Ladybird Ladybird: The Jasmine Brite Mysteries, #2

By JW Darcy

Two young people vanish after a Somerset music festival but all leads are quickly exhausted - five years later there's a new sighting but the the police aren't interested...

• Language: English
• Publisher: APS Publications
• Release date: Apr 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393850878

Book preview

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home.

Your house is on fire and your children are gone.

All except one and that’s little Ann.

And she crept under the warming pan.

(Mother Goose)

PART I

2009

1

SURPRISE!

It was Jasmine’s thirtieth birthday celebration.

They were all there, her staff and best friends. Her staff were her best friends and she didn’t hand out her friendship lightly. Trust issues, they called them nowadays, exacerbated by her job and the type of lies and hurt frequently uncovered in her missing persons cases. However, her reticence had been there long before her rise to become the boss of her own agency. She was an adult orphan, along with Hugo, made parentless at nineteen and left responsible for a fourteen-year old, brother. It had left its mark.

Then last year she had finally let someone in, Enzo, her Italian long-distance boyfriend, whom she had met solving the Buscolli case. She felt sure she loved him but had to admit that long-distance romance suited her just fine. She was essentially a lone wolf. Her pack were her close-knit colleagues, who could read her so well, who knew when to allow her solitude and when she needed company. They loved her for who she was, with all her flaws, including those Enzo found difficult to understand. Still, despite this, they were getting along fine so far.

Her staff, her pack, comprised four distinct individuals.

First Maddie Lennox, a year older than Jasmine and her closest friend came over to hug her. They had met when Jasmine advertised for staff. She had formerly run an accountancy firm with her embezzling husband, now ex. Jasmine had liked her on sight. She was competent, friendly and a vital part of the team, especially on the financial side. She had been devastated at her husband’s betrayal and whilst completely innocent herself, had lost everything. It was Maddie who had been with Jasmine in Milan investigating the agency’s first major cold case and Jasmine valued her opinion on everything. At five feet four inches tall, an auburn-haired pre-Raphaelite beauty, Maddie was so physically the opposite of her taller, slimmer, brunette boss. Unlike her Jasmine would never describe herself as a beauty even though she could be when she remembered to smile instead of appearing aloof, always with something on her mind.

Next over to congratulate Jasmine was Caroline Womack, Caro to them all, a twenty-four years old Law graduate, who had yet to move on to pastures new, as Jasmine had expected after gaining work experience at the agency. She was bubbly, petite and blonde and Jasmine’s brother, Hugo, was besotted with her. She in turn, teased him mercilessly.

At her own desk, waiting for the fuss to die down, was Freya’s mother, Evie Baxter, a light-skinned, Afro-Caribbean woman in her early thirties. An ex-policewoman, she had been part of the team for five years. Freya’s father was someone that Evie never mentioned and all of them, from Jasmine down, respected her privacy on that.

The last of Jasmine’s team was the exasperating, funny, much-loved, Hugo. A genius on the computer, Jasmine knew full well she couldn’t operate her agency without him. He had the know-how to extract any information she needed from God knows where and she didn’t ask. She didn’t want to be blinded by science or to delve too deeply into the legality of what he did. He had been the first to tell Jasmine that her youth was behind her and she was now officially old.

As she gazed around the office, Jasmine reflected how bloody lucky she was to be working in a job she loved, with people she loved, and sometimes, just sometimes, being able to find those missing loved ones to make it all worthwhile.

2

JASMINE’S actual birthday had been celebrated with Enzo and his parents and Hugo at a fancy new restaurant. Later, Enzo had spent the night with her in her tiny flat, whilst his mother and father stayed at a local hotel.

It had been several months since they’d been able to meet up. It was hard for them with demanding jobs in entirely different countries.

The thirty-year-old Buscolli cold case could not have been solved without the help of the Italian police which meant Vincenzo Rappelli, Enzo’s father, an Inspector at Milan’s police headquarters. Enzo had been a traffic controller at the time but was now part of his father’s serious crime team and Jasmine had almost become part of the Rappelli family.

The case had been re-ignited nearly a year ago now by the missing boy’s sister employing the agency to investigate one last time. They had been busy ever since because of their brief notoriety in the newspapers, here and in Italy.

As for Jasmine and Enzo, their attraction for each other had progressed and although Enzo was constantly complaining that he missed her too much for it to carry on as it was, there didn’t seem to be a solution. Their careers came first for both of them and Jasmine was secretly grateful as it suited her just fine. That she had let anyone into her life at all, was a miracle.

Nursing a gigantic hangover, Jasmine arrived late for work but since she was the boss, it wasn’t remarked upon. She called a brief Morning to everyone and went into her tiny office where Caro hastily plonked a large coffee in front of her.

Three potential clients to see you today, she said. First one’s at 10.30. That ok? Or shall one of us take it?

No, I’m fine, Caro. Thanks. A paracetamol with this coffee will see me right. What’s the case? Any idea?

They’re a couple whose daughter and her boyfriend went missing several years ago. The police gave it a perfunctory look and kept it on file, but assumed they’d gone off together after a family dispute. Of course, all involved said this was so out of character and the police had got it wrong. The wife says that she recently gained some information that might help the case but the police weren’t interested. They read about us and decided to give us a try.

Ok. Let’s see what it’s about. I never like to hear of the police not pursuing lines of enquiry but we all understand hundreds of people go missing every day. They can’t find all of them, especially the ones who don’t want to be found. We’re here to concentrate on one case at a time and that makes all the difference.

Caro nodded in agreement and returned to her own desk. The Brite agency had been able to move into better premises since the huge boost from the Buscolli case. The main office was large and airy, looking out on all sides over the City. Each member of staff now had their own working space and they had a small kitchen that housed a state of the art coffee machine, for which they were eternally grateful, although they did miss the amazing coffee they had bought each morning from the cafe downstairs, in the old building, usually accompanied by a brioche. Now they just got their coffee any old time, sadly without the brioche.

At quarter past ten, a middle-aged couple arrived at the reception desk. To be greeted by Caro.

Good Morning. You would be Mr. and Mrs. Finch? Would you like tea or coffee?

Tea for us both, please they replied, together.

Jasmine’s office, situated at the far end, had Perspex glass walls so she could always see what was going on. More to the point, she wasn’t isolated from her team. She spotted the Finches and came out to meet them. Please come through and make yourselves comfortable. she said.

When they were seated, she introduced herself. I’m Jasmine Brite and I hear you have a case you’d like me to help with, if I can?

Yes, it’s our daughter Jessica, you see, and her boyfriend, Lewis, Mrs. Finch was already wringing her hands with obvious anxiety. She went missing five years ago, when she was nineteen and Lewis was twenty. They went to a music festival and never came home. Tears welled up; talking brought it all back, regardless of the elapsed years.

All the agency staff knew this was usually the case. No matter how long ago a relative went missing, it always seemed as if they had been lost only that day, the anguish of not knowing never ending for them.

Jasmine and Hugo’s loss of their parents at an early age, gave her a unique insight into how they felt and it was why she had set up her agency in the first place. Whatever comfort she could provide was what it was all about for her and if, sadly, the outcome was a body, at least then at least she was giving them closure, that American cliché, but it was a cliché for good reason.

Mr. Finch took over from his wife, who was silently weeping into a tissue, and Jasmine directed her immediate questions to him. Did they often go to festivals and outings where they stayed a few days?

Yes, I suppose so. They met in college and were in love. They loved to go to music festivals and camp out. They’ve been to most of the usual ones - the sea, the countryside, it didn’t matter as long as they were together. He seemed to be reminiscing, with a far-off look in his eyes. We thought they’d get married but they both said they’d got better things to spend their money on, and we had to accept that. Times have changed.

I see, Jasmine nodded. When did you first become alarmed that Jessica and Lewis hadn’t returned from... What was the name of the festival? She paused in her note-taking.

Somerset Summer Solstice, down in the West Country. They’ve been going for a few years now. We didn’t think anything of it until the Monday evening. We assumed their phones had run out of batteries. They were always forgetting about that, not thinking we might want to know they were ok.

Is that when you first contacted the police?

Yes, but they said they need to wait another twenty-four hours to make sure that they were actually missing and not just out of contact with us. They asked us a few questions about their lifestyle and seemed to think it wasn’t unusual for two young people to stay on at festival sites, returning home when they’d run out of money. They advised us to go home and contact their friends to see if any of them had heard from them.

Of course, we told them we had already done that. A recovered Mrs. Finch took over from her husband.

So, you waited and then returned to the police, I take it?

Yes, they took our statements and assured us not to worry as they were used to youngsters’ selfishness but would contact the local Somerset police and inform them. There was nothing more we could do officially so Harry decided we’d go down ourselves with Lewis’s mum - he hasn’t got a dad - and take a look around. We left straight away, leaving Jessie’s sister, Jane, at home. She was seventeen at the time. In case they turned up, which we were still expecting, despite our instincts that something was wrong. We arrived in Somerset and went to the festival site. It was being cleaned up and put back to a fallow field by volunteers and the farm staff. We asked a few people if any of the festival goers were still around, but no one knew or cared. They’d been employed to clean up and hadn’t attended the festival. All the commercial stands had long gone, too.

So, you returned home to wait for the police to get in touch?

Oh yes. Waited and waited to hear something, put posters up, posted on their Facebook sites for information, everything, but nothing came of it. Mrs. Finch shook her head. The police did their best, I know, but eventually they had to add Jessie and Lewis to their missing persons files and that was that. We learnt to live with the pain and hoped one day they would just turn up again. Poor Lewis’s mother couldn’t cope and ended up in a mental home. She’s still there. I visit but not often. What I can I say? I remind of her of what she lost.

I’m so sorry for you both, I know how hard it is not knowing. What is it that’s brought you here today? Has something changed?

Mr. and Mrs. Finch looked at each other, and it was as if something lit up in their eyes.

"We heard from someone who thinks they saw Lewis some time ago. He said he had spoken to him and he said they had joined some sort of organisation at a festival they had gone to years ago. It must be the Somerset one. It was all peace and love at first and he and Jessie had been very happy but then it started to get a bit heavy and he said he and Jessie argued and he left. As far as he knew she was still with them. The friend asked whether he realised they were recorded as missing persons and why he hadn’t bothered to contact their distraught parents. He said Lewis seemed rather disturbed and mumbled something about being in a bad place. He wouldn’t give a contact address. He said he hadn’t got one and didn’t want to be contacted anyway. When the friend tried to convince him that his mother and Jessie’s parents were desperate for information, Lewis said, to trust him, they’d be better off forgetting them. Then he said goodbye and wandered off. The friend apologised for only coming forward now but he was just recently back in the area and he’d forgotten about the chance meeting until he saw the posts on Facebook still asking for information."

This is good news, Jasmine, offered encouragingly. It’s a start anyway. Would you like us to take on your case? I can’t guarantee a favourable outcome, of course, and you could insist that the police follow up this new lead and take it seriously, but we have more time and resources to concentrate on the investigation. If they’re out there we’ll do our utmost to find them.

Thank you. Yes please, they answered in unison.

Jasmine went through the financial basics and then suggested the Finches go home to go through the contract thoroughly and if happy with it, to write down separately everything they could remember about the time Jessica and Lewis went missing. Quite often details come to light with time that weren’t originally apparent. Of course, I’ll need the details of the new informant and we’ll request a copy of the police files and then take it from there.

Jasmine shook hands with them both and as they stood up, Mr. Finch said whatever it cost financially would be worth it, even if the outcome wasn’t what they hoped for.

When they’d left Jasmine went and got herself a strong coffee from the kitchen and prayed for a good outcome, just as the parents must be doing.

3

JASMINE gathered the team in the space they used as a meeting area to discuss big cases. Based on a police set-up, one wall was taken up with a whiteboard for important information, photographs and evidence as well as ideas or questions from the team.

In the centre of the board Jasmine put up a photograph of the missing couple. The team, on comfortable office chairs, faced her as she swiftly relayed all she knew about the case. Caro made notes on her tablet, so she could print out the details and pin them up afterwards.

Jasmine gave Hugo the witness’s name, Jason White, and the task of locating his whereabouts. It was obviously important to speak to him. She also asked Hugo to look up the Finch and Poole family histories. "By any means you can. We need some idea of the family dynamics. We want a clear idea of the young couple’s lives before they disappeared and why they might have been interested in the particular group they supposedly went off with which was one of the many who go to festivals professing peace and love...but of course some can be a front for more sinister purposes.

And unless anybody has any other ideas we can’t really get moving until Hugo gets the information, I’ve asked him to track down.

Nobody else had anything constructive to add so Jasmine wound things up. Carry on with your current cases and we’ll re-group later.

The team returned to their own desks and the office went quiet.

Hugo quickly brought something useful back to Jasmine.  Jessica’s sister Jane’s a prolific Facebook user. I connected all the mutual friends between Jane, Jessica and Lewis, found Jason and requested friend status. Jane accepted straight away. Not Jason yet so I’ve told Jane what we need to know and she said to leave it with her.

Within twenty minutes – time only for Hugo to have a coffee and a brief period twiddling his thumbs - she was back. She had been on Jason’s Facebook page and reported it had been inactive for some time. She had asked all their friends if they had heard from or seen Jason lately and nobody who responded had.

Hugo thanked her for trying and told her not to worry.

He took the news in to Jasmine. Don’t worry Sis. That was just the easiest possible way of contacting him but I’ll find him. If he’s ever bought anything, signed or gave any details about himself on-line or to an organisation, his data will be stored somewhere I can access. Actually, it’s far too easy to get access whether your intentions are good or not. Worrying isn’t it?

Terrifying. Jasmine said. We’ve all willingly given away control over our lives to God knows who!

Exactly. Anyway, give me a bit more time and I’ll make contact with him. No problem.

Great. Get on with it then and we’ll arrange to meet.

Back at his desk, Hugo returned to what he liked doing best, digging for information. Before long he had a contact phone number and rung it. It went to voicemail so he gave his name and the agency and asked for a call back. He could do nothing more but wait.

Just before he packed up for the evening, the office phone rang. Hello. This is Jason White. You left a message?

Yes, thanks for getting back to me. We’re working for the parents of Jessica Finch – re-investigating her disappearance. It’s five years now. And I understand you’ve actually met Lewis Poole, the boyfriend, since then.

Ok. Yes...but I don’t really know anything helpful. It was ages ago and just an accidental meeting. It didn’t seem important or I would have gone to the police, obviously. At the time I’d no idea they were reported missing.

Jason seemed wary and Hugo realised he’d need careful handling.

I understand completely, but if I can just have a chat. It would help to get an idea of their characters. Parents very rarely have the same idea as friends. Did you know them both well?

Yes. Lewis more but, yeah, I know what you mean. Ok. Do you wanna meet then? I feel sorry for Jessie’s parents and it’s played on my mind. I could’ve taken more notice of what Lewis was saying. I just thought he’d had a bad break up with Jessie.

Great, Jason. What’s good for you?

They agreed to meet in Jason’s local about seven that evening. The pub wasn’t far from the agency or Hugo’s home. Before leaving, he popped his head around the door of Jasmine’s office and gave her an update. I’ll ring you afterwards.

Jasmine said Don’t forget to record the conversation - if he’s willing. It always paid to treat all information as though it might be needed in court and never to rely on memory. Memories were hard to substantiate in legal proceedings.

She hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be a criminal case and that the two young people had chosen to disappear, whatever their reasons but experience sadly told her that wasn’t likely after such a long time. Still, she could still hope for a positive outcome for the grieving parents and Jason White was seemingly the last person to see Lewis after they went missing. At least he hadn’t come to harm at that point. She could feel the stirring excitement that always came with an intriguing case. This wasn’t going to be one of their usual missing person stories. She didn’t know why she felt that way but she did.

4

JASON WHITE was sitting in the corner nursing a pint when Hugo arrived. After getting himself one, they shook hands and Hugo introduced himself. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me. I explained what it’s about, so anything you can remember about your conversation with Lewis might help.

I’ll try my best but it was a long time ago. I’m feeling guilty now, knowing he and Jessie have been missing five years. Of course, I’d have contacted their parents the day I met him if I’d known.

You weren’t to know though, so don’t take that on...but if you could help now, it would be fantastic. I need a bit of background on the couple too. Take your time to think about it. I’m in no hurry.

Thanks. Jason sat back and continued drinking for a minute or two, deep in thought. "Well...let’s see. I’ve known Lewis pretty much since secondary school. We were good friends then and drinking mates later. Then we drifted apart, as you do. Different friends, girlfriends, different lives. I first met Jessie soon after he started seeing her. They met in college. I liked her and they seemed really suited. Lewis was a bit of a deep thinker, New Agey. All save the planet’ vegan - you know the sort, and so was Jessie. That’s not my thing but I respected their views and they didn’t preach. As they got serious, I saw less of them and gradually we lost contact and I moved away. Occasional posts on Facebook, was all."

Right. That helps, thanks. Carry on.

Really great couple is all I can say. I’m gutted something might have happened to stop them contacting their parents. It’s so strange. I thought they got on really well with them. I was sad to hear from Lewis that he and Jessie had split up but I didn’t think any more about it. It happens.

Can you try and remember, in as much detail as you can, what Lewis actually said to you. I won’t interrupt your train of thought. It’s vital that we try and trace their last moves. Let me get you another pint.

When Hugo sat down again, Jason recounted his last conversation with Lewis.

"I was on holiday with my girlfriend...in Minehead and I was in town waiting for her. She was shopping. I was surprised to