Juliet Shadows: a touch of velvet

Chapter 6

I want to punch someone. Preferably Francis and Clover Velvet. Let me explain the impression I am getting from them right now.

Francis thinks the world of Clover. His life clearly revolves around her. You can see it every time he looks at her. He is in love with her. Not in a creepy way, but in an admiring, caring, protective way. It made my heart throb.

I then smacked myself again. I can't be admiring the enemy, it's the oldest trap: they person you pal up with tends to be the killer, and they do it to leave you completely ignorant and unsuspecting. It's happened before. It makes me sick.

"Right, so you want us to go in there to tell you who that person is?" Francis asked me for the fifth time in twenty seconds.
"Francis, I've answered this question every time you asked. You know what is required of you and your daughter. If you don't know then you discus with your daughter and other members of your staff to see if anyone else could answer us. I have told you this as well." I wanted to ram his head into a dustbin.
"So its ok if we don't know who this person is?"
"Well, its far from ideal but-" I was about to subtly roast this arrogant little apple face but the ever so helpful Caleb then interrupted me.
"Its also kind of worrying that you wouldn't know the name or even recognize the face of one of your employees. It makes me wonder what you you do for a job, let alone your spare time." A smile crawled into the left corner of Caleb's mouth. It was contagious. It soon took over my entire face and I had fight with all my internal army not to explode into a fit of giggles that only happens in scenario like this one.
"Well," Francis adjusted the collar of his coat. "We shall go in. Come on Clover..." he went to take hold of his daughter's hand but his fingers clasped air. His head jerked round and I began to think one of our main suspects had done a runner and was boarding a first class plane cabin as we spoke. But no, she was talking with Ryan, the assistant coroner and part of my team. He was yet to examine the body so wasn't dressed in his very off-putting blue overalls or his blue mouth mask thing or his green rubber gloves. It usually puts many girls off.

Francis wasn't having any of it.
"Come angel honey blossom. Lets get this nasty business over and done with." He said with an edge to his voice.
"Oh Papa. I have just been having the most wonderfully amusing conversation with the coroner..." She looked at Ryan with sincere eyes. He smiled at her and stood up.
"Morning MR Velvet." Ryan offered his hand but Francis hesitated before slowly and cautiously shaking it.
"Greetings MR..."
"Darling."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, I mean my last name is Darling not you are darling or indeed my darling." He stammered with a face of why am I still talking then it quickly morphed into just shut up man! "Ryan Darling, MR Velvet."
"I would appreciate if you stopped shaking my hand out of its socket."
Francis growled.
"Sorry MR Velvet." Ryan quickly withdrew his hand and sighed slightly as Francis wiped his hand on his trousers, his face full of grimace.
"Come on daughter, we must go identify this body before MR Juicing tares it apart." Velvet grabbed Clover's wrist and dragged his reluctant daughter away from Ryan. She looked over her shoulder and I didn't see the face she pulled but by the look of Ryan afterwards, it clearly was a happy one.
"Its Darling, Francis. Not Juicing." Ryan snarled.

When the angry waffle and the sweet golden syrup had gone into the room where the bodies were stored I looked at Caleb for a long time.
"Why are you staring at me?" he laughed.
"How did you know what to say?"
"Excuse me?"
"You took the words out of my mouth when he asked about identifying the body. How do you do it?"
"I guess we've got a special connection."
"I wish you could say that and not wriggle your eyebrows."
"Oh goodness officer, lighten up." Caleb took a step forward.
"Lighten up? I am as light as a feather." I stepped forward.
"Oh really?
"Yes really."
"Isn't it a tad ironic that you are insisting you're all bright and light when your last name is Shadows?" He took another step forward.
"Well, your uncle's sister's last name is Optimist but you said she's a pessimist to her very dark and damp and gothic soul." So did I.
"Point taken Shadows."
"And your last name is Swift but it takes you take an age and a half to finish and hand in your paperwork?"
"Ha ha very funny Light shadows."
"It's a pleasure slow swift." I realized that we were now half a centimeter away from each other. I took a sharp breath and so did he.
"Well I am not going in there on my own." Bellowed a disgusted voice from down the hall.
"You won't be Velvet. You've got about twenty bodies to keep you company." I couldn't help feeling smug when Francis's stupid face went from a light tan to a ghostly white in under a second.

Oh and don't forget-" Caleb began
"Your wonderful daughter Clover." Ryan declared loudly.
"Yes thank you Darling, I've got to talk to you. Swift, go in with Waffle Face and Golden Syrup."
"But I-" Caleb began to argue.
"No buts. Get on with Caleb."
"Yes Detective Juliet Shadows." Caleb sighed. I knew I'd done it now.

I had upset everyone I really truly cared about: Olly and Caleb. I really wished I didn't have to talk.

"Right Darling." I said, pushing aside my feelings. "I need you to do something."
"Yes?"
"Find any leads you can on this case."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"What's the point?"
"What?" my lips moved before the words came out of my mouth. It was like I was out of sync on a Face Time.
"You heard me." Ryan said in a rude imitation of my voice.
"You are way out of line Ryan."
"Well, we don't even know who she is. This is a dead-end case if Francis doesn't know who it is."
"Ryan what is your problem all of a sudden?"
"You want me to be honest?"
"Umm. Yes. How bad can it be?"
"You are in a mood and I don't want to around you because I shall be insulted more than I have in this conversation." Ryan started picking up his coat and bag and travel coffee mug. Then he started walking out the door and heading towards the lift.
That stung. That hurt. "Where are you going? You've got a job to do." I bellowed
"Not if we have nothing on the schedule." Ryan hit a button and lifted up the hand that held his car keys in a way of parting. The doors closed.

I bet the only reason I hadn't hurt the only other person in my team is because he's off until Wednesday.

I could have just taken a leaf out of Ryan's book and left on a day-long lunch break but I, unlike him, could identify my jobs. But I relived the conversation between Caleb and Ryan and me in my head. I am a horrible person.

"Come on Francis. Spill your guts who is it?" I asked as soon I as walked in. they where standing round the table, waiting. The room was so quiet. The only sound was Francis's frantic breathing.
"Samuel, you got here fast. I thought you where in Barbados for your nephews wedding." I said to they blue figure. His back was to me. Then he turned round. "Oh, you're not Sam."

A tall dark-haired man with sweaty hair and a half overgrown stuble beard turned round. He didn't look anything like the bold, late fifties man Sam who's the usual coroner. I recognized his face but I couldn't work out from where.

"Sorry. I haven't met you. Wait. Yes I have." I said as the penny dropped. "You where the tall guy I thought was a lamppost at the crime scene."
"Yes I was. I was standing next to Camilla." The guy responded
"Who?"
"She was crying a lot."
"Oh, her."
"I am the new corner."
"New? I wasn't aware Samuel Tool had retired."
"Not retired."
"Then where is he? And how do you know what happened?"
"I am Brad Links." The man simply waved the questioned away with a flick of his overly sweaty hair.
"Detective Juliet Shadows. Nice to me you."
"The niceness is all mine." He pulled the face of someone who knew that didn't make sense.

"Right body-time Brad. Lets remove the sheet."
"Um, all of it?"
"No you meat head there a child present." I hissed as I flapped my hands. I then realized this was I thing I had with Sam, the last corner.
"Um not a child. Eighteen over here." Clover waved her hand half- heartedly.

The sheet was removed. There was a gasp. But before anyone could speak there was another as a complete stranger came running in.
"Clover! Are you alright?" she screamed through her arms round her. The girl had the same shade hair as Clover but their eyes where opposites in every way but somehow a matching pair to Clover's
"Clover! Are you alright?" some one else shouted. Ryan shouted.
"Ryan. You went on a lunch break."
"Well, I came to and apologize Juliet and then I saw this crazed woman running in woloping everyone out of the way, even Timeless. But she kept saying 'oh I must see her. I need to see Clover'. But are you ok?"
"Oh Ryan." She was kind of breathless in a lazy way. "I have no idea who this woman is."
"But Clover." The girl was beginning to be carried by security guards. "Clover, my dear sister!" She screamed.
"Wait. Sister?" Clover said. The guards put her down.
"Mum and Dad." She pointed at Francis. "I am your older sister." She dragged Clover to the door.
"I can put you two in a interrogation room. Then you can talk." I suggested before dragging them both out to wards the nearest one. "We will come back to this." I said to Francis who was demanding he sat in on this discussion.