Virtual Justice Page 2

  “Yes,” Lorne replied warily. She recognised her daughter’s tone as one that came attached to a good idea.

  “Well…‌I thought I might start training him.”

  “Training him to do what exactly?” Lorne eyed her daughter with curiosity.

  “Agility or that fly-ball thingamajig! What do you think?”

  Lorne raised her eyebrow. “I think it’s a brilliant idea, but I have some reservations about it.”

  “Oh, what’s that, Mum?” Charlie asked, disappointment showing on her face.

  “First of all, I’m not sure you’ll have the time to train him, and secondly, what if you do all that training and someone comes along wanting to adopt him?”

  Charlie thought about her mother’s suggestion for a while before she said quietly, “We could always keep him. Henry could do with a playmate around here.”

  Lorne shook her head and smiled. It was the same old reply, which happened at least twice every couple of months when Charlie got emotionally attached to one of her charges. Rusty was indeed a sweet dog, but Lorne was loyal to her old pal, Henry. They’d been through some very rough times together, and he was devoted to her. She couldn’t do anything to upset their master-dog relationship.

  “Mum, please?” Charlie persisted in a whiny voice.

  “We’ll see. I’ll have a quiet chat with Henry later, see how he feels about your plan, all right? That’s the best I can do. Take it or leave it, girlie.”

  Her daughter’s mouth turned down, and she bent to pat Henry on the head. “You wouldn’t mind having a playmate around the house, would you?”

  Henry glanced up at her and whimpered. Lorne laughed. “I guess the mighty dog has spoken.”

  Charlie left the kitchen in a strop.

  “Poor Charlie,” Tony leaned in and whispered. “Hey, it might be good for her to have a new interest. It’s still dog related, after all. It wouldn’t hurt to think it over for twenty-four hours or so, sweetheart.”

  “Hark at you, sticking up for Charlie.”

  Tony lifted his shoulder. “She’s been really making an effort lately. It’d be good to give her a new interest and show her how much you trust her now.”

  Lorne leaned over and hugged him. “You’re right, of course, as usual, oh husband of mine. I’ll make her suffer a little before I cave in though, eh?”

  He pushed her away and tapped her on the backside. “You’re wicked. Shoo! You better get ready. Jade will only start panicking if you’re late.”

  “The appointment with the psych is hours away, but I did tell her that I’d treat her to a late lunch in town first. I’ll grab a quick shower and set off. Will you be all right?” She motioned towards his leg.

  He slapped his thigh and nodded. “It’ll be fine once the painkillers start to work their magic.”

  Lorne went upstairs and was showered changed and ready to go after an hour. As she passed Charlie’s room, she heard her daughter talking to a friend on her mobile, laughing and joking. It sounded good to have her daughter back and enjoying life once more. She had a feeling she would be crowned Mum of the Year later, when she told Charlie the good news about Rusty.

  “Don’t forget I’ll be back late. I have that prospective new client to see after Jade’s appointment,” she told Tony when she went back downstairs.

  “Don’t worry about us. I’ll knock up something simple for dinner that doesn’t involve burning your pots. I think my cooking skills are up to beans on toast by now.”

  Lorne kissed him on the lips. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, hon. I promise. See you later.”

  “Say hello to Jade for me and tell her to keep her chin up.”

  “I will.”

  Lorne drove to Jade and Luigi’s house, which was about ten miles away. As soon as she laid eyes on Jade, she could tell her sister wasn’t in the best of moods. Her sister’s foul mood got significantly worse when Lorne told her about her appointment she’d scheduled to take place after Jade’s meeting with the doctor. Instead of stopping at a pub for lunch, Lorne found the nearest bakers and bought a couple of sandwiches to eat in the car. Continuing on their journey, Lorne tried her hardest to make small talk, but her attempts at conversation were met with the odd grunt and little else, until they parked in the psychiatrist’s car park. Jade turned to Lorne and uttered, “I can’t go in there.”

  “Come on, Jade. We’ve spoken at length about this. You need expert advice on how to get over Dad’s death.”

  “Why? Why can’t I do it in my own time? I’m not mad. You shouldn’t be forcing me to see a shrink.”

  Lorne shook her head. “That’s not fair, and you know it. We all discussed this before the appointment was even thought about being made.”

  “Did we?” her sister screeched back.

  Lorne started the engine again. “Okay, we’ll go then, but when you get home, you’ll have to explain to Luigi why you didn’t keep the appointment. I’m not going to be relied upon to do that.”

  Jade broke down in tears, and Lorne shut her eyes in defeat. The last thing she had wanted was to force her sister to do something she really didn’t want to do. She switched the engine off again, unbuckled her seatbelt, and swivelled in her seat to face Jade. Gathering her sister’s hands together, she settled them in her own lap. “Sweetheart, if you really don’t want to go through with this, then we can drive away now. Honestly, it makes no odds to me if you go in there or not. However, what does matter to me is that I get my sister back. I don’t want to keep walking on eggshells around you. None of us do.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. Sorry that I’ve been such a bitch lately.”

  “I’m not asking for an apology. I just want you to be happy again. Dad’s gone, and there’s little we can do to change that, Sis.” Lorne lifted her sister’s hands to her own chest. “But he lives on in our hearts. That’s the thing we must cling to. He was lost without Mum. You know that as well as I do. Think of how happy they must be to be reunited once more. They’re looking down on us now, holding hands. It would destroy them to know how hard you’re finding it to get through losing Dad.”

  Jade looked out the side window and sighed heavily. “I guess. I want to be happy again. It’s just, I feel guilty.”

  “Why on earth do you feel guilty?”

  “Because I wasn’t there for him at the end. I knew he wasn’t very well…”

  “That’s nonsense. If anyone should feel guilty about not being there with him at the end, it should be me.”

  Jade looked back at her. “You were tied up, literally. At least you had a good excuse.”

  “Yeah, I know. It was no fun being abducted by that madman. Look at it this way. I feel guilty for putting Dad under that added stress.”

  “I never thought of it that way before. How do you cope with the guilt? Obviously, better than me. What’s your secret?”

  Lorne’s mouth turned down as she thought. “I really don’t know, Sis. I guess we handle things differently. You were always the most sensitive one growing up.”

  “Yeah, you have a point. I did, or do tend to, take things to heart a bit.”

  “Everyone deals with life and death differently, hon. Come on, give this guy a go, eh?” Jade hesitated for a moment or two until Lorne added, “For me. Pretty please?”

  Jade put her hand on the door handle and shrugged. “What have I got to lose?”

  “That’s my girl.”

  The young, attractive receptionist greeted them with the warmest of smiles. “Dr. Lamont is running a little behind, I’m afraid. He shouldn’t be too long. Please take a seat.”

  “That’s okay,” Lorne replied, thinking the opposite. The last thing she wanted was to be late for her appointment at the new client’s house.

  Lorne surveyed the waiting room with her designer’s eye. Seeing a waiting room decorated with such detail was unusual, and she suspected that the practice had hired a professional designer to make it such a welcoming, friendly, and even safe atmosphere. The w
alls had been painted a soft-coffee colour, and the doctor’s door was situated in the middle of a patterned feature wall that consisted of a subtle brown-and-beige leaf pattern.

  “It’s nice here,” Jade whispered.

  “It is indeed. Let’s just say if I were a patient here, I’d feel a lot calmer after sitting in this waiting room.”

  “Actually, you’re right. I do feel pretty calm right now.”

  The door to the doctor’s office opened, and a pretty young woman with flushed cheeks, walked out with her head bowed, then stopped at the receptionist’s desk with a tall distinguished-looking man in his early forties.

  After scheduling another appointment with the young lady, the doctor turned and stood in front of Lorne and Jade. “Mrs. Bidnotti, I’m ready for you now.”

  Lorne turned to Jade. “This is Mrs. Bidnotti, my sister. Go on, hon. You’ll be fine.”

  “Follow me if you will?” the doctor said brusquely.

  Jade looked panic stricken as she walked through the doorway to his office. The doctor glanced back at Lorne and offered her a slight reassuring smile, letting her know that her sister was in safe hands. She flipped through the pages of a Homes and Gardens magazine which had been sitting on the coffee table in front of her for the next hour or so, until the door opened again.

  Jade avoided Lorne’s gaze when she exited the room and made another appointment with the receptionist.

  The doctor shook hands with her sister, nodded curtly to Lorne, and disappeared back into his office.

  “Everything all right?”

  “We’ll talk in the car,” Jade insisted, her eyes wide with what appeared to be fear.

  The receptionist handed Jade an appointment card, and she dashed out of the building before Lorne could utter another word. Jade threw herself against the car and folded her arms tightly across her chest.

  Oh dear, this doesn’t look good. Lorne unlocked the doors, and they both got in. “Are you going to talk to me?”

  “About what?”

  Lorne took the hint and backed off, the way she always did when her younger sister was in one of her notoriously bad moods. She started the car and pulled off, heading towards the East End as she’d planned.

  “Home isn’t this way. I want to go home.”

  “Jade, I told you, I have to drop in and see a prospective client.”

  “And that’s your problem, isn’t it? You put your work before your family. You always have done.”

  Lorne’s head snapped round to look at her sister and then quickly turned back to face the oncoming traffic. “That’s totally unfair—”

  “Is it? Really? Think about it, sister dearest. I think other family members would come down on my side on this one. Tom, Charlie—even Dad if he was still here.”

  Lorne could feel her blood boiling but bit down hard on her tongue rather than vent her anger at her sister. She suspected that the psychiatrist had told her sister some home truths that she probably wasn’t willing to accept, so Jade was intent on taking her frustrations out on her sister, just as she always did. Lorne remained silent, not really knowing how to retort to the accusation without hurting her sister.

  Jade had other ideas, though. “If you hadn’t put your job first, your marriage to Tom would still be okay. Charlie wouldn’t have been raped as a teenager by that sicko, and Dad…‌Dad would still be with us today.”

  Lorne surveyed the road ahead and pulled into the nearest available space. Turning in her seat, she narrowed her eyes and said in a calm voice, “I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment to you, Jade. All I’ve ever done is try to serve my country, try to make the streets of the UK a safer place for people to live and enjoy their lives. If in the process of doing that I’ve managed to rip my family apart, then it’s something that I will always have to live with. I’m sorry you detest me so much. I really didn’t have a clue until now. I’ll ring and cancel the appointment and take you home.”

  Jade’s mouth dropped open, and she appeared to attempt to form a word or two, but Lorne’s statement had floored her. Lorne reached into her bag and pulled out her mobile and the slip of paper with Stacy Meldrew’s number written on it.

  “What are you doing?” Jade asked quietly.

  “Cancelling my appointment.”

  “Don’t. I’m sorry. Please don’t do that.”

  “No, I’d feel better taking you back home. I wouldn’t want to put your life in danger any more than necessary.”

  “I’ve said I’m sorry, Lorne. Just forget what I said and keep your appointment.” Her eyes welled up with tears.

  “If you’re sure? I really don’t want to inconvenience you.”

  “You’re not. Now drive.”

  Lorne smiled apologetically and indicated into the flow of traffic once again. Silence filled the car for the rest of the journey. She pulled up outside the small terraced house. “I won’t be long. Here, pick out something nice to listen to.” She handed her sister a CD wallet full of varied CDs, some belonging to her and some that were Tony’s odd choices.

  “No thanks. We have different tastes in music.”

  And everything else, apparently, she thought as she left the car and trotted up the small path in front of the house. A woman standing in the bay window waved at Lorne, and within seconds, the front door opened.

  “Stacy? I’m Lorne. I hope I’m not too late?”

  “Come in, please. No, you’re bang on time.” The woman closed the door behind them and then led the way up the hallway to the large kitchen at the rear of the house.

  Stacy headed towards the kettle and flicked the switch. “Would you like a coffee?”

  “Just a quick one, thank you. I have my sister waiting for me in the car.”

  “I see. Okay, what would you like to know?” She poured the boiling water onto the coffee granules and offered Lorne the mug. “Help yourself to cream and sugar.”

  “Thanks. When was the last time you physically saw your sister, in the flesh?” Lorne asked as they walked through to the lounge.

  Stacy sat on the brightly coloured sofa and cradled her mug between her hands. “I think it was either Wednesday or Thursday last week. The days are just a blur right now.”

  Lorne sat in the armchair opposite the woman. “And how did she seem?”

  “Fine. Just the same as normal. Which is why I’m so worried about her. If something untoward was going on in her private life, she would have told me. We tell each other everything.”

  “Everything?” Lorne found that hard to believe, given her relationship with her own sister. Surely, it didn’t do to tell someone everything going on in your life.

  “Yes, everything. We’re closer than best friends.”

  “I see. Does your sister have a boyfriend, or is she married?”

  “No. I’m all she has,” Stacy reiterated. “Wait a minute. She used to have a boyfriend a few years back with whom she had problems.”

  Lorne raised a questioning eyebrow. “What kind of problems?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I seem to remember him being rather possessive, kind of suffocating at times. I didn’t get to see him much—or her, for that matter—when she was going out with him. If he didn’t want to go anywhere, they didn’t go.”

  “Do you have an address for this guy?”

  “No…‌what the dickens was his name?”

  “It would really get the investigation going if you could remember.”

  Stacy put her mug on the coffee table and went over to a pine sideboard. She opened one of the drawers and searched around, showing signs of frustration when she obviously couldn’t find what she was looking for. Moving on to the next drawer, she tossed aside a few items. “There you are.” She brought a slip of paper back and handed it to Lorne.

  “They were engaged!” Lorne glanced down at the invite in amazement.

  “Yeah, kind of. Karen arranged it all. Printed the invites, booked the community hall, and the caterer, but he refused to go.”

 
“Wow, really? Sounds like a nice guy. What was the reason behind his refusal, do you know?”

  Stacy reached for her mug and sat down on the sofa again. She shrugged. “Who knows? He’s one weird guy. No one really understands what she saw in him. I think she was clutching at straws, you know, afraid of being left on the shelf.”

  “I’ve heard of that happening before. Actually, a good friend of mine married her older boyfriend when she was eighteen, fearing the same thing. It’s strange how the human brain functions at times.”

  “Did your friend’s marriage last?” Stacy asked.

  “About seven years in total. It was a complete nightmare. So, he’s called Paul Cram. I don’t suppose you have an address for him?”

  “No. The last time I heard, he’d moved. Good riddance, too, I say.”

  “I have a contact in the police who I can call on to trace him. Any idea when he moved? Where he works?”

  Stacy thought over the question and glanced out the window. “Sorry. To be honest, I wasn’t that interested in him, full stop. When Karen used to talk about him, I sort of switched off. I’m regretting that now, mind.”

  “No problem. If he’s still in the area, we’ll find him. Enough about him. What job does Karen do?”

  “She’s a secretary at a law firm. A property lawyer in the city.”

  “I’ll need a contact name there, too.”

  “Her immediate boss is a woman. Not many men working there as far as I can recall, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “Ah, right. I’ll give them a ring anyway. We need to cover every angle. Was your sister happy? Let me rephrase that. Does she have a happy disposition? I need to find out more about her character.”

  “I wouldn’t say she was dancing-for-joy happy. She just seemed to plod along, really. Do you know, I’ve never really thought about it before.”

  “That’s not uncommon and completely understandable as people have their own lives to lead. Is there anything else that you might think will help aid my search for Karen? Anything at all?”

  “Not that I can think of. Just please do all you can to find her. I’m lost without her. About payment, do you want an advance?”