Bad Blood: An absolutely gripping and addictive crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone Book 19) by Angela Marsons

Author:Angela Marsons [Marsons, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781837906741
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2023-11-14T18:30:00+00:00

FIFTY-SIX

‘Thanks for joining us,’ Kim said as Stacey entered the room.

‘Sorry, boss, just something I wanted to follow up,’ she answered, throwing her satchel under the desk.

‘And given recent events, it might have been appropriate to let someone know where you were going,’ Kim snapped.

She’d been less than thrilled to arrive back at the office to be told that Stacey had disappeared without telling anyone where she was. It had been that kind of stupidity that had caused the trouble in the first place.

Kim knew she wasn’t being fair and that Stacey had only been doing her job, but now wasn’t the time to test her patience.

‘I took a car,’ Stacey offered quietly.

Kim grunted in response.

She’d returned to the office expecting Stacey to request a private word. Didn’t she want to know why her boss had spoken to her wife? Was she not pissed off that they’d had quite the hostile conversation? Unless Devon hadn’t told her. That possibility prompted all kinds of questions in her mind.

‘Paul Brooks is the person who attacked Karen Boyd,’ Stacey said, pulling her chair into her desk.

Kim frowned. Karen Boyd wasn’t a name she recognised.

‘The attempted sexual assault the other night,’ Stacey clarified.

Kim recalled the activity in the station when she’d been interviewing Philip Drury and Ryan West.

‘You’re sure?’ Kim asked as movement in the car park caught her attention. Lynne’s VW Polo had just driven in and parked by the wall. Kim opened her mouth to say something to Penn but paused as Lynne reached into the passenger seat to retrieve something.

‘She identified him from the photo, boss. Definitely him,’ Stacey answered.

‘Bloody hell. Why attempted? Something scared him off?’ she asked, taking another look outside. She hid her smile as she saw Lynne laying out a blanket in a three-car-wide space. On the blanket was a picnic basket which she was emptying and arranging in the centre of the throw.

She knew there was a reason she’d liked Lynne when they’d worked together a few years back, and this was it. She cared nothing for what anyone thought.

Stacey opened her mouth, and Kim put up a hand to stop her.

‘Penn, do me a favour, eh? Someone’s having a bit of trouble changing a tyre in the car park. Wanna go lend a hand?’

‘Sure, boss.’

‘And don’t rush back.’

He frowned, but she waved him out of the room. He’d understand when he got down there.

Three pairs of eyes regarded her curiously. She pointed to the window.

Stacey turned in her chair, and Alison and Bryant approached.

‘Oh my God,’ Alison said, placing her hand over her mouth.

‘That is soooooo romantic,’ Stacey offered.

‘And he is absolutely floored,’ Bryant noted as Penn rushed out of the building and came to a complete standstill when he saw Lynne standing by a picnic blanket complete with glasses and sandwiches and little plates.

He looked up to their window and his expression was enough.

‘Okay, guys, leave them in peace for a bit,’ Kim said, moving them away.

Once the oohs and ahhs had subsided, Kim continued the discussion about the sexual-assault victim.

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