Read Online Golden Mile to Murder by Sally Spencer - Free Book Online

reassuring – it was a necessary prerequisite for a murder team that they had confidence in the man who would be leading them – but he did not feel very reassured himself. Chief Inspector Turner had told him that he should keep a tight rein on Woodend, and already, after only an hour or so in the town, the ex-Scotland Yard man had gone off on his own bat. Of course, it was highly unlikely he’d learn anything damaging from ‘Judy’ Davies. Living out by Stanley Park – a couple of miles away – she would never have heard any of the ugly rumours which had been buzzing around the cop shop. But still . . .
    â€˜We don’t need anybody from headquarters stickin’ their oar in,’ said another of the constables – a slightly overweight ginger-haired officer who went by the name of Eric Stone.
    â€˜You don’t think so?’ Hanson asked.
    â€˜No, I don’t. We’re the ones with the local knowledge, aren’t we? We could handle this on our own.’
    â€˜So who did it?’ Hanson asked, as if he really was expecting an answer.
    â€˜Who did what?’
    â€˜Who killed “Punch” Davies?’
    â€˜I don’t know,’ the ginger-haired constable admitted.
    â€˜But you know how to find out, do you? You have a plan for conducting the investigation?’
    Stone shrugged. ‘I’m only a DC, Sarge. I haven’t got the experience yet. But there’s men here who have – men like DCI Turner.’
    Hanson stubbed out his Woodbine in a battered tin ashtray.
    â€˜DCI Turner is a good boss to work for,’ he said, ‘and though he’s only been here a couple of years, he already knows Blackpool like the back of his hand. But if you want to talk about experience, how much experience do you think Mr Turner has had in leading murder inquiries?’
    â€˜I don’t know, Sarge.’
    â€˜Well,’ Hanson said patiently, ‘he won’t have led one
before
he got promoted, will he? And as soon as his promotion came through, he was transferred here, so he’ll only have dealt with domestics. Mr Woodend, on the other hand, must have handled a couple of dozen serious cases while he was at the Yard. Bearing all that in mind, don’t you think he might be just a little bit useful?’
    â€˜What about
her
?’ the bullet-headed DC Brock asked.
    There was no need to enquire who the ‘her’ in question was. ‘
What
about her?’ Hanson countered.
    â€˜Why’s
she
on the case? She doesn’t have either the experience or the local knowledge.’
    Hanson reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. ‘Have you got something against women officers, Badger?’ he asked.
    Brock shrugged. ‘They’re all right for lookin’ after missin’ children and brewin’ up, but they’ve no place in a murder investigation.’
    â€˜She’s Mr Woodend’s bagman. Nothing more and nothing less,’ Hanson reminded him. ‘You should know by now what a bagman’s job is. She’ll be running his errands while we do the real detective work around here. And I’m sure even you, Badger, can have no objection to a woman running errands.’
    The other two constables chuckled, and even Brock allowed a smile to come to his lips.
    â€˜No. I’ve no objection to that,’ he agreed. The smile twisted, and acquired a lascivious edge. ‘I might even be able to think of a few little jobs that she can do for me.’
    Someone – a woman – coughed, and the four detectives turned to see Sergeant Paniatowski standing in the doorway.
    â€˜How long have you been there?’ Hanson asked.
    â€˜I’ve just arrived,’ Paniatowski told him – though none of the men were sure whether she was telling the truth or not.
    â€˜And where’s Mr Woodend?’ Hanson asked. ‘He’ll be along in a minute, will he?’
    Paniatowski shook her