Chapter 22 - Action Stations
Sue decided that action would lift her mood. She would visit Kim, who might even be at home by now. She phoned the hospital, and was told that Mrs Coulthard was still a patient. Sue grabbed her bag and set off.
On the way she dropped a rapidly-composed note in to the home of Angela Wallace, asking for a favour. Could Angela swing it to have Cuffy re-assessed? Sue mentioned the immaculate condition of his home, and how he had maintained his customary smart appearance despite the depressing environment in which he was incarcerated. She knew that she had no clout in this matter, but Angela might be able to pull a few strings.
At the hospital, Kim had two visitors already at her bedside. Paula and James, coyly holding hands beneath the level of the bed and out of Kim's sight, were keeping the patient company. Sue hesitated, but decided that they probably had more exciting things to do and she was doing them a favour in breaking up the party. She advanced on them.
"Hallo, gang," she greeted them. The hands sprung apart, and James got up to offer his seat to the new arrival. There was a ten-minute conversation about the office, the weather, and other dull subjects, then Paula and James made their excuses and said goodbye. Sue now had Kim alone, as she had hoped.
"Kim, the sooner we get this mystery solved the better for everyone. I know this sounds hopelessly insensitive, but I want to ask you to talk to me about Steve - I know you are still in shock, but if you can do it, I'd really like to hear everything you can remember, especially about the days leading up to his disappearance."
"Not you as well," Kim groaned.
"What, you mean James and Paula asked too?"
"No, not them. Dennis Massington came in this afternoon, and asked me the same thing. He was very kind, he brought me these," she indicated a huge bouquet in a vase on the side cabinet, "and I tried to remember what I could. I'm not sure I can go through it all again. I know you all mean well, Sue, but it's no good, I can't remember anything useful at all. The police asked as well, but I couldn't help them either."
"Hmmm. Dennis Massington. We were talking about him earlier. Do you remember you once said 'he is Pebbleton Parish Council'? Can you explain why you felt that?"
Kim frowned. "I said that? I suppose I meant he might as well be the only Councillor, as he is the one who always seems to be on the winning side of every vote. I don't mean that in a bad way, but he seems to represent the mood of the Council."
"Do you reckon he goes along with the popular opinion, or do you think he gets everyone around to his opinion?" Sue mused.
Kim thought about it, and slowly replied, "Now you come to think of it, I do wonder if he makes such an impression on the others that they go along with him....I could be wrong, though. And anyway, what's the difference? The decisions are pretty good, on the whole."
"Except for the Development," Sue pointed out. "What did he want to know this afternoon, can you remember exactly what he said?"
"Sue, you are nosey," Kim laughed. "If you must know, he wanted to apologise for having misunderstood Steve about his relationship with Joey. He told me that he was not sure at all now what Steve meant, and possibly the big life-changing decision Steve was talking about was to do with changing jobs, or moving. He said that he had told the police only what he sincerely believed to be the case at the time, and he was sorry if he'd caused me confusion and distress. He did ask if I'd come to any conclusion myself about the reason Steve went missing, and whether I'd found any clues about the house, you know, letters, that sort of thing."
"And have you?"
"Well, I haven't been there since I was taken ill at the mortuary, have I? I do mean to look thoroughly through every book or file Steve had, to see if any papers are hidden. I had a look at his laptop a long time back, to see if there was any evidence of an affair, but there was nothing. I didn't think of paperwork but the police seem to think there is a link because Steve and Joey were both geologists. So maybe I was looking for the wrong things. I could have overlooked the real evidence."
"I'll help you, if you like. Two heads are better than one."
"Sue, I wish I could discharge myself now and go home. I'm fed up in here, the woman next to me," she whispered, "snores all night long, and I just lie here thinking of crazier and crazier ideas to explain everything."
Sue looked over her shoulder, and noticed that the staff were all in the nurses' station having a meeting. "Come on," she grinned, "get dressed, we'll leg it before they realise."
"I am dressed, you twit! Do you think they'd go mad if I did go home? I guess I could leave a note...."
"You're not a prisoner here, you can go any time you like. Just tell them."
Kim sat looking thoughtfully at the figures behind the glass screen of the nurses station. Suddenly she made up her mind, and reached for her purse. "I'm ready. But I think I will tell them I'm going, they've been very good, and I wouldn't want to offend them. Here, can you run and get a decent box of chocolates for me to give them?" She gave Sue a ten-pound note.
The nursing staff were rather concerned, but they let Kim discharge herself with a supply of the tablets the doctor had prescribed. "Not that I shall take them unless I really have to," Kim muttered to Sue, "I have a dread of being hooked on anti-depressants, or sleeping tablets, or anything like that."
Sue drove Kim to her house, and offered to stay with her as long as she liked. Kim replied "I want to manage on my own as soon as possible, but I would appreciate some company this evening. Let's get a pizza and just chill. I will start looking around tomorrow. I know you want to help, Sue, but I may get emotional - no, I will certainly emotional - and I don't want to have anyone around when that happens."
It was early evening, and an overcast August sky promised more rain. They made a detour for pizza, and ten minutes later pulled up outside Kim's house. Everything looked peaceful and normal, the grass had grown long but nothing was different. As she turned her key in the lock and pushed the door open, Kim said to Sue, "Weird to think I left here last Friday, with no idea......" She got no further, because a figure dressed in dark clothes and wearing a ski mask suddenly appeared from the lounge doorway, took two large steps toward the startled Kim, and shoved her violently against the opened door. The figure advanced and cannoned into Sue, who tried to block the escape by standing quickly on the front step. The impact caused Sue to stagger and nearly fall off the step, and she grabbed at the dark sweatshirt to regain balance in a purely reflex action. She felt a sharp pain as she was punched in the shoulder, and the figure fled down the front path.
Kim was winded but she reached for Sue, gasping, "Are you all right?"
"Never mind me, he's getting away!" Sue howled, "Stop! Thief!"
A car had just pulled up behind Sue's Mini, and to the amazement of the two ladies, out jumped the Inspector and Sergeant Dean, who both set off in pursuit of the masked intruder. Dean was faster on his feet, and the chase was lost to view as both he and the criminal rounded the corner. The Inspector followed a few seconds behind. It occurred to Sue that there might be another miscreant in the house, so she pulled Kim out of the house and shut the door. They helped each other back to the pavement, where they clung together, teeth chattering as the shock set in. Sue's shoulder was painful, but she was more concerned about Kim. This new blow could be enough to put her back in hospital.
A police siren wailed in the distance, and drew nearer. "Backup coming, I hope," Sue panted, trying not to wince.
They waited like two waifs on the street, until the Inspector came back from the corner. He was wheezing, and when he reached them he slid his hands down to his knees and bent over, trying to take deep breaths. "Getting too old for this sort of thing," he gasped.
When he straightened up he smiled triumphantly. "Got him, you'll be pleased to know. Uniform will be along in a minute, then we'll go into the house. I'm glad you had the sense to stay out here. Seen anyone else in there?"
&nb
sp; "No," Kim whispered. "He hurt Sue - she needs to get her shoulder looked at," she added.
Sue began to protest, desperate to stay and find out what it was all about. The Inspector radioed for an ambulance. "You'd better both be seen, just in case," he said, ignoring Sue's objections.
Sergeant Dean came loping round the corner. He was also out of breath, but looked very pleased with himself. The Inspector revealed the cause. "Nice rugby tackle, Dean," he congratulated the younger man. A police car appeared from round the corner, bearing uniformed officers with the prisoner handcuffed in the back of the vehicle. It slowed down, and the windows were lowered. "Recognise him, Mrs Coulthard?" the Inspector asked.
Kim and Sue both peered at the unmasked face of the offender. He was young, angry, and a complete stranger to both of them. This rather disappointed Helford, who hoped that a quick identification would take the investigation forward by leaps and bounds. A second police car drew up and decanted several officers onto the pavement. Kim handed over her keys, and the uniformed men positioned themselves around the exit points of the house before entering by the front door.
A careful search produced no second intruder. The officers reported evidence that the young man had rummaged around the upstairs rooms, and had got as far as the lounge, turning out the lowest two drawers in the bureau before he was interrupted. The ambulance arrived and the paramedics were allowed to take Kim and Sue into the kitchen to examine everything. Nothing there had been touched, it appeared. Kim was shaken but unhurt, but Sue's shoulder was badly bruised. She was given a sling to take the weight off it. A couple of painkillers were offered, which she gratefully accepted.
Crime support officers arrived to search for fingerprints, but Sue remembered a gloved hand flailing as she had grappled with the assailant. There were plenty of prints but it was likely that they were Kim's and Steve's. "You've got mine already," Kim said wearily.
Dean walked in the kitchen and spotted Sue's sling. "What happened? I didn't know he hurt you!" Sue tried to shrug but that only made her wince. "Only bruised, I'll be fine," she smiled.
"If I'd known he did that, I'd have....." Dean stopped, blushing.
"Ah-ah, naughty officer - you know you wouldn't have thumped him, even for little old me," Sue teased. "Anyway, how come you arrived just as he made a run for it?"
"We went to the hospital, to see Mrs Coulthard, and were told you'd taken her away. Making a run for it yourselves, I presume?"
"She'd had enough, and wanted to come home, didn't you, Kim? Anyway, what's the news? What was he after?"
"If we knew that, we'd be geniuses. Anyway, we wouldn't tell you," he retorted, recovering his dignity. "Mrs Coulthard, do you have any ideas?"
"Can I go in the lounge?" Kim replied uneasily. Dean looked surprised, but led her to the lounge door where the Inspector was watching the support unit officers go about their work. He gained permission, and led Kim into the middle of the room. She stood very still and then slowly revolved on the spot, back and forth, as if trying to reconstruct something in her mind's eye. The Inspector watched her, and as she turned finally to the wedding photograph on the wall, he nodded to himself.
"Want me to take it down for you?" he inquired. Kim looked at him in surprise, and then looked back at the large picture. "Yes - yes, please," she murmured.
Helford spoke to one of the support officers, who checked that the area around the picture had already been examined. Wearing plastic gloves, the officer carefully lifted the picture off its hook and took it into the kitchen. Upside down on the table, the hooks holding the back in place were scrutinised, then removed. The thin ply backing was lifted. Kim, Sue, Dean and Helford crowded round the officer and held their breath. Under the backing was another layer of the same ply, but sandwiched between lay a carefully arranged spread of maps and printed A4 sheets. They had been folded and placed in a thin shape that evenly filled the rectangular space, so no bulges showed to reveal their presence from the front or the back.
The white plastic gloves lifted each item and held it up for examination. "Mrs Coulthard, do you recognise any of this?" Helford asked, guessing the answer.
"No - but those are geological survey maps, I've seen them before - not those, I think, but some just like them when Steve brought the students' work home to mark."
The papers and maps were put in plastic bags and marked as evidence. Helford could hardly wait to read them. But he had to make sure no further dramas disturbed Mrs Coulthard. "I'm leaving a uniformed officer outside the house, so you can rest easy," he explained kindly. "Please look around and check nothing has been taken, and let me know immediately if you notice anything missing."
"Now?" Kim groaned.
"Not right away, I realise you're not up to it, but as soon as you can."
"I'll help her, don't worry," Sue offered.
"Oh, yes, you're going to be a great help like that," Dean laughed. Helford coughed and looked at his watch. "Must be off now, but I'll speak to you tomorrow, if I may." Kim nodded, and followed Helford and Dean to the door. When she came back Sue was trying to fill the kettle at the tap, getting her sling wet in the process. "Here, let me," Kim said, taking the kettle from her. "I've been lazy for days, I need to be doing something. It will make a change for me to look after you!"
The evening passed quietly, the warmed-up pizza was just the right comfort food after the shock they had received, and a silly comedy on TV raised their mood. Once the painkillers took effect, Sue was in better spirits. The TV show finished, and she asked Kim "What made you look in the photo frame?"
"Steve did something odd a little while before he disappeared. I came in and found him with the whole thing in his arms - he said it was askew in the frame, but I hadn't noticed. Normally I would notice, you know what I'm like - forever straightening things in the office." Sue nodded, and Kim continued. "Once I thought about it, I realised Steve was standing by the bureau, up that end of the room." She indicated the far end, where a dining table and chairs occupied most of the space, with a mahogany bureau standing at the far end on one side and a computer desk on the other. "If he'd just wanted to sort out the photo, he would have laid it on the big coffee table here, and undone the back. Why go to the end of the room? He probably used the dining table, and took those papers from the bureau. He must have just finished when he heard me coming, and couldn't get the picture back on the wall in time. I felt he was hiding something, and he made quite a thing of saying the photo had slipped, and that it reminded him of the best day of his life. I did believe that, but something didn't quite feel right."
"What do you think the papers and maps are about? Do you reckon it was what the burglar was after? How do you think he got in?"
"I'm afraid getting in was a bit too easy - the bathroom window was left open. I know, I know," as Sue looked horrified. "I gave the windowsill in there a lick of paint on Friday morning, to cover up where my pot plant had left a mark. I figured it would dry during the day, and I took a chance. It's at the back and I thought nobody would notice."
"I suppose that means he was an opportunist burglar, then," Sue replied gloomily. "He probably has nothing to do with any of the other stuff going on." She yawned. "I could curl up right here and sleep for England," she mumbled.
"Well, why don't you? Or better still, the spare room bed is made up. I'll find a nightie for you. I don't mind admitting that I'll sleep better for knowing someone else is here," Kim replied.
The nightie proved problematic, and Sue had to settle for a large tee-shirt Steve had once worn. "I really must lose weight," she groaned.
"That nice sergeant didn't seem to be bothered about that," Kim grinned. "He struck me as quite satisfied with what he saw."
"Don't even go there - he's a cheeky blighter, and far too young for me," Sue retorted.
"Rubbish - you're probably almost the same age, I reckon," Kim told her. "But it up to you.....he needs en
couragement, of course, all men do....." she mused.
Sue shook her head and laughed. "If he saw me now, all the encouragement in the world wouldn't help!"
Kim showed Sue the spare room, and then they saw the mess left by the intruder. Wearily they piled things up in a heap to leave the bed clear, then did the same in the main bedroom for Kim to sleep.
They said goodnight, and parted company. The lights went out. Lying in bed, Kim remembered the bathroom window. She got up again, and made sure it was firmly shut, although the weather was warm and muggy. She returned to her room and peeped through the curtains. Outside, passing under a streetlamp, she could see the comforting presence of the protective policeman. She let the curtain fall back into place. "Steve," she whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me, or if there's a God or an afterlife, but I'm sorry I doubted you. I will find out who killed you and Joey, and make sure they pay for it. I couldn't do anything violent, that would make me as bad as them, but I'll use every legal way to make sure they never hurt anyone again. I love you, darling, please never forget that."
Her whisper died away in the silent room, covered by the ticking of the clock. Sighing, she climbed back into bed. She was asleep before the policeman had made another pass under the lamplight in his slow progress along the front fence.