A BODY AT THE FARMHOUSE a gripping Welsh crime mystery full of twists (The West Wales Murder Mysteries Book 4) by P.F. FORD

Author:P.F. FORD [FORD, P.F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Published: 2023-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Norman entered the Mercedes’s registration number into his computer. Immediately, a warning flashed up on the screen. Muttering to himself, he hurried across to Southall’s office. She seemed to have become less communicative as the day wore on but, as usual, her office door was open.

‘How does that work?’ he asked.

Southall looked up from her desk. ‘How does what work?’

‘Someone drove into the Rotherby estate in a black Merc. Five minutes later he came flying out like his arse was on fire. Then, when I run a vehicle check on it, I get an access denied warning.’

‘What sort of access denied warning?’

‘The sort that’s above my pay grade, yours too.’

‘That’s interesting.’

‘I think we’re going to need Nathan’s help with this one.’

Superintendent Nathan Bain was their boss. Many years ago, he and Norman had worked at the Met. It was Bain who had persuaded Norman to become a police rejoiner.

Southall reached for her phone. ‘I’ll speak to him now.’

A few minutes later, she was standing by Norman’s desk. ‘It seems we are forbidden from intercepting the Mercedes or its driver, nor are we to make any enquiries about him or the car.’

‘But that’s ridiculous! The guy is now connected to our murder inquiry. For all we know it could be him that killed Tilly Rotherby.’

‘Apparently, someone is coming to brief us about why this guy is so special.’

‘Crap! I hate it when I hear someone tell me that,’ said Norman. ‘It means this guy is almost certainly a terrorist, a people trafficker or a drug dealer. I don’t suppose Nathan knows which it is?’

‘He says he doesn’t.’

Norman heaved a sigh. ‘I suppose it doesn’t really make much difference. Whatever this guy is, a small team like us is always going to play second fiddle to that type of operation.’

‘It does make you wonder if there isn’t a bit more to our murder than we first thought, though,’ said Southall. ‘Perhaps this explains where Tilly was getting her money.’

‘Well, maybe, but I can’t see her as any sort of terrorist. And there was never any evidence to suggest she was involved in that people-trafficking operation we stumbled upon. So that just leaves drugs, but I can’t see her as your typical drug dealer, can you?’

Before Southall could answer, Norman’s phone began to ring.

‘Hi, Judy, what’s up? I hope this isn’t another registration number, because—’

He listened for a moment.

‘You’ve found what? Now, hang on a minute. Whatever has happened, it isn’t your fault. We talked it through, remember. I said I was happy with your decision so if it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine. Just take a deep breath and tell me what you’ve found.’

He listened again.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘You know what to do, right? Frosty has already called them? That’s good. It sounds to me like you have it all under control. We’re on our way.’ He slammed the receiver down. ‘Bollocks!’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘They’ve just found David Griffiths. He’s dead.’

‘Are they sure?’

‘Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. It looks as if someone bashed his head in.

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