A BODY OUT AT SEA a gripping Welsh crime mystery full of twists (The West Wales Murder Mysteries Book 2) by P.F. FORD

Author:P.F. FORD [FORD, P.F.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Published: 2022-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Monday 11 November 14.00

‘So, Annabel had a baby when she was sixteen, but she never revealed who the father was,’ said Southall when they reported back.

‘That’s what Muriel says,’ said Norman.

‘What about the baby?’

‘It was a little girl. They gave her up for adoption.’

‘We need to find—’

‘I’m working on it now,’ called Lane from her desk.

Southall nodded.

‘Thank you, Judy.’

‘The kid would have been twenty-two when Annabel died,’ said Norman. ‘Which would be a good age to be filled with resentment and looking for answers.’

‘Do you think it’s true about not knowing who the father was?’ asked Southall.

‘We’re sure she knows a lot more than she’s telling us,’ said Morgan, ‘but I wouldn’t be surprised if that bit is true. I don’t think I would have told my parents who the father was if it had happened to me. Sixteen years old or not, my dad would have killed him.’

‘We can’t be sure he was sixteen,’ said Norman. ‘You’re assuming it was a classmate, but it could have been anyone. What if it was a relative? It wouldn’t be the first time a close relative or a family friend had seduced a kid and then persuaded them to keep quiet.’

‘If we could find the daughter we could get a DNA sample,’ suggested Morgan.

‘That’s all very well,’ said Southall, ‘but with no idea who the father is who are we going to test it against?’

‘Maybe we can narrow it down to just a few men,’ suggested Morgan.

‘I don’t know,’ said Southall. ‘I’m not sure we have the resources to search for prospective fathers when we don’t even know if this has any relevance to the murder. Let’s find the daughter first and see if she has been looking for her parents. Even if she wasn’t out for revenge, she may have found her father, and perhaps he took exception. But my feeling is that it’s a long shot.’

As Southall headed back to her office, Morgan returned to her desk to write her report on the interview with Muriel Armsworth. Norman shuffled after Southall. He waited until she was back at her desk and then knocked on the door.

‘Come in, Norm. You know you don’t have to knock when the door’s open.’

Norman stepped into her office and closed the door behind him. He looked slightly worried.

‘What’s on your mind?’ she asked. ‘Are you worried about where this investigation is going?’

‘Heck no. I’m always worried which way any investigation is going in case we’ve missed something and we’re heading off in the wrong direction, but I don’t lose sleep over it.’

‘Is this something I need to be worried about, then? You’re not going to tell me you’re leaving, are you?’

‘Are you kidding? I’m just about to buy a house.’

‘Really? You’re going to buy that little cottage on the hill?’

‘I had a builder look at it on Saturday morning. He reckons he can do what I want without breaking the bank, so I told the estate agent I’m good to go.’

‘Oh, that is good news.

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