Chapter 5

A New Case

Harry and Nikki were stood leaning back on her car as they watched the scene playing out in front of them. Mr. Fairburn shifted nervously as he was questioned by Sadler and the police. His eyes left them for a moment to follow the movements of the animal control officers as they carried a small dog crate to their vehicle. Nikki just caught sight of the wide-eyed face inside before it was placed in the back of the van and a couple of bodies blocked her view. Then the door closed and the chimp was gone.

Glancing over at the sound of her quiet sigh, Harry gave her shoulder a bump with his own and sent her a questioning look. She shook her head dismissively and dropped her eyes to the ground.

"We're taking him in for questioning." Sadler said, his voice drawing Harry's gaze. "He doesn't seem to be aware of the murder, but we're being careful all the same."

"And the baby chimp?" Nikki asked, looking up to watch the RSPCA van as it disappeared from view.

Sadler followed her gaze. "They're taking it to a sanctuary where it's going to learn how to be a real chimp. It turns out he's been using it as sort of a toy for his niece. She's been dressing it up and everything." Nikki frowned at that, but remained silent. "Anyway," Sadler continued, turning to go. "I'll give you a ring as soon as we're done with him," he called over his shoulder.

With another sigh, Nikki turned to open the car door. "Hop in," she said. "I'll give you a ride back and you can tell me what Sadler found."

"A contract?"

"Yup," Harry confirmed. "And not a very official looking one at that. The delivery man, Conner Wilson, was picking up illegally obtained baby chimps from the docks and bringing them to the zoo."

Nikki looked upset. "That's terrible. So, Tom Little has a whole operation set up?"

"Looks like it," he agreed. "And it sure would help if we knew where this Conner Wilson chap is, and DI Curtis for that matter."

Pulling up outside the Lyell Centre, Nikki turned off the car and climbed out just as Leo came rushing out of the building. "Is everything alright?" she asked as he hurried past them to his own car.

"Yeah," he nodded swiftly, but frowned as he opened the driver's door. "Well, no. I've got a car accident in the middle of nowhere."

"Good luck," Harry called as he slammed the door and started the engine. Then, in a mock imitation of Leo, he continued with, "Thanks Harry, that's very kind of you. Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. You've been working very hard recently. You should go on a holiday sometime, maybe to the Caribbean or something." Nikki gave his arm a whack with the back of her hand as they made their way inside. "Spoilsport," he mumbled, but still held a grin on his face.

"I think this just got a whole lot more complicated," Leo said, his voice muffled as he leaned over the body, half in the car.

The detective assigned to the case, Rosie Easton, hovered beside him as an interested expression suddenly crossed her face. "Do tell?" she asked, trying to peer around him to see what had caught his attention. Leo moved aside and gestured to the bullet wound hidden just above the man's hairline. "He was shot?" Easton asked, leaning forward for a better look. "Great," she continued, her tone turning sarcastic. "With the condition of the windscreen, we won't be able to know if the bullet passed through it." She cast a troubled glance to the front of the car where it was imbedded in a tree trunk, glass everywhere.

Leo sighed and rolled his eyes while she wasn't looking. "Won't we?" he asked, tilting the man's head away from the seat. When she only gave him a blank look, he continued. "There is absolutely no sign of blood splatter. If he was shot inside the vehicle, there would have been blood all over the seat. As is, there's only a trail from the exit wound."

"So," Easton deduced slowly, "He wasn't even in the car when he was shot?" Leo nodded. "He was already dead when the accident happened?" He gave her a pointed look. "Well," she shrugged, "At least we know why he crashed."

"Yeah," Leo mumbled to himself sarcastically as she moved away to let him continue.

Crouching down to take a look around the man's legs, he paused. There was a stick lying broken on the floor of the car, just under the accelerator. Wondering for a moment if the small branch had fallen in from the tree outside, Leo soon brushed the thought away and concentrated on the rest of his examination.

Harry and Nikki didn't pay much attention to Leo when he returned, mostly because Sadler had arrived and was filling them in on his findings during the questioning of David Fairburn. Nikki gave her boss a distracted wave as he passed them on his way to the cutting room, but didn't move her eyes from the detective.

"Says he paid twenty five thousand pounds for it," Sadler was saying with disbelieving a shake of his head. "Apparently he didn't know he needed a permit to own a chimpanzee. You'd think he'd suspect something when he was told to meet Mr. Little on a deserted road in the countryside… at night."

"That does seem fishy, yes," Harry nodded absently, thoughts racing.

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't start with the animal jokes again," she warned. He smirked, not noticing right away what he'd said.

"Anyway," Sadler continued, attempting to keep them focused. "I've tracked down Connie Hooper, one of the other names in that notebook you found, Nikki. She doesn't live far from here, so I'm thinking of paying her a visit as well."

"You'd better warn the RSPCA again," Nikki suggested. "They might have another new charge soon."

Sadler gave a swift nod as he moved to the door. "Good thinking. I'll see you two later." With that, he slipped out and left them to mull over the evidence.

A few hours had passed since Leo arrived back, and he eventually returned from the cutting room to find his colleagues sitting in the other's chair as they bickered good-naturedly about something completely unrelated to the case. Moving to stand beside their shared desk, he crossed his arms and waited for them to notice his presence.

"Ah," Harry said when he finally swiveled to face him. "Leo, can you please tell Nikki—"

"No, I can't," he interrupted, face growing serious. Both frowned, noticing his expression as they gave him their full attention. "Conner Wilson," he stated simply.

They sent each other a glance across the table. "What about him?" Harry asked.

"He's in our morgue."

Silence filled the room. "He's what?" Harry scoffed, breaking it for a moment. Soon though, a disturbed look came across his face as he understood. "The car crash victim," he nodded, more of a statement than a question. He already knew the answer.

"So, the only person who might know where DI Curtis is has died in a car accident?" Nikki asked dejectedly.

Leo shook his head. "He was dead before the crash, shot in the head at point-blank range." That earned a horrified look from Nikki and a disheartened one from Harry. "There's more. DNA from some hairs and a blood sample matched the DNA we found in Lauren Todd's wounds."

"You're not telling me this chimp has learned how to shoot a gun now, are you?" Harry asked incredulously, his expression somewhere between shock, amusement, and worry.

"No, Harry," his boss sighed. "I don't know what I'm trying to tell you."