Free Virtual Justice by MA Comley

meeting.”
    “Well, what did she say?”
    Lorne shook her head. “She said that Karen was into Internet dating. Forensics must have picked it up. I think I’ll take a ride out to see Stacy, you know, to offer my condolences. She is still our client.”
    “Hmm…‌I know that look.” He wagged his finger at her. “Now don’t go sticking your nose into where it’s not wanted. It’s now a murder enquiry, remember?”
    Lorne placed a hand on her chest. “Who? Me? Now would I?”
    Tony stood up. Lorne followed him to the kitchen. “Can we at least have lunch before we venture out across the streets of London?”
    “Yep. We’ll have lunch, then I’ll ring Stacy to see if it’s convenient to drop by.”
    •\ \ \ \ \ •\ \ \ \ \ •
    Two hours later, they were in the midst of a traffic jam. “I knew we should’ve waited until this evening.”
    “Stop moaning and take a chill pill.” Lorne giggled when she voiced Charlie’s current favourite saying. “We’re only ten minutes away.”
    “Ten minutes! More like an hour if this queue is anything to go by.”
    The journey ended up taking them another thirty minutes. “Park here.” Lorne pointed at a gap between parked cars. It would be a tight squeeze, but she had faith in her husband’s driving abilities. Tony parked the car, and they walked across the road to Stacy’s house. She was looking out the window, waiting for them. Stacy waved and opened the front door. Her eyes were puffy and red.
    Lorne placed a hand on Stacy’s forearm. “I’m so sorry.”
    Stacy led them through to the lounge and then collapsed on the sofa. She covered her face with her hands as the tears started to flow. Lorne sat down beside her, uncertain whether to put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She barely knew the woman, but her heart ached for her losing her sister in such dreadful circumstances.
    “I’ll put the kettle on.” Tony said, his awkwardness showing in his voice.
    “I’m sorry. I keep telling myself that crying won’t bring her back, but…”
    “It’ll help ease the pain. I’ve recently lost my father, and it’s hard to keep the emotions buried. I’m not sure you should, really.”
    Stacy reached for a couple of tissues on the side table next to her, then delicately blew her nose on one and wiped her eyes with the other.
    Lorne patted the back of Stacy’s hand. “Do you feel up to talking?”
    “Yes, I’ll see how I go. Have you heard how it happened?”
    “Not yet. Look, I wanted to ask if you knew that Karen was using the Internet for dating.”
    Stacy turned her head sharply to look at her. “What? Karen would never do that.”
    Lorne nodded reluctantly. “That’s what forensics found when they carried out a preliminary check on her computer.”
    “But she wouldn’t do it. We discussed this awhile back, and the idea of it repulsed her.”
    “Well, it’s hard to disagree with the facts.”
    Stacy’s eyes creased up at the side as she thought something over. Then she clicked her finger and thumb together. “Wait a minute. Last year, she had this crazy idea about writing a book. Is it possible that she was carrying out some form of research?”
    Tony entered the room, carrying a tray with three mugs on it. He set the tray down and sat on the chair opposite the women. “What was that?” he asked, handing Lorne a mug of coffee.
    “Stacy thinks that maybe Karen was doing some kind of research for a book.”
    “Interesting. We need to see if Karen had actually started a manuscript then.”
    Lorne nodded. “Excellent idea. We might get some clues from that. If one exists, of course.”
    Stacy sighed. “I’m not sure she got around to starting anything. As far as I was concerned, it was all pie in the sky, just some idea she had.”
    “So you really can’t tell us any more than you have done? For instance, which dating agency she might have registered with?”
    “No, nothing. It was all a big secret. What a mistake that was.