Read Online The Rock by Robert Daws - Free Book Online

office window.
    ‘And the forensics boys?’
    ‘Nothing of significance from the Glee Club, ma’am.’
    ‘Please don’t refer to them as that, Broderick’
    ‘Nothing significant from forensics ,’ Broderick corrected. ‘No prints. We’re still waiting on the rest.’
    ‘Doesn’t look wonderfully promising, does it?’
    ‘No, but I’d like to keep this open for a bit longer. See if we can get something from it,’ Broderick replied.
    ‘I don’t need to tell you that it’s a little inconvenient, Chief Inspector. Especially considering the press interest in the case.’ Broderick stayed silent. Massetti sighed. ‘All right. But I can’t wait forever, you understand?’
    ‘Ma’am.

Gibraltar. 1966.
    The sun shines through the open French windows, warming the boy’s face. He’s barely ten years old, and his father is sat beside him, his arm round his son’s shoulder. The boy tries to release his tears, but the tears will not come.
    In the centre of the room a police inspector leans over the woman’s body. The boy cannot bear to look. A trickle of blood falls down her cheek, a final crimson animation from her lifeless corpse.
    The boy clings helplessly to his father as a uniformed police officer leads the man from the room towards the hallway. Another policeman grabs the boy and carries him kicking and screaming out onto the terrace. The hot air hits the boy’s face, but inside – deep inside – he feels chilled to the core.
    He had seen his father’s eyes. The relief. The calm. His father who had reached for his son, protecting him as he always did. That protection was gone now. The boy was on his own. Alone.

10
    Although it was only early evening, the Marina Bar was busier than Calbot and Sullivan had expected – it’s customers being mostly German and Swedish cruise ship tourists , lingering on dry land for a cocktail or two before heading back to their floating hotels.
    ‘One white-wine spritzer,’ Calbot announced as he returned to the table with the drinks.
    ‘Thanks,’ Sullivan replied, raising a small smile.
    ‘Cheers,’ he said, lifting a pint of ice cold lager to his lips. Sullivan viewed him suspiciously.
    ‘So, DC Calbot, what’s all this in aid of?’
    Calbot drew a breath. ‘Well, it occurred to me that you hadn’t really been welcomed to The Rock, Sarge. In the traditional way.’
    ‘With a good old-fashioned police piss-up, you mean?’
    Calbot shrugged his shoulders.
    ‘Well, thanks for the thought. There is, of course, one notable absentee,’ Sullivan added.
    ‘The guv? Oh, no, no. He doesn’t do social. Too busy at home.’
    ‘Family?’
    ‘Sort of. Lives with his sister.’
    ‘Oh yeah?’ Sullivan questioned, trying not to sound too intrigued.
    ‘Before he joined the RGP he was in the Met for eighteen years. Then his wife walked out on him and their two daughters. His sister had lived over here since the nineties, so basically he moved the family over so his sister could help him with the girls. Particularly the youngest one. Down’s Syndrome.’
    ‘Oh,’ Sullivan replied. Whatever she might have been expecting to hear about her boss’s private life, this scenario was not on the list. ‘And the mother?’
    ‘Vanished. Apparently he spent years trying to find her. But as you’ll know, if a person wants to disappear completely it’s not that hard to achieve these days. He never talks about it. They’ve lived with the sister up in the South District for eight years now.’
    ‘I see.’
    A group of tourists at the next table erupted with loud laughter. Calbot took the cue to lighten things up.
    ‘And as for me – since I’m sure you’ll be fascinated to know - my mum’s Gibraltarian. I grew up in the UK but spent every summer holiday here on the Rock. When I decided to join the force, it was a no brainer. The mean streets of London or the sunny streets of Gib.’
    Sullivan smiled. The wine was working fast. She was actually feeling relaxed for the