Missing: The Body of Evidence (6 page)

Half
an hour had passed and Nancy was getting nowhere trying to find out any
background on the professor. Her extension rang and she answered. Claire in
reception was on the line.

‘There’s a woman in reception with some
information on the fire at the professor’s apartment.’

‘On my way.’

Nancy ended the call and almost tripped on
her chair legs, in her excitement to get to reception.

‘Nice one with the T-shirt,’ she said. ‘Where’s
the woman?’

Claire opened a drawer of her desk and
slapped an extra-large department T-shirt on the desk. They shared a high-five.

‘Couldn’t resist having a dig at Logan,’
said Claire, ‘the woman’s waiting in interview-room two, Mary Goodyear.’

Nancy entered the interview room. A woman
in her late forties sat at the desk. Her auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail
and she was smartly dressed, with a tweed skirt and white blouse. The
half-rimmed glasses she was wearing gave her the look of a schoolteacher.

Nancy introduced herself and sat opposite
the woman.

‘I’m here to make a statement.’

‘Statement?’

‘Yes, I want to tell you the details of the
fire I saw on the news.’

‘Let’s talk about what you know first and
then we can write up a statement.’

‘No. Write out a statement as I go along
and give me a copy.’

Nancy changed her mind about the woman. Her
manner was more like Nancy’s old headmistress than a teacher and probably a
crank, but she thought it best to humour her.

She took down her details on the statement
sheet.

‘Right, in your own words.’

‘Just so you know; I’m a psychic medium. I
listened to the news report on television and immediately had a vision of the
incident.’

Nancy baulked at the revelation. She
thought her first instinct had proven correct and she was a crank. Goodyear
continued with her statement.

‘It was thundering and lightning outside
the apartment. I saw the back of a man’s head as he sat in an armchair and he
was resting a glass of wine on the arm of the chair. Ball lightning flashed
through the window of the apartment and struck his body. That’s all I can tell
you.’

‘Can you describe the room?’

The woman described the furnishings of the
room in detail. Nancy placed her pen on the desk and sat back. She was
staggered; the description was the same as what she had seen in the apartment.

‘Have you ever helped the police before?’

‘Just the once, many years ago, I helped
solve a murder case. You can check with Sergeant Holloway at New York Police
Department. It was the Joe Bollinger case. Now can I sign, I have to be going.’

‘Yes, of course.’ The woman read and then
signed the statement. ‘Wait here, I’ll make a copy for you.’

Nancy exited the room in a trance. If the
woman was right, she knew they were wasting their time with the janitor.

She phoned the New York Police department
and spoke to Sergeant Holloway who confirmed the woman’s part in solving the
Bollinger case. Nancy placed the statement in the file she had prepared for the
case and walked to Logan’s office. She tapped the door and entered. Someone had
found Logan some tracksuit bottoms and Claire must have taken pity on him as he
was wearing a department T-shirt that fit him.

‘You need to see this.’

She handed him the file. He read the
statement. His eyes rolled as he snapped the file closed.

‘She seems credible. Some mediums have been
useful to us in the past. Her statement could cause us problems. It’s too late
to call off the search warrant. The search team will be at Kelly’s apartment
now. Tell her we’ll get in touch if we have any further questions.’

Nancy left the office, returned to the
interview room, handed the woman her copy and shook hands.

‘We’ll be in touch if we need you.’

The woman held her hand in an iron grip,
before releasing it and stepping back.

‘Your Aura, it’s very strong. I can tell
from the colours surrounding you that you have a gift, dear. You should visit a
spiritualist church. They can guide you.’

The woman turned and walked out of the
interview room. Nancy didn’t know what to make of what she had said, and stood
for a while in stunned silence before returning to her desk. Kyle walked over
to join her. He looked sheepish and began to stutter.

‘I.... I…’

‘No, I’ll talk first. Sorry about earlier,
bad day all around. I’ll have a good sleep tonight, and then maybe we can talk
about that weekend you mentioned.’

His mouth curled into a smile.

‘Kelly’s attorney is here, will you join me
in the interview room. He’s no one I have ever seen before and he’s talking
with Kelly in a private office. Logan has just taken a call from the search
team. He says to stall the attorney and he’ll join us. It’s your case, you take
the lead.’

Nancy gave him a self-satisfied smile and
led the way. The attorney and Kelly exited the private office. Nancy introduced
herself to the attorney and pointed him in the direction of the interview room
where they sat facing each other.

‘My client doesn’t have anything further he
can help you with, he has been helpful and seeing you haven’t charged him we’re
leaving now.’

Nancy floundered. She knew they could walk.
Goodyear’s statement fresh in her mind had sapped her confidence.

‘We appreciate your client helping us. We
just have a few more questions. Surely he would want to help us with the
accident investigation,’ she said.

‘Sorry, unless you are going to charge him
with something, we’re walking. Any further questions would be just a fishing
expedition.’

Nancy scoffed and wondered if the use of
the clichéd
fishing expedition
was an obligatory phrase that attorneys
had to learn by heart, before they were allowed to sit the bar exam. The
attorney and Kelly stood to leave. The door to the interview room opened and
Logan breezed in, sporting a new shirt, tie and suit.

‘Going somewhere?’ Logan asked.

‘Yes, we’re just leaving.’

‘No one’s going anywhere, least of all Mr.
Kelly here.’

Logan thrust a copy of the search warrant
at the attorney. The attorney inspected it.

‘We’re still leaving, seeing as there are
no charges.’

‘How about murder one and the Federal
offence of kidnapping... Oh, and let’s not forget the theft of a lasagne.’

Logan winked at Nancy.
Kidnapping.
She
was as intrigued as the attorney looked dumbfounded. The attorney gave a
sideways glance at his client. Nancy could see panic written all over the
expression on Kelly’s face.

‘You can’t be serious. Where’s the proof?’
The attorney asked

‘We’ve already carried out the warrant, and
found a young man locked in the bedroom of Mr. Kelly’s apartment. Oh, and we
found a lasagne package that I am sure forensics will prove was stolen from the
professor’s apartment. That will put your client in the apartment of the
deceased since he was last seen alive.’

‘I...’ Kelly started to mumble something,
but the attorney stopped him short with an elbow in his ribs.

‘Don’t say anything, Mr. Kelly,’ the
attorney said. ‘I need to talk with my client.’

‘Sure take all the time in the world,
because he ain’t going nowhere,’ Logan said.

Logan, Kyle and Nancy all left the
interview room.

‘If Kelly tries to walk before the kidnap
victim gets here... read him his rights and book him for all three.’ Logan said
it loud enough so that the attorney could hear him before he closed the door.

An impending sense of victory restored her
faith. However, just where a possible kidnap would fit into the scheme of
things eluded her deliberation and was beyond any hunch she had worked out. All
she could do was wait to see what the alleged kidnap victim had to say.

Kyle,
Nancy and Logan waited for the arrival of the kidnap victim. Logan’s extension
rang. He answered the telephone call and placed the handset back on the cradle.

‘Right, he’s here, Nancy, you interview
him,’ Logan said.

The young man walked down the corridor from
reception, flanked by uniformed officers. His appearance stopped Nancy
mid-step. His head bowed, wearing black jeans and a hooded top, he matched the
description of the youth who was the last person to see the professor alive.
Nancy thought the turn of events could not be better and that she was about to
unravel the mystery surrounding the professor’s death.

‘He’s not talking, he seems traumatized,’
said one of the officers. ‘He was cowering in a corner when we knocked the
bedroom door down.’

‘This way,’ said Nancy and directed the
young man into an interview room.

They both sat down and Nancy asked him if
she could get him anything, but he didn’t respond. No matter how she tried to
converse with him, he just sat there with his head bowed.

‘What’s your name?’ she asked. ‘Where are
you from?’

He looked up and gazed at her. He had the
most amazing penetrating blue eyes and an angelic face. Nancy was concerned; he
looked the age of a juvenile.

‘Please, just remove your hood for me. How
old are you?’

He raised his arms and slowly removed his
hood. Nancy pushed her chair back and turned to the two-way mirror, her mouth
frozen open.

‘Why are they watching?’ The young man
asked.

Nancy turned her head to face him and
couldn’t take her eyes from his gaze. His head was shaven and elongated at the
back of his skull, like an Egyptian prince. What looked like two press-studs
were embedded in his forehead and there was a row of four studs down either
side of his skull.

‘We’re worried about you. We need to find
out who you are so we can tell your parents.’

‘Then why take me away?’ His answer
confused her.

‘Wait here, I’ll be back soon with some
answers.’

He grabbed her arm and then let go.

‘I like you, you’re like me. Don’t let them
take me back.’ His voice was soft and there was no alarm in his expression,
just a smile.

‘Back where?’

He raised his hood, bowed his head and
remained silent.

Nancy stepped out of the room, to be met by
Logan and Kyle.

‘Did you see his head? I’m guessing he’s a
juvenile, can’t be more than seventeen. We can’t continue with the interview.
We need a doctor, or a shrink to take a look at him,’ said Nancy.

‘The doctor is already on his way. I ain’t
ever seen anything like that with his head,’ Logan said.

The door to Kelly’s interview room opened
and the attorney joined them in the corridor.

‘Has Mr. Kelly’s son arrived? You can’t
interview him without me or his dad being present.’

‘Son?’ Nancy’s jaw dropped and her eyes
looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets.

‘That’s right, son. His name is David. He’s
retarded. Kelly had to lock him in the bedroom for his own safety and to
accompany Detective Roberts.’

‘He’s in this room here,’ said Nancy.

She looked at Kyle who rolled his eyes and
then at Logan. Logan’s shoulders dropped and he looked to have lost six-inches
in height. The attorney opened the door and Nancy followed him into the room.

‘Hi, David, I’m your attorney, your father is
in the next room, we’re going to take you home. Your dad sent you this, your favourite
cherry flavour.’

He handed him a gum wrapper. The boy
snatched the gum from him; he removed the wrapper and popped the gum in his
mouth.

The attorney turned to Nancy, Logan and
Kyle who were standing at the doorway.

‘Now, if you don’t mind, Mr. Kelly and his
son will be leaving. You’ll be receiving a bill for any smashed doors.’

‘How do we know it’s his son?’ Nancy asked.

‘I’ll give you five minutes to check
records and then we’re leaving. Even if there are prints on the lasagne
packaging, there’s nothing to say he didn’t give it to Mr. Kelly. And as you
can see, he’s an alcoholic, so his recollections were bound to lead to
inconsistencies.’

Nancy backed out of the room, joined Kyle
and Logan and closed the door. The whole situation surrounding the boy’s
appearance was surreal.

‘What do we do now?’ Nancy asked Logan.

‘Do as he says, check with records and if
it is his son let them go. We’d have to show everything we have on file to his
attorney if we charged him and the medium’s statement would blow any case
apart. Ball lightning seems plausible, there was thundering and lightning on
the night. I have no doubt the defence could come up with an expert to say ball
lighting could cause temperatures high enough to fry the body to ashes. The
only other thing we can do is to have social services look in on his son. Case
closed and onto the next.’

Nancy’s ego deserted her, taking a stage
left as Logan and Kyle ambled away, leaving her isolated. Her posture slouched.
Eyes burned a hole in her as she shuffled to her desk, but she ignored her
colleagues’ gazes. She checked public records and conceded it was Kelly’s son.
Kyle joined her at her desk and knelt down.

‘Listen, Nance, great job. Just forget it
and move onto the next case. I’ve had it happen to me many times, so I know
what you are going through. Now, how about tonight, and this weekend away we
need to arrange?’

The weekend was sounding like a good idea,
but Nancy didn’t feel up to meeting that evening. He was right; she thought a
weekend charging her batteries was just what she needed.

‘Weekend sounds good, but I’ll give a rain
check on tonight. Maybe tomorrow, eh?’

‘Sure.’ Kyle squeezed her hand, smiled and
walked away. Nancy walked to the interview room and gave the attorney the all
clear.

‘Was David a patient of the professor? A
witness said something about taking him back the night before the fire?’

‘Don’t push it,’ he said and brushed past
her.

She watched as the attorney and the boy
walked down the corridor and collected Mr. Kelly.

The young boy turned and looked at her, his
eyes pleading.
Don’t let them make me do it,
she thought she heard him
say, but his lips didn’t move.

‘Damn, I need to call it a day.’