Syn (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 2) by Malcolm Hollingdrake

Author:Malcolm Hollingdrake [Hollingdrake, Malcolm]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Hobeck Books
Published: 2021-05-17T16:00:00+00:00

Brian Briggs sat in the area set aside for visiting social workers and solicitors, it provided a better ambience and a smell of lavender, courtesy of the two plug-in air fresheners, pervaded the room. He stood and admired the long, framed photographic print of the Liverpool river front. The colours had slightly faded, and to the detriment of the image, not evenly. The area closer to the high window was almost devoid of colour.

‘Your green tea okay, Brian? We’re not usually asked for that but a colleague had some in his locker.’

Brian turned and approached April, holding out a hand to collect the mug.

‘Lovely, thanks. Sorry! Never get tired of seeing our magnificent city.’

‘We’re grateful to you for coming in. I’d like you to look at the screen here with this young lady. She’s our expert on facial recognition. Her name is Lynda.’

April had collected as many images she could from the Facebook friends retrieved from Carla’s and Cameron’s social media sites. Like pyramid selling, they quickly grew in number so if they added the friends of those friends, the list could have been endless. The decision had been taken to use only the most recent contacts.

‘We’ve added names just in case that might jog your memory too, Brian. Just take your time. What you’re doing will be a great help to Carla. Remember, you’re doing this for her.’

Within twenty minutes, they had seventeen faces and names. They put the people they knew including her work colleagues, Gaskell and Smith to one side. They retained Jennings, Rodgers, Sutch and Stuart Groves, a name that had not come up before and a name that was only linked to the Facebook data of Sharpe and Gaskell.

‘Do you know this man other than at the parties you attended, Brian?’ She produced the printed image of Groves.

‘I’ve seen him in the studio, not often just once or twice. Quite some time ago. A bit of a foreigner, cash in hand.’ He looked at April. ‘I don’t know if I should be saying this but I regretted not telling you what I knew before so …’

‘Trust us, we’re not interested in a bit of cash changing hands at this stage.’

‘Carla and Nicola each had a night, an hour or so after we shut, if the work was there. Mainly it was for friends and friends of friends or when people had a special occasion and we couldn’t fit them in during the regular hours. It was a back pocket type booking. It was never put in the book. He would come for some CACI treatment, that was Carla’s forte. She introduced the beauty therapy, a kind of non-surgical face lift. Sometimes I’d watch and learn.’

‘Did you ever watch when she was with him?’ April’s finger dropped onto the photograph.

‘No, I was usually leaving as he arrived. He didn’t come often, maybe three times at the most. There was one other, but he only came the once. That was quite a few months ago and maybe even longer.

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