Dead Reckoning: The Freeman Files Series: Book 14 by Ted Tayler

Author:Ted Tayler [Tayler, Ted]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-24T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

“Divya will get copies of the maps to us first thing in the morning, guv,” said Luke.

“Thanks, Luke,” said Gus. “Did you start a list of people we can interview?”

“I’d start with DI Porter and Maxine Devereux,” said Luke.

“I prefer Dave Vickers and Oscar Wallington,” said Alex. “They were in the pub on Friday night.”

“Helen Guthrie might not have much to offer, guv,” said Neil, “and the ex-wife, Millie, has an axe to grind. So I wouldn’t rush to speak to them.”

“Don’t forget Wade Pinnock,” said Blessing.

“Alf Collett’s the only other person alive who was there on Friday,” said Lydia. “Can you get clearance to fly to Portugal to interview him, guv?”

“I can get DS Mercer to ask the question,” said Gus. “There’s no mileage in ringing Collett. I need to conduct the interview face-to-face.”

“Zoom’s been available for three years now, guv,” said Luke.

“That’s an ice lolly, isn’t it?” said Gus.

“No, a video call. You can see one another, guv,” said Neil.

“The mind boggles,” said Gus. “What will they think of next?”

“I still reckon Pinnock’s your best bet,” insisted Blessing. “He spoke to the landlord and the barmaid. Jim Thornton was in the pub on Saturday too, plus another customer Wade Pinnock couldn’t name. That could have been Dave Vickers or Oscar Wallington.”

“I like that idea, Blessing,” said Gus. “We’ll get an overview of events on both Friday and Saturday night before we speak to the building society manager and the estate manager. I can’t count on the Chief Constable sanctioning an overseas trip so soon after our recent flight to Spain. We’ll need a solid reason to travel to Portugal to disturb Alf Collett as he’s standing over a tricky six-foot putt.”

“What about the two officers on duty on Saturday afternoon, guv?” asked Alex. “What were their names?”

“WPC Sarah Saunders,” said Gus. “Her colleague, PC Zak Drake, was the one who queried the mudroom light. Of course, they wouldn’t be at the top of my list, but add them to the mix, Luke, if you would.”

“Okay, guv,” said Luke. “I’ve got Doug Lawless and Harry Meaden on my list. Does that sound reasonable?”

“Of course,” said Gus. “Add Bob Ellison’s name while you’re at it. Do you have anyone else you made a note of while I went through the text from the murder file?”

“Barton and Goodwin, the guys with Wes Guthrie on Friday night’s pub crawl,” said Luke.

Gus shook his head.

“Forget those two. Porter and Coleman found no evidence linking them to Kendal Guthrie. If they were as drunk as Wes Guthrie at eleven o’clock, they were too far from Glenhead Farm to play a part, just as he was.”

“Tom Dix, now the manager at Glenhead Farm,” said Luke. “He was Wes Guthrie’s number two at the farm in Winterbourne Stoke three years ago.”

“Check the murder file to see whether he’s mentioned in connection with anything other than covering for Wes while he had a boozy weekend. It might be wise to dig into Dix’s family background to learn whether they ever had a run-in with Kendal Guthrie.

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.