The Fraud by Christine Pattle

Author:Christine Pattle [Pattle, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Wednesday, Week Two

It took a great deal of cajoling on Clarke’s part to overcome Jeffrey’s resistance to come to the pub. He finally agreed and now they were walking together through the subway to the nearest pub, in the marketplace.

At noon, the subway was deserted, still waiting for the lunch rush from the Briar Holman office to start. Clarke shuddered as her mind flashed back to Jeffrey losing his temper with her in the car park. She should have arranged to meet him in the pub.

“I really appreciate this, Jeffrey,” she said. She kept walking, making her steps purposeful as she tried to maintain the conversation and keep everything calm. It would only be for a minute. Once they reached the marketplace, it would be busy.

“I’m only doing it for Tammy,” Jeffrey said, “but I don’t see how I can help.”

The Red Lion pub faced them as they exited the subway. Clarke stopped holding her breath. Her phone rang. Paul. She rejected the call. Hopefully, she would have more to tell him later.

The Red Lion could never be accused of being trendy. Its minimal décor, with lots of dark wood furniture, made the whole place seem dingy and old-fashioned. It didn’t even have a decent wine list. She bought Jeffrey a beer and herself a sparkling water, then found a table at the back of the pub.

“I’m trying to find Tammy,” Clarke said, unsure how to broach the subject of Tammy’s sighting of Jeffrey in Tredington, without accusing him of being a stalker. She decided to start at the beginning and hoped, by the time she got to that bit, she’d be struck by inspiration.

“Police think she’s dead,” Jeffrey said bluntly. He took a big gulp of his beer, slopping it onto the beer mat as he put the glass down clumsily.

Clarke took a sip of her water, regretting her decision to stay alcohol-free today. “What if she’s not?”

Jeffrey shrugged. Clarke wondered how to interpret his gesture. She carried on.

“What if she’s not dead? I think she’s been living in Tredington,” Clarke said. “But the police can’t find her address.”

“If the police can’t find her, I’m sure you won’t.”

“Jeffrey.” Clarke looked at him, trying to decide if he actually gave a damn. “Do you ever go to Tredington?” Clarke realised she was holding her breath again, frightened of how he might react, wondering if he would even tell the truth.

“My auntie lives there.”

She hadn’t expected it to be so easy, but at least Jeffrey had a reason for being somewhere near Tammy’s house. At least it gave Clarke hope that he wasn’t stalking Tammy. She took another sip of her drink. Her brain kept flashing back to the incident with Jeffrey in the car park. How she needed something alcoholic to calm her nerves. For a moment, she pretended that the mineral water was neat vodka.

“Tammy said she saw you in Tredington a while ago.” She waited for a reaction. None came. She wondered if Jeffrey had heard her.

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.