Beverly: Chapter 1
“What kind of person would allow a five year old to wander around outside without phoning the police?”
I smiled at the lady in front of me. “Sure, a five year old child but …”
“No buts Charlie.” She shook her head firmly. “It doesn’t make any difference. I had to call them.”
“I understand. And what did they say?” It didn’t take much imagination to guess exactly what they said.
“They took some details but they couldn’t promise to spend much time on it.”
I watched as she started pacing up and down in front of me. I’d only come into the charity shop to fix her staff toilet. When I’d asked Beverly if she was having a nice day I was only making small talk, but it was clear I’d inadvertently stumbled onto the one topic of conversation guaranteed to excite her.
“Is it possible she just wandered off?” I asked.
“She’s a sausage dog Charlie. Her legs are tiny, it’s not like she could have gone far. I’m telling you, someone’s stolen her.”
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling. When she’d told me about the tiny dog she’d named Tortoise I’d thought she was joking, but from the way she paced up and down, it was clear she was far from kidding. I stood up from where I’d been kneeling and gave her toilet a flush.
“There, all done.” I thought about my plans for the rest of the day and made a decision. “Now, how about you make us both a cuppa and you can tell me all about Tortoise. Maybe I can help?”
“Would you? Oh Charlie, that would be wonderful. Thank you!”
Without waiting for a reply she rushed out of the room in the direction of the staff kitchen. I carefully packed away my tools and, not for the first time, wondered how I managed to get myself into such crazy situations. I glanced at a business card in the bottom of my bag. Charlie Diamond, private investigator. I sighed. Wrong card, again. Although maybe it was a sign. I’d been talking about packing in the plumbing business for ages now. It seemed about right that my first plumbing gig in a month should lead to more investigative work. Best investigator this side of the Severn Bridge, or that’s what I liked to tell myself. My specialty was missing persons, I had a knack for tracking down the untrackable, but looking for a missing pet? This was new, even for me.
With one last glance around the room for stray tools, I picked up my bag and headed in the direction of the staff kitchen. Business was quiet and maybe a little distraction was just what I needed. I had a ‘no find, no fee’ policy but that didn’t extend to animals. This would simply be a bit of fun on the side, a chance to keep my hand in. Besides, there was something endearing about Beverly. If I could reunite her with her beloved pet, today would be a very good day.
“Tell me again how you got conned into this?” My daughter’s eyes were wet with tears.
“It’s not funny! And I didn’t get conned. I just wanted to help.”
“Oh Mum, you’re impossible!”
Grace called up the stairs to her sister. “Hey Lou, have you heard about Mum’s latest case?”
Before I could stop her, Grace had run up the stairs and into Louise’s room, apparently to fill her in on my dog hunt. I knew I should be thankful my daughters were sharing a joke, even if it was at my expense, but after losing most of the afternoon to Beverly and her dog, I was tired and my head had started to throb. All I really wanted was a long soak in a hot bath but there was dinner to prepare and the washing to put on. The joys of being a domestic goddess, I thought.
I was about to put the oven on when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and smiled. It was Rob, my favourite local police detective. “Hi Rob …”
“Is that Charlie Diamond, pet detective?”
“Oh ha, bloody ha! I take it someone told you about Tortoise.”
“Is that her name?” He laughed. “It just keeps getting better and better!”
Rob and I had a history that stretched back far longer than I cared to remember. He was my go-to guy when I needed some inside information. In exchange for which, I put up with his teasing. It was a good dynamic that worked for both of us although there were occasions, like right now, when I found myself wishing he wasn’t quite so all-knowing.
“How did you find out? Beverly told me your lot weren’t that interested.”
“Not interested in the welfare of a much-loved member of the community? How dare you!” He was laughing again. “I’ll have you know I was only ringing to offer my assistance. If there’s anything I can do, any help at all that you need, I’m only a phone call away.”
“Yeah right! You just wanted to take the mick!” I laughed and felt myself weakening. “It’s alright, I’d have done the same. So who told you?”
“Beverly came into the station, ‘bout an hour ago, told Trev on the front desk that she didn’t need our help any more, that she had a professional on the case. You can imagine how well that went down. When Trevor pushed her for a name she showed him your card.”
Oh brother! “No pressure then.”
Rob laughed. “None at all.”
“All I said was I’d ask around, do a bit of digging. Made no promises, I just wanted to help.”
“Heart of gold, that’s you Charlie.”
“Soft touch you mean!”
“You said it, not me. Now listen, there’s something else.”
“Oh?”
“Thing is, this isn’t the first animal to go missing.”
“Tell me something I don’t know! Have you seen the number of cat posters round town?”
“I don’t mean the cats. There’s been others. A few micro pigs.”
“Micro pigs? You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I was. Google them, they’re really cute. Anyway, the point is, if you hear anything, come straight to me.” He paused. “Gotta go Charlie, that was the boss calling. Just remember what I said.”
And with that, the line went dead.