THE COAT OF ARMS KILLER a BRAND NEW enthralling murder mystery with a twist by FRANCES LLOYD

Author:FRANCES LLOYD [LLOYD, FRANCES]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Published: 2025-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

It was Saturday night and as usual, the city was rammed. The West End was pulsating with partygoers and socialites seeking the iconic nightlife that the cocktail bars, clubs, pubs and theatres provided. The lights were dazzling and the atmosphere was vibrant. Despite the cold, young ladies in crop tops, short skirts and sky-high heels went arm in arm with guys in fitted trousers, button-down shirts and jackets. It was a city full of lively people intent on having a good time.

A food delivery driver on a motorcycle emerged from a side street and filtered into the slow-moving traffic. Such drivers were a familiar sight on cold, dark nights when people wanted hot food but didn’t want to face the elements to go out and fetch it themselves. The driver cruised down the road until he reached the Fitz Gallery where he stopped in the parking space outside and stood the bike up on its stand. Wearing jeans, a full-face helmet and a jacket bearing the logo of the takeaway, he attracted little attention from the throng of clubbers, queueing to get into the nightclub next door.

He took a pizza box and a plastic drinks bottle from the insulated delivery container on the back of the bike, smiling wryly at the warning on the bag — Caution Hot Contents. Strolling to the doors of the gallery, he looked up to confirm that the lights were on in the flat above. After a quick glance to his left and right, he poured the contents of the bottle through the letterbox. Inside the pizza box was a soaked rag which he lit with a match and pushed through on top of the petrol, shielding the operation with his body. He saw a gratifying flash of flame through the glass panels of the door, followed by a whooshing sound as the fire took hold. Satisfied with his work, he picked his way through the crowd that had spilled out into the road, climbed back on the bike and roared away.

By definition, an art gallery containing paintings in wooden frames, and such flammables as linseed oil and white spirit are an obvious fire risk if they aren’t properly stored. Due to general disinterest and idleness on the part of the owner, the Fitz Gallery was a mass of flames in seconds. By the time the Fire Service arrived, a crowd had gathered. Someone pointed up at the roof and shouted, ‘there are lights on in the top flat’. The fire fighters sprang into action and minutes later, two bodies were carried out, one in a body bag and the other on a stretcher, which was transferred to a waiting ambulance and whisked away to hospital.

* * *

The Metropolitan Police District, of which Kings Richington and the MIT were a part, consists of thirty-two London boroughs, but excludes the City of London — a largely non-residential and financial district, overseen by the City of London Police. DI Dawes started his career there as a

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