Six Dead Men Read Free

think so. Cal only moved to London from Sheffield this year.”
    “When was the last time you saw Maxwell Fraser Miss Bricot?”
    “At a wedding.”
    “When exactly Miss Bricot?”
    “Just before Christmas last year.”
    The body was found at the start of the new year. I'll have to check if the decomp report corresponds. "Any other names on the list familiar to you Miss Bricot?"
    She shook her head and swallowed.
    Deed felt the flurry in his belly become a mini tornado. She had known not one but two of his cold case dead men. This could not be mere coincidence. He did not believe in coincidence.
    “Miss Bricot, Maxwell Fraser never made it to Jamaica.” He paused dramatically then said sternly, “He’s dead.”
    Deed watched her. She looked as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs. His words appeared to have caused a shock wave through her body. Her hands, which had been easy in her lap, were now gripping the sides of her chair. Madison Bricot's lips were very pale around the edges. Her shock was a pendulum of silence which hung between them. Deed realised her earlier confidence was merely bravado and this third notification of the death of someone else she had known had acid stripped her veneer.
    Madison Bricot's shock was too real to be artifice. With a softened tone he said, “You’re free to go Miss Bricot, but please make yourself available for further questioning.” He handed her his contact details.
    As their fingers touched a faint jolt passed between them. For a second Deed thought he saw a blue nimbus stretching from her to him as their fingers parted. Madison Bricot trembled lightly as she accepted the card and replied demurely. “I will.”
    Johnson appeared at the door right on cue.
    As soon as Johnson escorted her from the room Deed began to review the footage. His thumb strained as he paused the recording. He was aware of a feeling, so unusual that it was difficult to acknowledge — it was doubt. His feelings never let him down. That familiar surge in his stomach told him she was linked to her boyfriend’s death. But now to complicate things she also appeared to have known Franks and Fraser.
    Deed looked down at his hand and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together where her fingers had touched his. His eyes glimpsed again the slight glow, the after-image of the electricity. He saw again the neat way she had swivelled in the chair to face him as he entered the room. He smelt again the tang of that scent so tantalisingly just beyond the reach of his olfactory senses. He drew a sharp breath and dusted his hands together to clear the beguiling image of her which had formed, seemingly unbidden, on his inner eye. He shrugged his shoulders in disgruntlement. He knew that a bit of time and effort would bring the evidence to light. Deed dismissed his doubts.
    Johnson stood in the doorway of the interview room. “Why did you do that Sir?”
    “Do what Johnson?”
    He stepped forward as he spoke. “Why did you ask her about the cold cases?”
    Deed shrugged. He’s shrewd. He’ll make a great inspector someday.
    “You just got one of your feelings sir.”
    “Something like that Johnson.”
    “Are you going to pursue that angle sir?”
    “Only if it brings relevant evidence to light Johnson.” Can’t really blame him for wanting to know how I solve cases so quickly. He’s keen and a fast learner.
    “Do you want me to log the tape Sir?” The younger man’s hand was already hovering over the desk-top video camera and its tripod.
    “No. No, I want to review it while the interview is still fresh in my mind.” Deed turned back to the camera as Johnson turned to the door.
    But Johnson’s voice questioned hesitantly from the far end of the room. “Sir?”
    “Yes, Johnson.”
    “You know that none of that stuff you asked her about the cold cases is admissible?”
    “What?”
    “You turned off the recording equipment sir.”
    Deed looked from Johnson to the machine and then back at