…..With one look you'll know
All you need to know
With one smile
I'm the girl next door
Or the love that you've hungered for…..
"Sir! We have a case." With the briefest of knocks Camille breezed into Richard's house, startling him as he was engrossed in a television program.
"When you knock there is supposed to be a pause, even on a weekend," he muttered
"What are you watching?"
"Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday. Glenn Close as Nora Desmond from Sunset Boulevard. I'm amazed YOUR channels are playing it…"
"Oh, they often repeat old shows like this during the Tour de France coverage. I preferred Antonio Banderas..."
"You and every other woman on the planet, so you've seen it? Oh, bother!" Richard made a sound of pure frustration; the show had been interrupted for the live coverage.
"Come on, we have a kidnapping."
With a last longing look at the television Richard allowed Camille to lead him from the house.
"Ow!" Richard Poole jumped and winced as the long thorns of particularly vibrant bougainvillea, planted against the house, punctured his fingers. "Blasted vegetation is out to get me now," he muttered.
The Stone's had been frantic when reporting the kidnapping of their baby nephew, Darius; left with them while the parents had a 'second honeymoon'. They couldn't imagine why anyone would want to take the infant, they were not rich neither were the child's adoptive parents, Mr Alex Stone's sister and brother-in-law. Amy Stone had collapsed and been ordered bed rest by her doctor, as she was almost full term with her own expected little boy. There had been no ransom demand so far.
So far attempts to contact the parents had been in vain. The Dorritt's were sailing a catamaran and only attempted radio communication for a short time when they felt like it.
Richard had kept Fidel close, while prowling around the house, grilling him with questions on infant paraphernalia and they were now directing their search outdoors.
Richard had sent Camille to interview the staff, so far she reported back, she had met no less than three other baby-dedicated servants, as if the Stones were over-compensating in care for their nephew.
"Is this what you're looking for, chief?" Dwayne presented a baby's rattle to Richard, carefully handling it in his latex-gloved hands, "It was by the front door, like you suspected."
"More or less, I have a nasty feeling about this," Richard looked down "Oh, no." he crouched and parted the tangled growth "Get Fidel." The body of a young blonde teenager lay crumpled against the house wall mostly hidden by the vegetation. Her obvious head injuries were not just the fault of a fall; the skin was slashed and ripped. Richard stood with his hands on his hips and looked up. Yes, right below the nursery window.
Richard glowered at the white board which, as usual, had a haphazard collection of photos and papers. The infant's room with the letters spelling out the name of the Stone's expected son, Austin, provided a jarring contrast to the picture of Ilsa van Poon's body. Luminal had proven that Ilsa, originally employed by the parents, had been murdered in the infant's room. She had been working her way round the Caribbean and had obviously disturbed the kidnappers.
Camille had since reported that the three extra nannies had all vanished since the body had been found. The local radio and newspapers were appealing for anyone with possible sightings but it was a grueling wait for all involved.
Richard tapped a marker against his teeth, "It just feels like half a plan. Why no ransom? Ilsa was battered not just knocked out, yet no one heard anything? No one saw anything, though the thing must have been in broad daylight? There is something here but I'm not seeing it. Camille, Fidel, have you got anything?"
"Not me, boss. Finances are all normal."
Camille was reading a medical report, "Wait, look at this." She handed it to Richard who read it then looked at her wide-eyed.
"Get everyone into the study."
"Right, Chief."
The staff and family were getting restless by the time Richard Poole entered the study. Camille reached up and discreetly removed a bougainvillea flower from his hair as he passed her.
Richard faced the room and spoke without preamble.
"Two things struck me as odd about this case. One, that the child was removed in broad daylight and two, why so many nannies?"
"My wife…!"
"Is not pregnant."
There was a shocked silence.
Alex laughed "You know more than the doctor now?"
Richard shook his head 'I don't doubt Mrs Stone was pregnant. She regularly attended Doctor Ralph's clinic until three months ago then nothing until just last week. You have formula for Darius but nothing for a newborn."
"We're breastfeeding," Amy put in quickly
Richard shook his head "I have it on the best authority," he glanced at Fidel "that first time parents who feed naturally are advised to keep emergency supplies."
"You're mad, why would we do all that?" Alex was heated
"This is a fake pregnancy to fool your in-laws. You thought you would take this child that your in-laws didn't have time for and substitute it for your own, after staging this fake kidnapping Darius would be tragically lost and Austin would be "born". How much are they paying you to be a part of this, Doctor?"
"I didn't know anyone was going to be killed!"
Amy started crying "Zoe and Blake didn't want him, not really. He would have been raised by nannies and boarding school! They only got a child because they could afford it and they could play at being mother and father, just like they play at everything else!"
"That is a time honored way of bringing up children and not your decision to make. But it all went horribly wrong didn't it? Ilsa wouldn't agree to the scam and she had to be silenced, the other "nannies" panicked and now you have no idea where he is."
Amy wailed and collapsed into her husband's arms.
"Look, we're sorry," he began
"Sorry!" burst out Camille, unable to hide her disgust "How could you possibly have thought to get away with it? The parents…"
"He has made no difference to their lives! They barely connected! He would have made all the difference to ours! "Alex dropped his voice as he whispered "Please, just find him?"
"I assure you we are doing everything in our power. But," Richard's tone was ominous "I hadn't finished; there is still the matter of Ilsa's murder."
"The kidnappers…" began Alex
Richard was already shaking his head. "No, Ilsa was killed by something with very sharp edges, not the sort of thing you would keep in a nursery, the person who killed her brought it in with her; it was pre-meditated not opportunistic."
He motioned Fidel forward who presented him with the shattered fan Richard had found in the bougainvillea.
"It tested positive for blood, boss."
"Thank you." Richard held it up "You have a sensible, safe ceiling fan in the baby's room, this does not belong there; it's redundant and sharp but was found outside the nursery window. It tested for blood, now fingerprints will…"
Amy screamed, "No!" and lunged for Richard who dropped the fan to fend her off.
Alex succeeded in restraining his wife; he looked to be in shock. "Amy! Why!"
Amy was sobbing and stuttering "Ssshhhe was g-g-g-going to ruin everything…!"
Richard straightened his jacket "She didn't have time to hide the body properly or tell you about it before you had already alerted the police to the kidnap."
In the end Amy had to be sedated.
Richard sat in frowning silence as Camille drove the police wagon up the winding road to lookout, several cars were parked, with some couples milling around in the warm island dusk, quite a few were disappearing down the many walking trails that lead down the mountain, criss-crossing the winding road to the top. Dwayne and Fidel met them as they got out of the car.
"This is where the woman reported hearing a baby crying," stated Fidel.
"Good." Richard grimaced at the sight of some couples openly making out, in what was obviously a popular spot for that activity; "I suggest you and Dwayne split up and start searching down the trails, I noticed that there are some old shacks dotted around the slopes."
"Right, boss." They left.
Camille was busy with her mobile, bringing up Google maps to trace the trails. She wasn't having much luck, she stifled a yawn, they had been running all over the island coordinating searches based on reports from the public but she knew that none of them would give up until the child was safe.
"Camille." Richard spoke quietly but urgently
"What?"
"That car just arrived, not couples, three women…?"
"Yes, it's the "nannies" from the house."
"Bother, if they see your face they'll bolt and move the child; we'll lose them again…"
Camille had seconds to think. Grabbing Richard by the lapels she whipped round, pulling him towards her, whispered "Sorry, sir." and kissed him firmly. He caught on instantly, freezing and holding the pose as the trio pushed past them without a second glance and headed for a barely seen trail down the mountain.
Richard gave Camille a little push toward the police wagon. "Quick thinking, Sergeant. I'll follow to see which way they go."
Camille stumbled, a little breathless. She swung herself into the police wagon, reversing down the track, spotting Richard as he burst out of the walking trail. He didn't wait for her to stop but pulled open the door and jumped in. "Go! Round to the right! There!" The "nannies" had indeed run straight to a small shack on the lower slopes.
Dwayne and Fidel arrived moments later, summoned by Camille's cell phone.
Dwayne kicked down the door and it was all over, the amateur kidnappers only too willing to place blame on the would be parents.
"Chief! Come over here, you come over here and join us.' Dwayne waved from where he and Fidel were sitting at Catherine's bar.
Richard smiled, secretly warmed and pleased by their comradeship. "I'm fine thanks, just popped in for some ice. I'll see you tomorrow." He waved and left.
Dwayne laughed "Cheers, Chief. See you tomorrow."
Fidel frowned "Do you think he'll ever just be liming with us?"
Dwayne chuckled "That was liming, for him! Would he have smiled and waved six months ago? I tell you, the Dwayneman is on the case. One day he'll be singing and swinging and getting merry like Christmas, you wait and see!"
Richard sat up in bed, reading to encourage sleep. Absently his fingers brushed his lips as an errant memory of lips like warm silk, brushed past his mind. He ruthlessly pushed it behind a mental wall marked Undercover Work DO NOT THINK ABOUT. 'Personal' was always going to be in the Too Hard basket. He was good at his job; he was going to stick to what he was good at. She was under his command and had not given it a second thought, neither would he. Thankfully he was really good at compartmentalizing.
His lizard appeared; as usual Richard lost the staring match. "Who asked your opinion?" he grouched.