Murder on the North Sea: A DCI Ben Nevis Scottish Detective Thriller by Duncan Wallace

Author:Duncan Wallace [Wallace, Duncan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

I followed the bussers back into the narrow passage where the stacks of clean plates and tidy rows of glasses had now been replaced with bins full of dirty dishes. I squeezed past a pair of potboys and stepped into the kitchen. I had thought it might be a quiet place for a few moments as the lunch was cleared away, but preparations were already underway for the dinner rush. I finally understood what Deka had meant about barely having any time to breath, let alone kill a guest of the ship.

Deka herself was dicing a pile of onions, and I was still several steps away when the sharp odor hit my nose. My eyes teared up instantly, and I had to wipe my hand across my nose. When I finally made it to the chef, she looked up from her work, and I nearly laughed. She was wearing a pair of diving goggles, a nose clamp, and even a snorkel to keep herself from crying.

“Back so soon,” Deka laughed as she pulled the snorkel from her mouth.

“We were wondering if you could tell us where we might find the handyman?” I asked.

“Oh, sure,” she replied. “One of the freezers is broken in the back, so we ended up with a bunch of thawed meat that we’re trying to use up today. He’s back there trying to figure out how to get it working again.”

Deka pointed to a row of large metal doors at the far end of the kitchen, and I realised I could hear the sound of someone pounding on a piece of equipment from somewhere in the back.

“Thanks,” I smiled and gladly walked away from the stench of onion.

Duffy and I both wiped our eyes and noses once we were out of range of the fearsome bulbs, and then we approached the line of freezers. The banging had stopped, but I noticed that one of the handles had been left in the open position. I tugged on the door and was surprised at how heavy it was. Of course, I realised, it would have to be if it was going to keep the freezing air inside, even on a day like today. I pulled the door open and was hit with the smell of meat that had long since thawed out.

I spotted a man on his hands and knees with a wrench in one hand and an angry scowl on his face as he worked on a screw. I stepped into the freezer, though the man didn’t seem to notice our arrival.

“Excuse me,” I called out as I approached the man.

The man glanced up and then looked startled when he realised we weren’t part of the kitchen staff. He sat back and stared at us, but he didn’t speak.

“Hi, I’m Detective O’Connor, and this is Deputy Ro,” I said. “We’d like to ask you a few questions about Elisa Galbarni, the woman who was killed in the kitchen last night.”

The handyman dropped his wrench onto the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.