Read Online Hold Hands in the Dark by Katherine Pathak - Free Book Online Page B

John and Rita gave up the lease on the house in Richmond. They could be anywhere by now.’
                  Douglas’s expression stiffened. ‘We’ve not got much to go on then, as far as the brother’s shooting is concerned. I say we focus on Vicki Kendrick instead. It turns out the new DCC was a great fan of her playing.’ The senior detective rolled his eyes.
                  Andy had to stop himself from letting out a laugh. Who knew that ‘Dour’ Douglas had a sense of humour?
                  ‘Of course sir,’ Dani put in. ‘Ms Kendrick’s murder was right on our patch and it was a grisly one. Our investigation needs to begin with the forensics. Vicki let her murderer into the house, she even socialised with them. This person must have been acting normally for at least part of the evening. There have got to be traces of the perp somewhere on the premises.’
                  ‘Well, let me know when the PM results arrive. I’ll need to keep the media informed of developments.’ With that, the DCS swept from the room.
     
    *
     
                  ‘Do we think the bastard was her lover?’
                  The discussion was flowing more freely now that Douglas had left.
                  ‘We’ve got to keep an open mind on that,’ Dani replied.
                  ‘But to be able to string Kendrick up onto that light fitting, whilst she was still alive, must indicate a strong physical build, so we’re surely assuming the killer was male?’ DS Mann asserted.
                  ‘She asked me out pretty quick off the mark. I mean, I know Vicki wanted to find out more about Dale an’ all, but I still got the distinct impression it was a date she was proposing.’ Sam shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.
                  ‘Which tells us nothing,’ DC Clifton supplied. ‘The woman was a long term divorcee and free to see any man she wished. Just because she asked out Sergeant Sharpe, it doesn’t mean she didn’t have other boyfriends.’
                  ‘Aye, Dan’s quite right,’ Andy continued. ‘But her coming onto Sam suggests the woman was sexually active. That means men could’ve come back to her house reasonably often, which makes our job a hell of a lot more difficult.’
                  ‘Hopefully, the house-to-house inquiries should shed some light on that.’ Dani sighed. ‘But I take your point. If Vicki had a long-term partner with whom she was monogamous, it would provide us with an immediate suspect.’
                  Phil stood up. ‘But if Kendrick was killed by the same people who shot her brother, then we should be setting out on quite a different track altogether.’
                  Dani was quiet for a moment, putting a hand absent-mindedly to the ugly purple bump on the side of her head. ‘Phil’s right. We need to split this investigation into two. Sam and Andy can look into the Richmond connection whilst the rest of the team focus purely on Kendrick and her lovers.’
                  Sam crinkled his brow. ‘Don’t I get any more manpower than that?’
                  ‘If your investigation turns something up, I’ll reassess. In the meantime, I trust you two to do an excellent job.’
                  Andy Calder slapped the American on the back playfully. ‘Looks like you’re stuck wi’ me, pal!’ he declared, a wide grin on his handsome face.
     

Chapter 15
     
     
    A tiny estate of grey-clad new-build houses stretched out before them. The land in this small valley was gently undulating and featureless but close enough to the coast to be battered by merciless winds.
                  ‘So the farm no longer exists?’ Sam stood next to the car and glanced about him.
                  ‘The owner sold off the land that Crosbie Farm