Past Deception: Featuring Detective Annie Macpherson Read online

  Instead, Annie seemed to have drifted well past Paul and into the arms of Captain Charlie Hegarty. That had turned out to be a hurtful mistake. Now she was with Dave. He made her laugh and she was definitely developing feelings for him. Now there was this Laura. Annie had to admit to herself that she was scared about how Dave would be when he saw his ex again. Jealousy was a strange feeling.

  She must have drifted off, as the conductor nudged her. ‘You want New Haven, Miss?’

  Annie rubbed her eyes and blinked at him.

  ‘Next stop. Platform is on the right side. Use the front door of this carriage.’

  Annie grabbed her bag. She was disorientated after falling asleep. Moving down the aisle, she quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame her unruly curls. She hoped she was dressed appropriately for the regional specialist team, in her crisp white blouse, best black trousers and matching jacket.

  The conductor went ahead, ensuring that the steps were down as the train came to a complete halt. He got off first to assist the passengers. The woman in front of her nearly tripped on the narrow metal steps, so Annie appreciated his assistance, as she alighted.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man approaching. ‘Detective Macpherson?’

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘I’m Detective Tom Kessler. Peter Baxter asked me to pick you up.’ Tom Kessler extended his hand. His handshake was firm.

  ‘Thanks for meeting me, Detective. Do we have far to go?’

  ‘Tom. We use first names in the regional squad and no, about ten minutes away.’

  The regional specialist team was housed with the New Haven Police Department on its own floor. It was obvious to Annie, even at a cursory glance that a lot of money had been poured into the resources for the team. All members of the squad had their own desk top computers and there were a number of laptops as well.

  Peter Baxter was in the main open plan office when Annie walked in with Tom. ‘Morning, Annie,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘Did Tom tell you that we use first names in the team?’

  ‘He did, thanks.’

  ‘Good, let me introduce everyone to you.’

  Three of the male detectives looked near enough retirement age and Annie wondered about succession planning and the average length of stay on a team like this. Surely, this work would get to you in the end. There was only one woman in the team. When all the introductions were made, Peter took her into the main meeting room. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by Tom and the other three liaison detectives, representing different parts of Connecticut. Coffee and doughnuts were laid out on the table.

  ‘Now you know, Annie, why I have to run into work. Someone is always buying doughnuts and I can’t seem to resist.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Annie replied.

  ‘Tom, please tell our guests how we operate and what we have in mind for the liaison detectives.’

  Chapter 10

  Ellison needed a proper coffee to start the day, so he went into Starbucks. The coffee shop did great business, situated next door to the station. Glancing around, he noticed a couple of patrol officers sitting in a booth, probably just off the night shift. They nodded when they spotted him. Standing in line, his thoughts were in a mess. He wished Annie were in the station rather than with Baxter’s team. She had a steadying influence on him and there was no doubt that he was falling in love with her. What he couldn’t quite figure out was if she felt the same.

  ‘Your order?’

  ‘One latté and a skinny cappuccino,’ Ellison replied, handing the money to the cashier.

  ‘Morning, Detective. One of those for me?’ Bronski asked, when his colleague walked into the squad room.

  Ellison placed the latté on Bronski’s desk.

  ‘The place seems empty with no Macpherson today.’

  ‘Didn’t know you were sentimental, Bronski.’

  ‘She kind of grows on you.’

  If only you knew, Dave thought to himself. He took a sip of his drink, before looking at the pink message slips on his desk. He had missed a call from Laura Tremont. He got his cellphone out. No missed calls on it. She obviously wanted to put the contact on an appropriate footing, so went through the station. That was a relief. ‘Bronski, you got a minute?’

  ‘Sure, what’s up?’

  Ellison relayed the phone call from Laura Tremont from the previous night.

  ‘Young guy? No sign of a break-in at his apartment? Took his wallet with him?’ Bronski was clarifying.

  His colleague confirmed each point as Bronski finished going through the list. ‘Sounds like he didn’t come to any harm in the apartment, at least. Maybe he needs some time to himself.’

  ‘That’s a possibility, only the behaviour is out of character for him,’ Ellison replied.

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Because I used to be friends with him and I was engaged to Laura Tremont.’

  Bronski raised an eyebrow. ‘You kept that quiet.’

  ‘Not something I like to dwell on. It was a few years ago now.’

  ‘She’s coming in this morning to make an official report?’

  ‘Yeah. Should be here any minute.’

  ‘Want me to see her? Save you the awkwardness.’

  ‘That’s an understatement. Thanks for the offer. It’s probably better I see her in an official capacity after all this time. I’ve dreaded for years bumping into her somewhere.’ The phone rang on Ellison’s desk, before he finished.

  ‘There’s a Dr Tremont to see you,’ Sergeant Owens reported.

  ‘On my way, Sarge.’

  Ellison felt apprehensive as he descended the stairs. The last time he’d seen Laura Tremont was the night before their planned wedding. There was no indication when he had left her of what was to come in the morning. It had taken him a long time to get over the anger and the hurt. She wouldn’t even take his calls or give him an explanation.

  Laura turned as Ellison opened the door to the waiting room.

  He spotted her immediately. She looked different: more sophisticated somehow, in a light grey trouser suit and a pale pink silk blouse and scarf. Her long brown hair still framed her face in the way he remembered it. Her dark brown eyes were accentuated with eyeliner and a soft grey eye shadow. They too were exactly as he remembered them. Shit, this is going to be more difficult than I thought. Ellison reached out his hand to shake hers, needing to keep things on a formal basis.

  ‘We’ll use the interview room down here, Sarge,’ he said, leading Laura past the sergeant’s desk.

  When Laura took a seat, Ellison got out his notebook and the relevant form. His heart was pounding and he was hoping his anxiety didn’t show. ‘So, what’s the latest on Andy?’

  The woman let out a sigh and lowered her eyes, leaning back in the chair. ‘I didn’t think it would be this difficult.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You know,’ she continued, ‘seeing you again, Dave.’

  ‘Don’t, Laura,’ he said, his voice louder than he’d meant it to be.

  Her face reddened. ‘I wondered what it would be like, what I would say to you.’

  ‘It’s too late, Laura. Look, I can get someone else to fill in this form.’ He started to get up from the chair.

  ‘No, Dave, I want it to be you,’ she replied, placing her hand on his arm, momentarily. ‘You and Andy were friends.’

  Ellison thought of all that had been destroyed on their planned wedding day. Not even her twin brother had realised that she wouldn’t be coming. He and Andy had stayed in touch for a few weeks. After that, Ellison wanted to break the connection with anyone who reminded him of Laura. Andy understood.

  ‘You found his car parked in his underground parking space?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you telephoned the ER departments?’

  ‘No one has been admitted under his name or his description. I checked again this morning.’

  ‘As far as you know, he had his wallet on him.’

  ‘I’m assuming he did. We didn’t see it in his briefcase.’

  ‘Which means, he could have money and cards with him. Do you know his bank?’

  Laura reached into her handbag and retrieved a piece of paper with Andy’s bank account details. ‘I sometimes transfer money into his account for joint presents for mom, that kind of thing.’

  ‘Good. I’ll contact the bank to see if any withdrawals have been made. I want to have a look in his apartment and talk to neighbours.’

  ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

  ‘No Laura, I don’t. I’ll log this as a police matter. I’ll do some preliminaries and see where that gets us. Now, we need to go through the rest of this form.’

  The interview lasted another fifteen minutes. ‘Dave, you asked about friends before. I don’t know if I should say, as Andy’s quite a private person.’

  ‘What, Laura? You want him found, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course, I do. Only, he’s told me things that my mother doesn’t know.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Like his sexual preference is for men.’

  ‘Is there a boyfriend?’

  ‘Someone from work. I only know his first name, Gary. I’d like to keep this from my mother if at all possible.’

  ‘Depends whether he becomes a person of interest or not. I’ll check it out.’

  Laura paused for a moment, before commenting, ‘Dave, you don’t seem shocked at me mentioning Andy being gay.’

  ‘He tried hitting on me once. So no, I already knew.’

  Laura’s eyes widened. Ellison offered nothing further. ‘I’ll show you out. If you have a key to his apartment, it’ll save me time.’

  Stunned at the revelation, Laura opened her bag and handed over a set of keys.

/>   He walked her back to the station foyer, shaking hands at the door. ‘I’ll get back to you if I get anything.’

  ‘Dave, please keep in touch, even if it’s to say that you haven’t found out anything. My mother and I are getting frantic. This isn’t like Andy at all. I know that something awful has happened to him. Call me any time night or day, whatever you find.’ She leaned forward as if to kiss him on the cheek, but he stepped back.

  ‘I’ll keep you informed whatever,’ he agreed, opening the door for her.

  Sergeant Owens looked at him as he walked past.

  ‘What?’ Ellison held his hands up.

  ‘She’s not as pretty as Detective Macpherson.’

  The observation made Ellison smile. ‘I agree with you there, Sarge.’

  Speaking of Annie, Ellison wondered how she was getting on in New Haven. She would have arrived by now. He didn’t want to call unless it was official business. Besides, she said she would call him when it was convenient.

  ‘How did you get along?’ Bronski asked, as he returned to the squad room.

  ‘Laura’s convinced that something’s happened to her twin. There’s no evidence for that, so far. I’m going to check out his apartment after I make some phone calls. I want to see first if he’s withdrawn any money from his bank today. I’ll also talk to his employer.’

  ‘While you’re doing that, I’ll go down to the hospital to pick up the autopsy report from yesterday. Don’t suppose it’ll tell us anything we don’t know already.’

  ‘Probably not,’ Ellison commented and then looked up the number for Andy’s bank. It took all his charm. At last the clerk confirmed that no money had been withdrawn for the last two days and nothing seemed amiss with the accounts. There were no large sums going in or out. She wasn’t authorised for further searches. Whatever happened to Andy, it didn’t seem as if there was prior planning. Ellison took that as an ominous sign. ‘I’m off to his apartment and his work place.’

  ‘Give me a call if you need anything,’ Bronski offered.

  Chapter 11

  Andy Tremont woke suddenly and in pain. His joints were stiff from the cramped conditions and he desperately needed to get up and walk around, which was impossible. He couldn’t even stand to full height in the cage. The smell of urine from the bucket at one end assaulted his senses. It was disgusting, yet his only sanitation. He had slept fitfully, half sat up against the far end of the cage. The woman had left him a blanket and had relented about leaving a small light on. She had retreated upstairs and brought down a table lamp. It wasn’t within reach of the cage; yet it was better than the darkness. The mention of rats the previous night had spooked him, amplifying every little sound in the ensuing hours.

  His stomach felt empty. Andy figured it had been many hours since he’d eaten the microwave meal and the cake. It must be some time on Tuesday. What if she didn’t come back today? He felt tears pricking his eyes and he wanted to scream. Was there anyone in the vicinity who would hear him? He had no way of knowing. He thought about his mother and Laura. They would be frantic by now. Hopefully they had alerted the police. What clues were there? It was hazy about how he’d even got there. He checked himself again. There was a bigger lump on his head this morning.

  Then he remembered the knock on the door, as he was about to leave for work. He was going earlier, to drive past Laura’s and put her card in the mailbox. He didn’t recognise the person who’d knocked, dressed in brown overalls, like a maintenance man. He said something; what was it? God, his head was pounding now. That’s right, he said he was part of the caretaking team for the apartment block and that Andy’s car had been vandalised. He urged Andy to come down and have a look, as the police would need to be called. Now he remembered that he’d left everything, grabbing his keys and rushed into the elevator with the uniformed man. What did his name badge say? Derek, Donald, or maybe Dennis. He was sure it began with a D.

  His car was in its allocated space. Where was the vandalism? ‘The other side,’ the man had said. He’d started to walk around the car. That was the last thing he remembered. The guy must have hit him with something, then got him here. The dawning realisation was frightening: the woman wasn’t working alone. Andy tried to stand as best as he could. He needed to get some circulation going in his legs. Standing up was a huge effort and at first he thought he might pass out. He grabbed the iron bars at the back of the cage. They more than supported his weight. Then he noticed something he hadn’t the night before. The cage itself was concreted into the floor. He tried to shake it. There was no movement. Hopeless, he felt hopeless.

  He must have drifted back to sleep for a while, because suddenly he was awakened again by the sound of the door opening. The footsteps on the stairs sounded familiar.

  ‘Jamie, how are you today?’ the woman asked in a sickly sweet voice, as she neared the last step.

  ‘You need to unshackle me, my wrists are swelling.’

  ‘So impatient, like the little boy you are. No greeting for your mother?’

  Andy swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat. He was powerless in this position and the woman seemed unstable.

  ‘It’s difficult being friendly when you’re in pain,’ he said lowering his eyes, as he did yesterday. ‘Please, Mommy.’ The last word stuck in his throat.

  ‘Jamie, that’s better. I brought you some food: cereal with milk and some sandwiches for later. I won’t be back tonight. I was lucky to get here today.’ Her tone was matter of fact, no warmth or feeling in it.

  ‘Please, this cage is too small. I have to move. My legs are getting cramps.’

  ‘I do want to let you out. I have your room nearly ready upstairs. I have to be sure you won’t run away.’

  He lowered his eyes again. ‘I won’t, I promise. Please, please, Mommy.’

  ‘Eat now,’ the woman replied sternly, her demeanour changing. She pushed the bowl under the small opening and used the stick to push it closer. She did the same with the sandwiches. ‘I can’t stay with you today. I’ll be back tomorrow.’

  ‘Please, unlock my wrist, please.’

  The woman’s back was already turned. She stopped. ‘Tomorrow,’ she said and gave him a stern look. ‘Don’t whine, Jamie. Mommy doesn’t like whining and you don’t want to make me angry when I’m planning a surprise for you.’

  Chapter 12

  The group meeting lasted the best part of the day. As late afternoon approached, each liaison officer was assigned to one of the team detectives. The pairs reviewed a couple of cases to see how the paperwork was completed. There was a set protocol for cases involving child witnesses and familiarisation with this became the final task of the afternoon. Each pair practised a mock interview. Annie was partnered with Tom.

  ‘That’s it, Annie, what do you think?’ Tom asked when their exercise was finished.

  ‘I think you all do an amazing job. I’m glad I’m only acting in a liaison capacity. I’m not sure I could do your job for any length of time.’

  ‘Someone has to do it. The satisfaction of stopping one sex offender is amazing. The downside is the number of victims before we get a breakthrough. One good thing, though, as people become more aware, the reporting of incidents increases. We also do a lot of work in schools alongside the school counsellors on good touch, bad touch, and secrets. Kids need to know these things and our confidential reporting lines operate twenty-four hours a day.’

  Peter Baxter came back into the room. ‘Now I hope you’ve all come prepared to stay overnight. We’ve got rooms booked over at the New Haven Inn. Those of you with cars might want to make your own way there in the next few minutes. My officers will direct you. Can one of you give Annie a ride? She’s left her car in Scotland.’

  That comment really lightened the mood. When Frank, the well-built black man with grey hair finished laughing, he said, ‘I’ll give you a ride, Annie.’

  ‘Thanks, Frank,’ commented Baxter. ‘We’ll meet in the bar in an hour and then have a meal in the restaurant. We’ll debrief over coffee. Tomorrow morning I’m fronting a news conference to launch the initiative and we expect the phone lines to hot up. We want you all back here for a couple of hours in the morning to try your hand at the phone lines. You may pick up something in your local area. Who knows?’