I don't own Midsomer Murders or Inspector Lewis
Chapter One
Over the next few days' things were a little slow. Friends and family of victims Elizabeth and Angela were interviewed. No one had seen or heard anything unusual. The only lead was a blue pick up truck that had been seen in and around the areas the girls had gone missing. Detective Inspector Robert Lewis claimed it was a weak lead because there were hundreds of blue pick up trucks. Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby suggested they go over witness statements to see if anyone else saw a blue pick up truck. He claimed that someone could have gotten a license plate number or there was something about the truck. Lewis sat at his desk looking through a pile of witness statements yawning.
"This is a waste of time," he complained to his sergeant Detective Sergeant James Hathaway.
"Sir I think I found something" James said looking up from the witness statements he was reading.
Lewis walked over to his sergeant's desk.
"What have you found James?" he asked.
"About ten witnesses said they saw a blue pick up truck around the time the young girls disappeared. They said that it followed them rather slowly. The girls seemed to know the driver"
"Is there anything about the truck?"
"Witnesses said that the truck had a red stripe down the side and there was a dice in the front window. Also the truck appeared to have a dent on the front passenger door"
"Did anyone get a license plate number?"
"No sir but someone saw the driver"
"Do you know the name of the witness?"
"A Paul Watson" James read.
"Well done James" Lewis said, "Lets go and talk to him"
"Should we tell DCI Barnaby?"
"No James. This is our lead"
Paul Watson was a man around thirty-five with dark hair and blue eyes. He came to the door wearing overalls and a blue shirt. The man was covered in paint.
"Sorry for my messy appearance" he said, "I was just painting my living room"
Paul led the two police officers to his kitchen.
"Would you like some coffee?" Paul asked.
"No thank you" Lewis said taking a seat at the kitchen table. He showed his ID "Detective Inspector Robert Lewis and this is Detective Sergeant Hathaway. We have some questions for you"
Paul sat across from the DI.
"Is this about those murders?" he asked.
"We understand that you saw the truck and the driver. Can you give a description?"
"The driver seemed rather young around maybe twenty-eight or thirty. He had light hair and green eyes. There seemed to be a scar running down his check"
"Anything else?"
"No"
"Did you recognize the man or the truck?"
"I had seen the truck before and I thought I knew the young man but I was not sure"
"Where did you think you have seen the truck before?"
"There is a local radio DJ who drives a similar truck"
"So you think this young man is this radio DJ?"
Paul bit his lip.
"I am not sure but the young man did seem similar in appearance" Paul said.
Lewis gave his sergeant a small smile.
"Do you know which radio station this DJ works at?" he asked Paul.
"WOX101.6" Paul answered.
"What is this DJ`s name?"
"Daniel Smith"
Lewis's smile got a little bigger. Finally they were getting somewhere.
When Lewis and Hathaway got to the radio station they were disappointed when they were told that Daniel Smith was not there. The two detectives were told to come back at ten the next day after Daniel did his show. Lewis wanted to kick something. He felt that he had been so close to solving the case. Just as he and his sergeant were getting into the car his cell phone rang. It was Detective Superintendent Jean Innocent wondering where he had gotten.
Chapter Two
Detective Sergeant Ben Jones kicked at the chair to the desk in frustration. He had been going through witness statements for the last few days. His eyes were beginning to cross from staring at them to long. Also he had nightmares the last couple of nights. Ben had not told his boss Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby about the nightmares. He did not want Barnaby to worry since he was in charge of the investigation. Ben felt there was really nothing for the Chief Inspector to worry about. They were just nightmares. Ben jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Find anything Jones?" Barnaby asked.
Ben gave a gasp at his boss's voice.
"Nothing yet sir" he said "I have looked over and over these statements"
The Chief Inspector watched his sergeant with concern. Jones looked like he was going to jump out of his skin.
"Is everything all right Jones?" Barnaby asked.
"I am fine sir" Ben said getting back to the statement he had been reading.
"You look as though someone is going to attack you at any moment" Barnaby commented.
"I am fine sir"
"Jones"
"It is nothing to concern yourself with"
Barnaby sighed.
"If it effects your work performance then it does concern me" Barnaby said, "Now what is going on with you?"
Ben groaned. There were times when he forgot whom he was dealing with. The Chief Inspector had probably been observing his behaviour.
"It's nothing sir" he said with a weak chuckle "I just had a bad dream last night and it is still on my mind"
"Want to tell me about it?"
"Why? It was just a dream"
"If it was just a dream Jones you would not be still be worried about it"
"Sir not now"
Before Barnaby could question Ben further a PC came over to the Chief Inspector.
"Sir" she said "DCS Innocent wants to see you and Sergeant Jones in her office right away. It seems that Inspector Lewis has a lead"
DCS Innocent was chewing out DI Lewis when DCI Barnaby and his sergeant entered the office. She looked up as the two other officers entered. The Chief Superintendent did not look too happy. She pointed to two other chairs inviting the other two police officers to take a seat.
"What is going on?" Barnaby asked, "I was told by a PC that DI Lewis has a possible lead. I was not informed of this"
"It seems that my DI had decided to investigate leads by himself" Innocent said.
"I had every right to follow any possible lead," Lewis snapped.
"Have you forgotten that DCI Barnaby is your superior officer? He is in charge of this case. You are to report all possible leads to him. Remember Lewis you are working together as a team"
"I know that ma`m"
"Then I suggest you tell him what you found. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma`m"
"Well we are waiting"
Lewis swallowed nervously. He knew he was in real trouble. He would not be surprised if Barnaby ordered him off the case.
"It was really James who found the clue. There is a witness who gave the description of the truck and the driver. We went to interview him only to discover he left for the day," Lewis said.
"Did you get a home address?" Barnaby asked.
Lewis looked at he floor embarrassed.
"No" he said, "I did not think of that"
"Lewis use your head" Chief Superintendent Innocent said sternly "You must have gotten the name at least"
"His name is Daniel Smith" Lewis said.
Barnaby`s blue eyes widened with surprise.
"What?" he said staring at Lewis.
"Find out his address Lewis and go interview him" Innocent commanded, "DCI Barnaby will accompany you"
Lewis stared darts at his boss. As the three officers left the office the Chief Inspector turned towards Jones and said:
"Jones I want you and Sergeant Hathaway to check into the background of Daniel Smith. See if you can find anything interesting"
"Yes sir" Ben said.
"Inspector Lewis you're with me"
Chapter Three
After finding out from Simon Daniel's address DCI Barnaby and DI Lewis drove to his flat. Lewis looked at the Chief Inspector with curiosity.
"How do you know Daniel Smith sir?" he asked.
"Daniel is a second cousin from Simon Watson's mother's side of the family," Barnaby explained.
"How do you know this?"
"Simon is an old friend of mine. He talked about his family a great deal"
The young man who came to the door had light blond hair, green eyes and a scare running down his check.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"I am DCI John Barnaby and this is DI Robert Lewis" Barnaby said showing his ID "We have some questions for you"
The young man looked behind him nervously.
"Can you come back at other time?" he said, "I am rather busy right now"
"We really need to talk to you. Your truck has been seen in the area"
"That is impossible. I only drive my truck to work"
"Your truck has been seen sir"
The Chief Inspector noticed that Daniel kept looking over his shoulder and biting his fingernails
" Why are you so nervous Daniel?" he asked.
"Nervous?" Daniel said glancing once more over his shoulder "Why would I be nervous" Daniel gave a weak laugh.
"You keep looking over your shoulder and biting your finger nails"
"Look I am really am quiet busy so please leave me alone"
With that Daniel slammed the door.
"Well" Lewis said annoyed "That went well"
"He seemed rather nervous when we were talking to him" Barnaby said.
"It is because he is guilty as sin. I think we found our man sir"
"No I think he was nervous for some other reason"
"Like what?"
"I don't know but I think we should bring him in for an interview"
James watched as Ben Jones worked on the computer on Lewis's desk. Over the last few days James had known the other DS he had grown to like him. Jones was obviously very good at his job and very dedicated to DCI John Barnaby. The sergeant's loyalty was just like James's loyalty to DI Lewis. Suddenly Ben jumped up in triumph.
"I think I found something," he announced.
"Our boss's will be happy to know that" James said, "What did you find Ben?"
The other DS looked up and smiled at James.
"You are not going to believe this James" Ben said, "It seems that Daniel Smith had a twin brother. Daniel never knew him because his brother had been given up for adoption"
"Adoption?"
"The brother seems to disappear after that"
"Interesting. So if the man who was spotted driving the truck was not Daniel…"
"Then it could have been the brother" Ben finished.
"It is a possibility though we should not rule out Daniel completely"
"You two found something?" a voice asked.
Ben and James looked up and saw Barnaby come into the office followed by Lewis.
"Yes sir" Ben said, "Daniel has a twin brother he may not be aware of"
"A twin brother?" Lewis said shocked "James?"
"It seems that Daniel Smith has an identical twin sir" James told his boss.
"Interesting" Barnaby, said.
"It might not mean anything sir" Lewis said "I still think Daniel is our man"
Barnaby said nothing. He was going to check out this twin angle while keeping an eye on Daniel Smith.
Chapter Four
That night Lewis was relaxing at his flat with James. James took a sip of his beer and collapsed on the couch.
"I think I am starting to like DS Jones," he announced.
Lewis raised an eyebrow.
"Really" he said joining his sergeant on the couch.
"I think he is a very good police officer"
"He is okay I guess"
"Just okay sir?"
"Okay he is a good officer James. Lets talk about something else"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Just something besides Sergeant Jones or DCI John Barnaby"
James watched Lewis and sensed that his boss was still jealous of DCI John Barnaby.
"You are not still jealous of Barnaby are you sir?" he asked.
The look that James got from his boss could have frozen hell. James sank further into the couch.
"I am not jealous James" Lewis snapped, "I can't believe you still think that"
"Sorry sir" James said avoiding Lewis's murderous gaze.
Lewis took a sip of his beer suddenly feeling guilty at snapping at James.
"I'm sorry James" he said finally "The case is just getting to me that's all"
Lewis did not like to get annoyed with James. His sergeant was the closest friend he had. The DI was feeling very lonely and depressed after his wife died until he met James. Lewis was very glad to have James Hathaway in his life. James gave his boss one of his smiles. The two detectives turned on the TV and drank beer fare into the night.
Barnaby tried not to cry out in frustration. Simon was being impossible. He just refused to talk about Daniel or his twin.
"Simon please" Barnaby begged, "I need to know. It may have something to do with the case"
"John it is something my family does not want to discuss with strangers," Simon said.
"I am hardly a stranger"
"You are my friend and I can trust you but how about that sergeant of yours?"
"I told you Simon you can trust Jones"
"I don't know John. I just don't trust him not to go to the press"
"My sergeant would do no such thing"
"Are you sure?"
Barnaby could not believe what he was hearing. How could Simon think or talk about his sergeant like that? The Chief Inspector's blue eyes flashed sparks as he glared at his friend.
"Ben Jones is the most loyal man I ever worked with. He would never tell the press anything about a case he should not reveal. Never!" Barnaby said between clenched teeth.
Simon started to back out of the living room. He wanted to avoid the conversation because he did not like where it was going. Simon nearly tripped over a chair trying to avoid Barnaby`s angry stare.
"Don't you try walking away from me Simon!" Barnaby said firmly.
"John I…" Simon said getting rather nervous.
"You asked me to help you. If I catch you saying bad things about Jones I am done. Is that understood?"
"Yes John"
"Good. Now where were we?"
He drove through the night until he reached his second cousin's flat. He saw Barnaby turn off the living room light and start to head upstairs. He laughed at the thought that the Chief Inspector did not know he was there. After he saw an upstairs bedroom light go off he turned and drove into the night. Tonight was a good night for hunting.
Chapter Five
Ben tossed and turned groaning in his sleep. He tried to will himself to wake up from the nightmare but it was no use:
Ben ran through what looked like a giant maze. He kept tripping over bodies of young girls who were strangled and slit open from their throats all the way to their belly buttons. In the distance Ben could here a cold evil laugh. It seemed to come from every direction. Ben could also hear the voice of his boss calling him. As he turned a corner of the maze he was met with a large knife. Ben heard John Barnaby`s shout of "NO!"
Ben sat up with a cry. He heard someone knocking on the bedroom door.
"Jones" Barnaby called from the other side of the door "Are you okay?"
Ben got up and opened the door and his boss came into the bedroom. The Chief Inspector looked at his sergeant with alarm.
"My god Jones" he said "You are all sweaty and you are shaking"
"I just had a nightmare sir" Ben said trying to calm his boss down.
"Another one?"
"I had nightmares before sir"
"I know you had nightmares before Jones but not like this"
"Sir I am okay really"
The Chief Inspector gave his sergeant a worried look. Nightmares were common that was true but Jones seemed to be having them every night ever since they began working on the serial killer case.
"Jones these nightmares are beginning to worry me" he said "Are you sure you are not having trouble dealing with these murders?"
"Sir they are just nightmares" Ben said getting a little annoyed "I am a police officer not a little kid"
"Jones I have known good officers like you falls apart dealing with serial murders. Don't be embarrassed to tell me you are bothered by the murders"
Ben sighed. He did not want Barnaby to have to look after him. It would be rather embarrassing.
"Sir I need sleep so I will see you in the morning" he said going to the bedroom door and opening it. The Chief Inspector closed the door and turned to his sergeant.
"No" he said firmly "I am not going to leave you alone after that nightmare"
"Sir" Ben protested, "This is stupid"
"I am worried about you Ben. You never had any real experience in dealing with this type of murder"
"Sir you don't need to look after me. I will be fine"
"I am not going to leave you alone to deal with this by yourself"
Ben looked at Barnaby with affection and gratitude. His boss was willing to stay with him after he had a bad nightmare because his boss was really worried about him. His old boss DCI Tom Barnaby would not have stayed with Ben.
"Thank you sir" Ben said.
"It is not a problem," Barnaby said with a smile "Trust me Jones I will not let anyone or anything hurt you because if anyone hurts you they would have to answer to me"
Ben almost laughed at that.
"Now why don't you try to get some sleep?" Barnaby said.
Ben got back into bed and was asleep as soon as he head hit the pillow. The Chief Inspector took a chair by the window and stayed with Jones the rest of the night.
Chapter Six
Carrie Simons twirled around her bedroom. She smiled because she knew she looked hot! hot! Hot! Carrie picked up her small evening bag and went downstairs. Her mother looked up as she came down the stairs and frowned.
"Is that is what you are wearing?" she asked.
"I think it looks rather sexy," Carrie said.
"That will attract the wrong sort of attention"
Carrie snorted.
"Mom you are entirely old fashioned" Carrie said with a laugh "I wore this because I want the guys to notice me"
"Carrie you are only asking for trouble" Mrs Simons said.
"Trouble. Now you are talking"
"Carrie"
"Come on Mom nothing really bad is going to happen"
"Have you forgotten that five young girls had gone missing only to turn up dead later?"
"So?"
"The police think it might be a serial killer"
Carrie burst out laughing.
"Mom" she said going to the front door "I think you have been reading too many mystery novels and watching too many crime dramas on TV"
"This is not a joke Carrie" Mrs Simons said firmly "Please keep in contact with me and your father and stay with your friends. No wondering off on your own"
"Mom"
"Promise me you will be careful"
"Mom"
"Promise me"
"Okay I will be careful. Can I go now?"
With that Carrie was out the door.
Carrie tried to enjoy herself but she kept hearing her mother's words in her head. Promise me you will be careful" God her mother could be so bam annoying. She knew how to ruin a good time. As far as Carrie was concerned nothing bad was going to happen. She was always careful. No maniac was going to get her alone. Carrie said good buy to her friends and started to walk home forgetting her mother's warning not to walk home alone. She smiled when she saw a familiar blue pick up truck pull up alone side her.
"Carrie" a voice called out "Want a ride?"
"Hello there" Carrie purred, "I would love a ride"
"Hop in"
Carrie climbed into the pick up truck giving the driver a sexy smile.
"So" she said "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you want to sweetheart" the young man said.
Carrie sat back and closed her eyes. She was in for a hell of a good time. She could feel it.
Carrie's screams sounded through the dark woods but no one could hear her. She tried to get away from the knife but he held her down. His hands wrapped around Carrie's throat and she struggled trying to breath. Carrie wished she had listened to her mother. Now because if her carelessness she would be found strangled and slit open just like those other girls. She knew she could not reverse time and start over again. She had made a big mistake. A mistake that lead to her death. Carrie heard an evil laugh as her breath left her. The last thing Carrie saw was the knife.
Chapter Seven
Ben woke up to the sun shinning through his window. He looked over and noticed that Barnaby had fallen asleep in the chair by the window. Not wanting to wake his boss up the sergeant got out of bed and headed to the bathroom down the hall to take a shower. Ben realized he was still shaking. He could not get the nightmare out of his mind. Ben turned on the shower. A hot shower might help with the shaking. It felt as though he were cold. He got into the shower and just closed his eyes as he felt the hot water running down his back. Ben did not think of the case or the nightmares. He just kept his eyes closed and enjoyed the hot shower.
************************************************** **********************
Barnaby woke up. He glanced towards the bed and noticed that Jones was not there. The Chief Inspector jumped up in a panic. After the nightmare last night anything could have happened. The sergeant could have had another nightmare and walked in his sleep. He could be anywhere in the house hurt.
"Jones" he called "Jones where are you?"
Barnaby went into the hall and looked around but did not see his sergeant.
"Jones" he called again.
There was no answer.
"Jones please answer me" Barnaby said his panic growing.
The Chief Inspector hurried down the hall to the master bedroom and knocked on the door. Simon answered and looked at Barnaby with tired eyes.
"What is it John?" he asked rubbing his eyes.
"Jones is not in his room" Barnaby said, "He may have had another nightmare and might have walked in his sleep"
"Your sergeant is a sleepwalker?"
"No not really. He just has been having these really bad nightmares ever since we took charge of the case. I am really worried he could have hurt himself"
"I would not worry too much about him if I were you John"
The Chief Inspector bit his lip to avoid getting angry.
"Simon he could be hurt for gods sake," Barnaby said trying to not show his panic.
"John I am sure he is okay" Simon said starting to close the door.
"Simon please"
Simon closed the door in Barnaby`s face. The Chief Inspector gritted his teeth in anger. He went downstairs in search of his sergeant.
Ben got out of the shower feeling much better. The hot water felt good on his body. The shakes seemed to have stopped. Ben went back to the bedroom and noticed that Barnaby was not asleep in the chair. He must have gone downstairs Ben thought. He got dressed and went downstairs and found his boss sitting at the kitchen table with a worried look on his face.
"Sir?" Ben said.
The Chief Inspector looked up and smiled with relief when he saw his sergeant.
"Jones" he said, "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Why should I not be?"
"I woke up and you were not there. I was worried you might have walked in your sleep"
"I was taking a shower sir"
Barnaby gave Jones a look of concern.
"Are you sure you are okay?" he asked.
"I am fine sir" Ben said, "I had no more nightmares"
"I am still going to be keeping on eye on you from now on"
Ben sighed. The last thing he wanted was a babysitter.
"It is not necessary sir," he said rolling his eyes.
"Until these nightmares stop I am going to be watching you closely" Barnaby said firmly "If they become worse I am sending you back to Midsomer"
"But sir!"
"I am very concerned about these dreams Jones. I am worried about you"
Ben sighed and sat down at the table across from his boss. He knew when it was useless to argue with the Chief Inspector.
Chapter Eight
A young man walking through the woods saw what he thought was a log but as he got closer he saw it was a young woman. He got closer and touched the body with a foot to see if she was still alive. Realizing she was dead the young man hurried out of the woods and called the police. He swallowed his fear. He was going to remember finding a dead body for a long time to come.
Lewis stood looking at the pictures of the five young girls. He was convinced that Daniel Smith was the serial killer. Why would he have acted so nervous when Lewis and Barnaby came to talk to him? Once they had Daniel in the interview room Lewis planned on asking him why he killed five innocent young girls by strangling them and slitting them open. DCI Barnaby thought Daniel was nervous for another reason but Lewis was not convinced.
"Good morning sir" a voice said.
James came walking up behind Lewis holding two cups of coffee. The DI turned around and took one of the cups of coffee.
"James tell me if you think I am wrong" Lewis said, "I think that Daniel Smith may be our serial killer"
"Any reason you think that sir?"
"He owns the blue pick up truck that was spotted at all the areas the girls disappeared, he looks just like the driver and he seemed nervous when I went with DCI Barnaby to interview him"
"Is it possible that it is Daniel's twin sir?"
"I don't buy the twin theory James"
"Why not?"
Before Lewis could answer DCS Innocent came walking up to the two detectives.
"There you are" she said, "I am afraid there has been another one"
The CSI`s zipped the body up in a body bag. Barnaby closed his eyes and sighed. This was victim number six and if they did not stop this guy he would just keep on killing. The young man who had found the body waved at the Chief Inspector to get his attention. Barnaby walked over to the police tape.
"You are the young man who found they body?" he asked.
"Yes sir" the young man said.
"Can I have your name please?"
"Tommy Wilson"
"How did you come across the body Mr Wilson?"
"I take a walk in the woods every morning. I was walking along the path when I spotted something I thought was a log. A went to get a closer look when I noticed it was a young woman. I touched her to see if she was still alive. When I realized she was dead I called the police"
"Did you see anything or hear anything unusual?"
"Sorry I saw no one"
"Thank you Mr Wilson that will be all"
The young man turned and walked back to the path. Barnaby went to where his sergeant, Lewis, and Sergeant Hathaway were talking to Dr Hobson.
"Jones" he said "Did you fined any ID?"
"Yes sir" Ben said "Carrie Simons"
"Okay. You and Sergeant Hathaway go and talk with her parents. Inspector Lewis and I will have another chat with Daniel Smith at the station"
James noticed that DS Jones was really quiet as they drove to interview Carrie Simon's parents. He turned and gave Ben a concerned look.
"Ben are you okay?" he asked, "You seem really quiet"
Ben turned to James with a frown on his face. He did not really know James Hathaway. Could he really tell him about the nightmares? On the other hand they were working on the case together.
"It is nothing James" Ben said "I just been having these really bad nightmares the last few nights and they have me really rattled"
James understood. He had his fair share of nightmares when he was dealing with a difficult case.
"I understand about having nightmares" James said, "I had my fair share of them myself"
"How did you deal with them?"
"I knew I could talk to my DI. He has helped my through them. You are lucky Ben that you have such a good boss. He will help you deal with the nightmares"
Ben knew James was right. John Barnaby was a really good boss. The night before he had sat with him because he was concerned. DCI Barnaby was more then a boss to Ben. Barnaby had become his best friend. The two DS`s pulled in front a small house with a front porch. The woman who answered the door looked like an older version of Carrie.
"Yes" she said, "Can I help you?"
James and Ben showed their ID`s.
"DS Hathaway and DS Jones ma`m" James said, "Can we come in?"
"Thank god you are here" Mrs Simons said, "We called the police an hour ago when we discovered Carrie had not slept in her bed"
James and Ben exchanged a look. Mrs Simons looked from one sergeant to the other puzzled.
"Is there something I should know?" she asked.
Ben took a deep breath.
"A young man walking in the woods found a body" he said sadly "I am afraid it is your daughter ma`m"
Mrs Simons went crazy and started to throw things around the room. Ben had to duck to avoid getting hit in the head with a vase.
Mrs Simons finely collapsed in a chair.
"Are you up to answering a few questions?" Ben asked softly to avoid being attacked by flying objects again.
"When was the last time you saw your daughter?" James asked.
"Last night" Mrs Simons said, "She was going out. I told her to keep in contact with me and her father and to be careful because of those other girls"
"Did she phone you last night as she was supposed to?"
"No. We did not receive one phone call from our daughter. She could be careless at times"
"Why did it take you until this morning to call the police? Did you not get concerned when Carrie did not come home last night?"
"Both my husband and I went to bed early"
"Had Carrie complained about being followed or someone bothering her?" Ben asked.
"No" Mrs Simons said, "Not do I know of"
"You claim she is sometimes careless. Has she been hanging out with anyone suspicious?"
"She never talked to me or her father about her friends so I really do not know"
"Does she have a boyfriend?"
"No. If she did she did not tell us"
Ben and James turned to go.
"Thank you Mrs Simons that will be all" James said.
The two DS`s left Mrs Simons sobbing in her living room.
Lewis wanted to scream with frustration. Daniel had refused to answer his and DCI Barnaby`s questions. The DI wanted to lock him up but Barnaby said they had to let him go because there was not enough evidence to hold him. Lewis had wanted Daniel to be guilty so badly. He wanted the case to be over. Right now he and DCI Barnaby were waiting for their sergeants to get back from interviewing Carrie Simon's parents. Maybe they had better luck. Just then the Chief Superintendent came into the office and said there was trouble outside. A bunch of angry Mom's were protesting on the front steps to the police station.
Chapter Nine
Barnaby pushed his way through the mob followed by Lewis. At the centre of the protesters Mrs McDonald was shouting through a microphone. A bunch of TV vans and newspaper reporters were also part of the group.
"What the hell is going on here?" Barnaby yelled to be heard over the shouts.
"Ah Chief Inspector" Mrs McDonald said, "I am glad you are here. Maybe you can tell the press about how you and the rest of the lazy police force have done nothing to solve this case"
"We are doing everything we can to catch this killer. Why don't you all just go home"?
"Really"
"We just interviewed a suspect"
"Can you tell us who it is?"
"No"
Mrs McDonald crossed her arms and smiled satisfied that the police had no leads.
"That means you don't have a clue about who this killer is am I right?" she sneered.
"Mrs McDonald why don't you allow the police handle this" Lewis said coming to Barnaby`s side.
"The police are nothing but a bunch of lazy slobs who care nothing about the safety of our children" Mrs McDonald snapped.
"That is not true. Now clear out of here and take those vultures with you"
"I am not going anywhere until I have some answers"
"Leave now or we will place you under arrest"
"You can't do that!"
"I assure you Mrs McDonald we can" Barnaby said "Now I advise you to get out of here"
Suddenly the Chief Inspector felt someone give him a right hook. Barnaby fell to the ground and the last thing he heard was Lewis saying:
"Sir!"
Chapter Ten
James and Ben hurried through the station. They had just heard about what happened on the front steps. They entered the office and noticed Lewis holding a tissue against Barnaby`s bleeding nose. Ben went to his boss's side and angrily examined the damage.
"Who did this?" he demanded.
"Just some stupid protester" the Chief Inspector said giving his sergeant a weak smile "Nothing to concern yourself with Jones. We locked him in the cells"
"He hit you sir!"
Ben's dark eyes flashed with anger.
"Jones don't worry about it" Barnaby said.
"I don't like it when someone hits my DCI" Ben snarled.
Barnaby could not help but smile.
"I just got a bleeding nose not a concussion," he said.
"I still do not like it. I am going to the cells and have a little talk with this guy. When I am finished with him he will regret hitting the wrong person"
"Jones"
Ben sighed and sat at Lewis's desk. James had been watching the exchange between Jones and his boss. He could not help but admire Ben's loyalty.
"Lets call it a day" Lewis suggested.
"I am with you sir" James said.
Barnaby nodded and got off the side of James's desk.
"We will see you both tomorrow" he said.
Ben just lay in bed not bothering to go to sleep. He did not want to have another nightmare and wake up Barnaby. He would just mother him. Ben went to the window and looked out into the night. He thought he heard the front door but decided it was just his imagination. He looked through the window and thought he saw Simon get into his car. Ben looked at the clock on the dresser and saw it was two in the morning. Where on earth could Simon be going at two o'clock in the morning? It seemed rather odd to Ben but he was just too tired to follow or care. Finally sleep overcame him and Ben fell into a restless sleep.
END OF PART TWO
Question: Is the Chief Inspector right to be worried about his sergeant's nightmares?