Buried Deep Within: Detectives expose a small town’s secrets in this artful mystery (DI Winter Meadows Book 10) by Cheryl Rees-Price

Author:Cheryl Rees-Price [Rees-Price, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS
Published: 2025-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Edris was quiet in the passenger seat and Meadows wondered what was troubling him. He’d been working flat out on the case. Staying late and getting in early. It was almost like an obsession to solve the case quickly. On top of that, his usual spark and quirky sense of humour were dimmed.

‘OK, enough. What’s going on with you?’ Meadows asked.

Edris scowled. ‘Nothing.’

‘Is it girlfriend trouble? I know we all tease you, and the team enforced a ban on talk of your love life, but forget about that. Talk to me. You know I won’t judge you.’

‘Has it been that obvious?’ Edris asked.

‘Yes. Anything you tell me will stay in this car. I promise.’

‘I know, and I trust you. If there is one person I could talk to, it would be you, but I can’t right now. I’ll tell you everything as soon as the case is over.’

‘You’re not ill, are you?’

‘No.’

‘OK, I’m here for you when you’re ready.’

‘Thanks.’

Meadows glanced at Edris and saw the mist in his eyes. It gave him an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was tempted to offer some time off but knew Edris wouldn’t take it. At least he could keep an eye on him at work. Up ahead, he could see an ambulance and police car parked by the curb outside a semi-detached house. He forced away his concerns over Edris as he parked the car.

The back of the ambulance was open, and two paramedics sat inside. PC Matt Hanes was talking to a neighbour and a few people gathered on the opposite side of the road.

‘They’re all out now, but I bet not one of them saw or heard anything,’ Edris said.

‘You can’t blame them. Wouldn’t you want to know what was going on if you saw this lot outside your neighbour’s house? I imagine they have known Deryn for years. They see an ambulance and police cars, and Deryn hasn’t been brought out. They know it’s not good.’ Meadows saw Daisy pull up behind them. ‘OK, let’s go.’

Hanes moved away from the neighbour and joined the three of them outside Deryn’s house. ‘She was found by Gareth Hendon. Looks like she’s taken a fall down the stairs,’ he said. ‘Given her connection to recent events, I thought it best to call it in.’

Meadows nodded. ‘You did the right thing. Did Gareth say why he was here?’

‘He said Deryn called him last night. She was a bit upset but didn’t want to talk to him over the phone, so he arranged to call around.’

‘Did he have any idea what she was upset about?’ Meadows asked.

‘No. She said something like “I can’t believe this is happening again” but he had no idea what she meant by that.’

‘How did he get in?’

‘He said the door was unlocked. He checked for a pulse and then called for an ambulance.’

‘Right, let’s take a look.’ Meadows opened the boot of his car and took out latex gloves and shoe covers. He handed a set to Edris and Daisy, then he moved to the porch before slipping the covers on discreetly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.