The Kiss Of Death

Chapter 7

Lola settled at the table with a stiff cup of coffee, willing herself to stay awake. Last night had been troubling on her, an unsettled sleep and thoughts of Frank. She pulled the scrap of paper from her pocket and flattened it out over the table. It was of their town and the few that surrounded it. The edges were ragged and worn like it had been folded too many times. She frowned at the piece of paper.

"Drummond Street." She whispered. "You haven't been called that in several years."

It was named after the local councillor who had large family ties to the area, a pillar of the community until he was caught with his pants down. Then the street was renamed after a flower, Peony Street. She mulled it over as she took a sip of the harsh brew, thick and dark brown. It was so dark that it was almost black.

Lola knew that Frank and Emma had turned up around about this time last year, she wondered if this wasn't the first town that they had run to. And run away from. This map, it had to be at least five years old. Councillor Drummond was caught with the prostitute six years ago, the investigation and subsequent reprimanding had occurred about six months after that. She figured it was probably accurate to say five years, the change would have happened on the new maps at the beginning of the year with their annual revision and release.

On the flip side of the map was another small town, about two hours south of her town. A harsh red cross was scratched into it, marking over the town name, Claremont. It was a smaller town than the one she lived in, surely they would remember someone like Frank and Emma. Two strange people that turn up, maybe stay for a year and then are gone again? Sure, it was definitely possible that they would remember them. A knock at the door roused Lola from her thoughts, warily she rose to it, stuffing the map back into her pocket. Carefully she opened the door to Bert Ellis; his gruff exterior was always a treat.

"Afternoon Lola, mind if I ask you some questions?"

Lola feigned a smile, hoping it didn't seem forced.

"Sure, come in. I just made coffee, did you want one too?"

"That would be great, thanks."

Lola placed the coffee mug in front of Bert, settling back at her chair at the dining table. He saw the paper on the table, figuring that she obviously knew about the girl already.

"Were you at the rave Lola?"

"For a while. I think someone spiked my drink."

Bert nodded, thinking it was one of many things that would have been happening there. He pulled out the photo of the girl that they had used for the paper.

"Did you see her there?"

"Yeah, I saw her briefly."

Lola passed the photo back, trying to seem at ease with the situation. She knows nothing, innocent, and all that. Who was she trying to kid? She knew that Frank and Emma had something to do with it. But how?

"Was she talking to anyone, dancing with someone? Anything that might help."

"Well she was talking to a few guys, most of them ignored her."

Bert sipped the coffee, far too strong for his liking. But he had to be polite, he had to figure out who had come into contact with this girl.

"No one I knew, she looked like she might have annoyed a few girlfriends, but that's it, I suppose." Lola shrugged. "Did someone hurt her, the paper says unknown reason for death. Are you hiding something?"

He shook his head, morosely. They had nothing. It was like she had just dropped to the Earth without reason.

"Not a single damned thing." He grumbled.

"Sorry, I don't understand why you're asking who she was with if there isn't a reason."

Bert shrugged as he took another sip, hoping to seem like he had made a fair dent in it before he left.

"Mavis said you were asking after the Taylor boy. You know he's gone, right? Him and his sister."

Lola opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Bobby said the till was emptied when he got in there this morning. Most of their things aren't at the house, either."

Bert rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to relieve the tension.

"Lola, I don't know how to say it, but their car was found out on the main road, burnt to a crisp. I doubt they could have survived."

Lola pretended that she was startled, then a little upset. She was cautious to not overdo it, not wanting Bert to pay closer attention to her.

He tossed a set of keys in front of her.

"I can't find any relatives, you're as close as it gets. The real estate agent says she'll give you a week to clear the stuff without charging any rent."

With feigned sorrow, she nodded, watching as Bert fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Right, I guess I'll leave you to it. If you think of anything about the girl, let me know."

"Sure."

Bert walked to the door, taking a final glance at Lola before he returned to his investigation. If the rumours were true, then he was faced with someone that was hiding the truth. Several people talked about Frank and Emma in a distant kind of way, not overly interested in them. Some didn't even know who Bert was talking about. As for Lola, she was vastly different. He could see the underlying pain, the sadness that just didn't seem right. After all, if the reports were anything to go by, Lola had a serious crush on the Taylor boy.

In Bert's opinion, this did not make sense, and when things don't add up, the boss put more pressure on him to figure out the truth. It was going to be a long night.