02 Tell Me A Lie by CJ Carver

Author:CJ Carver [Carver, CJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2017-01-11T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Lucy met Dan in a coffee shop in Yarm, a pretty boutique-lined town just outside Stockton and where she reckoned they wouldn’t be spotted by anyone who knew them. He had called her last night, saying he thought he’d discovered a Russian connection to her murder investigation, but that he didn’t want to give his information officially, was that OK? Sure, she said. Who was she to refuse a gift horse galloping up the M1?

She’d chosen a café on the high street and when Dan arrived he immediately moved them to the back, close to the rear exit and where they’d be harder to spot from the street. He was taller than she remembered, broader, but just as self-contained.

‘Have you heard of a journalist called Jane Sykes?’ he asked. ‘She’s a friend of Polina Calder’s.’

He didn’t beat around the bush or bother with any niceties. Simply jumped straight in. She liked him for that. She knew where she stood.

‘No, I haven’t,’ she said.

‘Can you ask Adrian Calder about her? Ask him what secrets Jane held with his wife?’

‘Sure.’ She waited for him to give a reason for his request but he gave a minute shake of his head. A waitress was heading their way. Gingham apron, cheerful smile. Lucy ordered a cappuccino, Dan an Americano and a bacon sandwich with lots of butter, no sauce. He obviously wasn’t concerned about his arteries.

‘Why do you think Adrian Calder is innocent of killing his family?’ he asked. ‘The media seem convinced he’s guilty. Nobody else is in the frame.’

‘Lots of reasons,’ she responded. ‘But mainly because he told his wife he was facing bankruptcy. Aside from spousal revenge, family annihilations usually occur when the husband loses his ability to keep up the lifestyle. They don’t tell anyone they’re in trouble, usually because they’re making money illegally. One morning they wake up to the fact that they’re broke, and that when they go to jail they’ll never be able to make that kind of money again. They suddenly realise they’re stuffed, with no way out of the situation, and they can’t face it.’

‘But not Adrian Calder.’

‘No. Not only does he appear to be squeaky clean, but he was totally open with Polina about his financial problems.’

Dan mulled for a moment before saying, ‘If he’s innocent, then who killed his family? And why?’

That’s what I want to find out, Lucy thought. She went on to fill him in on everything else, finishing with the Russian couple on Irene’s doorstep. ‘They rented a Hertz car. Ivan and Yelena Barbolin.’

Dan stared at Lucy. ‘They visited Irene Cavendish?’

‘She said they were friends of Polina’s but she didn’t know their names. For some reason, they scared her. But she wouldn’t say why.’

Dan went on staring into Lucy’s eyes. She’d surprised him, she realised. Shocked him, even.

He cleared his throat. ‘Number plate?’

She checked her pocketbook, read it aloud. He didn’t write it down. His memory was obviously better than hers.

Their coffee arrived. Dan looked at his bacon buttie

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.