The Reach of Shadows by Tony J. Forder

Author:Tony J. Forder
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781912986019
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Published: 2019-01-20T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

When she picked Bliss up at the railway station earlier, Chandler was still annoyed with him. She had not said as much, but his partner had a way of letting him know when she thought he was in the wrong, and so their drive over to the quarry in Eye had been largely made in silence. By the time the interview was over, Bliss sensed the cooling-off period had worked in his favour.

‘How did it go with Mr and Mrs Coleman last night?’ his DS asked as they hit the Frank Perkins Parkway at Newark.

‘Tragically.’

‘You had to tell them their daughter was gay, then?’

‘No. We were all spared that, at least. They had worked that out for themselves many years ago, apparently. Jade wasn’t aware of it, but yes, they knew. What did come as surprise, however, was discovering that Jade quit her council job three years ago and went to work for Esotere-UK. She simply hadn’t told them.’

‘Oh, shit!’

Bliss noted the pained wince. ‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘Oh, shit! That left its mark, especially on the mother. Ultimately, they had nothing worthwhile for us.’

‘Another dead end. We’re slowly running out of paths to explore, boss. Right now, I would have to say that the stalker angle looks the most likely contender.’

Chandler then went on to tell him about her meeting with the task force detectives, offering a hearty chuckle after outlining DC Ansari’s response towards the end of the discussion.

‘Good for her,’ Bliss said. ‘Looks like we may have a winner there, Pen.’

‘I think we might. Gul is up for a scrap, that much is obvious. But why do you seem so deflated? You sound as if you found a quid and lost a fiver.’

Bliss thought about it for a few seconds, then explained the doubts he had about the crime scene at New England, and how the conversation with Vickers had done nothing to allay those concerns.

‘I get the feeling we’re missing something,’ he told her. ‘That itch you can’t scratch is back, Pen. Something too obvious to see. But possibly something critical to our case. I’m too close to it at the moment, and feel as if I should take a step back. But even that doesn’t seem like quite the right thing to do. I need time to think about it more. I’m convinced there is something staring us in the face and we’re just too blind to notice it.’

‘Then let’s talk about other matters,’ Chandler suggested. ‘You say you need time to think about it some more, whereas what you probably need is a distraction. You were on the train home from London when you called earlier. Want to tell me what you were doing down there?’

Bliss decided he had nothing to hide. He rattled off the broad strokes for her.

‘You think your friend can help?’ Chandler asked, skilfully manoeuvring across lanes as vehicles swept up from a major junction to join the flow of traffic.

‘I think he’s willing to. That’s half the battle.’

‘And how

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