Long Shadows by Derek Thompson

Author:Derek Thompson [Thompson, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789313598
Publisher: JOFFE BOOKS crime mysteries and thrillers
Published: 2020-05-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Wild relied on London driving and a blue light. Everyone else could fuck off. While his sympathies lay with Mrs Walsh and even Jeb, his overriding thought was that he should have been more diligent. Mrs Walsh had been near hysterical on the phone, according to the call handler. Information was scant. She had returned from a shopping trip and found her husband dead in his study.

By the time Wild arrived, with DI Marsh and Ben Galloway on board, the ambulance was already on site, blue lights still turning. Wild was disappointed to find it was a different crew to the previous callout, otherwise it would’ve made the inquiry a little more straightforward.

DI Marsh opened the car door. “Remember what I told you. You speak when you’re spoken to and you say nothing that cannot be corroborated. Chiefly, you do not express opinions or theories. Is that understood?”

Wild nodded. This was bad. Worse even than the London bank job that resulted in the loss of £50,000 and a bullet to a member of the public.

He followed Marsh in like a student copper, through the front door and into the kitchen where one of the ambulance crew was making Mrs Walsh the obligatory cup of tea. Wild wondered where Ben Galloway had gone, but presumed he was waiting outside for the forensics team. Marsh nudged him towards the kitchen table and gently drew the paramedic aside.

Wild sat down beside Mrs Walsh and waited for her to speak. They usually spoke, despite the trauma or perhaps because of it. A basic human need to make sense of the unfathomable.

She looked as if she were forcing herself to breathe. “I don’t understand. He said he felt fine and the ambulance staff said there was no serious injury. I even asked them if it would be okay to pop out — he likes his magazines, you see. I did ask.” She stared across the table and held onto her cup like an anchor.

“Would you like us to notify anyone?”

Her gaze lowered and she started crying. Wild didn’t say any more. He crossed the room and tapped Marsh on the shoulder. “I’m going outside to ring Jeb Walsh — I won’t be long.”

As predicted, Ben Galloway was standing a little way out of the front door, staring up the drive. “Forensics are on their way, Skip.”

“We need to tell the grandson.”

“Okay,” Ben said quietly. “I think it will be better coming from me. I’ll ring him now.”

Wild agreed, although there would be no way of making this better. By the time he returned to the kitchen, Marsh was done talking with the paramedic.

She directed him to another room. “It’s a suspicious death. Looks like a blunt force trauma to the head. Some sort of angular surface, like the edge of something. We’ll know more when forensics get here.”

“I’ll check for signs of forced entry.” He knew it was beyond the realm of coincidence, just as surely as he knew that Kravers hadn’t slipped out of the police station to finish the job.

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