Dead Water by Matt Brolly

Author:Matt Brolly [Brolly, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995774759
Publisher: Oblong Books
Published: 2019-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

16

Would Hogg have told anyone else about what happened all these years ago? Lambert hated indecision but he found himself standing outside the entrance to Hogg’s flat, not sure what to do next. He had too little to take any action beyond tracking the journalist down. Anything else would feel like overkill, the work of a hunch and he didn’t operate that way. He desperately needed to speak to Hogg but what if he was right? What if the entry in Hogg’s notes changed everything? Despite the brittle information, he called Adrienne.

‘Shall we put someone there?’ she asked, not giving any indication to what she thought about Lambert’s theory.

‘You took the words out of my mouth, Adrienne.’

‘I wish I hadn’t answered now,’ said Adrienne, already resigned to a night of sitting in her car.

‘It shouldn’t be for too long. Just keep an eye on the place. Once I’ve located Hogg I’ll update you.’

‘Sir,’ she said, hanging up.

Decision made, Lambert began his search for Hogg. He started with the most likely place – the nearest pub. Unfortunately, Hogg’s flat was only a short walk from a number of bars. Lambert trudged from one to the next. He had no photo of Hogg so had to rely on a description and a sweep of each place. In bar six on the Barking Road, The Boleyn, he got lucky. The landlady knew Hogg. Apparently he was a regular, but he hadn’t been in all day. Lambert gave her his card but understood from the landlady’s demeanour that she wouldn’t be calling him if Hogg made an appearance.

Lambert made his way down Green Street, past the West Ham football ground. He half expected to see Hogg curled up in the corner of a side street, nursing a bottle of whisky. He’d obviously taken Tillman’s disappearance badly. Maybe he’d felt the same way when Devlin and Kirby were killed. He may not have been on best terms with the men but they’d been to university together and had a shared history. And Lambert couldn’t dismiss the other possibility: that Hogg felt guilty.

He saw him as rounded the corner to the Red Lion pub. Hogg was leaving, surprisingly steady on his feet, and when he saw Lambert he stopped dead as if considering whether or not to run. As Lambert approached, Hogg’s head fell to his chest. ‘DCI Lambert,’ he mumbled.

Lambert decided not to push Hogg as to why he hadn’t answered his phone earlier. ‘Dan, how are you feeling?’

‘Fine,’ said Hogg, lifting his head to make eye contact. Even in the gloom of early evening, Lambert could see the thin bloodlines snaking across the whiteness of Hogg’s eyes. ‘Listen, I know you said I should go straight to my flat, but I couldn’t face being alone.’

‘I understand. Shall we go back inside?’ asked Lambert, too desperate for answers to endure a long walk back to Hogg’s flat.

‘I can think of nothing better,’ said Hogg.

Inside, Lambert watched the journalist make his unsteady way to a corner

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.