Dead to Me by Pamela Murray

Author:Pamela Murray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Edge Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

While the DCI returned to her office to contact Thornton School’s head teacher, Fielding concentrated on making enquiries into John Turnbull’s background. If she discovered that his firm was in some way connected to the building which was home to Madame Ortiz’s business in the Northern Quarter, it proved that he, too, was a credible suspect. Could it simply be a case of back-handers between him, Caroline Watkins’s firm of solicitors, local planner Norman Bishop, Harry York’s estate agency and Madame Ortiz? It didn’t appear to be a strong motive for killing three people, although Fielding knew that people had killed for far less. So, as the survivors, the only real suspects in her mind were John Turnbull, Caroline Watkins and Madame Ortiz. Then again, why use a concentrated poison that Maria Turnbull took in a small-dose tablet form, to kill the victims?

All of this was going through Fielding’s mind as she drove to John Turnbull’s firm in the city. Entry to the building’s car park was via a numeric code, so she pulled up to the barrier and pressed the help button. A man’s voice came through the cackle and asked if he could help her. Announcing herself in her official capacity, and stating that she wished to visit the offices of Durning and Tate, she was directed to park in space right beside the main entrance. As she thanked the disembodied voice, the barrier rose to allow her to drive in.

Once inside, she was asked to sign in and received a visitor’s badge to wear. Someone by the name of Martin Scott had been informed of her arrival and would wait for her at the lift on the fourth floor. Fielding had no idea who he was, but got the impression that he was aware of her reasons to visit.

Martin Scott was standing by the lift doors when they opened. She took his outstretched hand; he had a firm, if slightly clammy grip. Fielding assumed it was down to the fact he was dressed in a three-piece suit and tie when the temperature outside was high. Fielding disliked buildings such as these, the ones where you couldn’t open a window, and the temperature control was artificially regulated by technology. They seemed to be hit and miss at the best of times. At least in the office where she and her team worked, anyone could open a window, and the men would have their ties off and shirts rolled up to the elbows under conditions such as these.

Scott was a middle-aged man with thinning hair, which he appeared to be very conscious of. He had styled it into a neat comb over, but his attempts to keep it there were proving unsuccessful, as strands of it were fighting for freedom. She wanted to suggest a hair spray, or maybe just a barber to have the elongated strands cut off. As he led her into his office, she realised why he was feeling the heat so much. The corner

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