The Burning Man by Edward Figg

Author:Edward Figg [Figg, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781784657505
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Published: 2020-04-29T22:00:00+00:00

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Back in Kent Street CID, Detective Inspector Ted Baxter gazed out of over the rooftops of the nearby buildings at the distant hills. To his left, he could see across into the Kent Street Memorial Park. There was only one solitary person in there. It was an old gent who appeared to be reading a newspaper.

The last rays of the late afternoon sun fell, slanting through the window and onto his desk.

Jill Richardson passed his open door. He called to her. ‘Jill.’ She turned and came back.

‘Any luck. Did Bear come through for you?’

She stood in the doorway. ‘Total waste of time. We had to go around that blinking estate three times. The bugger kept falling asleep. By the time we twigged what was happening it was too late. It turned out that he’d swiped a bottle of cooking sherry from the night shelter’s kitchen and hid it under his coat. He swigged most of it before we got there. The state he was in, he couldn’t tell a blasted lemon tree from a frigging rose bush. What with that, and Luke blathering on about missing his lunch. As I said before, it was a total waste of time. We dropped him back at the shelter. They got him sleeping it off.’

Baxter looked out into the room. Hollingsworth wasn’t at his desk. ‘Where’s Luke now?’

‘Last I saw of him, he was on his hands and knees crawling through the cafeteria doors, suffering from malnutrition.’ She breathed in sharply, sighed, then started to walk away.

‘When he comes back, tell him to come and see me. I’ve got a job for him.’

Some five minutes later, Hollingsworth pushed his way back through the doors of the CID office and headed over to his desk. He was still feeling a bit grumpy about the loss of his bangers and mash as he tossed the sandwich pack onto his desk. He removed his jacket and sat down.

Richardson looked over at him. ‘Before you get yourself comfortable, the DI wants to see you.’

‘What for?’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Don't know. The DI didn’t take me into his confidence. Just said he had a job for you.’ She inclined her head in the direction of his office. ‘Go find out.’

‘I could drop dead of starvation before I get there.’ He eyed off the sandwiches.

She sat, shaking her head. ‘Fer fuck sake, Luke, you missed lunch. It was only bangers and mash. It’s not the end of the world — grow up, get over it.’

‘All week, I look forward to it on Fridays. It’s my perfect start to the weekend.’ He let out a huge sigh, straightened his tie and walked off towards Baxter’s office.

Baxter put down his phone and looked up as Hollingsworth tapped on the door and walked in.

‘You wanted me, guv?’

‘Yes, Luke. Shut the door.’ He indicated the chair. ‘Take a pew.’ He sifted through some papers on the desk and selected the ones he wanted.

‘I see you’re on as standby tomorrow?’

He sat down, crossing his legs.

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