Chapter 3
“Oh this is good!”
“What is?”
“Your friend Sam, local Inspector of police. Coming this way. Perhaps you’d like to explain to him why we’re in the upstairs bedroom of a missing man’s house without permission?” Jeremy spoke in deceptively dulcet tones.
Lou watched the figure approaching up the gravel driveway. Then turning suddenly on her heels she set off towards the stairs.
“Where are you going?”
“Downstairs!” she threw the words back over her shoulder as she went towards the stairs.
“Are you mad? Do you want me to end up a hardened criminal?”
“Don’t be a silly boy!”
Why don’t we just keep quiet, and perhaps he won’t arrest us?” pleaded Jeremy in a strained whisper.
“He can arrest me if he wants to, but I have a couple of questions for him first!” said Lou as she began to go down the stairs..
“Oh, God!” Jeremy gave up and followed some distance behind her.
Just as the inspector opened the door to Lionel’s house, Lou reached the top of the stairs.
“The very man I wanted!” she said as she sailed down the stairs towards him.
Sam Jackson was a broad shouldered man with straight brown hair that kept falling across a lightly furrowed brow. The furrowing on this brow increased in depth as he caught sight of Lou coming down the stairs, but although he frowned the look in his sharp blue eyes softened.
“I might have known! Of course, the pink car in the lane was a dead give away! Couldn’t keep away, could you?”
“You know me! Are you going to slap on the handcuffs?” She grinned down at him.
“One of these days you’ll go too far- either that or I’ll get fired! What are you doing here?” The smile in his eyes robbed his words of menace.
Lou came down the last few steps. “Oh, just curious.”
“I hope you haven’t been snooping? I can’t let you get away with this kind of rash disregard for police procedure, you know. This is still a scene of police investigation!”
“Hello, Inspector” said Jeremy coming down the stairs. “I hope your indulgence extends to me as well!”
“If I know anything about your aunt, you had no choice in any of this, young man, so I can’t really blame you!”
“At least someone understands!” said Jeremy, throwing his eyes to the ceiling.
Sam grinned and turned back to Lou.
“And how did you get in may I ask?”
Jeremy’s facial muscles taughtened and his complexion turned a shade of pink. “Door was open” said Lou without hesitation.
“Uh huh! You’d lie to God if you thought you were on to something, wouldn’t you? Well, what is it? Tell Uncle Sam then! I know you came here for a good reason, so out with it!”