Secret of the Dead Read Free

were.
    Five months ago, Susan had got back in touch and told him their daughter’s body had been unearthed. She had been brutally murdered and buried in a shallow grave.
    Hearing the news had made Barry focus on his life for the first time in a long while. He had been retired from the force for almost six years and in that time had lost his wife to a stroke. With his second daughter married, the past four years had been boring and lonely. He needed to get back into the job; get involved in the murder enquiry and catch his daughter’s killer.
    Barry contacted his favourite CID protégé, Hunter Kerr - now a Detective Sergeant - heading up one of the squads of Barnwell Major Investigation Team and persuaded Hunter to take him on as a civilian investigator so he could immerse himself in the case. After three months, he had finally discovered her fate. Carol had been the first victim of the infamous ‘Dearne Valley Demon.’
    He and Susan had buried Carol in a proper grave and supported one another in their grief. Two months ago she had moved into his home and they had begun the slow process of rebuilding their lives.
    “Are you sure we’re at the right pub?” Sue asked as she picked up her bottle of orange juice and slid into her seat.
    “Definitely. The George and Dragon he said to me. It’s where everyone in CID meets whenever they’re on evenings. Or at least it was in my day.”
    “And he definitely said he wanted to talk to you about the murder of Lucy Blake-Hall?”
    “Yeah he said something about the wrong person being convicted. Why, do you remember it?”
    Susan pondered the question. “Hmm,” she mused through pursed lips, and continued. “I’ve forgotten a lot of the finer detail, but I recall the story. It was a case I followed religiously back in the early eighties. I used to follow our crime correspondent around like a little lap dog. I’d pick up all the crime stuff when he was off or on holiday and that was one of the crime stories of the year for the Chronicle.” Susan took a sip of her orange through a straw and then nursed the bottle. “From what I remember, Lucy was in her early twenties, married with a kid, a daughter I believe. She was having an affair with a local guy - I can’t remember his name now. From what I recall she was last seen arguing with him outside a pub in the town centre and then no one saw her after that. Husband reported her missing, and within days they had tracked down her lover, arrested him and charged him with her murder, but he pleaded not guilty and there was a long court case. He made allegations he had been fitted up by the police but the jury found him guilty. That’s it in a nutshell. He got life but he might be out by now, what with sentencing these days.” She took another sip at her drink, never taking her eyes away from his. “One thing about the case,” she continued, still clenching the straw between her teeth, “And which kept the story running in the Chronicle for quite some time, was the fact that they never found Lucy’s body.
    Barry slowly nodded his head, “Interesting.” He took another look at his watch. “Howson should have been here over half an hour ago. He definitely said half twelve to me.”
    “Did you say this Jeffery whatever his name is is retired?”
    “Jeffery Howson,” Barry reminded her. “Yeah, long time ago. He’ll be well into his sixties now. He was a senior detective when I went to district CID. He was on another team so I didn’t have that much to do with him and can’t really remember that much about him but he can obviously remember me.”
    “Weren’t you involved in the Lucy Blake-Hall case, then?”
    “No, I had a couple of years away from the department. I went on attachment to Headquarters Serious Crime Squad for a few years.” Barry picked up his beer and eyed it. There was a quarter of a pint left. He drained it in several swallows, then set it down, letting out a satisfied sigh as he wiped the