'Til Death (DI Steven Marr Book 1) - UK Crime Fiction Whodunnit Thriller Read Free

questions of my own, if that's alright. I know my colleague already spoke to you.'
    Brian nodded.
    'Get you a drink?' he asked.
    'I wouldn't say no to a Diet Coke, if the taps are on.'
    Brian reached over the bar, and retrieved a silver can.
    'Only cans I'm afraid.'
    'That'll do fine, thanks.'
    Sam took the seat next to him, and pulled out her notebook. Brian raised his eyebrows.
    'I'd have thought you'd be all iPhones and whatnot these days' he said.
    'Some people use them. I started about ten years too early to trust them for anything important.'
    Brian chuckled.
    'Aye, I tell my son the same thing. He's training as a journalist up in Edinburgh. Does everything by phone, even live transmissions. E-mailing him is as far as I go, though. He tried to talk me into getting an iPad last year: not a chance.’
    Sam smiled.
    'So, I'll just confirm a few facts. You were out walking your dog when you found Anna?'
    Brian nodded.
    'He's in one of the barns having a sleep. He's getting to be a lazy wee bugger these days, bit like his owner.'
    'And you called the police straight away?'
    'Yeah. I waited with the body until the two other detectives arrived.'
    Sam nodded. That matched with what Becky had told her.
    'And you didn't see anybody else nearby?'
    Brian shook his head.
    'No, sorry. It was pretty foggy, I didn't see the body until I was a few feet away from it.'
    'Was there anyone else out and about that early?'
    'Not that I saw. It’s usually dead at that time. Even on wedding days no-one shows up much before ten.'
    'You must have arrived early to take the delivery?'
    'No, I stayed over in one of the suites. Tend to do that when there’s a delivery coming in, gives me an extra hour in bed. I took the delivery in about half an hour before I took Hector for a walk. '
    'That's early.'
    'Yeah, our drinks supplier is in Colchester, so we're the first trip on the rounds. I don't mind, I'm an early riser anyway.'
    'Where do you live?'
    'Woodbridge, in Suffolk.'
    A decent enough journey, thought Sam. It made sense that the barman would rather sleep here than get up at four.
    'Would the driver have seen the body?'
    Brian shook his head.
    'No, it was too murky for that. The stream's a good fifty metres from the road, and it's not like Kev would have been going out of his way to look for anything that's not a coffee shop at that time.'
    'You've got a regular driver?'
    'Yeah, Kevin Waterson. The company's called Drinks-u-Like. I know, professional sounding right? But they're a good bunch of guys. I can pass the number on or get Kev to call you if you want.'
    'That would be great, thanks.'
    Sam handed over her card.
    'DI Reid,' Brian read out loud, 'You're a Scot?'
    Sam smiled.
    'Grandfather's side. Mother's Welsh.'
    The barman laughed, his facing brightening a bit.
    'Six nations must be fun' he said.
    ‘Nothing but tension for six weeks. One last thing: have you got any security systems in place. CCTV, that kind of thing?'
    Brian frowned and shook his head.
    'No. The only cameras are in here and in the office, for the safe.’
    That was risky, Sam thought. This was a multi-million pound estate.
    Brian was smiling.
    'Odd, eh?' he said. 'To tell you the truth, the powers that be just don't want to spend the cash on the extra security. If it wasn’t the law, I don’t think we’d even have a camera in the bar. The office has the safe. I looked, though; it’s fine. No burglary. Bad luck, eh?'
    Sam nodded.
    ‘Bad luck’, she replied.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Sam leant against the wall, smoking a cigarette and looking out across the grounds of the house. A number of CSIs were still working the fields, dotted like white scarecrows against the green.
    Anna Markham's body had been taken away around fifteen minutes ago, the doctor following the ambulance. From her courtyard vantage point, Sam had been able to enjoy the sight of the good doctor's fury at the extra mud now caked to his car.
    Smiling, she took another deep