Dead Man Walking (Alex King Book 14) by A P BATEMAN

Author:A P BATEMAN [BATEMAN, A P]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Rockhopper Publishing
Published: 2022-03-31T06:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-EIGHT

Hursley, Hampshire

Natasha balanced the clipboard. The pen was clamped to the paper and the pistol was underneath the clipboard in her right hand, her finger close to the trigger and she kept the clipboard at enough of an angle that the woman couldn’t see it.

“Sorry, we had Caroline Darby down as living here.”

The woman shook her head. “No, not for some time now,” she replied helpfully.

Natasha looked out across the fields, then turned back to the woman and said, “You have a lovely place here.” She paused. “How many hectares?”

The woman shrugged. “I don’t work in hectares, not sure what they equate to,” she replied. “Thirty acres, I think.”

“A farm?”

The woman shook her head. “No, nothing like that. We sold off most of the land years ago. Just a few of our own pigs for the freezer, and a few horses.” She paused. “Not to eat, you understand! Caroline was a keen rider as a child.”

“And you are…?”

“Hilary Darby, Caroline’s mother,” she smiled helpfully. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“Equity Assurance,” she replied. “Caroline took out a policy years ago and it has matured. Unfortunately, she did not update us with her new address, and we do not know where to send the money.”

Hilary Darby nodded. “But she continued to pay the policy?”

“Of course.”

“By standing order?”

Natasha hesitated, unfamiliar with the term. She frowned, a little flustered, but continued to bluff her way through. “Pardon me, I am Polish,” she smiled. “Standing order?”

“A monthly payment.”

“Yes,” Natasha nodded.

Hilary Darby frowned, easing the door until there was only half the gap. “Then, you already have her banking record.” She paused. “Wills Morgan?” Natasha glanced at the clipboard and nodded. “Well, I don’t think that’s correct. Her uncle had to foreclose on his farm and Wills Morgan treated him terribly. He committed suicide. Despite being a local, independent and long-standing bank popular in the agricultural fraternity, the family agreed never to use them again.” She paused as an old Land Rover Defender swung off the quiet road and bounced its way down the lane. “Ah, Gerald’s back now. He can answer any questions you still have.”

Natasha nodded and stood back from the top step. Her hands were moist with perspiration and her mouth was dry. It was so often the way. Even slaughtering an unarmed couple in their late sixties called for the same emotions. Her adrenalin level was soaring, and her heart began to race. Naturally, she would take out the man first. Equality aside, men generally made for the bigger threat or greater adversary. Reno had taught her so, and even if she was confident there was not a man alive that she could not kill, she knew the fundamentals and respected Reno’s experience and training.

The Land Rover swung in, its tyres crunching on the loose gravel, and parked twenty metres from Natasha’s hired Hyundai SUV. The man who she knew to be Caroline Darby’s father got out and walked around to the back of the vehicle. He was dressed in olive trousers, a country checked shirt and a waxed Gillet.

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.