DEVIL IN THE DETAIL an unmissable and absolutely gripping crime mystery you won’t be able to put down by A.J. CROSS

Author:A.J. CROSS [CROSS, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JOFFE BOOKS crime thrillers and mysteries
Published: 2024-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Monday 17 December. 8.45 p.m.

Traynor was at his university window, looking at the inner city far below shrouded in mist, watching ghost vehicles surge, stop, surge again along tangled ribbons of roads. To him, it reflected the progress of the Lawrence case. He had called Molly Lawrence at her home earlier. Her mother had answered, told him that Molly was unwell, that today had been a bad day. He had given Mrs Monroe two possible dates on which he could see Molly again. She had agreed to give them to her. He had rung Watts with his doubts that Molly Lawrence would be a quickly available source of information. Watts hadn’t taken it well.

He looked out at the darkened city, at arterial streets studded with lights. Somewhere in this diverse, brash, urban sprawl was an individual with a reason to destroy Mike and Molly Lawrence. He turned away. There was something he had to do. Something he should have done days ago.

He headed to the large worktable with its neat piles of textbooks and a large bundle of photographs. Sharing his thinking with Watts about motive in this case had not helped. Watts was right. Their roles were too different. The approach he was now taking was one he hoped might draw out, give shape to, the shadow man. Offender profiling per se was not an option. The attack on the Lawrences was a single event. There were no behavioural patterns to search for. But might the basic principles of profiling still be of use?

He reached for the data Molly had provided of the attack on that dark night in Forge Street. He went through it, read her descriptions of the attacker’s appearance, the limited actions she had described, adding the few facts the police had in relating to the stationary Toyota, and finally, the man with the gun leaving the scene, Michael Lawrence mortally wounded, Molly seriously injured, their blood seeping on to the Toyota’s seats and forming deep pools. A merciless attack. In cold blood.

He reached for the transcript of Molly Lawrence’s call to the emergency services, read again her fear-laden words, severely limited by pain and shock. Within the desk lamp’s pool of light, he examined again the limited detail she had given him of their attacker. The few sounds inside the almost deserted building faded. He gazed down at the list he had constructed of the specific actions and physical details she had described, including some small additions she had recalled: the sudden movement at Michael Lawrence’s car door. Reappearing on the other side. Opening rear door. Getting inside. Waving gun. Demanding valuables. Molly Lawrence’s confidence that he never saw her hide her watch. Just as well he hadn’t. This big, heavy-looking man with body odour and large staring eyes might well have killed her if he had. This man who told them to do as he said.

‘And we did.’

And he shot them both. Because he could. Their car was not locked.

Traynor paused, reached for his notes on her recall of the attacker’s words and actions, searching for the man within them.

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.