[2022 Wattys shortlisted story]
A missing family. A twenty year old murder. An old ghost story. And a private detective from London. But what do they all have in common? It's the job of DCI Neo Denzel to figure it all out.
In the quiet town of Mart...
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Neo did a little digging himself after Charlie had left to visit Mrs Phillips. He'd already called Gwilt to inform him of the irregularities between the maps and his deputy was on the case, and since it was Neo's day off, he was free to do what he pleased, even if that meant looking into the Felton Pond Murders a little more.
His kids had already left for school and it gave him free run of the house. After a few domesticated chores were complete, he sat down with his laptop and a cup of coffee.
With every page he flicked through, he added another organisation to his list, until he focused on four. All practices that specialised in abortions in the private sector. There had been no abortion on Lucy Phillip's health records and that meant she must have seen someone privately.
Neo circled the third name down on his list. It was a small practice, 5 miles out of Wrexham and along a bus route directly from Marton; easily accessible for a teenager.
Neo grabbed his coat and headed out. Sometimes nothing could replace good old-fashioned police work, where you got boots on the ground.
After negotiating some traffic, Neo pulled up outside a fancy white building. It was all clean lines and big glass windows. He was tempted to just drive away. It was not the place where a teenager with very little money would come for help.
But he switched off his engine and made his way up the steps, regardless.
'How can I help you?' A crackly voice responded over the outside intercom.
'DCI Denzel of Marton Police Force, I was hoping to speak with someone.'
The door clicked open seconds later, and Neo let himself in.
'DCI, I'm Dr Nagita.' A smartly dressed woman met him. 'How can we help?'
Neo shook hands with her. 'I have a few questions. Would you be the one to ask?'
'I'm one of the partners here, please come through to my office.'
Dr Nagita led Neo through a small waiting room where several pregnant women and couples sat, looking anxious but excited. It was just as clean and white as the outside of the building, and Dr Nagita's office was no exception.
It was spacious and open. A screen was placed to one side, where the end of patient bed just poked out enough for Neo to see. Other than that, it was a typical office with all the fancy diplomas to prove it.
'How can I help you, DCI Denzel? As you're probably aware, we've never been in trouble with the law here before.'
Neo could tell she was nervous. Most professionals were when a badge turned up on the door asking questions. They were almost always afraid of adverse publicity, but a small percentage were nervous for other reasons. And they were always illegal reasons.
'In 2001, a legal abortion was administered to a teenager. A few days later, that teenager was murdered. I'm trying to trace if anyone has a record of her or possibly anyone who would have been with her?'
