Read Online Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1) by Stephen Harding - Free Book Online Page A

been called in to take a look, after the detective who’d
originally been given the task, had been called elsewhere. Dave politely
introduced himself first. Then he apologised for the delay, as the woman
appeared to look a little more distressed than he’d expected.
        The
trouble with being around crime all the time is that it tends to harden you to
the extent where you almost forget how the public feel under such
circumstances. He thought to himself.
        The young officer then appeared, having
retrieved whatever he’d gone back to the car for. He went in first and was
closely followed by the man with the cameras, who it transpired, just happened
to be conducting a study about police duties as part of an article for the
local gazette.
        Once inside the flat no immediate traces of
foul play appeared to be evident, although Dave did agree with Leila that he
found it very unusual for a fully furnished flat, usually inhabited by a
healthy young woman, to have no bed in it. ‘Just another missing person’s case for
now.’ he stated to the reporter, who took another couple of photographs and
then disappeared with all his equipment back to his car. Dave was relieved that
he was finally out of the way. He never could abide reporters at the best of
times. Turning back to Leila, he took down a few more details about Vicky
before walking her to the door. He then stood and watched her leave, having
promised to keep her informed if anything new developed. He certainly had a
strange feeling about this case. The hairs on the back of his neck had reacted
for a moment, and these were normally very reliable, as he’d discovered to his
advantage on many occasions over the last twenty years. Walking back into the
living room he took a little more time and studied the well-stocked bookshelf
that loomed ahead of him. That was when he noticed, from the surrounding dust,
that a fairly thick book had recently been removed. Yet after a good long
rummage around, he was unable to find any trace of the publication anywhere. As
part of routine procedures, along with his decision to do so, various articles
were bagged up and taken away for forensic checks. This also included two empty
glasses that had been located on a coffee table under which he’d also found
some black deposits of powder on the carpet. He’d very carefully scooped these
up and placed them in one of the small sealed plastic bags that he’d asked his
colleague to go back and get earlier.   It
was always interesting to see how other people tended to live their lives. You
could easily define the different classes of people just from their
surroundings, once you’d done it a few times. This particular house appeared
very homely. Yet it gave out a distinct feeling of loneliness. Having studied
numerous photographs of the missing woman since he’d arrived, he found it
extremely hard to believe that according to her boss, this attractive woman
didn’t have a lover. He’d certainly have been interested if he could’ve had his
days as a youth back again. Who was he kidding? She probably wouldn’t even have
given him a second glance.
       
    Mike
Davies strolled along in a leisurely manner, without a care in the world, as he
headed towards the office. He only stopped at the newspaper shop in order to
collect a monthly copy of his favourite music magazine. It was a good quality
paper. It not only took him all month to read, especially as there were always
so many articles he’d read from end to end, it also updated him on all the
latest news that was going on. He recalled having befriended an older woman in
a local pub many years ago and then being absolutely stunned when he’d
discovered her true identity. Her name was Maggie Bell and she was so down to
earth, which was sometimes unusual for someone who many regarded as a music
legend. She’d sung the blues with a group called Stone the Crows during the
late sixties but sadly, they’d disbanded after Jim, her