Read Online Murder Ring (A DI Geraldine Steel Mystery) by Leigh Russell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Leigh Russell
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blinking as though she had just woken up. She had short, straight, dyed blonde hair, and very broad shoulders that made her look even more dumpy than her stout figure warranted. Beneath a thick double chin, she appeared to have no neck at all.
‘What do you think you’re doing, calling on people at this ungodly hour of the morning? Ain’t you people got homes to go to? Here, what you doing? You can’t come in here. You got a search warrant?’
Geraldine assured her that a warrant had been issued, and the old woman stood aside, grumbling, as an armed team went in to check if Lenny was there. Once she had been assured there was no sign of him, Geraldine went and sat with Cynthia in a front room that seemed to be crammed with all sorts of junk.
‘We want to speak to your son,’ she began.
‘Which one?’
‘How many do you have? Three, isn’t it?’
‘If you know, why ask? Two in Australia and one here with me.’
‘Your oldest son, Leonard. He’s –’
‘Oh no,’ Cynthia interrupted firmly. ‘He’s done his time. You can’t touch him no more.’
‘Just what I was about to say.’
‘What you want with him then? Can’t you leave the poor kid alone? He’s learned his lesson.’
Geraldine doubted that very much.
‘We think he might be able to help us with an investigation.’
‘And you think he’s going to tell you? Huh! You can bloody well take yourself off out of here, and don’t bother to come back. If my boy does know anything, he ain’t going to tell you, not after what your lot done to him.’
Geraldine glanced around the room while they were talking. On several low tables an assortment of random objects was displayed: a large box inlaid with mother-of-pearl that probably contained jewellery of some description, pens, glass ornaments, at least half a dozen expensive watches, carriage clocks, and numerous knick-knacks. On the floor a cardboard box was piled high with iPads, iPods and other small electronic devices. She wondered why Cynthia had brought her into a room full of what were obviously stolen goods. She could only assume there were similar items in the other rooms in the flat.
‘What you looking at?’
‘You’ve got quite a lot of stuff here.’
‘So? Is that any business of yours? We do the markets, if you must know, me and my Lenny. We sell gear and we buy gear. A lot of it gets stored here in between markets and boot sales. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s all legit. We do a hell of a lot. It’s bloody hard work, I can tell you, and it’s all a load of crap as you can see.’
‘Mrs Parker, we need to know where Lenny is. If we don’t find him very soon, he could end up in serious trouble –’
‘Bollocks. You got nothing on him. Now bugger off, the lot of you, before I make a complaint.’
‘We need to know where he is,’ Geraldine repeated quietly, without shifting in her chair.
‘I ain’t got the foggiest. But when you find him, you can tell him from me that I’d like to know where he’s been an’ all. He’s been out four days, and he ain’t so much as picked up the phone, let alone come to see his mother, after I pined for him day and night for eighteen months. What sort of son does that to his mother?’
‘One more question, Mrs Parker. Have you ever seen Lenny with a gun?’
‘A gun? Bloody hell, what sort of family do you think we are? Now bugger off out of it and leave us alone. He’s done his time.’
14
C YNTHIA WAS LIVID. First off Lenny had been stupid enough to get himself nicked which put the whole family under the spotlight as far as the law was concerned. It was never a good idea to attract attention like that, but Lenny had always been a moron. He was bound to get caught sooner or later. She had thought he’d be in the clear once he was out, only now she’d had a visit from some bloody inspector, and everyone knew what that meant. Any contact with the police was too much as far as Cynthia was concerned. She’d seen
‘What do you think you’re doing, calling on people at this ungodly hour of the morning? Ain’t you people got homes to go to? Here, what you doing? You can’t come in here. You got a search warrant?’
Geraldine assured her that a warrant had been issued, and the old woman stood aside, grumbling, as an armed team went in to check if Lenny was there. Once she had been assured there was no sign of him, Geraldine went and sat with Cynthia in a front room that seemed to be crammed with all sorts of junk.
‘We want to speak to your son,’ she began.
‘Which one?’
‘How many do you have? Three, isn’t it?’
‘If you know, why ask? Two in Australia and one here with me.’
‘Your oldest son, Leonard. He’s –’
‘Oh no,’ Cynthia interrupted firmly. ‘He’s done his time. You can’t touch him no more.’
‘Just what I was about to say.’
‘What you want with him then? Can’t you leave the poor kid alone? He’s learned his lesson.’
Geraldine doubted that very much.
‘We think he might be able to help us with an investigation.’
‘And you think he’s going to tell you? Huh! You can bloody well take yourself off out of here, and don’t bother to come back. If my boy does know anything, he ain’t going to tell you, not after what your lot done to him.’
Geraldine glanced around the room while they were talking. On several low tables an assortment of random objects was displayed: a large box inlaid with mother-of-pearl that probably contained jewellery of some description, pens, glass ornaments, at least half a dozen expensive watches, carriage clocks, and numerous knick-knacks. On the floor a cardboard box was piled high with iPads, iPods and other small electronic devices. She wondered why Cynthia had brought her into a room full of what were obviously stolen goods. She could only assume there were similar items in the other rooms in the flat.
‘What you looking at?’
‘You’ve got quite a lot of stuff here.’
‘So? Is that any business of yours? We do the markets, if you must know, me and my Lenny. We sell gear and we buy gear. A lot of it gets stored here in between markets and boot sales. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s all legit. We do a hell of a lot. It’s bloody hard work, I can tell you, and it’s all a load of crap as you can see.’
‘Mrs Parker, we need to know where Lenny is. If we don’t find him very soon, he could end up in serious trouble –’
‘Bollocks. You got nothing on him. Now bugger off, the lot of you, before I make a complaint.’
‘We need to know where he is,’ Geraldine repeated quietly, without shifting in her chair.
‘I ain’t got the foggiest. But when you find him, you can tell him from me that I’d like to know where he’s been an’ all. He’s been out four days, and he ain’t so much as picked up the phone, let alone come to see his mother, after I pined for him day and night for eighteen months. What sort of son does that to his mother?’
‘One more question, Mrs Parker. Have you ever seen Lenny with a gun?’
‘A gun? Bloody hell, what sort of family do you think we are? Now bugger off out of it and leave us alone. He’s done his time.’
14
C YNTHIA WAS LIVID. First off Lenny had been stupid enough to get himself nicked which put the whole family under the spotlight as far as the law was concerned. It was never a good idea to attract attention like that, but Lenny had always been a moron. He was bound to get caught sooner or later. She had thought he’d be in the clear once he was out, only now she’d had a visit from some bloody inspector, and everyone knew what that meant. Any contact with the police was too much as far as Cynthia was concerned. She’d seen
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