Girls Of The Dark Read Free Page A

the exact same position they were in when they downed the bleach?’
                  ‘Culdrew’s scenario explained it. Janet Kerr hadn’t consumed enough to die straight away. She had time to struggle. It must have been an awful way to go.’
                  ‘Maybe the alcohol and barbiturates in Ray’s system made him more docile.’
                  ‘We’d need to have a proper look at the toxicology results. Culdrew didn’t make it sound as if there would be enough for that. Ray was quite a big guy. Working at the garage had obviously kept him fit.’
                  Andy nodded, saying no more. He and Alice had been at the scene and his boss hadn’t. There was something about what they witnessed there that possessed all the hallmarks of a violent crime. Calder knew this was just a gut reaction. If the evidence didn’t fit, he’d have to shake the idea. But something was making him think there was another individual involved. Not just a voice at the other end of a phone.

Chapter 4
     
     
    L isa Abbot was listed on the electoral register for her district as being thirty two years old. According to Janet Kerr’s sister, she’d claimed to be twenty eight. This was just one of the many lies that Abbot had spun over the previous few months.
                  Alice and Dan sat in an unmarked car outside the flat on Raven Hill Road that Ray had bought for them. Abbot hadn’t yet emerged through the front door.
                  ‘Are both their names on the mortgage?’ Dan asked casually.
                  ‘Yep. Abbot will probably get to keep this place whatever happens.’ Alice lifted a flask from the cup holder and unscrewed the lid. ‘Want some?’
                  ‘What is it?’
                  ‘Hot chocolate.’ Alice poured a small amount into the plastic beaker.
                  ‘No thanks. I’m watching my weight.’
                  Alice laughed. ‘What the hell for?’
                  ‘I’m sitting on my arse on surveillance jobs most of the time these days. The big-bottomed look isn’t a good one in men.’ Dan shifted about uncomfortably.
                  The DS twisted round to face him. ‘Have you got a new bloke?’
                  ‘There’s a guy I’ve been talking to at the Lime Tree. He seems quite keen. But he’s a body beautiful type.’
                  ‘Great. I never meet anyone.’
                  ‘Come on Alice, you’re not interested. Half the men at headquarters would go out with you like a shot. You’re focussed on getting ahead. I just wish I had your ambition.’
                  ‘Are you going to take the sergeants’ exam again? There’s another set coming up in January.’ Alice sipped her drink, carefully balancing the flask between her knees.
                  Dan sighed. ‘I suppose so. I don’t want DCS Douglas to think I’m a total numpty. I can’t believe I failed it the last time.’
                  ‘The DCI wasn’t around to motivate you. She was busy on that disciplinary thing in Edinburgh.’ Alice nudged her partner’s arm. ‘Bevan isn’t going to be with us forever. In a few months she’ll have moved upstairs and won’t be there to hold your hand. You’ll have to start being more proactive about your career.’
                  Dan was about to answer when the communal door to the block of flats opened. A woman in skinny blue jeans and an oversized hoodie jacket emerged. Sunglasses were obscuring most of her face.
                  ‘Is it Abbot?’
                  ‘I think so.’ Alice turned the key and started the engine, waiting until the woman was a good distance away before crawling along behind her.
                  ‘I’ll get out and follow on foot.’