Blood and Stone by Chris Collett

Author:Chris Collett [Chris Collett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2013-05-16T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

While Mariner was ambling through a neighbouring village, his mobile suddenly bleeped into life. He’d forgotten to switch it off again after the discovery of Theo Ashton and must have walked into an active area. He’d decided before this holiday that he would only use his phone for emergencies and was tempted to switch it off again without checking for messages. But in the end he couldn’t resist. There were a couple from his network that he deleted straight away, but there was also a voicemail from Tony Knox, typically short and to the point: Hi, it’s Tony Knox. Give us a call if you get the chance boss, some information I could do with. The message had been left only the day before. It didn’t sound urgent, but amid his grief for Anna, Mariner knew that his head had been all over the place in the last few weeks and that there was every possibility he’d overlooked something at work. Among other things he’d been putting together a couple of cases that Knox might have to present to the CPS while he was away, and could easily imagine that he could have neglected to include some piece of vital paperwork. The active area must have been a small one because when he tried to call Knox back all he got was the ‘no service’ alert, but when he got to the next village he was greeted by a rare sight – a public phone box and, incredibly, one that apparently still functioned, so he used his credit card to call through to Knox’s home number on the off-chance of catching him there.

‘Boss! How are you?’ Knox sounded his usual ebullient self, and Mariner could picture the Sunday afternoon scene, Knox slumped on the sofa in front of the TV amid a landscape of scattered beer cans.

‘I’m fine,’ Mariner said. ‘This is just what I needed – in some respects. I picked up your message.’

‘Ah.’ Knox’s voice dropped. This was not good news. ‘I stopped by your place,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid you’ve had visitors.’

Shit. ‘Much damage?’ Mariner asked, fearing the response.

‘Not damage as such,’ Knox said. ‘Just a few missing items and a puzzle.’

‘What kinds of items?’

‘Oh the usual: TV, stereo, microwave …’

‘All the stuff that’s easy to flog,’ said Mariner. ‘So what’s the puzzle?’

‘The weird thing is that there’s no sign of forced entry,’ Knox said.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely certain, I’ve been over the whole house thoroughly.’

Mariner knew that would be true.

‘Does Katarina still have a key?’ Knox asked.

‘Yes, but she wouldn’t steal from me.’

‘I’m not saying that, but …’

Mariner second-guessed him. ‘She might know someone who would,’ he acknowledged.

‘I at least want to go and talk to her, if only to rule it out.’

‘Have you got a number for her?’

‘Not yet but it’ll be on record for any interpreting duties.’

‘I’ll give it to you anyway.’ Mariner recited Kat’s mobile number and her address.

‘And is she still with that Giles fella?’ Knox asked.

‘Yes, as far as I know.’ Mariner added Kat’s boyfriend’s details.

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