No Safe Place (Joe Hunter Thrillers Book 11) Read Free Page B

while trying to escape when her house was broken into. In the other invasions the properties were empty at the time, or there were only kids home. On those occasions the crew didn’t need to use their weapons, but that doesn’t mean they won’t next time.’
    ‘They’re punks,’ Rink said. ‘Cowardly punks.’
    Bryony briefly raised her eyebrows, but she was in agreement. ‘We have some leads on the crew responsible; hopefully we can stop them before anymore victims die.’
    ‘Amen to that,’ Rink chimed in, and raised his bottle to his lips.
    I was busy thinking. ‘So if you don’t want my assistance with this crew, what exactly do you want, Detective VanMeter?’
    Bryony squeezed me a smile. ‘I was just getting to that, Joe. I mentioned Ella Clayton. Because of the violent nature of her murder, there’s a lot of pressure on CID to catch her killers. She has become a figurehead for critics of Tampa PD who claim we aren’t doing enough for their tax dollars to find resolution in her case. So it stands to reason that the brass has rolled the crap downhill to Criminal Investigations, and on to the investigating detectives in particular. One of which is Moi .’ She touched a hand to her chest. ‘Now, ordinarily I wouldn’t ask, but I need someone to alleviate some of the pressure I’m under, and I think you’re the man for the job, Joe.’
    ‘I can’t see what I can do to help that Tampa PD would sanction.’
    ‘I’m not asking that you catch the killers,’ Bryony explained, ‘I want you to babysit Ella’s family.’
    ‘Babysit?’ I frowned.
    ‘OK, that perhaps wasn’t the best choice of words, but you know what I mean. I want you to keep an eye over them, keep them safe until we have Ella’s murderers in custody.’
    ‘They’re in danger from the home invaders? That doesn’t make much sense, unless they personally witnessed Ella’s murder?’
    ‘They didn’t. Ella’s husband and son were fishing up at Lake Tarpon when she was attacked.’ Bryony paused to take a pull at her beer, and I knew then there was more to this case than initially believed. She rolled her bottle between her palms, while she ordered her thoughts, then it was as if she decided to hell with it. She might as well say what was on her mind. ‘You know how when a murder happens, we look first at family and close friends as suspects? Andrew’s alibi stands; he was with his nine-year-old son when Ella was murdered. There’s no disputing the fact. But in my opinion that doesn’t make him innocent.’
    ‘You think he might’ve organised the attack and had his wife killed by proxy?’ I asked.
    ‘It’s always something we have to consider, and investigate.’
    ‘But to do that effectively you need someone on the inside,’ I finished for her. I studied my own beer, then tilted it and drank most of the bottle in one long swallow. I glanced across at Rink and caught his slight grimace. He knew what was going through my mind. I’d not long ago agreed to protect Billie Womack, and got shot for my trouble, when really others required protection from her. I’d been used, made to look a mug by a supposed old friend named Brandon Cooper. He was with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – commonly referred to as an ATF agent – but it hadn’t made him trustworthy. Was I really prepared to jump into the middle of a case where it was apparent a law enforcement officer would manipulate me again? I wondered how much of the debacle at Hill End Bryony knew about from Rink.
    ‘We’ve nothing on Andrew Clayton,’ Bryony went on. ‘So we also have to consider that he’s innocent of any involvement in Ella’s murder. If he is innocent he deserves our sympathy, and our support. There’s also the boy to think about.’
    ‘Yeah,’ I agreed, a nine-year-old child should be protected. ‘Do you think he’s in danger?’
    ‘Not directly from his dad. But there are others to be worried about.’ Bryony tugged