lorne reached for the bowls in the top cupboard and turned to face her, choosing to delay dishing up the dessert. “Go on. Hit us with it.”
Charlie crossed the room to stand beside her mother and inhaled a large breath. “Well, it was a tough decision. In the end, I decided to go for the job working with the K9s.”
Lorne hugged her tightly, pride and relief flooding through her that her only child had made the right decision for her future. “That’s wonderful news, Charlie. Totally the decision I would have made at your age if I’d had the choice.”
Charlie pecked Lorne on the cheek. “Thanks, Mum. I thought you’d be pleased. Brandon and I picked up a couple of bottles of wine on the way home if anyone is up to celebrating?”
“Have you eaten?” Lorne asked.
“We stopped off for a pizza and ate it in a lay-by—neither of us could wait. Our tummies were rumbling something chronic. I smell curry.”
“Yep, Tony made a fantastic Thai curry. We’re just about to have some ice cream, fancy a scoop?”
“Or two.” Charlie grinned. She removed a couple of wine glasses from the nearby cupboard and gestured for Brandon to take a seat at the table.
Brandon was a quiet lad, devoted to the dogs he taught agility to.
“Fancy some ice cream, Brandon?”
“I love anything but chocolate, Lorne. Thank you.”
Lorne dished up five bowls, each with two scoops of ice cream, and delivered them to the table. Before she returned the half-empty tub to the freezer, she scooped out a small portion and deposited it in Sheba’s bowl. Sheba remained on her bed until Lorne gave her permission to eat it. “Come, girl.” She patted Sheba on the head as she chased the bowl around the kitchen floor.
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter as they celebrated Charlie’s new job.
Lorne raised her glass. “To Charlie. I can see her rising the ranks to inspector soon, even if it’s working with the K9s.”
“Ah, are you still on about that bet we have in place?” Charlie chuckled.
“Too right. You’ve got four years to go. Twenty-five is the cut-off time to make DI. I still think you’ll be able to achieve it, even if you are veering off course slightly.”
Charlie shook her head. “I doubt it. Never say never, I suppose, right, Tony?”
Tony wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. He kissed her temple and gave her the biggest smile. “Never say never. I couldn’t be prouder of you, Charlie, if you were my own flesh and blood. You deserve any success coming your way.”
Charlie’s cheeks coloured up, and she swiped a tear that dripped from the corner of her eye. “It’s great having two dads. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
Chapter 6
Lorne arrived at work the following day with a bit of a sore head. “Crikey, you look rough,” Katy said the moment she laid eyes on her.
“I’ll need the coffee intravenously fed to me today. We were celebrating Charlie’s new post last night.”
“Cool. What did she decide?” Katy left her desk and crossed the room to the vending machine. She bought two coffees and returned to hand one to Lorne.
“She’s going with the K9 option. I know both jobs carry a risk, but I think it’s the far better option for her, considering her background.”
“How wonderful. I bet she’s thrilled to have been given the opportunity?”
Lorne blew on her coffee then took a sip. “She is. I’ve never seen her seem so happy, to be honest. Right, where are we with the case?”
“I came in early to download the photos I took on my phone.” She handed Lorne the brown folder sitting on her desk.
Lorne flipped it open and studied each photo carefully. “I need to ask the rest of the team if they recognise the school uniform these two are wearing.”
“I’m ahead of you on that one. It’s a new one on me, Leyton Manor.”
“Leyton Manor? That’s not ringing a bell.”
“It’s a few miles away, five to be exact.”
Lorne perched her backside on the desk behind her. “They must have dipped out of school early in that case. There’s no way they could have met up with the rest of the gang that early after the bell rang.”
“Unless Leyton Manor kicks out early. It’ll be worth chasing that up to see. I’ll do it now,” Katy replied, picking up the phone.
Lorne slipped into her office to see what the postman had deposited overnight. It mostly consisted of brown envelopes which she flicked through before she opened them. She placed the letters in order of urgency and then wedged all of them into her in-tray. She’d deal with them later, once the lasting effects of the alcohol she had consumed the previous evening had worn off.
Katy poked her head round the door. “Fifteen minutes before Trinity kicks out.”
“Okay. That makes sense. It’s still cutting it a bit fine to me. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. It would be good if we could get some names for these kids. I’ll ring Mrs Lowe at Trinity if you ring the head at Leyton Manor for me.”
“Okay, what if they ask to see the photos? Shall I send them?”
“Yep. I’m not sure they’ll get who we’re talking about if we don’t give them that much, Katy.”
“Okay, that was a dumb question from me.”
Lorne sniggered. “We all get days like that. Let’s get that out of the way first and compare notes.”
Katy dipped out of the office. Lorne downed the rest of her coffee then rang Mrs Lowe. The secretary put her call through immediately.
“Hello, Inspector. Any news?”
“Hello, Mrs Lowe. Thank you for taking my call so promptly.” She ran through what she and Katy had observed the previous day after school. “I was wondering if I sent over some photos, would you mind supplying some names for me?”
“Of course.” She rattled off her direct email address then said, “You say they met up with two other pupils from a different school, is that correct?”
“Yes, would you like me to send you their photos as well?”
“Why not? It’s possible the pupils used to attend our school and were asked to leave.”
“Excellent. That’s not something that crossed my mind. It’s logical. I’ll send them over now, and stay on the line, if that’s okay?”
“Sure. I’m only dealing with the morning post, nothing that can’t be set aside for a few moments.”
“I know that feeling. Hitting the send button now.”
Silence filled the line between them until Mrs Lowe confirmed the email had arrived at her end. “Ah, let me see.”
Lorne waited patiently for her to speak again. She ran a finger across a layer of dust that had gathered under her computer monitor and wiped it down her trousers, regretting her actions immediately when the dust stuck out like a sore thumb against the black fabric.
“Okay. I’m going to ask you to leave this with me for approximately half an hour if you will, Inspector. I need to confirm the pupils’ names with the other teachers.”
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t expect you to name every child in your school off the top of your head. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
“One thing before you hang up. The two children wearing the uniform from Leyton Manor are Brian and Billie Swallow. Billie would be the girl, obviously. They were expelled from here at the end of the last school year.”
