Yarrow: The Smiley Killer

14:15

Teddy Jameson sat in the Seal Club snooker bar drinking his single shot of Teacher's whiskey, straight up, no ice. The bar itself had become more and more of a dive since the owners decided to change it's name on a lost bet. It had since become the watering hole of anybody that didn't want to be found. The irony lost on them that Doug Chaney and every other detective at the station knew where to go to find any shady character.

Being early afternoon the bar was almost empty except an elderly couple of gentleman that were playing snooker at the far end of the establishment to the man Doug was here to see. He knew him instantly from his mug shot. He was not the sort that he pictured Lacey finding attractive based on what Christine had told him.

He was tall, even sat down he was obviously tall. He had a big beard that teetered on the edge of ginger and a shaved head. He was slim but wiry and wore a blue checkered shirt.

Doug approached him and offered him his hand, "Detective Chaney, are you Theodore Jameson?"

"Teddy, please," he gestured Doug to sit down next to him on the sofa that lined the wall. Doug instead chose to take the seat opposite. He came across far more polite and well mannered than his rap sheet suggested. He seemed quite unsurprised to be approached by a detective.

"I assume you have heard why I am here?"

"If I am honest with you I have no idea."

"Okay, well let me ask you this, what is your relationship with a Ms. Lacey Jeffers?"

"Lacey? I've been seeing her for a few weeks, nothing more. She's just a bit of a cheap thrill."

"Are you aware that she was found dead, killed last night?"

Doug placed a small note pad in front of himself and untwisted the cap from his fountain pen. He placed his glasses on his face and looked over the rim. He didn't need them but he'd learned from Christine that dramatic effect can be important.

Teddy didn't look shocked, he looked completely neutral.

"Dead?" He asked.

"Yes, deceased."

"How?"

"Well Teddy," he paused, emphasising the name he'd been asked to call the man by, "I was hoping you could help me with that."

"You saying I'm a suspect?"

"You and everyone else I need to interview. How would you describe your relationship with Lacey?"

"Fine, well she thought I was from a rich family but living in a dump to be 'arty'. I lied to her for a laugh and she couldn't get enough of it."

He smirked in satisfaction at his accomplishment.

"Tell me Teddy, are you a religious man?"

"I recently lost touch with the lord."

"Why's that?"

"Well my mother showed up after over a decade, made me question everything my dad had brought me up to believe. Look I'd really like to help, but as I said, she was just a fling."

"Where have you been for the last few nights"

"Well I've been here drinking all day this week, had some compulsory time off work. Been getting home about 6 and passing out."

Doug paused, he had no alibi, "so no one was with you?"

"Well I've spoken to the neighbours on the way home, they're old and nosey like that. As I said I've been so drunk I've been passing out in my flat. Are there anymore questions as I really think you're wasting your time?"

Doug stopped looking over the rim of his glasses, "just one, do the following names mean anything to you: Carly Lewis, Yolande Owusu, Karen Tinager?

Teddy stopped for a second, a second too long for Doug's liking, "no, not a clue."

Doug smiled and wrote on his pad, "Thank you Teddy, that'll be all."

Doug got up and walked out of the bar in to the high street that had been in a steady decline since the nineties. He got his phone out and text Christine:

Think Teddy's hiding something, I'm going to tail him later after I get some information from the station. Meet at the Condor Coffee on the high street to go over things quickly? 😃🔦🔍 (am I using them right now?)

* * *

"Christine what are you doing here?" Scott Terrell whispered as she rolled up the seat next to him.

She was almost indistinguishable as an outsider. Usually her red hair and attractive features gave her away, or at least made people take notice of her. Yet a few stick on moles, a plain brown wig and the right make up in the right place meant no one looked twice at her as she walked through her old police station.

The young, blonde man stared at her. He was short but obviously in good, stocky shape. His eyebrows significantly darker than his hair and his almost black eyes looked rat like beneath his creased forehead. He looked panicked.

"Shh, and don't you dare tell Doug I was here, he'd kill me," Christine whispered.

"I'm going to kill you, you know how much trouble Doug's in for getting you on the case. They're keeping an eye an out for you."

"Probably not best to say you'll kill me in a homicide department Scott," she whispered, gently patting his thigh.

"Anyway how the hell did you get in."

"I still have a key to one of the back entrances and a swipe card with a different name, well several actually. It doesn't matter. Look I need information on this case now."

"Christine..."

"Scott listen to me, you know full well I'll get what I want from you. You know that we could do this flirty dance and after a while you'd cave. Problem is we're on a deadline and you don't want to be seen with me in here. You're the best and I just need a few details."

There was a pause, Scott knew full well she was right. She always got what she wanted from him.

"We've done most the background checks already. What you need? Quickly and get out of here."

"Four suspects, their family background. I mean religion, siblings, parents. Drag it up from the last census."

"Don't tell you how to do your job, don't tell me how to do mine," Scott said. He made several clicks and printed.

"I need all religious extreme groups that are either Christian groups, probably far right. Also any extreme Jewish groups, look at pro-Israel groups. Any names associated with them."

Scott started typing frantically as Christine made no obvious attempt to hide the fact she was there. She would often tell Doug that to be inconspicuous you need to make sure you didn't look like you were hiding. She smiled as she remembered this, very few thing gave her joy like teaching Doug obvious lessons. He was a very smart man but his undercover skills lacked drastically. It took Scott several minutes but he finally stopped and looked at Christine, "There you go your majesty, anything else?"

"I need a A3 map of London and coordinates where the bodies were dumped. I need phone numbers for the victims next of kin, oh and the detective record of that new bloke on HR, Kristian?"

Scott stared at her, she was pushing her luck and they both knew it. He bit his lower lip as she didn't break her stare. He exhaled slowly and turned back to the computer.

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, no need for a thank you.

"Printer is just up there still?"

Scott nodded and she left him without a good bye. She collected the paper that had come from the printer, rolled it up and walked out.

She passed Kristian on the way out, he glanced at her the way a male may at an attractive woman and averted his gaze. She tapped his rear as she walked by, looked back over her shoulder as he turned to confirm what had happened and smiled at him.