“Germany. I went there to try and convince her that the thing in Ibiza was nothing. Like I said, I tried to talk her into coming home, but she wouldn’t. She could be a stubborn bitch when she wanted to be.”
“Did that annoy you, Luke? Did it annoy you that Dani was stubborn?” The male cop asked me, and I could feel the tension in the room.
“No, no, of course not. Not like that anyway. I liked the fact that she stood up for herself, I liked that she had her own beliefs and opinions.”
“You didn’t like that she ended the relationship though, did you, Mr Carter?” Constable Smith asked me, looking through me, making my heart race.
“Well, obviously I would rather she had not ended it, but I couldn’t make her want to stay with me, so I had to accept it.”
“What date did you go to Germany and how long were you there?”
“I left on the twelfth and returned on the fifteenth.”
“How did you get there?” the female officer asked.
“I hitched a ride.”
“Where from and who with? What was the person’s name and what kind of car were they driving?”
Oh, shit. This was getting out of hand. I didn’t know what to do and I felt as if they knew that I’d played a part in it and were just waiting for me to crack.
“Look, am I under arrest or something? I’ve answered all of your questions and you’re acting as if I have something to do with her disappearance.” I stop myself suddenly acting shocked, mouth open and a feigned look of recognition on my face. “Hang on. You do think I had something to do with it, don’t you?”
“We will have to question everyone who had contact with Dani before she disappeared, Mr Carter, we need to gather as much information as possible to give us a clear picture of what happened and, most importantly, who the last people were to see her. We’ll take a break for five minutes and then if you assist us for a little longer, you will be free to leave. You may have to come back in for questioning at a later stage though.”
“Fine. It’s not like I have anything to hide, I’m just getting fed up now, I’ve been in here hours. But if it helps find her, I’ll do whatever.”
After four hours of being interrogated, I stepped out of the police station. I hoped that what I’d told them would be enough, but the truth of the matter was, as soon as Dani couldn’t be found, they’d be sniffing back around me again, because I was the obvious suspect.
I stop off at home and empty the safe of drugs and wipe it out first with bleach, and then with tea tree oil to get rid of any lingering smell. The police might want to search this place and there was no way I was giving them ammunition against me. I was in a precarious enough position. I make my way to Mick’s house, but stop off to buy a bottle of whisky and some beer on my way.
“Grab this case of beer,” I say to Mick as he opens the door. “What a day. Four fucking hours I was in that police station. I’m sure they think I have something to do with Dani’s disappearance, and as you know, there’s nothing I can do about it because it would mean bringing Pez into it. Speaking of which, I need to ring him.”
“Pez, it’s Luke. I need a favour.”
“A favour? You’ve got some fucking balls, I’ll give you that, Lukey boy.”
“Listen, the police have been sniffing around and they’ve had me in the station for four hours today, grilling me about Dani. They’ve asked me what job I do, and there’s so many loose ends in my story that I need something to be concrete. I told them that I worked in promotions for nightclubs. Can you pull some strings so that I can get a reference if need be?”
“I’ll call a favour in on the understanding that you keep me the fuck out of this whole thing, Luke, otherwise, it won’t just be you that cops it. I’ll track down every member of your family and they will also pay for your incompetence.”
“Chill for fuck’s sake. Of course I didn’t say anything. Jesus, I’m under enough pressure without threats like that hanging over me, Pez.”
“Just keeping it real…”
“Can you call me when you’ve sorted something?”
“I’ll get onto it now.”
“Thanks. Speak to you soon.”
“Fuck, Mick I need a drink. I’m sat here, a suspect in someone’s disappearance, no job as such, but I live in a flash apartment and I have a bag full of drugs on me that I need to stash elsewhere, in case the police come sniffing around again.”
“Shit, mate, you can’t leave those drugs at mine. This is getting a bit full on. I’ll have Pez around here if anything goes wrong and I’m not getting involved in his dealings. It’s bad enough that I know you. No offence intended, but I’m keeping out of it.”
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