Valley of Lies by Michael Campling

Author:Michael Campling [Campling, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadowstone Books
Published: 2020-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Dan and Alan had just passed the pub when Alan’s phone rang. Frowning at the screen, Alan accepted the call, then he stopped in his tracks.

“Who is it?” Dan asked.

Alan held the phone away from his face and lowered his voice: “Spiller.”

“What does he want?”

But Alan shook his head, taking a step away from Dan and turning to one side. “Yes. I see.” A pause. “Well, it’s short notice. Is it really necessary?” Alan listened, then said, “I can explain that. It was all a misunderstanding.” Another pause. “No. That’s all right. I’d rather drive myself. Okay, I’ll see you then.” He pocketed his phone, turning back around, his lips drawn tight in a grim line. “They want to talk to me again. It sounds serious.”

“And you agreed to go,” Dan stated. “Was that a good idea?”

Alan hunched his shoulders. “I didn’t have much choice. He started talking about sending a patrol car to pick me up, and I wasn’t having that. I don’t want to be trapped there all day, and if I take my car, I can leave whenever I want.”

“In theory,” Dan intoned. “I don’t like this. Did he say why he wants to talk to you? Do they have any new evidence?”

Alan shook his head sadly. “Not really. He’s got hold of that argument I had with Mortimer. Do you remember? I told you about it before all this happened.”

“When he shouted at you in the street because you were smelling his roses.” Dan tutted. “And that’s why they’re hauling you in? Ridiculous.”

“Spiller didn’t give me the chance to explain. He said we had to discuss it at the station, make it official. He wants to know why I never mentioned it before. At the first interview, he asked me if I got on well with Mortimer, and of course, I just said yes. The business with the roses was nothing. A storm in a teacup. I don’t know how Spiller even heard about it.”

“I wonder…” Dan mused.

“What?”

“The timing is interesting. Why now? Why didn’t Spiller find out about this before?”

“I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Alan said. “It was probably some busybody spreading gossip. That’s the problem with this village. People repeat rumours and half-truths, and before you know it, everything gets twisted beyond recognition.”

“Maybe. But there is another possibility. Someone might be laying a false trail. After all, the attacker took your stick, and then they either used it as a weapon or planted it to be found by the police.”

The colour drained from Alan’s cheeks. “You think I’ve been targeted deliberately? Why me? I can see that someone might want to cover their tracks, but why am I the fall guy?”

“That’s an extremely good question. I’ve been assuming that your stick just happened to present itself. I know it has your initials on it, but until now, it hadn’t occurred to me that someone might have selected it deliberately. But the way things are shaping up, it’s starting to look like someone bears a grudge against you.

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.