Free A Proper Charlie by Louise Wise

head.
    Kevin looked up, and Ben snatched his hand away from his head as if he’d been found out doing something he shouldn’t.
    ‘ So,’ Locke read back his notes, ‘last seen Friday at about 2 p.m., wearing black. Her car is a dark silver Land Rover Discovery 3. And her emotional state was…’ he checked his notes, ‘emotional.’ He twisted round and glanced at the calendar pinned to his wall behind him. ‘Missing for four days,’ he said. ‘Not terribly long really.’
    Ben played with the end of his tie. He discovered a hole in the tip. Probably when he caught it in the car door yesterday and nearly garrotted himself, he thought absently. Ben looked up, realising Locke had spoken and was waiting for a reply.
    ‘ Four days,’ Ben agreed, ‘and that’s four days too long in my opinion.’
    ‘ I can understand your concern.’
    ‘ That’s very decent of you.’ Ben let his tie go and sat forward in his chair. ‘I know it doesn’t seem long, Mr Locke, but with all due respect she’s my sister and I know she’d not have left it this long to call home.’
    ‘ People, highly emotional , people can act out of character, and sometimes the longer they stay away the harder it is for them to make contact.’ He swivelled around so he was facing his computer. It was the old chunky model from the late 90s. ‘Why’d she leave?’ he said, Ben wasn’t sure he was talking to him or the computer he was tapping away into.
    ‘ Hmm, family, er, family disagreement.’
    Locke turned to look at him. ‘Has she left in shame? Anger? Disappointment? It helps if I know the kind of emotional state she was in on leaving.’
    Ben realised he’d have to tell the PI the entire sorry story, but he hesitated. His father didn’t want their family business in the newspapers, which Ben could understand. Also, if Camilla saw her name in any tabloid, and given her emotional state, they’d be highly unlikely to ever see her again!
    ‘ What you say will not pass these walls, Ben,’ Locke said.
    ‘ Then I’d say she left with all those emotions,’ Ben said, and found him telling Locke everything.
    Locke was expressionless as Ben related the story, so Ben really didn’t know where the description ‘sympathetic’ came from on the webpage.
    ‘ This does change things,’ Locke admitted at last. ‘From what you’ve told me she probably feels she caused your father’s heart problem, and now that her mother is dead may feel that she doesn’t have a home.’
    ‘ That’s absurd.’
    ‘ Nevertheless,’ said Locke. ‘I asked you to bring me current photographs of her, do you have them?’
    ‘ Er, yes.’ Ben reached for his briefcase. He handed over several photos of Camilla.
    Locke took them and laid them out on his desk in front of them. ‘Long blonde hair,’ he said. He looked at Ben. ‘If she was serious about staying away for good, she’d easily change her appearance.’
    ‘ She didn’t take her passport,’ Ben said. ‘That tells me she’s not serious.’
    ‘ I hope you’re right.’ He gathered the photos together. ‘OK, my fees…’ and his dead-pan face brightened.

ELEVEN
     
     
    ‘ P iss off!’ The vividly made-up woman turned her back and began to slowly walk, hips swaying, along the path.
    Charlie sighed. It was growing into double figures the amount of women telling her, clearly, to go away. She tucked her microphone back into her handbag and delved inside to turn the machine off. All week she had been studying the red-light areas; finally plucking up courage to interview a few on foot tonight.
    But prostitutes were a bolshy lot, Charlie thought and muttered a few words beneath her breath, and then turned and walked in the opposite direction.
    What was it with microphones that prostitutes didn’t like? Or was it her? She raised an arm and sniffed the pit. All Charlie could smell was her deodorant. Maybe she should try another brand just in case. Feeling she had earned a break, she began to make