A Dark Sin: A chilling British detective crime thriller (The Hidden Norfolk Murder Mystery Series Book 8) by J M Dalgliesh

Author:J M Dalgliesh [Dalgliesh, J M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Published: 2021-06-18T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Peter Barnard was a man who'd recently turned forty but looked a decade older. Perhaps it was the thinning blond hair, rapidly in retreat from his forehead, his slim frame and almost skeletal features with the pronounced cheekbones that gave him the appearance of a man older than his years. His suit jacket was off the shelf and a poor fit, a cheaper and far inferior copy of a tailored tweed blazer. Cassie Knight, fresh from a quick shower, if not a fresh set of clothes lifted her coffee cup, inhaling the aroma as deeply as she could without appearing to do so; anything to get the smell of Barnard's business premises out of her nostrils. It didn't work; the stench of what was, quite frankly, rotting meat lingered as badly as that of a three-day old corpse. Thankfully, it was November and not August otherwise it would no doubt have been worse.

"So, let's recap shall we?" Cassie said, smiling. Barnard looked uncomfortable. He had good reason to be. "What is the nature of your relationship with David Fysh?"

Barnard shifted in his seat. When Cassie and Eric visited him at work that very morning, he'd denied knowing Fysh or having any relationship. Eric, sitting alongside her, opened a folder and passed her a clutch of photographs blown up to A4 size. Keeping her eyes fixed on Barnard, she slowly and methodically laid them out side by side in front of him. Keen to avoid her gaze, he looked away from her, analysing each picture as she put it down but he didn't comment. When Cassie placed the last one on the table – an enlarged picture of the driver making a delivery – she tapped it gently with her forefinger. The image was a little pixelated because of the enlargement but it was clearly Peter Barnard; a distinctive mole on his left cheek stood out.

"Are you in the habit of making late-night deliveries to people you don't know?" Eric asked. Barnard's upper lip twitched as he glared at Eric but still he said nothing. Cassie took another image from Eric, laying it on top of the others; a screenshot of Fysh and Barnard shaking hands.

"Or having meetings at a restaurant while it is closed?" she said. Barnard closed his eyes. "Pet food."

"What?"

"You manufacture pet food, I understand?" Cassie asked.

"Yes."

"Much call for pet food in restaurants these days, is there?" Cassie said with deliberate sarcastic emphasis. "I shouldn't imagine so."

"I'm looking to expand … branch out," Barnard said flatly. "Nothing wrong with making a living. That's still allowed in this country, isn't it?"

"Provided it's legal, yes."

Barnard sat forward, aggressively pointing a finger at her. "That's all I'm doing, earning a crust."

"QualM is your business, right?" Barnard nodded. "And what is it that you do?"

He shrugged. "We have contracts with pet food companies; to manufacture and package their products. Then they are shipped into distribution centres before going into the supply chain."

"Gather food, blend it … package it up?" she asked. Barnard nodded.

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