MAXWELL’S RETIREMENT a thrilling murder mystery with plenty of twists (Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries Book 15) by M.J. Trow

Author:M.J. Trow [Trow, M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JOFFE BOOKS crime thrillers and mysteries
Published: 2024-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Things were not going well at Leighford Police Station. Jacquie had walked into the foyer to be met with a scene from Inferno. People were yelling, people were crying. There was a lot of posturing, strutting, arm throwing and general alpha male behaviour. She waited for a moment in the doorway and then resorted to response 7.1.1.a in the latest manual on Crowd Control.

‘Oy!’ A simple enough sound, but at enough decibels it seemed to reach into the hind brain of most humans and shut them up, if only for a short while. Everyone turned to face her and she felt like telling them to line up in an orderly fashion, lines of policemen, Julie’s family, Leah’s family, all separately and not talking until the bell went. Instead, she used technique 7.1.1.b, which was to lower her voice so that they all had to keep quiet as they strained to hear.

‘I am Detective Sergeant Carpenter,’ she said. ‘I am working on a case I think may be connected with the disappearance of these two girls. I think it would be best for everyone if we all calmed down and then I can assign rooms to the families and we can go from there.’

There were mutters of agreement, although not whole-hearted, and Jacquie turned to the desk sergeant. ‘Do we have anyone available at the moment? I know DCI Hall is out.’

‘DS Carter is available,’ the desk sergeant said, with barely disguised contempt in his voice. Jacquie remembered the kipper and forgave the man. ‘Would you like me to call him down?’

‘If you would,’ Jacquie said. ‘Are the interview rooms free?’

Before the desk man could reply, a man pushed forward and stood in front of Jacquie. ‘I am Gregory Melkins,’ he said, as if that explained everything.

‘Are you?’ Jacquie asked mildly. She turned back to the desk again.

‘I don’t think I want my wife to be shut up in an interview room. She is in a very fragile state and extremely worried about her daughter.’

‘I’m sure she is, sir,’ said Jacquie. ‘But I think that you have misunderstood the interview room situation. We’re not on the set of Waking the Dead. Trevor Eve is not going to come in and shout at anyone. There is no two-way mirror. Our interview rooms are light, clean and well furnished. We need to speak to you in private. I don’t expect you want your family business conducted in the foyer of a police station, do you?’

The man looked at her as if she was something on his shoe, but his wife, hanging on his arm and with her face swollen with tears, curtailed his behaviour into something approaching acceptable. ‘What I want is that you should speak to my wife about her daughter at our home. We have younger children who shouldn’t be left.’

Jacquie didn’t miss the use of the terms ‘hers’ and ‘ours’. This was Julie’s stepfather, then. ‘If you would like to wait at home for one of our officers to come and interview your wife, Mr Melkins, then by all means that is what we will do.

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