Early Saturday morning, Kate got the call that Hammersley was crash-sailed. As she was XO, it was her responsibility to muster the crew and sent out a blast text. Everyone was to report to the ship by 9:00 am for a 10:00 departure.
"X, is everyone accounted for?" Mike asked her as they were preparing to sail.
"Yes, Sir, except for Nav. She hasn't acknowledged the text, nor has she arrived."
"That's not like her. Maybe she didn't get the text for some reason. Have you tried to call?"
"Yes, Sir. There's no answer."
"Alright, try her again."
Kate stepped to the flybridge to call her friend. The call went straight to voicemail.
"Nikki, it's Kate. We've been crash-sailed. We're scheduled to leave at 10. Call in, please."
"Still no answer, Sir."
"When's the last time anyone saw her?" Mike asked the bridge crew.
"X and I had dinner with her Thursday night," Bomber offered. "The last I saw of her was when we were leaving the pub. X and I took a taxi, and Nav went to her car."
"What time was that?"
"Oh, a little after 10, 10:15 maybe," Kate responded.
Mike thought for a moment, then turned to Swain. "Swain, do you have your car here, or did Sally drop you?"
"My car's here, Sir."
"Take Bomber, go to her house."
"Okay, Boss." Swain and Bomber left to check Nikki's place.
"RO, get NAVCOM, Commander Marshall, please."
"Aye, Sir." Then a minute later, "Commander Marshall, Sir."
Mike picked up the handset, "Commander,"
"Mike, what is it?"
"We have a SNAFU with departure, Sir."
"What's up, Mike."
"Our Nav has gone missing. Hasn't reported in for the crash-sail."
"Lt. Caetano? That's not like her."
"No, it's not. I've sent someone to her home to check on her. We should hear back soon."
"Okay, Mike. When was the last time anyone has seen or spoken to her.?"
"Thursday night. She had dinner with the X and Able Seaman Brown."
" Huh, thirty-six hours...Keep me posted. If she's not heard from soon, the FEDs will need to be brought in. Stand down. I'll have to take Bendigo out of rotation and send them out. Go ahead and release your crew. Keep any personnel that the FEDs may want to speak with for now. Mike, keep me informed."
"Of course, Sir," the call disconnected as Swain called in.
"Boss, no sign of her at her place. Her car isn't here. Bomber is out talking to some neighbours."
Bomber approached a woman who was walking her dog, "excuse me, Ma'am, do you know the woman that lives here?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Nice young lady, a Navy Lieutenant, I think."
"Yes, she is. Do you remember the last time that you saw her?"
"Well… let's see...Wednesday, no… Thursday. Thursday evening. I was on my last walk with 'Annabelle'," indicating her little dog. "She was going to her car as I walked by. We said hello, and she petted Annabelle. Then she got into her car and drove off."
" Do you remember approximately what time it was?"
"Sure, a little before 8:00, that's when I always walk, Annabelle,"
Swain called the ship. "Yes, Sir. Boss, Bomber is just coming back." Bomber tells Swain of her conversation with Nikki's neighbour.
"Boss, I'm going to give the phone to Bomber so she can report about her interview with the neighbour…"
"Captain, Sir. I spoke with a…(she looks at her notes) Mrs Evelyn Steinhouse. She said that she was walking her dog when she saw Nav getting into her car. She said it was around 8:00 on Thursday evening, which fits with the time that she got to the pub."
Bomber gave Swain back the phone. "Sir, I'm going to go by the pub that they were at and see if anyone saw her after X and Bomber left."
"That's good, Swain, get back to me. When you're done at the pub, come on back," Mike said to him. " Oh, and Swain, we've been ordered to stand down."
'Yes, Sir."
Swain and Bomber arrived at Paradise Lost, drove around the back to the car park and immediately spotted Nikki's red Subaru Legacy. Swain's copper's instincts were on high alert.
"Bomber, this isn't good, and you're sure that she went to her car?" he asked as he pulled up next to her car. Swain got out, looked into Nikki's car and didn't see anything that could help them. Then he walked around the car, looked underneath and spotted her keys where she had dropped them.
"Bomber! Call the Captain. Tell him we found her car and her car keys were underneath. They better call the Feds. Tell him that we will stay here until they get here so that nothing is disturbed."
"Roger that," she answers.
Bomber called the captain, and then Mike called Commander Marshall, who n turn called the Federal Police.
Thirty minutes later, an unmarked car pulls into the car park and parks near Swain's car.
A tall man and a young woman exit the dark sedan and approach Swain and Bomber showing their badges.
"I'm lead Inspector Alicia Hahn, and this is Detective Inspector Sergeant Greg Callaghan," introducing themselves as they shake hands.
" Your name Sir?"
"This Blake, HMAS Hammersley."
"And you, Ma'am?"
"Rebecca Brown, also with Hammersley."
"Mr Blake, tell me what you know."
"Hammersley was to sail this morning at 1000. Nav, ahh, Lt Caetano failed to report. When we couldn't reach her, Lt Commander Flynn sent us to check on her."
"How did you come about finding her car?" Alicia Hahn asks.
Swain fills them in on everything that they've found, including the conversation with Ms Steinhouse.
"Detective Sergeant, call for backup to secure the area, and also for a forensics team to go over the scene," Hahn ordered.
"Mr Blake, Ms Brown, please wait for us on Hammersley. We may have more questions. Especially you, Ms Brown, as you were last with her."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Before going to Hammersley herself, Lead Inspector Hahn and her partner went into the pub to speak with anyone who might have been there last Thursday night.
"I'm sorry, Inspector, but the night staff won't be here until 4:00," the manager informed them.
"Alright, then, would you call them in, please? We'll come back later."
"I will, of course. This is a terrible thing. We try to maintain a safe environment here."
"Of course. Okay, Greg, time to head to Hammersley."
Swain returned his car into the Navy car park, and he and Bomber headed to the ship. Once on board, they went straight to the bridge.
"So, I take it the Feds arrived?" Mike asked Swain.
"Yes, Sir, Inspector Hahn. She said that she would be here shortly to speak with us."
Ten minutes later, the unmarked car pulled up alongside Hammersley's berth. Mike had been waiting on the aft deck for them to arrive.
"Permission to come aboard, Captain," Hahn called out.
"Granted. How are you, Inspector?"
"Fairly well. I'm sorry to have to be here under these circumstances, my partner, Detective Inspector Sergeant Greg Callaghan."
Mike held out his hand, " Pleased. How can we help?"
"Is there somewhere we can talk? I would like to interview some crewmembers and then chat with the two women that had dinner with her on Thursday night."
"Of course, you can set up in the conference room, and I'll have the crew members come to you to be interviewed."
"Perfect. I don't need the entire crew, for now only those who the Lieutenant has regular contact with and who may have seen her Thursday night." Mike escorted the inspector to the bridge.
" Buffer round up Two Dads, Charge, Spider and RO. Send them to the conference room. Anyone else that you can think of Swain?"
"No, Sir."
"Okay, then Buffer, you join them. Swain, the inspector, wants you to wait with us. Buffer let the Inspector know that we will be here on the bridge when she's ready for us."
"Aye, Sir. This way, Inspector Sergeant," as Swain leads them from the bridge.
" Bomber, could you bring them some coffee?"
"Yes, Sir," she replied and left the bridge for the galley to get them brews. After she dropped the tray of coffees in the conference room, she went back to the galley and made up a tray to bring to the bridge.
" Bomber, thank you. Are the Feds settled in okay?" Mike asked.
"They are, Sir."
Inspector Hahn called Buffer, Spider, Charge, Two Dads and RO into the conference room.
"Please, sit down, gentleman. I'm Lead Inspector Hahn; you may remember me from the Bright Island mess. This is Sergeant Callaghan, my partner. We need to ask you a few questions about LT Caetano. I assume that you all know that it appears that she has been missing since Thursday night. Has anyone heard from her or seen her about?"
A chorus of nos as they shook their heads.
"Do any of you know whether she's seeing anyone?"
"I don't believe so," Buffer answers. "I haven't seen her with anyone but the crew."
"How has she been at work? Any mood changes? Depression? Anxiety or short fuse? Does she seem happy?"
This time Charge speaks up, " She seems fine."
"I don't know about that," Two Dads interjects. "She hasn't been the same since ET left." Buffer gives him a look.
Then Spider adds, "I think she and ET were together," looking uncomfortable, "...ahh...maybe."
Now Two Dads and Buffer both give Spider the "what the hell" look. They were trying to protect Nikki's career.
Hahn picked up on these non-verbal signals, "Go on, Spider, is it?"
Spider's face goes red right through to his ears, "Uhhh, I think she and ET may have been seeing each other."
"What makes you think that?"
"Uhhh, just a few conversations that I overheard and then something that happened with Chefo. He was the ship's cook; he left at the same time that ET did."
"Tell us about it." Spider went on to tell about the incident in the galley and what had happened when ET found out. "Man, was he pissed. Tore out of there like Hells fury."
"So, ET? What is his name?"
"Josh Holiday. He was our electronics techo. He left the Navy about four months ago," RO told them.
Callaghan was taking notes on what was being said.
"Okay, thank you, mates," dismissing the group. "Oh, and nobody is to be in contact with 'ET', understood?" Inspector Hahan said to them.
"You don't think ET has anything to do with this? Because there is no way." Charge says to her.
" I don't know anything at this time… thank you."
They all filed out of the conference room. "I can't believe this," Charge says.
Detective Sergeant Callaghan pops his head out the door, " Can one of you send the Captain, X, Bomber and Swain?"
"Yes, Sir," RO responds.
Mike, Kate, Bomber, and Swain file into the conference room.
Inspector Hahn began asking questions while Detective Callaghan continued to take notes. "Okay, we all know each other, so let's get to it. Ms Brown, you and LT McGregor had dinner with the LT. Thursday evening, correct? Where was that?"
"We met at Paradise Lost at 8:00."
" Had you been drinking?"
"We each had a cocktail and then some wine with dinner," Kate said.
"And what time did you leave? Did you all leave at the same time?"
"We left around 10:00," Kate answered. "We walked out together. Bomber and I took a taxi, and Nikki went to her car."
"Tell me about 'ET'."
"What about ET? They were friends." Kate responds. " We are three female crewmembers on a ship with 24 men. We all work together. We form friendships like anyone else. It doesn't have to mean anything,"
Mike looked at her, thinking that she got a little defensive. Then he remembered the whole bird boat incident…( I wondered if there was something there… they seemed pretty close…)
"Well, I believe that I remember him from when I went out to Bright Island with you. They seemed to be fairly close then," she said suggestively. " Where is ET now?"
"He left the Navy at the end of the last rotation, about four months ago," Mike answered.
" Any particular reason for leaving?"
Swain spoke up, " Well, there were a couple of reasons. On our last boarding together, we were overrun and held hostage. While we were being held in a compartment, ET told me that he was done with the bull shit and would be leaving the Navy. He had a very stressful rotation with several life or death incidents, one of which came too close to losing his leg or his life. And, then there's the fact that he recently became a father."
"Have you seen him lately?"
"As a matter of fact, Thursday evening. He had dinner with my family and me."
"How did he seem? Was he nervous or unsettled?"
"No, quite the opposite. We had a nice dinner, relaxed."
"Well, I'm going to need to speak with him. Do you know how I can find him without jumping through hoops?"
Swain gave them Josh's address.
"Okay, thank you, everyone. That's all for now. Oh, let's not be giving ET any heads up about our coming." Hahn and Callaghan left to head over to Josh's.
"Swain, you and Bomber are dismissed; go home. Just remember that we are on standby." Mike said.
"Thank you, Sir," they said as they left.
"Kate, did you know of anything going on between Nikki and ET?"
"I knew that they had feelings for each other, and I also knew that nothing happened on the ship. They were close friends who someday hoped to be more."
"You know, I thought that I saw something during that whole 'bird boat' disaster. I just chalked it up to Nikki being concerned for a close friend."
"Nikki told me that Josh was planning on transferring off Hammersley at the end of the rotation so that they could date. But, then when Josh's ex-girlfriend turned up pregnant, Nikki broke everything off. I think that's one of the big reasons that he left the Navy instead of going for a transfer."
"So, bottom line, nothing happened."
"Nothing happened," Kate replied. "You know Nikki; she would have never let things go too far."
Finished interviewing the crew's key members, Alicia and Greg asked Mike if they could wander about and talk to other crew members wanting to get a better sense of Josh, "ET". None of the other crew members knew anything about "ET" and "Nav". They did, however, talk about his reputation with the ladies. Alicia wrote this down in her notebook.
The agents signed off with Mike before leaving the ship. "Thank you, Captain. We may have more questions, and please keep the crew available."
"Of course. Inspector, should we be notifying Nikki's family?"
"I ask that you wait another twenty-four hours. Let's see if she turns up. It would be a shame to upset them if nothing were to come of this."
"Right. I'll call them tomorrow if Nikki isn't back."
"Very Good. G'day, Captain."
Before heading to Josh's, Hahn and Callaghan stopped at NAVCOM to speak with Commander Marshall.
"Inspector Hahn, come in, have a seat." Steve Marshall greeted them as they arrived at his office.
"Thank you, Commander. My partner Sergeant Greg Callaghan."
"Pleased," Steve said, extending his hand. "How can I help you, Inspector?"
" I would like a copy of LT Caetano's jacket and also Josh Holiday's."
"Okay, I understand the LT's, but why Holiday's? He's been out of the Navy almost four months now."
"It appears that they may have been somewhat involved. I need to get the whole picture."
"LT Caetano involved with a shipmate? Highly unlikely. She's an exemplary officer."
"Yes, well, maybe you should speak with LT. Commander Flynn. Any chance the LT is AWOL? Or, maybe being that there was a two-week shore leave she snuck away for a few days?"
"First, Inspector, there is no way the LT is AWOL. She's career Navy all the way, and unless it's a scheduled R & R leave, the crew is always on call and need to be available for unexpected recall. They all know this. As for her seeing Holiday, I wouldn't know, nor would I care. He's no longer in the Navy, so it's a moot point. I'll have LT Smith pull those jackets for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting," effectively dismissing them.
It was just 12:30 when Hahn and Callaghan pulled up in front of Josh's townhouse, noting that Josh's car was in the driveway. They got out of the car, looked around at the neighbourhood. Walking past Josh's car, they looked in the windows, noting the baby car seat before making their way to the door. Callahan knocked forcefully, and a moment later, Josh opened the door carrying Emma on his hip.
"Can I help you?"
Showing their badges, "Lead Inspector Alicia Hahn and Detective Inspector Sergeant Greg Callaghan, Federal Police. May we come in, Mr Holiday?"
Josh was a bit taken back... ( what could this be all about?), he stepped aside and showed them into the living room.
"What's this about?"
"Sit down please, Mr Holiday," Callahan said.
"Call me Josh, please," as he sat in the chair facing the couch.
"I think that for our purposes, we'll keep it formal, Mr Holiday."
Josh is becoming quite confused and concerned.
"Cute Baby," Alicia Hahn says. "Is she yours? She looks like you."
Josh began to get annoyed and wanted to be flip but decided against it, not knowing what was going on. ( Maybe Lucy has something to do with this? I wouldn't be surprised.)
"Yes, of course, she's mine."
"How old is she?" asked Callaghan.
"Seven months. Are you just friendly, or is there a purpose to these questions?" Josh was getting testy.
"Oh, there's a purpose, Mr Holiday," Hahn said. "So, what's her name?"
"Emma."
"Nice. And you said she's seven months old? She was born before you left the Navy then."
"Yeah, about three months before."
Hahn: "Are you married? Where's her mother?"
"We're not married and not together but have shared custody."
"How does that work out with your job? I assume you are working, living in this nice place."
"I'm with Cairns Search and Rescue. My shifts are one week, Sunday to Saturday, on then one week off. So I have her every other week."
Callaghan jumps in, "Kind of cramps your social life, work and baby."
"No, I'm right where I want to be. Now please, what is this all about?"
Callaghan: " Where were you Thursday night, 10:00?"
"What? Why?"
"Just answer the question, please," Hahn adds.
Emma started to get antsy. Josh got up, put her in her play corner with some toys, and then sat back down. "10:00 Thursday, I was right here with Emma."
"Can anyone verify that?"
Josh snorted and shook his head, "yeah, Emma. Earlier in the evening, I had dinner with Chris and Sally Blake and their family. I came home around 8:00."
Hahn continues, "Do you still have contact with LT. Caetano?"
"No. What's going on?" getting anxious.
"LT Caetano failed to show for duty this morning. It appears that she has been missing for almost two days; since Thursday night."
Josh went cold, "Missing? She's missing?" Josh stood and started to pace, running his fingers through his hair.
"Any ideas, Mr Holiday?"
Josh spun around and faced them, "NO! NO, I DON'T!" His shouting and angry tone upset Emma, and he picked her up for a cuddle. "I would never hurt Nikki if that's what you're thinking! Never!" Josh said forcefully, then sadly, "never. When was she last seen?" his voice was shaking, forgetting what he had previously been told.
Hahn replied, "She had dinner with LT McGregor and Seaman Brown on Thursday evening at Paradise Lost Pub. The dinner party broke up around 10:00."
"Tell us about your relationship with the Lieutenant."
"We met when she joined Hammersley as our new navigator. We hit it off as friends right off. Friendship turned into more, a lot more. I was going to ask her to marry me."
"How could you do that if you were both on the same?" Callaghan asked.
"I was going to transfer off when the rotation was over. We would be able to be together. I was going to ask her then."
"You're not together now? What happened?"
"Lucy happened, pregnant with Emma. We hadn't been together for some time, but with my past reputation, Nikki… she… broke off our relationship."
"Do you still see her?"
"No, not at all."
"Alright, Mr Holiday, that's all for now. Stay available," Alicia Hahn said, standing.
Josh is blown away and sits down heavily in his chair, still holding onto Emma, stroking her back while she cuddles into his chest.
Hahn and Callaghan let themselves out and began to canvas the neighbours, showing Nikki's service photo and asking if anyone had seen her. They also asked if they had seen Josh on Thursday night. A few said they saw him come home a little after 8:00 but didn't notice anything else.
Alicia noticed a woman across the street, watching from her porch.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, I'm with the Federal Police," Alicia and Greg show their badges. " Could you tell us your name, please?"
"Margery Hanson, what's this about?"
"Are you acquainted with Mr Holiday?" Alicia asks.
"Well, only to say hello. I've spoken to him a few times when he was out walking his beautiful baby."
"Have you noticed any visitors? People coming and going? Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nothing strange. Only the baby's mother when she comes to pick her up, and I believe he has a sister that visits often," she replied. "He's a wonderful father and a good neighbour—a charming young man. You can't possibly think that he is involved in something. Is there something wrong?"
"Thank you, Ms Hanson," Inspector Hahn replied, turning to leave.
The two agents returned to their car. "Alright, let's head over to the lieutenant's house. "We have her keys; let's get a look around," Alicia says.
Arriving at Nikki's condo, they let themselves inside. They find a tidy home with no signs that she was planning on leaving. All of her clothing appeared undisturbed, and her toiletries were in the bathroom as would be expected. Alica picked up the giant stuffed Koala from the bed. "Cute," she said and returned it to its spot on the bed.
Nikki's coffee cup was in the sink, along with a cereal bowl, the refrigerator was well stocked.
"I don't see anything here that is helpful, do you, Greg?"
"No, all looks to be pretty normal, like she just went out for the evening."
"Let's do a door knock and see if anyone has seen or heard anything."
"The neighbourhood canvas didn't turn up any relevant information with the exception of Nikki's next-door neighbour, Evelyn Stenhouse. She verified that Nikki was going out a little before 8:00 Thursday evening. " We spoke briefly; she pet Annabelle, my little dog. She mentioned that she was having dinner with friends."
"Thank you, Ms Stenhouse. You've been helpful." Alica says.
"Okay, back to the office, later we'll go back to that pub, around 4:00," Hahn said to Callaghan.
Josh took a deep breath and tried to stop shaking. (This is a nightmare… My God, Nikki…)
Another deep breath, "Okay, little poppet, let's get you changed and have some lunch. Maybe Aunty Amanda will come over for a while so daddy can lose it."
Josh fed Emma her lunch and sat rocking her while she drank a bottle taking comfort from his little girl. Once she was asleep, he brought her to her room, kissed her head and laid her in her cot, covering her with a light blanket. Returning to the living room, he crashed onto the couch and called his sister.
"Hey, Josh, what's up?"
"Hey, Sis, could you and Jared come over?" Josh asked, his voice cracking.
"Jeez Josh, what's wrong? Is Emma okay?"
Taking a deep shaking breath, "Emma's fine. It's… It's… Nikki. She's missing."
"Missing? From the boat? Did something happen?"
"Not missing from Hammersley, she disappeared after having dinner with some friends Thursday night. They only discovered her missing because Hammersley was crash-sailed, and she didn't show. I'm going crazy, Sis. I don't want to be alone."
"It's okay; we'll be there in 10. Why Jared, not that he minds."
"The Federal Police were here. Evidently, I am a 'person of interest' because we were close."
When Amanda and Jared arrived, she let herself into the house and found Josh lying on the couch staring at the ceiling.
"Hey Josh," she says, kissing him on the head. " Where's Emma?"
"Sleeping."
Amanda sat on the floor next to him while Jared took the chair opposite.
"Thanks, Sis, Jared, I can't believe this is happening. I want to be doing something. I want to be out looking for her."
"Josh, let the police handle it."
"It's the Feds 'cause she's Navy."
"Even better."
"Josh, have you eaten?" Amanda asks.
"Can't."
"Let me fix us some brews then," getting up; she goes to the kitchen.
"Josh, tell me about the visit from the Feds," Jared says.
"Inspector in Charge Alicia Hahn and Detective Sergeant Callaghan. I think that was their names." Josh went on to tell Jared everything about their visit.
Amanda returned to the living room carrying a tray with three brews; she added a whiskey shot to Josh's. He took a sip, not saying anything about the extra ingredient. Then Amanda took a seat next to her brother on the couch.
"Those are all standard questions," Jared explained. "Standard procedure, they need to rule you out. Unfortunately, it's most often an ex-husband, boyfriend, etc., who are behind these things. If they come back and things get uncomfortable. Stop answering questions, and call me. If you tell them that you are calling a Barrister, they have to stop. I'll come straight away."
"Do they have any idea what may have happened?" Amanda asked.
"No, evidently, she was out with friends, having dinner Thursday night. Kate and Bomber, uh...Rebecca said goodnight, and she walked to her car alone."
Josh turned on the News, and there was Nikki's service portrait. He leaned forward, covered his face, and quietly cried.
"Josh, she's beautiful," Amanda says to him, not ever having met her although she had heard about her. He hadn't brought her around to the family because of their circumstances. They both wanted to wait before approaching their families until they could actually be together.
Josh's phone rings; he looks at the caller ID then answers. "Hi, Mum."
"Josh, my God. I was just watching the news. Is that your Nikki?"
"I wish she were my Nikki, but yes. She's missing."
"How are you doing?"
"I'm alright. Worried."
"Are you alone?"
"Amanda and Jared are here."
"Good. You shouldn't be alone. May I speak with Amanda?"
"Sure, Mum," handing the phone over to his sister.
"How is he doing really?" Diane asks. "He still loves her, doesn't he."
"Yes, very much so. I'm going to stay with him and help with Emma until Lucy picks her up later."
"Do you need me to come up?"
"Not yet; I'll let you know."
"Okay, keep in touch. Give him a hug for me."
" I will."
Kate and Mike had just finished dinner at Kate's and turned on the news. Inspector Hahn had released Nikki's picture to the national news outlets hoping to get a lead on her whereabouts.
"Mike, we need to call the Caetano's. If they see the news…"
"Right," Mike called into NAVCOM and got Nikki's emergency contact numbers, then called her parents.
As luck would have it, Sophia and Dom Caetano had not seen the news. They found out about Nikki's disappearance from Mike. Sophia was close to hysterical, Dom trying to hold it together for her.
Mike told them everything he knew and gave them the Inspectors number.
"Do you think we should come up?" Dom asked.
"Of course, if you feel that you need to. We could probably find someplace for you to stay on the base, but there isn't anything that you can do. We'll be sure to keep you informed, and you can call at any time."
"You're right. We should wait here. We need to call Nikki's brothers. We should all be together. Thank you for calling, Captain."
"I'm sorry, Mr Caetano; let's hope she's back safe soon."
Callaghan and Hahn arrived at Pub Paradise Lost around 4:30 pm to interview the waiter and other pub staff.
"I remember the ladies. They appeared to be enjoying themselves," the waiter told them."
Callaghan showed him Nikki's picture. "Was she one of the women?"
"Ahh, yeah, yeah she was, pretty she is."
"Did you notice anything unusual?"
"No...not really."
A young waitress that had been wiping tables nearby had overheard the Inspector.
"Excuse me, Ma'am? I remember a strange bloke sitting at that corner table."
"Strange, how do you mean?"
"Well, he was kind of creepy. I brought him his beer, and he was muttering to himself while looking over at where the ladies were sitting. I didn't really think much about it. Just a guy watching attractive women. You see that all the time."
"How long was he here?"
"I believe he left a little after 9:30."
"Can you describe him?"
"Like I said, creepy scary. Medium build, dark clothes, dark bushy beard, longish brown hair. Oh! And heavy black plastic rimmed glasses."
"That's real good, thanks. Can I have a police artist come by and try a sketch?"
"Yeah, sure."
She hands a card to her, "If you think of anything or you see him in here, give me a call."
" Will do."
Having no one else to interview, they left for the station to write their reports.