Czech Mate Read Free Page A

beside the standard table-cum-desk, Max sipped moodily from the mug, regretting the loss of his delightful quarters in a country setting. Living in-mess he found it difficult really to relax, be his own person. He seemed still to be on duty there.
    His thoughts moved to professional problems. A stolen truck laden with valuable equipment had to be traced, but the search for the driver had greater priority. He padded to the window to push back the regulation pattern curtains. Snow had banked up during the night and it was still falling. He hoped Treeves was surviving it.
    Letting the curtain fall, Max made more tea and drank it while gazing without seeing at the boxes and holdalls surrounding him. His concentration had moved to what Tom Black had reported to him last night. A serious attack on a boy at a Christmas party. Cases concerning minors were invariably tricky. Parents could be defensive, aggressive, outraged during questioning; the kids’ testimony was often unreliable due to fear, bravado, insolence or pure drama.
    They would all have to be approached today. Being Sunday it would mean tackling them at home. Easier if they were at school. Teachers acted as appropriate and impartial adults during questioning. The investigation was likely to run over into tomorrow, however. With Christmas so near and snow on the ground, families could be out shopping or tobogganing today.
    The digital figures on his clock now showed 07:30. Would breakfast be available yet on a Sunday? Max’s stomach was telling him fuel in the form of hot food was urgently needed, so he showered and dressed warmly for a demanding day. He hoped to God engineers would turn out to get the heating system going in the semi-organized new headquarters.
    They had not when Max arrived to find most of his team ready for a briefing, in spite of the lie-in offered last night. Word of the assault on Kevin McRitchie had circulated.
    â€˜One of the advantages or disadvantages of living cheek by jowl with our prospective clients,’ said Phil Piercey dryly. ‘Depends how you view it.’
    Max grinned. ‘I’ve a pretty good idea how you view it, Sergeant, and thank you all for sacrificing your extra time in bed. I apologize for the temperature in here. I’ll chase up the guys meant to be installing the heating and threaten them with a night in the cells, unless! However, most of you will be out taking statements on the McRitchie case. Those few remaining here to coordinate info on our stolen truck and the fate of its driver will have the sole use of two space heaters I’ve ordered to be delivered pronto.
    â€˜I’ve been advised that an air search will be mounted as soon as the weather permits, but the Met boys are shaking their heads and muttering so I’m not hopeful. I think we must accept that our equipment is by now irretrievable, so the focus is on tracing Lance-Corporal Treeves. Teams will shortly set out to once more cover the route taken yesterday but, without air reconnaissance, the chances of finding a hidden vehicle, much less its driver, are pretty slim. All that can be done will be done, in conjunction with the Polizei , who might have more resources now Saturday night excesses are over.’
    Connie Bush, looking as fresh and alert as if she had not toiled so hard yesterday, raised a point. ‘We can’t completely rule out the possibility that Treeves did a runner with our equipment.’
    Tom Black answered in agreement, adding, ‘The Dutch police are looking out for him, and we’ll bring in Interpol if necessary. Let’s turn to this assault on the boy at the party.’
    After outlining what he had seen and heard last night, Tom went on to state that he had questioned his own daughters. They had not noticed anything suspicious prior to the attack. No serious aggro between any of the children – particularly the boys – except that Kevin had a bit of a slanging match with his young