ENMITY: An enthralling Scottish murder mystery by Pete Brassett

Author:Pete Brassett [Brassett, Pete]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Book Folks murder mystery police procedural publisher
Published: 2016-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Main Street, not much more than a ten-minute stroll from the police office, was unusually quiet, due in part to a cortege of funeral cars arriving for a service at the Newton Wallacetown Church, three doors down from Max’s flat. Munro bowed his head and crossed himself as they filed past, thought of Agnes and, with no surviving relatives to look after her, made a mental note to take care of the funeral arrangements himself.

The entrance to the flat, a single door from the street sandwiched between a mini-mart and the offices of a local charity, seemed deliberately anonymous – no door number, no bell, no letterbox and no knocker. Munro, cringing at the sight of the scuffed, peeling paintwork, hesitated before thumping it with the side of his fist. He stepped back to the kerb just as a window on the upper floor was opening. Max, his head shrouded in what was once a white net curtain, leaned out and smiled.

‘Mr. Munro,’ he said, ‘here, catch.’

Munro caught the keys in one hand, opened the door and, wishing he’d packed a Tyvek suit, paused at the squalid state of the steep, narrow stairwell. The wallpaper, in two minds about staying where it was, leaned away from the cobwebs and drooped lazily towards the floor. The carpet, embellished with a barely discernible pattern and a mixture of stains, most of which appeared to be the colour of curry sauce, was threadbare and worn, whilst the light switch, lacking the screws to hold it in place, dangled precariously from a hole in the wall. He made his way upstairs hoping, without a light to guide him, he wouldn’t step on anything soft, sticky or wet.

‘Max,’ he said, relieved to have reached the summit unscathed, ‘I hope I’m not intruding, it’s just that folk were worried when you didnae show for work this morning.’

‘You mean Lizzie?’

‘Aye, in a word.’

‘It’s okay, Mr. Munro,’ said Max, ‘my battery was charging. I spoke to her not two minutes ago. She’s coming round this evening.’

‘Is that so? You must be looking forward to that.’

‘Right enough. We’d arranged to go for a bevvy on Friday but after what happened, we just kind of, brought it forward.’

‘You sound excited.’

‘Aye, I suppose I am. It’s sort of like a first date, really. I like Lizzie. I find it easy to talk to her. I feel “comfortable”.’

‘That’s the most important thing, Max,’ said Munro with a smile. ‘If you can sit in a room with somebody else and not feel compelled to haver, then you’re on to a winner.’

‘Thanks. As you can see, I’ve some clearing up to do before she gets here.’

‘You’re not wrong there. Is that why you didnae go to work?’

‘No, no,’ said Max, ‘I figured with a face like this if I had to show anyone round a house or two, I’d more chance of scaring them off than getting them to make an offer. Can I get you something? Cup of tea, maybe?’

‘Aye,’ said Munro,

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