Episode 8 - The replacement

After successfully negotiating breakfast at the cottage, Gary still had time for another coffee before Gary went to HQ to talk to the two suspects lined up.

He felt guilty about his feelings about Dorothy’s project, but even more guilty about the lack of progress in the case that owed its genesis not least to Dorothy’s it. After all, following the discovery of a recording in her letterbox and the premature announcement of the imminent opening of the Price Bureau, Dorothy went to complain about the mistaken publication at the Gazette only to discover that the receptionist, Daphne, had disappeared, and that was something no amateur detective agency could deal with.

The case had taken on urgent reality with the discovery of the as yet unidentified dead woman in Daphne’s flat and was now firmly in the hands of the homicide division at HQ, and in particular Gary’s due to the constellation of Dorothy, her project and somewhat distraught feelings towards retirement that was being forced on her (apparently).

There was, however, Gary’s initial lack of serious interest in the case, though he was going through the motions of looking into it. For Gary had assumed something harmless had happened to Daphne without knowing about her activities outside the Gazette office. The information supplied by her colleague Maureen had proved unreliable. He knew she had been to a disco, but events after that had not been looked into until Daphne, on her reappearance, eventually admitted that she had been forced to offer herself to men ostensibly in the movie business  who were not all they were cracked up to be, but men willing to pay for unusual erotic adventures with star-struck young women.

***

With the disappearance of the second receptionist at the Gazette, the sinister nature of that freebie enterprise also came under suspicion. If Bertie Browne, who was classed as a small-time opportunist crook, was not involved, who was? How much of a coincidience could the disappearance of the receptionists one after another be?

When confronted with the chronology of events, Cleo had to agree that they had not been quick enough to draw conclusions. She took her share of blame because she had really awarded the implications of Daphne’s disappearance little attention after that dead woman in Daphne’s bath had all but eclipsed the issue.

“Of course, if Bertie is short of a receptionist, we should provide him with one,” Cleo said. “It would have to be someone we can trust to observe the office and be aware that many so-called Gazette clients might be there for other reasons.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?” said Gary.

“Daisy.”

“She’s an au pair.”

“She’s a student getting experience before studying, whatever else she says. She’s also foreign and pretty.”

“She could get into danger if there is something sinister going on at the Gazette office,” said Gary.

“But we would tell her exactly what to expect and how to react.”

“I should get a policewoman to take on the job.”

“Too old, Gary. Anyway, gangsters can smell a cop instantly.”

“OK. We’ll ask her. She can always say no.”

***

Daisy, who was sharing a room with her sister Toni in the other half of the two joined-up Hurley cottages, happened to be at home and was delighted to be asked to do something more interesting than baby-sitting, although she loved the children.

“The nursery school and your little kiddies are sweetness and light all the way,” she assured Cleo, “but I’d like to do something that is more of a challenge.”

“Great!” said Gary. “I want you to go to the local Gazette office and tell Mr Browne, the publisher and editor, that you heard there was a receptionist job going and could you have it?”

“Wow,” said Daisy. “Where’s the catch?”

“One receptionist disappeared for a week, but came back, and the other one has now disappeared. I’m waiting to hear who the woman we found dead during a house search of the other receptionist is. The first receptionist has reappeared, so what happened to the second one and is she coming back? Apart  from that, who is the dead woman – a former receptionist?”

“I don’t want to disappear,” said Daisy.

“I don’t want you to disappear,” said Gary.

“Let me explain,” said Cleo. “We believe that young, star-struck women are being enticed by offers of stardom to go to a villa just outside Middlethumpton.”

“What’s enticed?” said Daisy.

“Persuaded, Daisy. Your English is so good that I forget you might not know every word,” said Cleo.

“What do they do there?” said Dasiy, now a bit worried about saying she would help.

“When they get there, they are wined and dined. They then have to put on sexy underclothes and audition for men who are described as casting managers. The girls are then told that intimate relations with those men will help their careers. In other words, they are tricked into prostitution. Very often, these young women are drugged and abused when they are unconscious. It’s a really dirty business.”

“I don’t want to be mixed up in that,” said Daisy. “ I’m not star-struck and I don’t get myself picked up by strange men.”

“All you will do is play up to anyone who comes into the office and invites you to go somewhere after work,” said Gary.

“But if I refuse, he might be waiting for me outside and force me to go with him.”

“Should anyone invite you anywhere – and they will think you are star-struck if you have one of those movie glossies on the counter - they will see it,” Cleo explained. “You will let them think you are one of those other young women, but must work till seven and then go home first and get some nice clothes on. You would arrange to meet the person in a public place, and you would not turn up because by then your report to the police would have raised the alarm and they would take over.”

“I’ll do it,” said Daisy.

“Awesome,” said Cleo.

**

The idea of involving Daisy in the case bothered both Cleo and Gary,.

“I’d like to know if Maureen is really just a go-between?” said Cleo. “If I were to find out that I was mixed up in some kind of fraud, I would not stick around.”

“She didn’t,” said Gary.

“Meaning she went to the house to see what was going on?”

“Maybe she knew and pressganged Fish into including her. There’s money to be earned having sex with rich guys. I hope Maureen will be more forthcoming when I question her.”

“If she’s still alive,” said Cleo. “Fish didn’t act alone, Gary. There must be other disagreeable characters involved – those assistants, for example. But money is not disagreeable, and those receptionist don’t earn much.”

“Meaning cooperation is OK if you are paid for it,” said Gary. “The old horizontal trade, in other words. What do you think we should do next?”

“Daisy might notice something. Bertie Browne might be involved. Why don’t you go there for a chat with him and point out the dangers of using his office as a contact bureau? You could take the opportunity of getting Daisy a job there.”

“That kind of crime is certainly not Bertie’s style,” said Gary. “He’s bumptious and vain and game for a bit of bargaining, but that’s all. He doesn’t fit the bill as a pimp. He has a family at home and they are important to him.”

“If that’s the case, he’ll help you to get to the bottom of the affair, won’t he?”

“If I can tell him enough about it. I’ll have to weigh up the risk.”

***

Gary phoned Greg to say that he would go to the Gazette bureau and talk to Mr Browne I the hope that he would have something useful to contribute.

But Greg was worried. Maureen Bishop (so she had a surname) was tight-lipped. She would not say how she had got to Fish’s house or what she had done there. She could not get her head round the drug factor. She did not take pills, except for headaches now and again. Greg thought she had been telling the truth. Gary thought it unlikely.

Gary told Greg that he suspected Maureen of being less emotional and innocent than Daphne. Could Greg get a bank statement to see if Maureen had received notable sums of money that could indicate payment for suspicious services?

***

Bertie Browne was not pleased to see Gary and ushered him rapidly into his holy of holies since he did want the police to be seen on his premises.

Daphne had kept her promise to stay at work. She was dealing with an obstreperous customer who wanted to buy a cheap car. His advert would be in Monday’s edition. He was arguing about having to pay for the ad, since was bringing custom to the Gazette, he reasoned. Daphne was trying to explain that you paid to advertise what you wanted or no longer wanted. The Gazette did not sell the cars; they only sold the buy and sell adverts. The man grudgingly drew out a couple of pound coins.

“That’s not enough,” Daphne said. “You have to pay for the advert at 3 pounds a line and your advert is 3 lines long.”

“I’m going to complain,” the man shouted. That brought Bertie and Gary to see what was going on.

“What’s all this about?” shouted Bertie.

“This gentleman does not want to pay,” Daphne retorted.

“Yes I do,” said the man, pushing the 2 pound coins in Daphne’s direction on the counter. “Here’s the money.”

“I told you that’s not enough,” said Daphne. “It costs 3 pounds a line and you’ve got three, so you owe me nine pounds.”

The man looked round, hoping someone would contradict Daphne, but no one did.

“Either you pay the price or you don’t get the advert,” said Gary in a very officious voice. “It’s quite simple really.”

Meek as a lamb, the man paid up with a 10 pound note and donated the pound change to Daphne.

“I don’t take tips,” she protested.

“Yes, you do,” said Bertie.

***

Back in business, Gary came straight to the point.

“We have reason to believe that there is a trade in the procurement of prostitutes going on here,” said Gary.

Bertie looked perturbed.

“What’s that when it’s at home?” he said.

“Women are being negotiated on pretence by someone here.”

“By Daphne? She’s too thick,” said Bertie.

”I mean Maureen,” said Gary. “Do you know where she is now?”

“The silly Bishop woman did not come to work yesterday. She’s supposed to start at eleven.”

“She won’t be coming today either, Bertie. She’s in hospital.”

“What’s she doing there?”

“Recovering from being found drugged and half naked on a bed in a house where star-struck young women touting for a film role entertain rich old men thinking they are doing what’s now known as casting.”

“What was Maureen doing there?”

“I’d like to ask you that, Bertie. I don’t suppose she wanted to be drugged. I haven’t heard her side of the story yet, but I assume that she went to the house being used as a brothel and found herself in an ugly situation that may have been caused by her own folly, such as trying a bit of blackmail. How does that sound?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“You’d better,” said Gary. “Daphne disappeared to that house a week ago hoping to be spotted for a film career, Bertie. That’s the trick used to lure young women to the house – and it works.”

“I employ only decent girls here,” said Bertie. “I’ll fire them both.”

“You might be justified. On the other hand, if you fire them it will make it harder to dig out the guys running the scheme. Then you might be stuck with it.”

“I don’t want that,” said Bertie.

“OK. I don’t think Maureen will be free to work here for a few days, but you could get a new girl. You took Daphne back.”

“I had to. What if they get the new girl as well?”

“I wasn’t planning to tell you this, but we would like to plant a young woman who has all her wool on and will report any goings-on. We were going to do this without involving you since you ae yourself under suspicion, but on reflection, you owe me at least one good turn.”

“Under suspicion? All this is news to me.”

“I hope it is, Bertie.”

“Who can I get at such short notice?”

“Her first name is Daisy, she’s Danish and she is not star-struck.”

“And you want me to give her the job, do you?”

“I know we haven’t got on well in the past, Bertie, but this business is serious and must be cleared up and if you agree to my plan it makes it more unlikely that you are mixed up in what’s going on. I don’t really want a female cop working here.”

“Neither do I. If you’re sure the Gazette won’t suffer, I’ll go along with the plan.”

“The Gazette can only publish the story when we’ve arrested the gang responsible. Not before. Is that clear, Bertie?”

“Of course. I don’t want to be lynched.”

“Did you know that a prematurely placed advert has led to this criminal activity coming to light, Bertie.”

“No.”

“And you don’t know that a corpse was found in Daphne’s flat while she was in the hands of those pimps.”

Now Bertie was clearly shocked.

“Daphne did not tell you, did she?” said Gary.

“She was cagey about her absence, even when I told her I was withholding her pay for last week.”

“That’s the least of her worries, Bertie.”

“Is she a suspect?”

“No. We don’t think she would drown someone in a bath.”

“Is that what happened?”

“I’m afraid so. But you can publish a photo if you want to, as long as it’s only as a missing person appeal with no other information.”

“I’ll do that,” said Bertie. “It’ll sell my Gazette like hot cakes.”

“In the rubric ‘missing’, Bertie. Page 3.”

“Very well, though a first page spread would get more replies.”

“If you want me to send you the photo, you’ll have to agree to my terms, Bertie.”

“Very well. Give it here!”

“You’ll have it in two minutes,” said Gary, logging into his mobile.

***

Although the visit to the Gazette office had not gone quite the way Cleo would have expected, Gary was sure it was the right way forward, given that Bertie Browne was really shocked and very anxious to prove that he was on the police’s side. Readers might know the woman. She had not yet been reported missing and Joe’s ‘Cop’s Corner’ magazine was not due out until the end of the month. Even if he issued a leaflet, it would not be read by as many as read the Gazette twice a week.

Gary’s next call would be at the hospital. A quick phone-call with Greg led to them meeting there. Greg approved of his boss wanting to keep his hand in. Superintendents tended to be landed with the paperwork and that was not Gary’s style.