MURDER OF A SCOUNDREL: Gripping crime mystery fiction from the Welsh valleys by Pippa McCathie & Nicola Clifford

Author:Pippa McCathie & Nicola Clifford [McCathie, Pippa & Clifford, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS British crime, mystery and thriller fiction publishers
Published: 2024-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Chloe Daniels and her brother, Gareth, had a favourite pub, the Red Dragon, just along the road from the flat that Gareth shared with his partner, Theresa. That evening, when Chloe arrived, Gareth was already standing at the bar talking to the barman.

He greeted Chloe with a smile.

“Did Theresa mind not coming?” she asked him.

“Not at all, it’s her Pilates evening. She said to remind you that you’re having lunch at ours on Sunday. Now, what’ll you have?”

“A large glass of red, preferably a Shiraz. It’s been mad at work and I need a pick-me-up.”

They took their drinks to a table in a quiet corner and sat down.

“So, what’s all this about?” Gareth asked.

“It’s a bit awkward, in a way. The chief said I could talk to you in an unofficial capacity. I got the impression he won’t mind if I stretch the rules a bit, but you’re not to put any of it into your podcast, understood?”

“Of course not,” said Gareth, the picture of innocence. “Would I ever do a thing like that?”

“I mean it, Gareth. This is serious stuff.”

His grin faded. “Okay. Agreed. What’s up?”

Chloe took a gulp of her wine then looked around the pub. A few customers were seated at small tables around the dimly lit room, but most of the punters were over by the bar. In spite of this, she leant towards her brother and lowered her voice. “You’ve probably seen press coverage of the cases we’re dealing with at the moment.”

“I saw your boss conducting a press conference. Something to do with a body found on wasteland in Pontygwyn. Is that one of them?”

“Yes,” Chloe said, “and there are two other murders connected to it.”

“We’ve reported them, but I’ve not been assigned to the stories. Where were the other two found, and what’s the connection?”

Chloe described the murders and filled in the details on each victim.

“I’m convinced there’s some kind of revenge motive involved,” she told him, “which would mean we need to find someone who knew all three victims. So far, we’ve failed. Each of the victims had been arrested in the past but never prosecuted. I suggested to the boss that an investigative journalist might be involved. Someone who’s become obsessed with criminals who have gotten away with it and decided to take matters into their own hands.

Gareth took a swig of his pint. “It wouldn’t be hard to find out about unsuccessful convictions. There’s plenty of information out there.”

“Yes, and there might be a connection to a nasty piece of work called Dai Michaelson–”

“The Michaelson gang?” Gareth interrupted her. “I’ve heard of them alright. A pair of brothers to be avoided at all costs, quite apart from any of the associates they may have. If your victims were involved with them, it would be easy to dig into their track record.”

Chloe told her brother about the broken fingers and the cuts. “The problem, for the killer, is that Dai is holed up in jail, which is a pretty good alibi.

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