The Final Game by AG Barnett

Author:AG Barnett [Barnett, A.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oddmoor Press

Chapter

Twenty

“So,” Anderson said once they were back outside and making their way along the village’s Main Street, “I think the first thing we need to do is find out why John Pike lied about being with his son, and why the Barretts lied about being at home all morning.”

“I think it’s obvious why John Pike lied,” Poole answered.

“To cover for his son.” Anderson nodded.

“The Barretts are a bit more of a mystery,” Poole continued, ”they don’t seem the type to lie.”

Anderson snorted. “How on earth have you made detective?” He laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Poole said, stopping and turning to Anderson.

“That you trust people too easily. This sweet older couple act of theirs has got you thinking they can’t have murdered Helen Susswich, even when we know they’ve lied to us.”

“I’m not writing them off as suspects,” Poole countered, “they just seem unlikely candidates for stalking someone down in the woods and clubbing them to death.”

Anderson frowned. “And what exactly does a killer look like?”

Poole opened his mouth to respond and then closed it again. He had been about to give another sharp response, but something in Anderson’s words rang a familiar note with him. It was something Brock had said on more than one occasion. A killer never has one face, one personality, one ‘type’. This was because every person driven to murder had different motives, and a unique set of circumstances which had led them to the ultimate extreme act. Poole took a deep breath. Maybe there was more to Anderson than just the brash and aggressive exterior he wore. Maybe behind it all, there was just a man trying to be a good detective. In any case, Poole needed to make this work.

“You’re right,” Poole said, causing a brief look of surprise to pass across Anderson’s strong features. “Killers don’t have a ‘type’, and although the Barretts might seem unlikely, they’ve lied to us. Also, there’s two of them.”

“Why would that make a difference?”

Poole shrugged. “Two people can be bolder than one. One person might have all sorts of crazy thoughts, but never act on them. Two people, though, if they were close, might talk about it. After a while, it might not seem so crazy.”

The corners of Anderson’s mouth twitched up slightly. “There isn’t anything you and Sanders need to confess about, is there, Poole?”

Poole gave a small laugh, half in humour, half in shock at the fact Anderson had made a joke. “Why don’t we grab lunch at the pub?”

“We can’t stop and have lunch at a place that’s in the middle of a murder investigation,” Anderson said, frowning. “We could compromise the case.”

“Compromise it how?” Poole laughed. “We already know everyone involved in the case, we can’t change that now. Going to the pub now will achieve three important things,” he said.

“OK,” Anderson said, “I’ll bite. What are they?”

Poole held up his hand and began counting off fingers. “One, in a small village like this, where do you think people will go when

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.