Read Online Frozen Charlotte by Priscilla Masters - Free Book Online
Authors: Priscilla Masters
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scene of crimes investigator. A sharp-eyed Essex boy who had moved up to Shrewsbury a few years ago because he’d visited the town for a weekend and liked it so much he’d decided to stay rather than go home.
‘Take a quickie round the house,’ Talith said. ‘I’m wondering where that little kid’s blanket came from.’ He thought for a minute. ‘Unless she’s got grandchildren, of course.’
As they trooped downstairs, he was already adding that to the list of questions he wanted answers to.
As they reached the hall he made his decision and spoke to the two women. ‘I can’t see any point dragging you down to the station today,’ he said. ‘The senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Alex Randall, will take over tomorrow. It’ll be up to him how he conducts the case.’ He omitted to mention that how things proceeded would also depend on the results of the post-mortem. Talith wasn’t sure whether he was glad or sorry he would be handing over responsibility for the case. It promised to be interesting but probably frustrating too. He had the feeling that winkling out the truth would prove to be a challenge equal to any police officer’s talents. Even Detective Inspector Alex Randall. A time lapse between what might have been a crime and the discovery of a body always made a case harder to solve and it might be hard to determine what exactly the time lapse had been. The SOCOs would be looking for other clues as to how long the child had lain concealed. But there was no doubt about it. DI Randall would be taking over the investigation in the morning and probably he, Sergeant Paul Talith, and definitely PC Gethin Roberts, who was right at the bottom of the pecking order, would be relegated to the Second Division. Talith was a fan of the ‘beautiful game’ and whenever possible he liked to use sporting jargon to describe his work. It made his job sound dangerous, exciting, energetic, and besides it made him feel better.
Acantha looked vaguely surprised at their release and Talith had the feeling she had expected a long grilling of her client most of the afternoon, so he explained his reasoning. ‘I’ve done what preliminary work is necessary, Mrs Palk.’ He glanced at Alice. ‘This is quite a strain on Mrs Sedgewick.’ A further quick glance at Alice confirmed that she was looking wan. ‘I think we should leave her alone for now until DI Randall takes over, the examination of the house is complete and we’ve done some further investigations.’ He gave a ghost of a smile. ‘I take it you’ll vouch for her.’
‘Yes,’ Acantha said, a little stiffly.
‘Have you contacted Mr Sedgewick?’
‘No.’
‘So you don’t know when he’ll be back?’ He addressed the question vaguely to both women. It was Acantha who answered.
‘Not a clue,’ she said airily. ‘Aaron rather makes up his own rules, doesn’t he, Alice?’
This elicited a vague nod.
‘He rarely tells Alice exactly when he’ll be home but always manages to arrive unexpectedly,’ Acantha explained then gave a wide, slightly mischievous smile. It transformed her face, melted away the severe expression and replaced it with a softness and humanity that made her look instantly attractive. ‘When she was younger I used to think he imagined he’d walk in on her doing something she shouldn’t.’
Both Alice and Sergeant Talith were startled. Alice stared at her friend.
Talith pursued the comment. ‘You mean another man?’ He gave a sceptical glance at Mrs Sedgewick.
‘Oh no,’ she said hastily. ‘No. Nothing like that. All the other things Alice wasn’t allowed to do. Eating chocolate, having a glass too much red wine. Talking for too long on the telephone. Wearing shoes in the house, not rinsing out coffee cups before putting them in the dishwasher. Having a Chinese takeaway or even worse a pizza delivery. There were a hundred things she wasn’t allowed to do. The children not in bed when they should have been,
‘Take a quickie round the house,’ Talith said. ‘I’m wondering where that little kid’s blanket came from.’ He thought for a minute. ‘Unless she’s got grandchildren, of course.’
As they trooped downstairs, he was already adding that to the list of questions he wanted answers to.
As they reached the hall he made his decision and spoke to the two women. ‘I can’t see any point dragging you down to the station today,’ he said. ‘The senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Alex Randall, will take over tomorrow. It’ll be up to him how he conducts the case.’ He omitted to mention that how things proceeded would also depend on the results of the post-mortem. Talith wasn’t sure whether he was glad or sorry he would be handing over responsibility for the case. It promised to be interesting but probably frustrating too. He had the feeling that winkling out the truth would prove to be a challenge equal to any police officer’s talents. Even Detective Inspector Alex Randall. A time lapse between what might have been a crime and the discovery of a body always made a case harder to solve and it might be hard to determine what exactly the time lapse had been. The SOCOs would be looking for other clues as to how long the child had lain concealed. But there was no doubt about it. DI Randall would be taking over the investigation in the morning and probably he, Sergeant Paul Talith, and definitely PC Gethin Roberts, who was right at the bottom of the pecking order, would be relegated to the Second Division. Talith was a fan of the ‘beautiful game’ and whenever possible he liked to use sporting jargon to describe his work. It made his job sound dangerous, exciting, energetic, and besides it made him feel better.
Acantha looked vaguely surprised at their release and Talith had the feeling she had expected a long grilling of her client most of the afternoon, so he explained his reasoning. ‘I’ve done what preliminary work is necessary, Mrs Palk.’ He glanced at Alice. ‘This is quite a strain on Mrs Sedgewick.’ A further quick glance at Alice confirmed that she was looking wan. ‘I think we should leave her alone for now until DI Randall takes over, the examination of the house is complete and we’ve done some further investigations.’ He gave a ghost of a smile. ‘I take it you’ll vouch for her.’
‘Yes,’ Acantha said, a little stiffly.
‘Have you contacted Mr Sedgewick?’
‘No.’
‘So you don’t know when he’ll be back?’ He addressed the question vaguely to both women. It was Acantha who answered.
‘Not a clue,’ she said airily. ‘Aaron rather makes up his own rules, doesn’t he, Alice?’
This elicited a vague nod.
‘He rarely tells Alice exactly when he’ll be home but always manages to arrive unexpectedly,’ Acantha explained then gave a wide, slightly mischievous smile. It transformed her face, melted away the severe expression and replaced it with a softness and humanity that made her look instantly attractive. ‘When she was younger I used to think he imagined he’d walk in on her doing something she shouldn’t.’
Both Alice and Sergeant Talith were startled. Alice stared at her friend.
Talith pursued the comment. ‘You mean another man?’ He gave a sceptical glance at Mrs Sedgewick.
‘Oh no,’ she said hastily. ‘No. Nothing like that. All the other things Alice wasn’t allowed to do. Eating chocolate, having a glass too much red wine. Talking for too long on the telephone. Wearing shoes in the house, not rinsing out coffee cups before putting them in the dishwasher. Having a Chinese takeaway or even worse a pizza delivery. There were a hundred things she wasn’t allowed to do. The children not in bed when they should have been,
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