Read Online Cowboys and Indians by Ed James - Free Book Online Page B

desk in the corridor and picked up a phone.
    Cullen pointed at her desk, shaking his head. ‘Imagine having to sit there all day.’
    Jain smirked. ‘Beats sitting next to some mouth breather in an office.’
    ‘True.’
    Lorna reappeared. ‘Mr Yardley should be on his way over.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Cullen pocketed the sheet and stared into the room. A Smurf hoovered up the carpet contents near the door. ‘Think they’ll—’
    ‘Stop!’ A heavy man stormed down the corridor towards them, the paintings on the wall shaking with each bound. He stood huffing, hands resting on his hips, a chunky gold band on his left ring finger. Thin red hair scraped over in a parting, skin only a few shades lighter. Eyes shooting around the officers outside the room. ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ Southern American accent, maybe Louisiana. Deep voice. ‘Well?’
    ‘DS Scott Cullen.’ He got out his warrant card. ‘And you are?’
    ‘William Yardley.’
    ‘We’re investigating Mr Van de Merwe’s death. Can we have a word in private?’
    ‘What’s happening to Jon’s office?’
    ‘We’re performing standard forensic analysis. If you’re a regular in there, we’ll need a DNA sample from you.’
    Yardley glared at him, eyes tiny slits. ‘You’d better come to my office.’ He stomped off down the corridor and eased a door open. ‘In here.’ He leaned against the wall behind his desk and crossed his arms, his suit bulging at the chest. ‘Well?’
    Jain stood in the doorway.
    Cullen took his time sitting in front of the desk and unfolded his notebook. ‘Thanks for agreeing to see us, sir.’
    ‘I’ve not agreed shit. Jon’s lying on a slab and you punks are speaking to me ?’
    ‘Us punks are trying to find out who killed him.’
    ‘Oh, yeah? And how you doing that?’
    ‘I’ve got two teams of forensic analysts working at his home and in his office. Another press release will go out soon. We’ve identified two possible suspects and we’ve got twenty officers scouring the streets near where he was found.’
    ‘Again, why are you speaking to me?’
    ‘We spoke to Elsbeth van de Merwe last night. She mentioned you were a close friend of his.’
    ‘We were colleagues, that was it.’ Yardley tore off his suit jacket and placed it on his coat rack. ‘You know how much pressure’s on my shoulders, now Jon’s gone?’
    ‘I can imagine. Is there anything in Mr Van de Merwe’s private life we should be aware of?’
    ‘Such as?’
    ‘Any notable friends or acquaintances we should be speaking to?’
    ‘None spring to mind. Most of his friends are here, working for him. With him. He was like that.’
    ‘Mr Van de Merwe was behind on his spousal maintenance payments.’
    ‘Jon never talked about his private life.’
    ‘What about his financial arrangements?’
    ‘Look, buddy, I worked with him and played squash with him, that’s it.’ Yardley shut his eyes. Then stared over at the wall. ‘Wiped the court with me a few months back. Thought I was gonna have a heart attack.’
    ‘Witnesses place Mr Van de Merwe on Dean Bridge at half past three yesterday morning. Wandering around in his underpants.’
    Yardley’s mouth slackened. ‘What?’ He crumpled back against the wall, hammering a finger against his eyebrow. He blinked hard a couple of times. ‘I don’t believe it.’
    ‘Why would he be out of his house in the middle of the night, dressed like that?’
    ‘I’ve no idea.’
    ‘We found his front door unlocked.’ Jain jotted another note. ‘It’s likely someone coerced him from his home.’
    ‘He’s an IT Programme Director. It’s not like he can open the vault at a branch.’
    ‘Does he have access to any security protocols?’
    Yardley shook his head. ‘Jon couldn’t log on without Lorna.’
    ‘Could anyone have blackmailed him?’
    ‘Nobody’s going to blackmail him over his weak backhand.’
    ‘There’s no dark secrets in his closet?’
    ‘Like I say, he was a private