The Body Politic (The DC Cat McKenzie Mystery Series Book 3) by Susan Handley

Author:Susan Handley [Handley, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

32.

Cat pushed open the door. Cheryl was behind the bar, serving a customer. She flashed Cat a smile before returning her attention to the half-filled pint glass in her hand. A minute later, she set the drink down in front of a grey-haired man in a shabby denim jacket and turned to Cat.

‘Hello again,’ she said, smiling. ‘More questions?’

Cat darted a cautious glance towards Stacey.

‘No. Just popped in for a bite to eat.’

They found a spot towards the back of the room, in one of the booths. It was decidedly warmer than by the window.

Stacey took a sip of her Coke.

‘This to do with what’s been distracting you?’ She nodded in Cheryl’s direction.

‘Huh? No,’ Cat said, trying to brush it off lightly. ‘Seriously, the food here is really quite good.’

Stacey laughed and shook her head.

‘Doesn’t bother me. So, what is it… this case you’re not supposed to be working?’

Cat shrugged.

‘I’m just trying to understand some stuff; there are things that just don’t make sense.’

‘Want to talk about it? Might help.’

For a fleeting moment, Cat wondered if it was some sort of trap set by Alex. Then the sane part of her brain told her to stop being so paranoid.

‘Sure. Why not.’

She gave Stacey a quick rundown of the facts as far as she could. Having been excluded from the investigations she was at least two days out of touch. Finally, she relayed what she’d learned from the two phone calls that morning.

‘The calls aren’t really the problem though, are they? Well, the first one isn’t. It might be a bit more difficult talking your way out of calling the Nichols guy,’ Stacey said. ‘But coming here to quiz the barmaid, that’s what’ll get you into trouble if Alex finds out. I just hope it’s worth it.’

Just then Cheryl was there, pad poised.

‘Sorry about the delay. Are you ready to order?’

Cat glanced at Stacey, fleetingly thought about what she said, felt her mouth turn dry, then turned to the barmaid.

‘Actually, if you have got a minute, I do have one more question.’

Cheryl squatted down.

‘Fire away.’

‘When we talked before, about the night Jimmy died…’

‘Yeah.’

‘You mentioned he met that old guy, but did anyone else join them?’

‘You mean other than the funny looking bloke?’

‘Yes. Did you see anybody else talk to either of them?’

Cheryl leaned back and sat on her haunches. Shortly, she shook her head.

‘I don’t remember seeing anyone else with them.’

‘Never mind. It was a bit of a longshot.’

‘At least you tried,’ Stacey said to Cat after they’d placed their order. ‘Anyway, you don’t know what progress has been made on the investigation. You might get back to the office and find your cousin’s in the clear.’

Cat smiled. An empty gesture. Alex knew how much it mattered to her. If he’d concluded Mark had nothing to do with Jimmy Pitt’s death, she was sure he’d have already phoned.

After lunch, they decided to give coffee a miss and signalled for the bill. Cheryl came over with the credit card machine. As she

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