'I'm only asking.'
Her head snapped forward, eyes open, shining. 'Why won't you shut up about it?'
'I don't know,' I said. I didn't.
'Just let it rest,' Holly said. 'I've said sorry till I'm hoarse. What more do you want from me?'
I reached across the table and took hold of her hand.
'Would you like to sleep with her again?' I asked. 'Answer me.'
'Would you?' She pulled her hand away.
Allan Guthrie
Bye Bye Baby
THURSDAY
14
Mrs Wilson's shrink was called Dr Snow. She greeted me at the door to her office with a walking stick and a cute smile. Twenty years younger and I'd have said she was flirting with me. Maybe she was.
She limped over to one of the two chairs in front of her desk. 'Please,' she said, pointing with her walking stick.
I took the free seat.
'Thanks for coming.' She swept her stringy grey hair out of her eyes. 'It's kind of you.' She smoothed her skirt.
'Wasn't my decision to make,' I said. 'But I admit I'm curious.'
'Indeed, Mrs Wilson's is a curious case.' She smiled again, the skin around her eyes creasing. 'She called me this morning in a terrible state.'
'Bruce not returned?' I grinned but Dr Snow didn't grin back.
'You know, officer, that Bruce has gone missing before?'
'Twice,' I said. Oh, yeah. I'd been told all about it.
'And you know he turned up after a couple of days?'
I nodded. The information had been there at Dutton's fingertips. He knew Mrs Wilson was a nutjob. All he'd done was send around a couple of uniforms to pacify her and then when I'd walked past his desk, he'd decided to have some fun at my expense.
I doubt he thought it would get as far as it did, though. Never expected he'd get to make such a monumental fool out of me.
'This time it's different,' Dr Snow said. 'There's been a development.'
I waited, wondering what was coming. My uncle had just told me to get over here pronto, that the shrink would provide the details. And that I was to report to him afterwards.
'Mrs Wilson has received a demand for money.' Dr Snow paused. 'Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, to be precise.'
'Oh, that's beautiful,' I said. The crazy woman had written herself a ransom note. 'She's let her imagination run riot.'
'Well, I think it's a natural progression. And if you think about it, it's not a bad thing.'
'How can that be?' I asked. 'She's getting worse, surely.'
'On the surface, that's how it might look. But I think it might be her way of finally letting go.' The shrink leaned towards me as if she was going to tell me a secret. She even lowered her voice. 'I believe she's tried before.' Her breath smelled of strawberries. 'The previous disappearances of her son were an attempt to let go of the illusion that he was still alive. But it was too easy for him to come back. Maybe it's necessary for her to add a kidnapping and ransom demand. Maybe if she doesn't pay it, something happens to Bruce and…' She spread her fingers.
'And this time he doesn't come back?' I asked.
She nodded, sat upright.
'I can appreciate all this,' I said. 'But why did you want to speak to me?'
'It's important that Mrs Wilson follows this through. She mentioned your colleague, DC Mason.'
'Erica, yes.'
'Who kindly gave me the name of Detective Inspector Fleck. Said I should talk to him.'
'And you did and he sent me along,' I said. 'I'm second best, then.'
'We have to use what we're given.' She smiled again. 'He spoke very highly of you.'
'That's because he's my uncle.'
She started to laugh.
'Honestly,' I said. 'He is. And he has to say nice things about me or my mum gets angry.'
'Quite,' she said. 'But joking aside, none of us want Mrs Wilson to pay the ransom.'
'Can she afford to?'
'She's a wealthy woman. Her husband was a partner in a major law firm. And he had some nice investments. When he died, he left her quite a bit. The house was paid off. And there was insurance money. I've no doubt Mrs Wilson could pay the ransom several times over.'
'I'm a cop, Dr Snow,' I said. 'And I'm not sure this is police work.'
'Despite what your uncle says?'
I nodded. 'I solve crimes. That's my job.'
'Then at least check it out,' Dr Snow said.
'But there's no crime.'
'Mrs Wilson says she has a ransom note. Is it not a crime to demand money from someone?'
'We know she wrote it herself.'
'Do we?' Dr Snow asked.
'If she didn't, then who did?'
Dr Snow smiled. 'Like I said, you should at least check it out.'
15
Fifteen minutes later I was in Mrs Wilson's sitting room.
'Can I see the ransom note?' I asked her.
'No.'
Her response surprised me. She'd seemed pleased to see me when she answered the door. She looked older, the tension in her face more obvious. The twitch in her eye was regular now, every few seconds.
'It's evidence, Mrs Wilson.' I dug in my pocket, took out my notebook. 'I need to see it.'
'You can't.' She looked through the bay windows at the empty street outside. 'I destroyed it.'
I couldn't control myself. I said, 'For God's sake.'
She turned her attention away from the peaceful scene outside. Placed her right hand on her left shoulder and squeezed as if the muscle was sore.
'I'm sorry,' I said.
'He told me to.'
'Who did?' I asked.
'The man who took Bruce.'
'Mrs Wilson, are you sure there was a note?'
She put her hands on her head and pressed down. She rocked backwards and forwards a few times. 'It was on a sheet of A4,' she said. 'Folded in three. The words were made out of letters cut out of magazines. Or newspapers.'
