Missing You (Dead Reckoning series - Part 21)

Continued from Episode 20 (Trapped)

The story so far:   Josiah, having rekindled a romance (on the rebound from Samantha Knight) with an old flame, Jeanette DeVille, has apparently disappeared since his supper with her at Evanley Hall last Saturday.  Samantha, frustrated that Detectives Wood and Stone are not interested in helping, has persuaded Archibald to go and find out what is happening, on the pretext of visiting Precious, his girlfriend.  Unfortunately, now he has failed to return and Samantha has to make a further attempt to get the police to take an interest!  Archibald, in the meantime, has discovered exactly where Josiah is, because, unfortunately, that's where he is, too:

 

“We’ve got someone downstairs who wants to see us!” D.S. Stone grinned at his boss, D.I. Wood, who was currently partially hidden by a motoring magazine.

“If it’s Santa Claus, tell him he’s too early and if it’s the Easter Bunny, tell him he’s too late!” D.I. Wood turned a page, sighed and tried to get his leg, and inflamed foot, into a more comfortable position.

“Nope, neither of them” D.S. Stone looked smug, “it’s only Frankie’s missus, again!”

D.I. Wood put down his magazine and stared at his colleague.

“You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?”

“No, straight up, she’s downstairs again and wants to see us”

“She’s got a bloody nerve!”  D.I. Wood snarled, “I suppose this is about her boyfriend going walkabout, again?   Does she think we’re her private bloody detective agency?  You did kick it into touch, last time you spoke to her, didn’t you?  Didn’t give her any false hope, or nothing?”

“I said we might make a few more inquiries if he hadn’t shown up by the end of the week”

“Did you?” D.I. Wood raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t make any promises” D.S. Stone reassured, hastily, “and, anyway, it isn’t the end of the week yet, is it?”

“No, more’s the pity” D.I. Wood massaged his leg and dreamed of a couple of days on the sofa.

“Shall I go down and see her again?”

“No, I’ll have a word” D.I. Wood started to ease himself up from his seat, and then thought better of it, “tell you what, get her brought up here.  I don’t see why I should be putting myself out for the likes of her!”

D.S. Stone made a diplomatic retreat.

* * * *

“Mr. O.!” Archibald whispered, and then, when there was no response, “MR. O.!” somewhat louder.

“Hmm?” Josiah started, a little, and tried to focus on what was being said, “what did you say?”

“You were talking and then you, sort of, drifted off…” Archibald observed.

“Oh, I’m sorry Archibald, that seems to keep happening” Josiah shook his head, sadly, dislodging odd bits of grain and dust, in the process, from the sack covering his face, and reviving a raging headache that he had been trying to ignore.  “Was I saying anything interesting?”

“You were saying what happened when you got to the Hall, last Saturday”

“Oh yes, I recall now” Josiah sighed, “well, I came in through the main door, Jeanette and Precious were waiting in the Hall to greet me, all dressed in their finery, I thought we were going to have a simply splendid evening…”

“Right!” Archibald nodded, “and then what?”

There was no answer from his companion, just the sound of gentle breathing and the steady drip of water from a tap, somewhere.

“Mr. O.!” Archibald tried again, “MR. O.!” but there was no response, this time.

* * * *

“Mrs. Knight to see you” D.S. Stone announced, and retreated to the safety of a corner of the office.

“Ah, Mrs. Knight, you’re becoming a regular visitor” D.I. Wood said, grimly.

“Inspector, Sergeant” Samantha nodded to each, in turn.

“If this is about Mr. Oakshott, I think my Sergeant did point out that it was rather too early to be instigating any formal inquiries”

“It is not about Mr. Oakshott, well, not directly” Samantha shook her head, “it concerns Archibald”

“Archibald?” D.I. Wood frowned.

“The one you call ‘Lurch’, sir” D.S. Stone supplied.

“Thank you, Sergeant, I’m aware of who we are talking about” D.I. Wood snapped, “what seems to be the problem with Mr. Thurble?”

“He’s missing, too” Samantha blushed a little.

“HE’S missing?” D.I. Wood looked at her in astonishment.

“Yes, I’m afraid so” Samantha nodded, miserably, “and it’s all my fault!”  She began to sob.  D.S. Stone raced forward with a chair and helped her to sit down, despite the glares from his superior.  She placed her handbag on the desk and retrieved a handkerchief from it.

“Have you abducted Mr. Thurble?” D.I. Wood asked.

“No, of course not!” Samantha snapped, “why would I do such a thing?”

“Then, I’m somewhat at a loss as to why you think it’s all your fault!” D.I. Wood raised his hands in puzzlement.

“It’s because I sent him to find out what had happened to Josiah - Mr. Oakshott” Samantha explained, “on the pretext of going to see his girlfriend, Precious”

“Let me be quite clear about this,” D.I. Wood eased himself upright in his chair, winced with the pain, opened a manilla folder and read from it, “Mr. Oakshott went to see his girlfriend last Saturday and you haven’t seen him since?”

“That’s correct” Samantha nodded.

“You have since despatched Mr. Thurble to go and see his girlfriend, and this was when?”

“Yesterday” Samantha replied, glumly. “Monday”

“And he hasn’t returned?”

“No”

“Do you, perhaps, see something of a pattern developing here?” D.I. Wood raised an eyebrow, “two men go off to meet their respective new girlfriends and neither return?  I fail to see what you find odd about this state of affairs, Mrs. Knight”

“It’s just not like Josiah, his work is everything to him” Samantha replied, testily, “and I sent Archibald specifically to see what he could find out about Josiah’s disappearance.  He would have contacted me, somehow”

“Don’t you think that it is more likely that they are having the time of their lives, and you’re just a bit jealous, isn’t that the long and the short of it?” D.I. Wood frowned at her.

“It’s nothing like that!” Samantha shouted, causing a few people in the outer office to stop in their tracks, “There’s something odd going on, I’m sure of it!  Archibald didn’t go to see Precious gleefully, I had to force his to go, he was very reluctant”

“Mrs. Knight” D.I. Wood covered his face with his hands and breathed, deeply, “you do appreciate that my superior would do his fruit if I suggested sending officers to see why two blokes, who had gone to see their girlfriends, hadn’t returned, you do see that, don’t you?”

Samantha shrugged and made no comment.

“Where is it that you think they are, anyway?” D.S. Stone, enquired.

“Evanley Hall” Samantha said, and when D.I. Wood looked at her blankly, added, “it’s in Cheshire”

“Ah well, then” D.I. Wood beamed and eased himself back in his chair, “Not our problem, not our patch!”

“But, you must be able to do something!”  Samantha pleaded.

“Out of my hands, I’m afraid, Mrs. Knight” D.I. Wood looked pleased with himself, “like my Sergeant here said, when you saw him only yesterday, if either or both of them are still missing at the end of the week, then we might ask the local plod if they’ll make a few inquiries, but we can’t make any promises.” He slammed the folder shut, with an air of finality, “Now, if there’s nothing further, Sergeant Stone here will escort you off the premises”

“That’s it, is it?” Samantha glared at D.I. Wood.

“That, as you so accurately say, is, indeed, it, Mrs. Knight” D.I. Wood confirmed, pulling some papers toward him, “don’t let me detain you, further”

“If you would come with me, please?” D.S. Stone tentatively took Samantha by the elbow, but she shook him off.

“There are two men who have been, almost certainly, abducted, and you’re going to do NOTHING?” She yelled.

“Good day, Mrs. Knight” D.I. Wood murmured, apparently engrossed in the documentation before him.

“This way, please” D.S. Stone insisted, as a couple of uniformed officers appeared at the door.

Samantha grabbed her handbag, snorted and stalked out of the office.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t be of more help, Mrs. Knight” D.S. Stone said, apologetically, as they made their way downstairs and to the main door leading on to the street.

Samantha turned to glare at him.  D.S. Stone opened the door for her and smiled, weakly.

Just at that moment, Samantha noticed a couple of grainy, black and white photos, on the noticeboard by the door.

“What are these?”  She asked.

“Oh, those” D.S. Stone peered at the photograph, “they’re CCTV images of some people who we would be interested in talking to about a jewellery robbery a few days ago”

“Are they, now?” Samantha turned to him, in triumph, “well, you might be interested to know that, in my opinion, she” she stabbed a finger toward the image of a young girl in the foreground of one photo, “looks an awful lot like Precious, Archibald’s girlfriend and she” she stabbed a finger at the image of an older woman walking away from the camera in the other photo, “is remarkably like Josiah’s Mrs. DeVille!  Do you think I might get your boss’s attention, now?”

She fixed him with a steely stare and a grim smile.  D.S. Stone swallowed hard and wished the ground would open up beneath him.

You can find a lot more about Josiah, Archibald and their odd world of characters in The Undertakers Collection.

Now read Part 22