Read Online Substantial Threat by Nick Oldham - Free Book Online Page B

on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go . . . we need to meet Pete.’
    With a curt nod to the garage owner, Crazy reversed the GTi out of the premises and turned back towards Blackpool. Ray and Marty slid low in their seats, keeping their chins to their chests.
    All three were now beginning to feel the tension.
    Henry was in no particular hurry to move Carrie’s body, but he did allow JJ’s corpse to be moved once it had been photographed, videoed, and given a once-over by scientific support and the pathologist. The paramedics kindly offered to remove it to the mortuary and Henry ensured that a police constable accompanied them in order to provide continuity of evidence.
    He let the experts do what they had to do in the flat after he had assessed the scene himself. He was not a hundred per cent convinced there would be much for the SIO team here, other than to lend a guiding hand. If the facts seemed to point to JJ having killed Carrie and then topped himself, it would be pretty much a paper exercise which could be handled locally.
    â€˜You were close by when you got the call,’ Rik Dean commented to Henry, more by way of small talk than anything else.
    â€˜Mm,’ said Henry. He told Dean why he had been so close and as he told him, something somersaulted into his memory. ‘You were involved in that investigation, weren’t you?’
    â€˜Yeah, just took a few statements, that’s all.’
    Henry frowned. ‘Did you interview Jacqueline, alias Jack, Burrows . . . you did, didn’t you?’ Henry now clearly recalled seeing Dean’s name at the bottom of one of the statement forms in the file.
    â€˜Yeah, yeah, I did.’ Rik looked a tad uncomfortable for a passing moment.
    â€˜What did you think of her?’
    â€˜Er . . . who?’ he asked dumbly.
    â€˜Jack Burrows,’ said Henry, almost spelling the name out.
    â€˜Oh. Okay, I guess.’
    â€˜Did she tell the truth?’
    â€˜Er, I think so.’
    Henry eyed Dean thoughtfully, not remotely happy with the response he was getting from the officer. He wanted something meaty, tangible, but all he was getting was the impression that Rik Dean did not want to discuss Jack Burrows. It puzzled and intrigued Henry at the same time.
    They were standing on the walkway outside Carrie’s flat, leaning on the balustrade overlooking the car park below. Out of the earlier chaos had emerged some sort of order. The fire service was now withdrawing having drenched the flat and probably destroyed any evidence the fire had not. The entrance to the crime scene was now being controlled by a uniformed PC, who was keeping tabs on everyone coming and going, providing people with overshoes and paper overalls, but mainly ensuring that as few people as possible entered the scene in the first place.
    Scenes of crime and scientific support officers were beavering away at the remains of the flat; someone from the forensic science lab was en route, so things were pretty much bottled up. Door to door enquiries had started in a limited way, to be expanded later when staffing allowed. Once Carrie’s body was moved, they would soon have the result of the post-mortem.
    Henry checked his watch. It was 4 p.m. already. He had missed his surprise lunch with Kate, but as it had been a surprise, she did not know any different, so there was nothing lost there.
    A car drew on to the car park below. Henry half thought he recognized it.
    â€˜It’s the DI,’ Dean said.
    The driver’s door opened and the detective inspector climbed out and looked up towards Henry and Dean, acknowledging them with a little wave.
    Dean waved back. Henry, however, found he could not move. He was in deep shock.
    â€˜First day back at work,’ the DI said to Henry. They were walking slowly along the concrete walkway outside Carrie’s flat, shoulder to shoulder, touching occasionally. ‘I wasn’t going to turn out to this because I knew