Murder Spike: Mysterious deaths stump Welsh detectives (The Welsh crime mysteries Book 7) by Nicola Clifford

Author:Nicola Clifford [Clifford, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Book Folks bestselling mystery fiction
Published: 2022-08-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter twenty-three

Ben poured himself another whisky, threw a log on the fire and looked back at the statements collected during the ongoing murder investigation. The usually quiet living room was anything but as a late autumn gale blew around the cottage driving on hailstones which rattled loudly against the windows, as though someone had flung a handful of pebbles at the glass.

Strong gusts tore across the open ranges like an oncoming express train and hurled themselves at the old building. The place was filled with knocks and bangs, as though a drummer had taken up residence in the attic, and rushing wind in the pipes sounded like a trumpeter in an Indian wedding band. Ben sighed heavily and struggled to concentrate on his work.

Checking his watch, he saw it was nearly midnight and wondered how the club night was working out for Stacey and her friends. He hoped they were having a good time if nothing else. He wasn’t sure their evening of surveillance would produce anything useful, but he supposed it was worth a go. He drained the last dregs of his drink and hauled himself off the sofa, then he padded into the kitchen and put the kettle on for a last cuppa before bedtime. He opened the back door and stood on the step, and listened to the roaring storm and heavy rain pounding in the slate roof.

The kettle whistled, Ben shut and locked the door, made tea then went to the living room to put the fire guard in the grate. Returning to the kitchen, he picked up his mug, turned off the light and went upstairs to the front bedroom tucked beneath the eaves and got into bed. Hours later he was still awake, tossing and turning, listening to the gale and worrying about the murder case.

* * *

Stacey had settled herself at one end of the bar, stuck to fruity cocktails and watched the crowd on the dance floor. She refused all offers of drinks from strangers, but scrutinised each one carefully, searching for the lad in the baseball cap. Every now and again she spotted Heidi’s white hair, as she and Erica danced in the middle of the crowd and Stacey smiled to herself. The pair seemed to be getting on well and she hoped they would soon be back together, where they belonged.

She got to her feet, used the crutch to make sure no one knocked her over, and made her way to the toilet. There was a queue, so she leaned against the wall and watched the clientele reapplying make-up, chatting and laughing with their friends, adjusting their outfits and fiddling with their hair. A few glanced her way and commented on how cool her hat looked. Ten minutes later, Stacey left the warm damp space and returned to the club. As she walked through the door, Heidi appeared at her side, clearly agitated.

‘Is Erica in there?’ she asked.

‘No, just me. What’s up?’

‘I can’t find her,’ Heidi said. ‘We were dancing, she said she was going to fetch more drinks but didn’t return and I don’t know where she is.

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