THE SUSPECTS an addictive crime thriller that will keep you guessing (Detective Helen Carter Book 3) by JODIE LAWRANCE

Author:JODIE LAWRANCE [LAWRANCE, JODIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Published: 2021-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Helen paused in the doorway of the CID room the following morning. Loughton had his head down and was raking through index cards in a rolodex. The aroma of stale coffee and fag smoke drifted out into the corridor, despite the window being open and rainwater collecting on the window ledge. Randall was at his desk doing his usual two-fingered typing. Helen took off her coat and hung it on the rickety coat hanger, next to an expensive-looking suit jacket that Helen assumed must belong to Loughton.

He looked up at the disturbance and offered a thin smile.

‘I’ve just been going through everything there is on Jimmy.’

‘Have you found anything useful?’

He shook his head. ‘The man is untouchable.’

Helen settled in her hard chair and gave her shoulders a stretch. ‘No one is untouchable. He’ll have slipped up somewhere, we just need to find it.’

‘Believe me, I’d like nothing better.’ He scratched his jaw and let out a laugh dripping in sarcasm. ‘And I wish I could believe that but . . .’

‘He’s back in custody,’ Helen reminded him.

‘That’s never stopped him before.’ He pushed away from his desk.

‘What time is the briefing?’

‘In thirty minutes.’

Great, that would give her enough time to get everything prepared and grab herself a proper cup of coffee.

Loughton was obviously thinking the same thing.

* * *

Helen was left with a niggling headache after the briefing. It had been a colossal waste of time — exactly as she had expected. The clock was now ticking on Jimmy Osbourne again. DC Randall had interviewed him a few times, but he had kept quiet. They would need to find something to make him talk. She rubbed her aching eyes and sighed. She was sitting in the darkened incident room adjacent to the office, enjoying the quiet. Mumbled conversation trickled in from CID, but she couldn’t make out the words. Sighing, she flicked open a file. She had to complete the rest of the arrest reports for Jimmy, aware that all the information they had on him was circumstantial. Rain battered the windows and for a moment Helen thought the lights flickered, but she couldn’t be sure. A rattle on the door startled her.

‘Come in.’

Loughton bobbed his head around the door. He looked hesitant. ‘I hope you don’t mind me bothering you. Terry said you wanted some quiet.’

‘I do, but it’s fine.’

‘In that case —’ he held up a water-stained cardboard box — ‘is now a good time for us to go through these? It is why I’m here, after all.’ He closed the door with a soft click.

‘What are those from?’ Helen asked.

‘My own personal investigation into Jimmy Osbourne.’

‘Why not?’ Helen shrugged. ‘Come in, take a pew.’

Loughton dropped his gaze to the floor. He looked stiff to Helen, like he was favouring his left leg but trying to hide it. He dropped the box on the middle of the teal desk, a plume of dust exploding from it. Helen stifled a sneeze as Loughton sat down opposite. The chair wobbled under his weight and he took a moment to adjust it.

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