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Johnny lived in a terraced house with a small front garden. The garden was actually well kept and neat. There was a small bush and the rest was tiled. A bench with pumpkins was below the window next to the front door. I couldn’t help but wonder if Valerie had put them there.
There was a white van parked in front and I figured it belonged to Johnny. Mainly because his name was on it and it stated he was a plumber. It meant that Johnny was home. It was now nearly seven thirty and I had brought my squad.
“So what’s the plan? When do we break in?” Eddie asked from the back seat of Nancy’s Land Rover.
Miles and I both turned to him. “Who said anything about breaking in?” I asked.
Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Is this not the plan? How else are we going to gather clues?”
“By observing,” I said. “I told you it’s a stake-out.”
“But how do you know what he’s doing? What if he’s going to stay inside the whole evening? What if he’s doing something nefarious inside? We don’t have x-ray vision. I keep putting it on my Christmas list but it never happens.”
“I wonder why, it’s not like it’s an unreasonable request,” I muttered.
“Exactly,” Eddie said.
I pulled out the bag of snacks and flung it at Eddie. “Get ready for a long evening.”
––––––––
IT WAS NEARING MIDNIGHT and my bum was beginning to get sore.
“You would think you’re used to sitting all the time,” Detective Black said from the back seat.
I resisted the urge to turn around and stick out my tongue.
“What is your most awkward date?” Eddie asked Miles. In the past hour he had taken turns asking us both questions about our lives. He even asked me questions he knew the answer to, probably to give Miles the insider scoop.
“Why do most of your questions revolve around embarrassment?” I asked him.
“Sh. Just answer the question, Miles.” Eddie ate a salt and vinegar crisp.
Miles exchanged an amused glance with me. “It’s okay. I’ve never had embarrassing dates,” he replied.
“What?” Eddie leaned forward. “How is that possible? You must have one.”
Miles shook his head. “All my dates have been quite successful.”
“Define successful,” I said, then held up my hand. “No, no. Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Miles chuckled.
“Wait,” Eddie said. “I want to know.” He had a smirk on his face.
“Hang on, look.” I pointed to Johnny’s front door which had just opened. Johnny locked the door behind him and walked over to his van.
We all lowered ourselves in our seats even if it was too dark for him to see us. There was a street light, but we had parked strategically.
“Where do you think he’s heading?” Miles asked.
“Only one way to find out.” I started the car and followed him from a safe distance.
“So, Eddie. While we’re in a low-speed chase, why don’t you tell us what your most embarrassing date is?” Miles said.
“Oh, that’s easy.” His tone indicated he was actually going to enjoy telling this story. Eddie didn’t get embarrassed easily, and when he did, he could laugh about it. I really admired that about him.
“It wasn’t a local woman, but she frequented the bookshop a few years ago. She always wore these floral dresses and a cute smile.”
I groaned as I realised what story he was going to tell.
Miles chuckled again. “This is going to be good.”
“Anyway,” he said. “She frequented the shop and always struck up a conversation when she saw me, but I didn’t imagine that she liked me because she was super pretty.”
“Until she came up to me and asked me if Eddie was single,” I said.
“Yep. And then the next time she came in, I tried flirting with her. I say try because I’m not very good at it.”
I chuckled. “He always starts talking about global warming when he likes someone. It’s very weird.”
“I’m just trying to impress her by sounding like I know what’s going on in the world, okay?” Eddie said while gesturing with his hands. “Anyway, the next time she came in, she told me to come to come to the pub at a certain time.”
I groaned again.
“Is it that bad?” Miles asked me.
I nodded.
“It was,” Eddie added. “I show up feeling a bit nervous.”
“A bit?” I asked as we drove towards the edge of Woolfield.
“Okay, I nearly threw up because of the nerves I felt. That’s because I didn’t have much dating experience then.”
“And you do now?” Miles asked.
“No. Let’s get back to the story. I show up feeling a tad nervous and see her at one of the tables with a teenager. It turns out it’s her sister and she’s setting me up with her. Apparently I looked seventeen even though at that time I was twenty-four.”
I groaned again.
“What are you groaning about? It was awkward for me, not you.”
“I can feel the awkwardness seeping through my bones each time you even mention the story.”
Miles laughed. “I’ll admit it’s pretty bad. But let’s assume it won’t ever be as bad as that again.”
“Don’t jinx it!” Eddie and I called simultaneously.
We followed Johnny deeper into the woods until he slowed down and parked at the side of the wide dirt path.
“What do I do?” I asked, panicked.
“Keep driving. Stay calm,” Miles said. “Just park up ahead and turn off the lights. We’ll have to walk back in order to see what he’s doing.”
“But what if he drives off?” Eddie asked.
“Then we hide until he passes us and follow him in the car again. It’s not like there are many roads here. We would catch up to him.”
“He sounds as if he’s done this many times before,” Detective Black said.
“Watch a lot of TV, do you?” I asked him.
He grinned at me.
I did as he instructed and parked far away for Johnny to lose sight of us. We all got out of Nancy’s Land Rover and stood in the dark forest. None of us had brought a torch, but it wasn’t as if we could use it.
Miles took the lead and we sneaked along the road, making our way back to where Johnny had pulled over. He had his lights still on, forcing us to move off the path and weave our way through the oak trees. Occasionally the chilly autumn air made the dying leaves rustle.
As far as spooky outings went, this one was definitely spooky.
Occasionally a twig snapped under our shoes, but it wasn’t anything that Johnny could hear since he was still in his van. We hid behind a large oak tree, close enough to the van that we could hear the thumping of music.
“What do you think he’s doing?” I whispered.
“I can’t see,” Miles muttered. “Maybe he’s meeting someone.”
“This late? At the side of a road in the middle of the woods?” Definitely suspicious.
“I’m cold. Can we get back to the car and eat snacks? I liked that part,” Eddie whispered.
I glared at him, which was unsuccessful because it was too dark for him to pick up on it.
“No,” Miles said sternly.
There was silence except for the thumping car radio in Johnny’s van.
“I need to pee,” Eddie said.
Both Miles and I groaned.
The engine was turned off just as another car came up from behind his. The car drove slowly and stopped right behind Johnny.
“Show time,” I whispered and we all crouched. I wasn’t sure why; the trees provided enough cover.
“Hey, mate,” Johnny said as he stepped out and shut the door behind him.
A man with a ponytail and a black jacket stepped out of his car. I couldn’t make out what kind it was. Maybe the guys could.
“What’s up?” the other man said. I couldn’t detect an accent.
“Same as before?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah.” He reached into his pocket and took out a stack of money.
“It’s good stuff, eh?” He took the money and counted it.
“Oh, yeah. Makes me fly in the clouds all night.”
Johnny chuckled, his voice rough, then opened the back of his van, grabbed a padded envelope and handed it to him. They made the exchange, said goodbye and got in their vehicles. A few seconds later they both drove off. Johnny went straight ahead, the other guy turned around.
Only when the rumble of car engines had completely disappeared did we dare to get up and breathe.
“Wow,” I said.
“Was that what I think it was?” Eddie ran a hand through his red hair, making it even messier than usual.
“Yeah. Drugs,” Miles said. “Definitely drugs.”
––––––––
IT TOOK THREE RINGS before Alistair answered the door in his kitten pyjamas. He rubbed his eyes. “Where’s the fire?”
My mouth dropped. “Those are your pyjamas? They’re so cute.”
Eddie chuckled while Miles simply looked incredibly serious. He had a line between his perfectly shaped eyebrows and his mouth was pulled into a straight line.
Alistair blushed. “Come in,” he said.
As we followed him into the kitchen, I also noticed he wore bunny slippers.
“We went on a stake-out and followed Johnny and it turns out he’s dealing drugs,” Eddie said as he slid into a chair at the breakfast table. Alistair froze as he made his way to the kettle on the stove.
“You saw this?” He asked as he continued and started preparing tea.
“Yes,” we all said at the same time.
I sat down opposite Eddie while Miles took place next to him. Man, I was really tired. I stifled a yawn, prompting Eddie to do the same.
We sat there silently while Alistair brought out a plate of biscuits—yay—and later also the tea.
Eddie munched on the biscuits as if he hadn’t been snacking all night.
“What exactly happened?” Alistair asked.
Miles explained what we had seen, sticking purely to facts. He didn’t even use the word drugs, though it was implied.
I could see why. He was a criminal defence attorney. Technically we could have seen Johnny exchange pens.
“Valerie had bragged about making a lot of money. It could be that she knew about Johnny doing something illegal—if that’s what it was. Perhaps she was even involved,” I said.
“I don’t suppose you got the license plate from the other car?” Alistair asked.
Eddie and I shook our heads, then Miles rattled off the numbers and letters.
“Wow, impressive,” I said.
“I figured it would come in handy,” Miles said. He took a sip of his tea, looking quite cool. If you liked that sort of thing. I preferred men in cute pyjamas and bunny slippers.