ONE STEP AHEAD_detectives hunt a serial killer who knows all their moves by DENVER MURPHY

Author:DENVER MURPHY [MURPHY, DENVER]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Book Folks best-selling British crime fiction publisher
Published: 2019-01-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-two

Brandt no longer considered himself retired; he very much saw his latest endeavours as a career change. Clearly it was something he had needed to keep to himself, maintaining the impression that he was jobless. This was relatively straightforward considering that his divorce, coupled with leaving the police, had left him with very few regular acquaintances, never mind friends. Yet in the weeks following his retirement party, he had needed to deal with numerous messages enquiring, not without a hint of jealousy, how much he was enjoying his spare time. His responses, sufficiently delayed and short, both implied that he was keeping busy and served not to maintain a dialogue. The occasional phone calls had been more of an irritation, having to answer the usual questions about whether he had taken up golf, found a wealthy divorcee, and if he was missing the routine of work. He guessed that he would have been less generous with his responses, had he not wanted to arouse any suspicious as to his well-being. The calls usually ended with non-specific promises to meet up soon but thankfully, they were becoming increasingly infrequent in number.

Except, that is, for Franklin’s. DSI Brian Franklin was two years Brandt’s junior and busy planning for his own retirement. They had known each other for the past two decades, with their careers progressing at similar rates. However, notwithstanding the fact that they looked similar, with their dark brown hair, average height and medium build, as far as Brandt was concerned, that was where the similarities ended. Whilst Brandt had been satisfied that the job of Chief Superintendent was as far as he could progress without the bureaucracy and politics overtaking true investigative work, Franklin, for so many years, had been hell bent on going higher. Not that he would admit that to anyone now that his proximity to retirement had curtailed his previously minimal chances. As far as Brandt was concerned, Franklin had got as far as he had riding on the back of the success of others. With the spotlight more on him as DSI, he had maintained his position with caution and conservatism, hoping to be seen as a safe pair of hands when further opportunities arose. That Brandt, with a reputation for the unorthodox, had been invited to apply for more senior positions on a number of occasions, hadn’t bothered Franklin. Perhaps he saw Brandt’s refusal to do so as opening the way for him, hoping that their association would make him a more attractive candidate.

Nevertheless, for all Brandt’s maverick tendencies, he knew how to play the game and, whilst not courting opportunities that would lead to him encountering Franklin, nor had he avoided them. Each time he had feigned pleasure in seeing his old colleague, an emotion always reciprocated by Franklin, who was only too happy to use the occasion to pick his brains on whatever case he was currently working on.

Brandt had fully expected his retirement to end their connection, but it seemed that he had underestimated the friendship that Franklin believed they had developed.

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