IMPASSIVE: An indebted publisher meets his death in Kirkstall Abbey (The DI Gardener crime fiction series Book 7) by Ray Clark

Author:Ray Clark [Clark, Ray]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS British crime ficion publisher
Published: 2021-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Ronnie Robinson parked his car in the canal car park, on Calverley Bridge in Rodley. He switched off the engine, stayed in his seat, staring out at the water. The rain had finally stopped, and as the afternoon wore on the sun had made an appearance. It was now quite pleasant. Which was more than could be said for Ronnie.

Before stepping out of the car he glanced once again at the letter he had been sent by the benefits people. He’d had to ask his neighbour about that one; you had to be a Bletchley codebreaker to understand a council letter. The gist of the correspondence said that he was being investigated, and his benefits were being stopped until they ascertained whether or not the claim that he was working and cheating the benefit people was true.

Ronnie was seething, not to mention desperate. Without money – and everything that came with it: the car, the house, and any other advantages – he hadn’t a hope in hell of any kind of life.

Who the hell had made the complaint?

Ronnie suddenly wondered if it was the person he was here to meet. They’d had a short but slightly heated conversation on the phone two or three days previously. Ronnie had spent the afternoon staring at the business card he’d found at the abbey, debating whether or not to call him.

He stepped out of the car, locked it, and scurried across to The Railway Inn, the pre-arranged meeting place. The pub was large, and in a picturesque setting opposite the Leeds/Liverpool Canal. Half a dozen cars were in the car park, and Ronnie suddenly started to wonder if he had bitten off more than he could chew. Had it really been a good idea? If the man really was a killer, Ronnie might never be seen again.

He glanced at the business card again. He called the number but hung up after the first ring, when he heard it in the distance.

Adi Giles was standing next to a battered VW camper van, dressed in black leather trousers, a pink shirt, white jacket, and a black French beret. He’d been filing his nails, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He’d jumped out of his skin when his phone rang. Ronnie now decided it might be easier than he thought. In fact, it might actually be a piece of cake.

He approached Giles, as his own phone suddenly rang. Giles glanced up and Ronnie cursed inwardly as he had forgotten to prefix the number with 141, which had now given the game away.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Giles. “What do you want? Why are you bothering me? What have I ever done to you?”

Christ, what’s he on? What’s with all the fucking questions? Ronnie had a sudden thought to play the hardman. “Never you mind who I am.”

But it didn’t really suit because he certainly didn’t have the image, or the confidence to pull it off.

“Was it you who rang me the

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