Bring Them Home by D. S. Butler

Author:D. S. Butler [Butler, D. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503904934
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2018-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

DI Morgan had only just put the phone down after speaking to the inspector in charge of the night shift when his doorbell rang.

He was renting an old two-bedroom terraced house in Canwick on a short-term basis until he’d decided whether he wanted to settle in Lincolnshire for the foreseeable future. As he walked along the dark, narrow corridor with its flagstone floor, he shivered at the draught that crept around the front door. The windows were just as bad. The house had character but was absolutely freezing.

He’d put on a thick, fisherman-style jumper when he got home and changed into a pair of comfortable, faded jeans.

He glanced at the Omega watch on his wrist and saw that it was almost midnight. Who would be ringing his doorbell at this time?

It had to be something to do with work. He hadn’t got to know any of his neighbours. He worked long hours and wasn’t exactly sociable. He kept telling himself he’d go to the local pub and get to know people, but he hadn’t had much time for that yet.

He opened the door and saw a woman shivering on his doorstep.

‘Julia, what are you doing here?’

She gazed up at him through a thick fringe. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me in, Scott?’

He took a step back and opened the door wide. ‘Of course, sorry. I wasn’t expecting you. We cancelled our date, didn’t we?’

Julia stomped past him into the narrow hallway, and he shut the door behind her. He noticed she hadn’t brought an overnight bag. He looked at her in confusion and waited for her to explain.

‘You cancelled our date, Scott.’

‘Oh, I see. I’m sorry. But I really didn’t have a choice. We have a big case on at the moment.’

She put her hand up to stop him talking. ‘I’m driving. So I can’t have a proper drink, but you could at least offer to make me a coffee.’

‘Of course.’

He led the way into the kitchen.

Julia still lived in Oxford, but he’d thought she was happy for them to continue with things as they were. He’d met her eight months ago. She was a solicitor, hard-working and ambitious, and wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship. Let’s just have some fun, she’d said and that had sounded appealing to DI Morgan.

But from the bad-tempered look on Julia’s face tonight, fun was the last thing on her mind.

DI Morgan filled the kettle and flicked the switch before retrieving a couple of mugs from the cupboard. ‘Is instant okay?’

Julia rolled her eyes and pointed at the coffee machine she’d bought for his birthday. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

DI Morgan put his hands in his pockets and looked sheepish. ‘Nothing. I just ran out of ground coffee. I haven’t had time to go to the supermarket. Like I said, it’s this case and—’

‘I didn’t come all this way to talk about your current case, Scott,’ Julia said coldly. ‘I suppose instant will have to do.’

Feeling wrong-footed, DI Morgan spooned instant coffee granules into the mugs and retrieved the milk from the fridge.

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