Searching for Scarlet - Part 4

Chapter 15

Sandi Lords Journal

Sun 2nd April

This morning Scarlet is out for her run for at least two hours rather than her usual one. When she gets back looking sweaty, red faced and injury free, our conversation goes something like this:

‘Where’ve you been? I thought you must have twisted an ankle or something,’ I think I managed to not sound too much like an over caring mother.

‘Sorry. Nothing bad, only took so long because I ended up fucking the guy next door on my way back,’ she spoke as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Really?’ I couldn’t help sounding surprised. ‘You fucked him before?’

‘No, today was our first time.’

‘How did that happen?’

‘He was out in the garden so I thought it was just polite to stop and say hello, introduce myself.’

‘How did you introduce yourself? Hi I’m Scarlet, you wanna fuck?’

‘Not even I’m that blunt, not very often anyway. We just did a little small talk and he invited me in for a drink. Both of us could sense the attraction and both of us acted on it, simple as that really.’

‘You certainly got a much bigger reaction out of him than I did.’

‘I keep telling you honey, you could be like me if you wanted to. But you don’t, and that’s fine, as long as you’re happy with that. I’m certainly not saying my way of life is the way everybody should live. Just be who you want to be.’

She went for her post-run shower and I was left pondering her words. Who do I want to be? Can’t possibly deny I’m envious of the way Scarlet lives, but would I actually enjoy behaving like that myself or would I feel completely uncomfortable.

Fri 7th April

With about an hour to go before closing time at the bar, one guy I’m serving leaves me a note. It has is phone number on it and says call if I want to have some fun after I finish work. He is really good looking and I am tempted from the moment I read the note. For the rest of my shift I can’t stop thinking about him. Wearing the very flattering little, black dress had obviously created the image I’d desired. Although to be honest I only thought of it as a way to get more tips, not as a way to end up getting hit on. As I’m leaving the bar I still haven’t made up my mind. I look at the piece of paper one more time as I’m walking out. A thought crosses my mind, “what would Scarlet do?” I get my phone out and start dialling. He answers quickly and surprises me when he says ‘Hi Sandi.’ I ask him how he knew my name and how he knew it was me calling. My name tag at work explained the name and a hand on my bare shoulder soon explained how he knew it was me calling. He’d been waiting across the street for me to leave, he wanted to be close by if I did call. His touch makes me jump a little, but when I turn around I feel a sense of excitement. This must be how Scarlet feels, I thought, although she’s probably much more in control at this point.

‘So what kind of fun are you looking for?’ He asked.

‘I was thinking the sex kind,’ I did my best to act as I thought Scarlet would, cool and calm as if I did this sort of thing all the time.

‘My favourite kind,’ he said then went to kiss me.

Completely caught up in the moment, I let him kiss me, then I started kissing him back. At first it felt like a good kiss, as if it could turn into one of those stomach drop type kisses that everybody wants. After a few moments though it started feeling terrible, he hadn’t done anything different, it just didn’t feel at all right anymore. I broke away from the kiss.

‘Sorry, sorry, I can’t do this,’ I said then turned and headed for my car, first walking, then breaking into a run. He called after me, but thankfully didn’t run after me. The thought of him being the sort of guy that wouldn’t take no for an answer, especially after a kiss, scared me more than anything had ever done before.

When I got home I went straight to bed and cried myself to sleep. I’d had a glimpse of what it was like to be like Scarlet and I didn’t like it. It was confusing, just who was I supposed to be?

May

This month was all about one thing, passing my exams. Manage to dedicate myself to my college work, cut down on my shifts at the bar and even spent the last weekend before the exams in my dorm room, rather than the house, to limit the distractions. With Scarlet coming into my life and changes that have come with that, I’ve not managed to be as focused on my college work as normal throughout the semester. So to start with my revision was tougher than normal. After a couple of tough days though I feel I’m up to my usual level and still go into the exams with plenty of confidence. Exams themselves go about as well as I could have hoped for, with no really awkward questions stumping me.

So another year of college is behind me and I head into another summer. This summer though there actually is a decent chance of an exciting one, or at least an eventful one. Living with Scarlet for a few months can’t be dull.

Chapter 16

Sunday 25th June

The first few weeks of the summer break have gone by in a reasonably uneventful manner. Lots of sunbathing on the beach, sometimes with Scarlet sometimes without. Still keeping on top of the gym visits, Scarlet inspires me and pushes me along. Gambling is ticking along quite nicely, plenty of time for my research at the moment and it’s paying dividends. Scarlet continues to live her hedonistic life and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Not quite the exciting, action packed summer I was thinking I could have, but it’s still great to be living independently and sharing a house with someone I like and get on with so well.

Monday 25th June

Go out shopping for the day and just as I get back to my car I see a guy who literally stops me in my tracks. He’s not even absolutely gorgeous in the classic sense at all, but there’s something about him that just makes me look at him. Smartly dressed in a classy suit, looks to be in his early forties but that doesn’t put me off at all. He is walking from his car as I’m walking to mine. I can’t bring myself to say anything to him as we cross. Instead I sit in my car and wait for him, thinking about how I can make contact with him. This time I’m not really thinking about how Scarlet would handle the situation, I want me to handle it. So I end up concocting a silly plan. Park my car in the bay directly opposite his and wait for him to come back. As soon as I see him heading for his car I jump out of mine and go and stand by his. When he gets right up to his car the conversation goes something like this:

‘Hi I’m really sorry,’ I do my best to be attention grabbing. ‘I was reversing my car out and I think I might have just bumped yours a little.’

‘What?!’

‘It was only the slightest bump, I may not have even touched it, I might just have come very close to it. I’ve had a look and I can’t see any sign of any damage at all,’ this seems to calm him and he inspects the front of his car himself.

‘You’re right there’s no sign of any damage at all,’ he said with a large amount of relief.

‘I thought I should wait for you anyway just to let you know what happened.’

‘Very good of you.’

‘Perhaps we should swap phone numbers, just in case there is some damage that neither of us can see.’

‘I don’t think that’ll be necessary, it really looks like you’ve not hit it.’

‘No harm in swapping numbers,’ I do my best sweet and innocent smile and flash my eyes at him.

He looks momentarily taken aback and as if he’s trying to work out if I’m actually hitting on him. ‘Guess not,’ he says with his own smile.

We swap numbers and I go back to my car feeling all pleased with myself for finding a way to hit on a guy without turning into Scarlet.

Monday 3rd July

It’s been a week since the car park meeting and still no contact from the mystery guy. I come out of the gym in the evening, after an exhaustive workout, and sit in my car, wondering whether to make the first move myself. Decide that I should take the initiative, just to make it clear I am interested then it’s up to him to respond. Can’t quite pluck up enough courage to call him, instead I go for the safer option of a text message. Being turned down via text would have a lesser affect on the ego, than being turned down during a phone conversation. I try to get the balance of the message right between making it clear that I am interested in him but also acknowledging that although I’m being forward, I’m not going to turn into a crazy bunny boiler. My message reads; ‘Hi this is Sandi the girl who bumped your car last week. This might be a little crazy but I was just wondering whether you’d like to go out sometime?’ As soon as I send it I start wondering about whether it was the right thing to do or not. Drive home, glancing at my phone at every set of lights to see if there’s a reply but there isn’t. Get home just as Scarlet is leaving for work. I’m not working tonight so I go to my room and try to find something to occupy myself, so I’m not just sitting around waiting for a response to my message. Put some music on and do a bit of tidying up, but nothing can take my mind off my phone. About ten o’clock just when I’m giving up on the chance of a reply, my message alert tone sounds. Surely it must be from him, I get so few text messages. As I go to the phone and open the message my heart is pounding. It is from him: ‘Would love to see you again, just getting on plane now, got business in Seattle all week. I’ll text you when I get to the hotel. xxx’. I actually do get quite giddy. Manage to calm myself and settle down to watch a DVD whilst lying in bed, hoping that by the time that’s finished he’ll be in his hotel room.

Turns out his name is Joe Elstob, he lives in Beverly Hills and is a seriously well off financial adviser. We have a text conversation well into the early hours of the morning. It starts with us telling each other about ourselves, he tells me how cute he thinks I am. Before long he’s full on hitting on me and it turns into a text sex session. Clearly that livens up his otherwise lonely night in a hotel room. When we’re done we swap email addresses and agree to chat again tomorrow night.

Tues 4th July

Scarlet and I have our own independence day party, by way of a trip to the beach for organised sunbathing. We’re out there all afternoon and into the early evening. Get a text from Joe, saying how much he enjoyed last night and how much he was looking forward to tonight. Showing no sign of being worried about being corny, he asks me what I’m wearing. Texting back telling him I’m in a bikini is enough to brighten his day.

Work in the evening, getting a few texts from Joe while I’m there which make it difficult to concentrate on mixing the drinks. Get home as quick as I can and just after midnight I begin my first ever cyber sex session. He gets me to send him some pictures of myself, nothing too sexy, bikini shots at the most. His pictures in reply aren’t as modest. Also he sends me the address of the hotel where he’s staying and his room number, I agree to send him some of my underwear.

Wed 5th July.

Post a couple of pairs of my unwashed panties to Joe. When the lady behind the counter at the post office asks me what’s in the package, I manage to come up with; ‘Just a T-shirt for a kid,’ without getting too flustered.

More cyber sex that night, with Joe going on his webcam. I don’t know whether it’s the older guy factor, or whether it’s just because there’s no actual physical contact, but I don’t get the horrible feeling I got from that kiss outside the bar. I wonder if it’s because it feels so surreal, so I don’t think of it as actually being me who is doing all these things, as if I can kid myself that it hasn’t really happened and it’s just a bit of fun. Eventually we both go to sleep well into the early hours of the morning.

Thurs 7th July .

By the time Scarlet gets back from work, Joe and I are well into it again. Clearly he’s been spending most of his day thinking up as many wild things to chat about as possible

Fri 8th July

Joe is flying back home tonight so we have the night off from any sort of interaction. This at least allows me to go about my shift at the bar in the evening without any distractions.

Sat 9th July

A horrible let down of a day. When I ask Joe if he wants to meet up for real, he tells me that he can’t because he promised he’d spend the day with his wife. His wife. His wife. His wife. No matter how many times I think it or write it, I still can’t believe it. There was me thinking that older guys are better because they don’t treat women like shit. Maybe their just more experienced at making women think they’re nice guys. Shouldn’t be surprised I suppose, any guy who gets into text sex and cyber sex as quickly as he did, probably isn’t looking for a serious loving relationship. When I ask him about the situation with his wife he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving her, which I understand. What I don’t get close to comprehending is that he wants to carry on our affair and make it a physical one some time soon. Tell him there’s no way that’s going to happen now I know he’s married, and that the whole thing with us is over.

Feel down and depressed for a little while, but then the “better off without him thoughts” cheer me up. Decide to stop looking for a guy, thinking that I’m more likely to find something I really want when I’m not actively searching for it. Tell Scarlet about Joe being married, she says she isn’t surprised and then gives me her own version of the “better off without him” speech.

Over the next couple of weeks I get bombarded with emails from Joe. At first I try replying politely, insisting that there’s no way we can be together. When they continue I try ignoring them and hoping they’ll go away. That doesn’t work either. Eventually Scarlet steps in and sends him a very vicious email threatening to tell his wife all about our affair if he doesn’t leave me alone. For about a week it seems that Scarlet’s email had got the message across to Joe, as I get no more emails from him.

One day I’m sitting out in the garden by myself, reading and sunbathing at the same time. I’m startled by a voice from behind me saying my name. Turn round and see that it’s Joe. He asks if my nasty little house mate is around, I tell him I’m alone. Then he insists that sooner or later we will get together in person and we will have a physical affair, seemingly convinced that I won’t be able to resist him forever. Clearly not aware of just how much a turn off him being married is for me. His visit is a brief one, as if to merely remind me that he’s still around and he’s not going to leave me alone anytime soon.

As August comes around Joe’s visits become more frequent and more disturbing. The first few are again at the house, again when I’m alone. After that though he starts turning up at various places, which in itself makes it creepier. He turns up at the bar when I’m working and drinks there for the entire duration of my shift, barely ever taking his eyes off me. Sometimes when I’m coming out of the gym he’s there waiting by my car. Accidentally on purpose bumps into me in the supermarket. Stalking is not a term I like to use lightly, but I really feel like it’s the correct word for what he’s doing to me.

The second time he’s by my car after I come out of the gym, his language is threatening and aggressive. I’m intimidated to the point of shaking, but I manage to stand up to him a little, telling him that he’s taken it too far and that I’m going to tell his wife. I was thinking that would be the end of the matter, but he just laughs at me and tells me just how many affairs he’s had and his wife knows all about them. She’s had a few herself and she stays with Joe for the money and the lifestyle. Suppose he could be bluffing, but he’s very convincing and I really don’t feel like calling him.

As the days and weeks go by his attitude changes from one of simple arrogance to one of a bully. At first it seemed he was convinced that sooner or later I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to jump into bed with him, the longer I did resist the more it became clear that he was going to make it happen, whether I wanted it to or not. Of course I think about going to the police, Scarlet suggests that as well. But he’s so crafty that I can’t convince myself that going to the police will do any good. What can I really tell them? That some guy is annoying me? A guy who I insisted swapped phone numbers with me. The same guy who I’ve had cyber sex with and sent some of my underwear to.

Actually really looking forward to going back to college, because although I’m sure he’ll follow me there as well, at least I’ll be around a group of familiar people and I’m hoping that’ll make me feel safer. The day before I’m going back to my college room, I get a hand delivered letter from Joe. The letter says he’s got fed up of waiting and that it is going to happen in the next couple of days. Scarlet is there when I read the letter and I think she picks up on how spooked out I am, I tell her it’s nothing and don’t let her look at the letter. The arrival of the letter gets me thinking about going to the police again, but I just can’t convince myself that they will both want and be able to do anything about it. Maybe I’ll go in a couple of days time.

Any day that goes by without seeing him is a blessing. No day can be truly enjoyed any more, because every day I’m constantly looking over my shoulder expecting and fearing a visit from him. A summer I thought I was going to enjoy so much has turned into a nightmare. One guy is making me feel like a prisoner in my own life. All I can hope is that he gets fed up sooner or later, otherwise I can’t see this ending well.

Chapter 17

Aaron and his hostage were watching the finish of their second consecutive game of Baseball that night. Over six hours had gone by and for large chunks of that time they had chatted as if they were old friends catching up.

‘So I’m guessing your criminal profession isn’t that well suited to the dating scene.’

‘That’s a correct assumption.’

‘I mean it’s not as if you can just tell a girl you meet what you do for a living.’

‘A definite no no. I’ve thought about this for a while actually, the one thing most likely to make me give up my job would be meeting the right woman.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, I could give it up in an instant if I had a good enough reason to.’

‘I’d imagine it’s a fairly lucrative line of work, so I’d expect you to be able to retire fairly soon anyway, maybe you could meet someone after that.’

‘It is well paid but I’ll probably have to work longer than you think, the pension scheme sucks.’

‘That’s true. So you believe there’s a lady out there somewhere for you?’

‘Yeah I’m a big believer in soul mates, would love to be star crossed lovers with someone,’ he said.

‘Must admit I’m more of a cynic when it comes to love. I realise it’s possible to love someone and care for them a great deal, but I can never get my head around the difference between that and being in love with someone. Personally I think being in love is just an invention by Shakespeare, people really bought into Romeo and Juliet.’

‘You have to admit it’s a great idea though.’

‘Oh absolutely, and I‘d never stop anybody from trying to find it, I’m just not sure it exists. So many people get together, get married, find it very hard to believe they’ve all found “the one”.’

‘Very much agree with that, I think that most people who get married are more in love with the idea of being married than they are with the person they are marrying. My theory is that most of the true romantics are actually single, because they’re not prepared to be with just any old body. They fully believe there is somebody better out there for them, and they’re either going to be with that person who is suited perfectly to them or with nobody at all.’

‘Hard to argue with that theory,’ she concurred.

‘Really does seem to be a lot of people who have settled for being with someone. How many times do you hear someone complaining about their partner? But most of them don’t leave them, they just acknowledge all the flaws and keep going.’

‘People are so scared of being alone.’

‘I think that is at the heart of it all, personally I’d rather be with no one, than with somebody who isn’t absolutely right for me. A preference that puts me in the minority.’

‘A professional killer who is an old romantic, I’m not one for judging people and pigeon holing them but I must admit I’m surprised by that.’

‘I’ve given up on judging people and pigeon holing them a long time ago and I hate it when other people try to do it, can never understand it and no good can come from it.’

‘Like me saying something like all kidnappers and assassins are bad people?’

‘Let’s not make this personal, that’s how discussions turn into arguments.’

‘Okay fair enough, as long as you aren’t looking at me and assuming I’m a slut.’

‘Never crossed my mind.’

‘I’ll believe you. Please continue with your point.’

‘Let’s use an extreme example. You’re getting on a train for a long journey and there are only two spare seats left. If you sit in one of the seats you’ll be sitting next to someone who has been in prison for over twenty years and if you sit in the other one then you’ll be sitting next to a Doctor. Most people given that information wouldn’t hesitate in sitting next to the Doctor. However what if the guy who’d been in prison for over twenty years was Nelson Mandela and the Doctor was Harold Shipman, the serial killer from England with one of the most number of victims of anybody ever?’

‘That is an extreme example.’

‘Nothing like a bit of extremity to prove or disprove a point.’

‘I think I know what you’re saying though, people love to pigeon hole people as if one aspect of that persons life or character is the only thing about them that matters.’

‘Exactly, just because somebody goes to church a lot, doesn’t mean they’re not capable of doing something wrong,’ he agreed.

‘Just because a girl dyes her hair bright red, wears denim hot pants and a very skimpy vest top doesn’t mean a guy should expect sex from her.’

‘Well quite. An aggressive sports star is still capable of being a kind and caring person who does immense amounts of charity work.’

‘Somebody who likes classical music can like heavy metal too.’

‘Another thing is the way people define themselves by their job,’ he changed tack ever so slightly.

‘Oh I know, despite ninety percent of people really not caring that much about it.’

‘How many people would carry on with their jobs after a big lottery win?’

‘Not many, and yet when people talk to you they always ask you what job you do. As if that tells them all they need to know about you. Right now my main, established income is from lap dancing. The looks I get any time I tell someone that, wow, you’d think I was some sort of pure evil. Then when I tell them I’m an actress who hasn’t made it big yet, they just look at me as if to say, “yeah right, there are thousands of girls out there wanting to be an actress.” Yet I could meet the same people in five years time, be a big movie star and they’d be worshipping me as if I was some sort of God. I’d still be the same person, all that would have changed would be that a few people have put me in their film.’

‘For a slutty lap dancer you really are a deep, insightful thinker,’ Aaron laughed.

‘For an evil killer you have quite a few interesting and good opinions yourself.’

‘I think so.’

‘So is this place actually your house?’

‘Couldn’t possibly tell you that now could I?’

‘Thought you might have got so caught up in the friendly chat, that you might have lost your professionalism there for a while.’

‘No chance.’

‘So now that we know each other better, any chance of taking the handcuffs off and letting me roam free? Around this room at least?’

‘I refer my honourable friend to my previous answer.’

Chapter 18

Jordan finished reading Sandi’s journal just after three o’clock in the morning. Despite the time he felt he had to phone Sabine.

‘Hello,’ to Jordan’s relief Sabine didn’t sound at all sleepy.

‘Hey, I’m guessing you’re a quicker reader than me, so you’ll have finished it too.’

‘Just finished about ten minutes ago.’

‘This one’s a lot more convincing,’ Jordan said.

‘Definitely, although I can remember being pretty convinced by the last one.’

‘That’s true.’

‘I’ve just emailed the relevant sections to the cops and woke up an extremely grumpy sounding Fred, and told him to check his emails.’

‘They’ll be able to find this guy fairly quickly won’t they?’

‘Yeah, they’ve got his name and the fact that he lives in Beverly Hills and what sort of job he does, his approximate age. Shouldn’t take them long at all.’

‘Will this be enough to get a search warrant and arrest him?’

‘Certainly enough for a search warrant I would say. They can definitely take him in for questioning and depending on whether the search finds anything incriminating then they could arrest him.’

‘At least the case seems to be moving forward. Certainly was a strange life she lead.’

‘Just seemed like a lonely girl to me.’

‘Yeah that’s the overriding vibe I got too. Having said that, everybody feels alone sometimes.’

‘Yeah you’re right, but I can sense this turning into a deep conversation and I’m really needing some sleep right now,’ Sabine said.

‘Good call, did well to stop me before I got going. Yeah we should get some sleep then see what the police have got up to by the time we wake up.’

About seven o’clock that morning, Joe and his wife were woken up by loud knocking on their front door. After a few hefty bangs on the door a voice shouted that it was the police and they had to open up right away. Joe opened the door in a shocked and bleary eyed state.

‘Joe Elstob?’ Fred said as soon as the door was opened before Joe could say anything. Fred had four regular officers with him as well as a forensic search team.

‘Yeah.’

‘We have a search warrant for your house and any of your vehicles, and we are taking you down to the station for questioning,’ Fred informed Joe in a tone that didn’t hint at any chance of negotiation.

‘What’s this all about?’

‘Just get changed quick and we’ll tell you all about it down at the station.’

By this stage Joe’s wife had come down the stairs and had heard the last thing Fred had said to Joe.

‘What’s going on Joe? Why are they here?’

‘I’ve no idea, they won’t tell me,’ Joe turned to face his wife and was visible shaken by the whole thing. ‘I promise I’ve done nothing wrong,’ he added as he held her by both shoulders and looked her in the eye.

‘Please sir, get changed quickly and we can get you down to the station. If you are as innocent as you make out then the quicker you get down to the station the quicker you will be back home.’

‘At least tell us what he’s supposed to have done, what are you arresting him for?’

‘We’re not arresting him yet, we just want to question him.’

‘About what?’ Joe’s wife shouted.

‘You really want to know?’ Fred asked her.

‘Yes.’

‘Really?’

‘For God’s sake just tell us.’

‘We want to talk to him about the murder of a female student at UCLA and the disappearance of a friend of hers.’

‘What?’ Her anger turned to shock.

‘Caroline I promise I haven’t murdered anyone. This is all just some massive mistake,’ Joe said as he hugged her and she started to cry.

When Sabine woke up about five hours after speaking to Jordan, she had a message on her phone from Fred telling her that they had Joe down at the station and they would be questioning him soon. Fred added that she and Jordan were welcome to come down and watch the questioning. Sabine phoned Jordan straight away, which woke him up but he didn’t mind that once he heard what Sabine had to say.

‘Hey Sabine, hey Jordan,’ Fred warmly greeted both of them and shook them by the hand when they came into his office. ‘Follow me, we’re about to start the questioning. Thanks for the lead by the way, it’s looking great already.’

‘You searched his house and car?’ Sabine asked.

‘Already done a quick search of the house and the forensic team are going over that now and his car.’

‘Found anything?’ Jordan asked.

‘We’ve found a couple of pairs of the girl’s panties and some very revealing pictures of her stored on his computer.’

‘Really?’ Sabine checked.

‘Yeah, sounds almost too easy, doesn’t it?’ Fred replied.

‘Easy is good,’ Sabine said.

‘Okay, I’ll be doing the questioning, but you guys can watch with the others from the other room.’

‘Through one of those one-way windows?’ Jordan checked. ‘Very cool,’ he added after a look from Sabine was all the answer he needed.

There was one uniformed officer already in the room with Joe, the officer was stood by the door and Joe was sat down on a chair with a table between him and another chair. Fred entered the room and wasted no time in sitting down, telling Joe that their conversation would be recorded and then starting the recording machine. ‘So do you, or should I say did you, know a young lady called Sandi Lords?’

‘Yes I knew her.’

‘How did you know her?’

‘You want details?’

‘Just tell us in what way you knew her, how did you meet?’

‘We met a couple of months or so ago in a car park. She was saying she thought she might have bumped my car as she was reversing out.’

‘She do much damage?’

‘No, if fact no damage at all that either of us could see.’

‘Then what?’

‘We swapped phone numbers, just in case there was some damage.’

‘But you’ve just said there was no damage.’

‘I know but sometimes the damage isn’t clear right away.’

‘That’s the only reason you swapped phone numbers with this young, slim, fresh faced girl?’

‘Look we swapped numbers upon her insistence.’

‘And even though you’re married you took this young girls phone number.’

‘Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same.’

‘No I wouldn’t, because one difference between you and me is that I’m happily married.’

‘Lucky for you. Look I was flattered that a young, cute looking girl wanted to swap phone numbers with me. Might make me not a great guy, but I’m pretty sure swapping phone numbers isn’t against the law.’

‘No it isn’t. Stalking is, murder is too.’

‘Is Sandi dead?’

‘You are sharp, no wonder you make so much money.’

‘Look man I haven’t killed or even stalked anyone.’

‘That’s what we’re here to find out. Where were you last Thursday night?’

‘What time?’

‘Let’s say anywhere between six in the evening and six in the morning.’

‘I don’t remember.’

‘You don’t remember? I thought my memory was bad. It’s only three nights ago Joe.’

‘Nights blur into one, I was probably at home.’

‘At home with your wife?’

‘No.’

‘Not with your wife? Who were you with?’

‘I wasn’t with anyone one.’

‘So you are starting to remember?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe? So you were home alone, so who was your wife with that night?’

‘She must have been round at a friend’s house.’

‘Oh I see, a friend. A male friend?’

‘I know you’re just trying to make me angry.’

‘It working?’

‘Not as much as you’d like.’

‘Give it time, I’m exceptionally gifted at annoying people. So you’re sat at home alone, all night. Can anybody confirm this?’

‘No.’

‘You sure? Think a little harder, if you really were home alone that is. If somebody can confirm that then you’ll have a heck of an alibi. So if I was in your position I’d be thinking really hard of somebody who might have seen you that night. A pizza delivery guy?’

‘No.’

‘A neighbour?’

‘No.’

‘A buddy phone your house?’

‘No.’

‘You’re answering these really quick, guess that memory of yours is clearing up.’

‘Look I was home alone all that night, and unluckily for me nobody saw me. Is that so difficult to believe?’

‘The big thing I’m having trouble with is you not even trying to think of somebody who might have seen you. If I was in your situation I would be racking my brains for people who might have seen me at home that night, not completely dismissing the possibility of a witness off hand.’

‘Guess that’s another difference between us.’

‘Lets get back to how you knew her. You swapped phone numbers with her, then what?’

‘Really not that much.’

‘Do you really think that’s the answer I’m looking for?’

‘All right I’ll tell you all about it. She was the one that got in contact with me. She sent me a text about a week after we met.’

‘Then?’

‘I replied and we got into a text conversation. I was waiting for a flight to Seattle at the time.’

‘And how did this text conversation go?’

‘You want word for word?’

‘Just the general gist will do.’

‘Why do I get the feeling you already know the answer to that question?’ Joe appeared unruffled by the questioning.

‘You really are sharp. Tell you what, I’ll tell you what our research has found out and you tell me if it sounds familiar. That text conversation turned into text sex, with you in some hotel room in Seattle.’

‘Yes it did. Again she was the initiator.’

‘Not really how we heard it but we’ll leave that for now. Over the course of that week text sex turned into cyber sex, including webcams.’

‘Yeah that’s true but I was the only one on cam. Still nothing illegal. Whether you believe me or not it was her that initiated it again,’ Joe replied calmly.

‘Was it her idea for her to send you some of her panties?’

‘Yeah actually it was.’

‘At least you’re not denying any of this. Would be very hard for you to explain the panties we’ve found in your house and the pictures of her stored in you laptop.’

‘Like I said, still nothing illegal.’

‘Very immoral, but yes so far nothing illegal. What happens when you get back from Seattle?’

‘Not a whole lot, I want to make our affair a physical one, but when she finds out that I’m married she no longer wants anything to do with me.’

‘How did that make you feel?’

‘Really I was fine with it, I understood her point of view and left her alone.’

‘Here’s where we’re going to really start to disagree. Do you really expect me to believe that you could just walk away from a young girl like that? A young girl who had just spent a week turning you on beyond belief. You’d spent most of your waking hours in that time wondering just how good it would feel to get your hands on her slim, tight body. Wondering just how good it would be to fuck her for real.’

‘Again all true. No such thing as illegal thoughts is there? Unless this is 1984?’

‘It’s how you acted on those thoughts that concern us. We’ve been told from a couple of reliable sources that you became Sandi’s stalker. A very subtle, clever stalker, who messed with the mind of an innocent young girl.’

‘Not even close. After she told me that she didn’t want to see me anymore because I was married, I never saw her again.’

‘You just let that young girl, who was apparently seriously attracted to you, drift out of your life?’

‘Look I don’t mean to be crude or arrogant, but do you have any idea how easy it is for me to pick up young girls who are at least as sexy as Sandi?’

‘Guess the size of your wallet really does matter.’

‘Among other things.’

‘Our reliable sources go on to tell us that you became threatening towards Sandi and she was seriously scared of you.’

‘Total nonsense.’

‘We’re going to take a break for now, but if I were you I’d get thinking about that alibi of yours, because we are thoroughly searching your house and car and if we find even a tiny shred of incriminating evidence, things are going to look extremely bad for you. I leave you with a couple of quotes from Sandi’s journal: “Any day that goes by without seeing him is a blessing. No day can be truly enjoyed any more because every day I’m constantly looking over my shoulder expecting and fearing a visit from him.” And “A summer I thought I was going to enjoy so much has turned into a nightmare. One guy is making me feel like a prisoner in my own life. All I can hope is that he gets fed up sooner or later, otherwise I can’t see this ending well.” ’

‘If you’re going to question me any more I want to call my lawyer.’

‘I think that’s a good idea,’ Fred said as he was leaving the room.

Fred went into the room where Sabine, Jordan and two police officers had watched the questioning from.

‘What do you think?’ Fred directed his question at Sabine.

‘Pretty sure he’s lying, just a matter of what about.’

‘Me too,’ Fred said. ‘Sure is one arrogant son of a bitch.’

‘Hard to tell if that’s merely his normal character, or this situation is bringing it out of him. We’ll get out of your way for now, but let us know if forensics find anything,’ Sabine said.

‘Will do, as long as you promise to keep keeping us up to date with any progress you make.’

‘Of course.’

Sabine and Jordan left the station, and as they had missed breakfast because of their rush to get to the questioning session, both of them had food on their mind.

‘You hungry?’ Sabine asked as she unlocked her car doors.

‘Starving.’

‘I’ll take you to a sports bar that does great breakfasts. They’ll have a football game on soon so you’ll be able to watch big guys bumping into other big guys American style.’

‘Could be fun.’

To get from where Sabine parked her car to the sports bar there was a short walk through a park. As they were walking an American football bounced a few yards in front of them and rolled up to their feet. Jordan couldn’t resist the urge to pick it up. Quickly it became clear that the ball belonged to a bunch of kids in their early teens. Without really thinking about it Jordan threw it back to them in a rugby spin pass style. The ball fizzed into the hands of the kid who was shouting for the ball, about thirty yards from Jordan.

‘Whoa!’ The kid responded, loud enough for Sabine and Jordan to hear, and looked amazed and impressed in equal measure.

‘Steady on, we’ll have autograph hunters surrounding us if you’re not careful.’

‘Really don’t think so. Definitely think I’m going to enjoy the anonymity that I’ll have living in America.’

‘Lots of people come to LA to get noticed, you’re here to not get noticed.’

‘I do like to be different.’

The two of them sat down to eat in the bar and didn’t take long to make their minds up what to order. Sabine went for some waffles and scrambled eggs and Jordan was tempted by pancakes with various toppings.

‘Have you got the slightest hint of a coffee addiction?’ Jordan wondered after Sabine ordered a large cup of coffee.

‘I do really like my coffee, it is part of my daily routine, but addiction is the wrong word. That would create a false image as if I’m some sort of crazy person who can’t survive without coffee every few hours.’

‘Oh of course, that would be totally the wrong image.’

‘Anyway,’ Sabine said with a smile. ‘Back to the case.’

‘So you’re convinced he’s lying?’

‘As convinced as I can be, not absolutely sure yet that he’s killed her, but I’m sure there’s more to it than he’s letting on.’

‘I suppose for now it’s in the hands of the police.’

‘Yeah, certainly until the results from the forensics come back.’

‘So is this case getting as bizarre as that serial killer case that took you over to England?’

‘It’s not their yet. Fake journal aside this could turn out to be a relatively straight forward case of spurned guy killing the girl who spurned him.’

‘And her friend.’

‘Yeah, still no news on Scarlet.’

‘Doesn’t look good for her, the longer it goes without hearing from her.’

‘Don’t really see why he’d kill her as well though,’ Sabine said.

‘Could just have been to keep her quiet about killing Sandi.’

‘Yeah from what we know that would be the most obvious, but just seems odd that he made all that mess when he killed Sandi and has managed to make Scarlet disappear without a trace.’

‘You see, give it time and this case could get a whole lot freakier. Ah, food!’ Jordan spoke as their breakfasts were delivered to the table.’

‘Just as the games kicking off as well, perfect,’ Sabine added as she gestured towards the big screen by their table.

‘This is one of the times where having different time zones in the same country is highlighted and seems so weird to me. Seems ridiculous for a game to be kicking off this early, but of course its early afternoon where they are.’

‘Must be so much simpler living in a country with only one time zone.’

‘Just one of those things you take for granted.’

The two of them took their time eating their breakfast whilst watching the game, waiting for news from the police.

‘Oh what the heck is that about?’ Jordan appeared disgusted and dumfounded in equal measure at a piece of action in the match.

‘What?’ Sabine couldn’t help be amused by Jordan’s reaction.

‘This “roughing the passer” foul. He’s hardly touched the guy, why don’t you just have all the quarterbacks put skirts on and have done with it. The guy is six foot four and sixteen stone and it’s a big penalty because somebody bumps into him.’

‘Very protected species the quarterback, I think the World Wildlife Fund actually collect for them,’ Sabine said, grinning at Jordan’s outburst.

‘I suppose it should be expected from a sport where you have your players wearing much more protection than any of your military troops do in wars.’

‘I’d never thought of it like that,’ Sabine replied still grinning.

‘Anyway back to the case before I explode. If Scarlet is gone for good then nobody will be paying the Doc, will he still want us on the case?’

‘Yeah, as long as anything about it remains unsolved he’ll want us to work on it. At least until another more pressing case comes along. He’s more than financially secure don’t forget, so he really doesn’t do it for the money anymore.’

‘Would love to be that loaded.’

‘Wouldn’t we all.’

The two of them took their time eating their breakfast as the bar began to fill up with customers. Both of them managed to just about get through the large portions they had been given.

‘Don’t know about you but I’m really not content just sitting around waiting for the police to do their jobs,’ Sabine said.

‘Sitting around doing nothing is never one of my favourite activities.’

‘Let’s leave the science to the police and do some old fashioned investigating.’

‘Sounds good to me, what do you have in mind?’

‘I think would should see if we can track down the bars where Sandi and Scarlet worked. Don’t like just giving up on them, maybe we can still find Scarlet.’

‘Got my vote, lets get to work. Just how many cocktail bars and lap dancer bars are there in LA though?’

‘Lots, but we’ll phone around, starting with the ones between their house and Sandi’s UCLA room.’

‘Sounds good to me, lets get started on that old fashioned investigating using our mobile phones.’