A Pretty Folly: A traditional British murder mystery (Inspector James Given Investigations Book 2) by Charlie Garratt

Author:Charlie Garratt [Garratt, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-10-06T16:00:00+00:00

The next morning, I arrived early for my meeting with Superintendent Dyer so walked down to the shops to buy some bread and corned beef for lunch. On my way back, at the top of the rise, the police station stood solidly three storeys high, telling the local citizens that they were safe and secure. But how illusory was this? The square, tiered stone building hinted at permanence yet all over Europe the boundaries were changing beyond recognition. Even here in sleepy Warwickshire a young woman could be killed and no-one have a clue who murdered her, other than the person who did it. Our world changes every day, and how could this edifice, built for nothing more than housing police officers, prevent that? The best we could do would be to deliver a measure of justice when things inevitably went wrong. A bobby on the beat, and a villain put away, are all part of the pretence that we are protected, that the world won’t come in and do us harm. I have enough experience to know that it just isn’t like that. Consider what was happening to me now; I spend the weekend with my parents and come back to find I’m a suspect in a murder case. I am almost out of a job and there is hardly a thing I can do about it.

The boss had reluctantly agreed to meet me in force headquarters in Warwick even though he was planning to take the day off. He wasn’t listening to any of my arguments, and his Fair isle pullover and tweed trousers told me he’d be on the golf course as soon as he could get away from our discussion.

‘Look, Given, you know we can’t have you on duty with a possible murder charge hanging over your head, so go home. Put your feet up for a few days and read a book, listen to the radio. Take up knitting, for God’s sake, anything, just get out of here and don’t leave the area.’

‘But I wasn’t even in Coventry when Demma was stabbed on Saturday, sir.’

‘It doesn’t matter. You’re suspended until Inspector Wilson gives you the all clear and that’s that.’

‘This is madness, you can’t actually believe I had anything to do with Benito Demma’s murder.’

I might have thought for a second or two longer on my choice of words before trying to argue with Dyer.

‘Madness, is it? We both know you’ve had a vendetta against him for years. You begged me to let the two brothers go last time we had them so how do I know it wasn’t just so you could find them then finish the Demmas off for good? Even if you didn’t kill him, it is your fault he was back out on the streets, allowing someone else the opportunity to bump him off, so go home, Inspector, and that’s not a request.’

There was nothing else to be said so I took ten minutes more to telephone Sawyer to explain what had happened, then I did as Dyer had ordered.

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