She screwed up her face in frustration at his intrusive line of questioning. ”I’m fully aware of my interactions with Clem, Detective. I was due an inheritance fund after one of my family members died last year. Clem represented me upon the liquidation of their personal assets and therefore was responsible for any money to be passed on. That’s the reason for the large transaction. Anything else you wish to indirectly accuse me of?” Her venom had seemed to replenish as the last words left her mouth.
”Nobody is accusing you of anything, Mrs. Collimore. As I said, this is just all routine procedure.” he explained. ”May I ask what those assets were? I mean, to warrant such a hefty figure attached to them?”
”Now listen carefully.” she snarled. ”My son is out there… missing or worse still. And you come over here wasting valuable police time as well as my own, with these ridiculous questions as well as attempting to threaten information out of me that has nothing to do with you or anybody else for that matter. These are my private affairs and you’ve just overstepped the mark. Your superiors will be hearing about this, I promise you that.”
Drucker shook his head and pursed his lips together. He was witnessing an intense stress building up inside of her yet for no apparent reason, on the surface of it anyway. The taste of being on the brink of discovering some hidden, vital piece of information was palpable. ”Mrs. Collimore, please. I just need you to clear up these minor queries and we’ll be on our way. I see no reason to become worked up over this. If it’s an inconsequential detail then I kindly request you to cooperate with us.”
”Oh, I see. “If” it’s inconsequential now, is it?” she exclaimed. ”So I was right all along. I "am" being treated with some suspicion. The pair of you disgusts me and I will stand for no more of this.” She reached into a discreetly placed pocket located at the side of her cardigan and proceeded to pull out a mobile phone. ”By the time I’m done with you, even McDonald’s wouldn’t consider hiring you. Mark my words, I’ll see to that. This is nothing but plain police brutality. Please see yourselves out immediately.”
Seething, Mrs. Collimore unfolded a chit of paper and began to punch in a series of numbers. She balanced unsteadily upon the slanted crutch, eyeing the two of them in the process. Drucker looked at Doug who had already started making his way back towards the corridor for a hasty exit. This was a key moment of decisiveness and controlled logic. A one-time offer was laid out before him which had rippling repercussions beyond any foresight he could have ever imagined. But if an innocent child’s life was saved because of it, his mindful actions should speak for themselves. That was the theory behind it, however there was no time to lose. He had made up his mind.
Drucker lunged forward and grabbed the phone out of her hand. She stood there, stunned and rooted to the spot, gasping hard. Sheer horror and mortification enveloping her face was the first thing Doug saw when he spun round in surprise. After a brief stand-off between the two of them, she decided to break the ice, still frozen in the same pose.
”Have you lost your mind? What in the hell have you just done? You've assaulted me.”
Doug moved in closer, albeit with reserved caution. ”Druck, what happening?”
”Not now.” he replied, all the while glaring at Mrs. Collimore was a newfound menace. She abated somewhat after seeing this, clutching on to her metallic support.
”I’ve heard enough from you, Jane.” he continued. ”I’m placing you under unofficial house arrest until you provide me with the details requested and I make the necessary enquires. Do you understand me clearly?” His voice was course and gruff, adding to the fear exuding from the young woman.
”You’ve just broken every law in the most outrageous way, Detective.” she responded in a quivering voice, tears brewing upon her lids. ”I’m giving you five seconds, after which I’ll scream this entire complex down and you’ll be waking up tomorrow morning in a jail cell.”
Drucker gave her a sheepish grin. ”Go ahead and have it your way. But know that I’ve been following your case from the very start. I may be incarcerated and you’ll think you’ve won. But a new law enforcement officer will have to be assigned and that means reading through all my investigative notes from scratch and wasting an ungodly amount of precious time that frankly you don't have. You would be effectively signing off your kid’s death warrant all in one fell swoop. And if you still insist on screaming even after I’ve told you this, it just proves to me that you wanted him dead all along. Think carefully over your next course of action because you won’t get a second chance. Now, what are you gonna do?”
A pair of red, bulging eyes flitted back and forth between Drucker and the phone in his hand. She took in a deep inhalation of breath, but stopped short. Doug watched, mouth wide open and on tenterhooks, as she collapsed into a sofa chair behind her, sobbing into cupped hands.
”Druck, what the hell are you doing?” Doug whispered over his shoulder. His words trembled out as the situation had reached boiling point. He turned to face him.
”I’m sorry, Doug.” murmured Drucker into his ear as Mrs. Collimore bawled on the leather sofa. ”After reading the terrain, I’m convinced she knows something. It's a matter of life and death for young Nathan. If Wallace was to find out about this, the whole damn thing would be shot to shit, even our meeting tonight with Rob. She left me with no other choice.”
Doug could see his rationale in the matter, but still harboured grievous concerns. ”Well, it’s done now. I guess we just have to move forward. What’s the plan then?”
”I may need you do you a little babysitting for me. Just for a while.” Drucker responded.
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