Steve and Branson walked in through the front doors to Dales Coffee Cartel. This was a coffee snobs heaven. Hipster city with the smell of freshly ground coffee beans of varying exotic flavors filling the air.
Standing in the doorway they surveyed the crowded cafe. In the far right hand corner sitting at a table made from an old door they spot a lady looking in their direction. Making eye contact Steve begins to walk towards her. Melissa Johnstone appears to be in her mid to late forties. She is a nervous looking fidgety woman who wore her hair up in a bun at the rear. Her face was dominated by thick black glasses and her full cheeks were flushed red.
‘Melissa Johnstone?’ Steve asked as he approached her.
‘Yes detective, please sit down’ she replied.
‘Thank you. I’m Detective Steve Rickets and this is Detective Sarah Branson.’ He replied shaking her petite hand. Steve and Branson sat opposite her.
‘Yes thank you for coming so soon detectives’ Melissa said sounding nervous. Her eyes darted around the cafe as if to ensure they were not followed in.
‘Ms Johnstone, we are very sorry about the loss of your boss’ Branson started out.
‘Yes it was a great shock to hear the news. He was a wonderful man and it is almost unbelievable that he is gone’ she replied her head hung low. One hand unconsciously stirred her mug of tea around and around while she seemed lost in thought.
‘What was your role with the company, if you don’t mind me asking?’ Steve asked.
‘Not at all detective. I was his personal assistant for the last seven years or more.’ She replied. ‘I was his loyal servant really and would have done anything for him’. Her thoughts trailed off as the last of the words left her mouth. She stared vacantly across the cafe lost in thoughts like a lover thinking about a loved one.
‘I see. And what was the information you wanted to share with us?’ Steve asked breaking her thoughts.
‘Well, I thought you should know. No doubt you have spoken to Alex Pinkton, James’s partner in the firm?’ she asked.
‘Yes we have?’
‘Well don’t trust him. He won’t tell you the truth!’ she insisted.
‘The truth?’
‘Yes the truth! The truth is the company had got into some trouble. Millions had been siphoned of from the trust accounts over the last eighteen months.’
‘And who was responsible for this?’
‘Well James had confided in me that he was convinced it was Pinkton but he had no way of proving it’ she said emotion building in the back of her throat.
‘What made him so certain it was Pinkton?’ Steve asked probing for more information.
‘Well it was obvious. Alex handled all the money. James never touched the financial side of the business at all’
‘I see. And did Mr Firth ever confront Mr Pinkton over the missing money?’
‘Yes several times. However on Friday they had a huge fight over it’ she said the memory of the fight flooding back across the screen of her mind.
‘When you say a fight?’ Branson asked.
‘A screaming match. Right in the middle of the office amongst all of the staff. It was quite embarrassing really. But James was so upset’
‘What was the fight about?’
‘James was demanding to know where the missing millions had gone. He accused Pinkton of taking the money. Funny thing was Pinkton didn’t deny it. Things got very heated to the point I thought it might get physical.’
Steve was studying the face of Melissa Johnstone looking for a tell. In poker trained professionals know when their opponents are bluffing because they always had a tell. It could be something simple like the shifting of their bodyweight, or the scratching of their nose. But there was always a tell. Always a sign when the truth was not being told. Over the years he had become highly sensitive to people’s tells. Any shift in their unconscious thoughts, especially if they were lying, always showed up as a tell.
‘But it stopped short of getting physical?’
‘Well yes sort of. At one point James had Alex by the scruff of the neck pushed up against the wall. He was yelling at him and threatening to kill him. Very much out of character.’
‘And again, this was about the money?’ Branson joined in.
‘Well yes, but it had progressed on. Alex had called James a fagot lover. James retaliated by accusing Alex of having an affair with his wife Jane’
‘Oh, now it’s getting interesting?’ Steve said leaning forward in his chair.
‘Yes James had long since suspected that Alex was having an affair with his wife. But like the money he had no real evidence to support his suspicions.’
‘I see. And you said that Mr Pinkton didn’t attempt to deny these claims at all?’
‘Not really no’ Melissa Johnston said. Tears welled up in her eyes as she started sobbing. ‘James was such a lovely man, that bastard Pinkton has killed him!’
Branson and Steve exchanged a glance across the table.
‘Well Ms Johnstone, we appreciate your help. If you think of anything else then here is my card for you to give me a call on’ Branson said handing across her business card.
‘Yes thank you detectives. I will be sure to call’. She replied. ‘Oh one other thing, I should mention that I have had an overseas trip booked for some time now with my sister. We are off to Europe tomorrow. So if you do no need to ask me any further questions then do so before midday tomorrow.’ With that Melissa Johnstone said her farewells and walked out of the cafe leaving Steve and Branson alone at the table.
‘What do you make of that then?’ Branson asked.
‘Well it seems to me we need to bring Pinkton in for a more formal chat. At this stage he has no real alibi, and he has the motive potentially with the missing millions.’
‘Not to mention he was banging the victims wife’ Branson added.
‘Yes right. All possible reasons to commit murder’
‘Oh, and he knew the location of the victims body before we mentioned it to him. Only the perp could have known it in advance’ Branson said feeling good about her contributions.
‘Correct. That one comment may be enough to throw the book at him.’ Steve said. ‘Call the station and have the uniforms go and get him. We will head back to the station and update Bellsworth’
‘On to it.’ Branson said as they stood up and walked towards the exit. Branson had the phone to her ear giving out instructions as they walked back to Steve’s car.