Read Online Wrong Place: A gripping serial killer crime thriller. by M A Comley - Free Book Online Page A

her arm with his elbow. “Time’s getting on, boss. Do you want me to drive?”
    She shook her head, trying to dislodge the image of Maddie’s dead mother lying in her lap. She fired up the car and slapped the steering wheel with her hand. “I’m fine, or I will be. Professional head on, and it’s off we go.”
    The Wellington Arms public bar was relatively quiet when Sally and Jack walked in and announced they were there to speak to the manager. The pretty young barmaid went in search of her boss and returned with a man in his early fifties.
    Sally and Jack produced their IDs for the confused man.
    “Is there somewhere private we can chat, Mr. Locke?” Sally asked.
    “My office. Come through.” He held open the bar for them and walked through to the back area of the building, away from the prying eyes and straining ears of the customers. “What’s this about, Inspector?”
    “We’re here to inform you that one of your members of staff lost her life last night.”
    “Lost her life? In an accident? Who?”
    “No, it was no accident, Mr. Locke. Maddie Webster was found murdered in the early hours of this morning.”
    He flung himself back in his chair. “What?”
    “Not very pleasant. I’d rather not go into details about the crime. What I would like to know is if Maddie had any ‘admirers’ at the pub?”
    “Admirers as in weird folk who would set out to end the poor girl’s life?” he asked coldly.
    “If you want to put it that way, yes,” Sally agreed.
    “No, not that I can think of. Everyone loved Maddie. She was my longest-serving barmaid.” He ran a hand through his greying hair. “Shit! Sorry, I just can’t believe someone would set out to intentionally kill that poor girl.”
    “Can you tell me if she was friendlier than usual towards one of the customers last night, perhaps?”
    He inhaled and exhaled a large breath. “It was my night off, the wife’s birthday actually. Damn, Maddie filled in for me. She gave up her one night off this week so I could share it with my wife, and now she’s dead . There’s just no rhyme or reason for that, is there?”
    “No, there isn’t. We called at her address earlier and spoke to her neighbour, Liz, who mentioned that Maddie had recently split up from her fiancé. Did you know this?”
    “Yes, everyone in the pub knew that. She was strong, though, always put her smile on at work so nobody would have been aware just how broken-hearted she was about ditching that scumbag. Some men just don’t know when they’re on to a good thing with a girl. I offered to go round there and see him, give him a piece of my mind, but Maddie insisted she was okay about the break-up. She wasn’t aware that I used to listen to her in the toilet, crying her eyes out.”
    Sally frowned, thinking the man was some kind of voyeur.
    He corrected himself, “Nothing sinister in it, Inspector. The ladies’ loo is right next door, and the walls to this office are paper thin so, unfortunately, I tend to hear everything that goes on in there. I assure you, at times, I wish that really wasn’t the case.”
    “I’m sure. If you aren’t able to tell us what went on here last night, do you think another member of staff could fill us in?”
    “No one is on duty until later on this evening, I’m afraid. I’m not a slave driver with my staff like other pub landlords. I like to give them a decent amount of time off between shifts. I find it keeps the staff and the customers happy.”
    “So, Maddie filling in for you was a genuine one-off then?” Sally asked.
    “Yes. Crap, I’m going to be riddled with guilt now for the rest of my days.”
    Sally decided then not to tell the landlord about Maddie’s mum dying. She feared it would only leave an extra burden on Mr. Locke’s shoulders. “These things happen, Mr. Locke. There’s no point blaming yourself, no point whatsoever. Any chance we can question the staff on duty last night at home, or would you rather I send uniformed