Home About Six: Part Twelve

~ beetleypete

This is the twelfth part of a fiction serial, in 935 words.

Anita let them in, and turned to the woman, who seemed to be in charge. “What are you searching for? You need to contact Sergeant Dawes, she’s dealing with this case. She has already looked at Mike’s laptop, taken some papers away, and checked his phone records. Do you want me to ring her?” The woman didn’t seem to be listening. “Please sit down, madam. This is nothing to do with the local police, or about the fact that your husband is missing. It is another matter entirely, and I am not at liberty to tell you what we are looking for. Just be calm. We won’t be long, and will try not to disrupt you unduly”.

That didn’t satisfy Anita. “What’s your name please? If you aren’t with missing persons, then what the hell is all this about?” As the two men rifled through units and drawers wearing plastic gloves, the woman turned. Her mouth twitched, in what appeared to be her idea of a reassuring smile. “My name is Susan Judd, Mrs Hollis. I am with the Security Service, nothing to do with the police. Please do as I ask, sit quietly, and do not use your phone”. Anita wanted to tell her that she had heard that name before, shout out something like ‘You called Mike’s phone, tell me why’. But a bad feeling made her keep silent. Besides, she didn’t want to get Jane into anymore trouble than she was in already.

Ten minutes later, one of the men came into the room carrying Mike’s laptop, still in the bag that Jane had returned it in. The other one was going through everything in the kitchen, making enough noise to wake the dead. The woman looked at the guy with the laptop and nodded. Turning back to Anita, she did her worrying smile again. “Do you have any outbuildings, Mrs Hollis? A garden shed, storage container, something similar? And we will need the key to the garage, as it appears to be locked”.

Anita didn’t feel very cooperative, but there was no point in lying. “There’s a plastic storage thing against the back fence. I don’t know what’s in it though. The key to the garage is on a hook in the hallway. It’s full of Mike’s junk though, as well as his tools, the lawn mower, and some of his work stuff”. The taller man put down the laptop and went into the hallway to get the key. There was the sound of the garage door creaking as it was opened. Then the other man came out from the kitchen, shook his head at the woman, then opened the French windows to go out into the garden. Moments later, he came back in holding a large can. It was a shiny metal, with a number or code of some sort stencilled on it. The woman seemed pleased. “Take that out to the car, get it bagged up”.

Sensing a change in mood, Anita tried her luck. “Isn’t there anything you can tell me about what’s going on? I’m so worried about my husband, as it’s been over a week now. And as you can see, I am heavily pregnant”. Before the woman could reply, the taller man came back in and said just one word. “Nothing”. The woman turned to face Anita. “We will be taking the container that you saw, as well as the laptop. My colleague will give you a receipt for both items. As I told you, this is nothing to do with your missing husband”. Anita scoffed. “Yeah right, like I believe that. Mike goes missing, and suddenly the house is full of spooks searching for stuff and I have no idea why. Please don’t insult my intelligence by telling me it is not related, I’m not just some stupid pregnant woman who can be fobbed off”.

The man handed the woman some paper, and she passed it to Anita. “Here is your receipt. I thank you for your cooperation. When we have finished with the laptop, it may be retained as evidence, same with the container. I cannot say at this time when or if they will be returned. I bid you good evening, Mrs Hollis”.

As soon as they had left, she was on the phone to Jane Dawes. She told her everything that had happened, and that one of them was the Susan Judd who had been mentioned. “I can tell you, Jane, she was a really cold fish, that one. Not a glimmer of concern for Mike, or for me”. There was a long pause before Jane replied. “They worked fast. I thought they might show up, but had no idea they would be so public about it, and arrive with an official warrant. My guess was that they would just break into the place while you were out and get what they wanted without leaving a trace of being there. They must have been desperate to show their hand like this, Anita”.

Worried now, Anita started to wonder if Jane knew more than she was saying. So far, she was the only person dealing with this, and the only one she thought she could trust. “But what did they want, Jane? You have already been over the laptop, and they took some weed-killer or something from Mike’s box in the garden. What the bloody hell could they want with that? What’s happening, Jane. What has all this got to do with Mike?”

Her voice sounded weary as she replied.

“In all honesty, Anita, I haven’t got a sodding clue”.

56 thoughts on “Home About Six: Part Twelve”

    1. Jane ‘thought they might show up’. She was basing that on those names appearing in Mike’s contact list, and phone records. I would say that was a fair assumption, based on her experience of dealing with multiple policing agencies. šŸ™‚
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. (1) “Ten minutes later, one of the men came into the room carrying Mikeā€™s laptop…” This is what happens when you refuse to let go of Windows 7.
    (2) “Itā€™s full of Mikeā€™s junk though…” Which reminds me that male junk is not the same as junk mail. One fills up a man’s boxers; the other fills up his mailbox.
    (3) “Mike goes missing, and suddenly the house is full of spooks searching for stuff and I have no idea why.” Maybe Mike is an extraterrestrial? The scene is definitely Spielbergian… My advice: “E.T., phone home!”
    (4) “Iā€™m not just some stupid pregnant woman who can be fobbed offā€. Which reminds me that we’re a lot more transparent over here, as indicated by our famous sign; “Welcome to Fob-You-Less Las Vegas.” Not everyone is convinced, though. Especially those who’ve been visited by the Men in Black from nearby Area 51.
    (5) ā€œI can tell you, Jane, she was a really cold fish, that one.” Which is why Anita should have stuck her on the hook in the hallway.
    (6) First she got her foot in the door. Then she showed her hand. Finally, she twitched her mouth. Is Judd really a fish, or is she a creature from the black lagoon?
    (7) So they took some weed-killer from the box in the garden. Sorry, Jane, but that IS a sodding clue! Whenever a landscaping crew lays down sod, they spray it with weed-killer.

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    2. Windows 7ā€”haha. “One more thingā€”if Mike comes home soon, tell him we don’t go easy on blokes who have awful things to say about Gutenberg!”

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      1. Iā€™ve got one going on my blog but still donā€™t know what the exact ending will be! It is kind of evolving! Not as long as your pieces though, but going down well so far. Thankyou for getting me inspired to write these sorts of things agin. It is like being reborn lol. I used to write the. A long time ago but gave up! Really enjoying doung it. So I owe you thanks šŸ˜Š

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