Scream Blue Murder by Tony J Forder

Author:Tony J Forder [J Forder, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spare Nib Books
Published: 2021-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

Other than cursory introductions, little was said until the town of Chippenham was a distant dull light behind us and the kid was once more engrossed with her iPod, her head on Melissa’s lap. Melissa herself seemed jaded and still in mild shock. I was astonished at how well she had held up, given everything we had been through in the past twenty-four hours. But everyone had their limits. Me included.

Shortly after hitting a stretch of unlit dual-carriageway that headed north-east, Terry turned to me and said, ‘So tell me why I’m here.’

I glanced back to check on the kid before responding. ‘There’s a lot to tell, Terry. None of it fit for certain ears.’

‘The child? She’s lost in another world.’

‘Even so.’ I didn’t want Charlie to overhear a single word, in case something unsettled her and set her off.

Terry took the hint. A turn-off was coming up and he went with it. The long decline took us down to a roundabout. He took the first left, drove for a mile or so along a minor road, before pulling over into a car park attached to a row of shops. Most of them were boarded up and unused, the parking area deserted apart from a few youths clustered together on bikes. Terry killed the engine, opened his door and climbed out. He jerked his head at me and said, ‘So now let’s talk.’

We spent the next ten minutes doing just that, having walked a dozen yards away from the vehicle, keeping our voices low. Using broad strokes, I took my friend through every significant aspect of the past day. Terry listened, commenting only when prompting for further details. His face remained impassive throughout. When I was done, he took a breath and scratched behind his ear.

He said, ‘In your old job, did you and this Dawson cross paths?’

‘No. His name came up a lot across our desks, and I did a bit of research for Susan at one point, but I never met him or filed a story on him. Why?’

‘I’m wondering if your involvement is entirely coincidental. Anyone who is looking to lay blame at your door will look at your past employment as a potential motive.’

I took a few moments to process that. ‘I never thought of that angle, Terry. But I don’t see any way that it could have been set up around me, judging by the manner in which the accident and the re-routing panned out. It was just rank bad luck. I was on that road by chance, I pulled over by chance. I don’t know Dawson, and I certainly don’t know Hendricks, the NCA Investigator.’

‘Still…’

‘Yeah. I’ll give it some more thought. I don’t see why or how, though.’

‘Okay. Mike, I’m sorry about what happened to your friend, but I have to ask: do you think you may have been the target?’

I shook my head. Firmly this time. I’d had a long time to consider this one question. ‘No. If you’re going to use a rifle then you’re going to be good enough with it to hit your target.

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