Exe Marks the Spot (Lockwood and Darrow Mysteries Book 1) by Suzy Bussell

Author:Suzy Bussell [Bussell, Suzy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838100469
Publisher: Sigbit Press
Published: 2021-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

An hour later, Charlotte was sitting next to Angus in Janet’s lounge. She lived in Heavitree, in a Victorian terraced house similar to Daniel’s and only a few streets away.

That was the only thing that was similar, though. Inside, the house looked as though no one had bothered to redecorate for years: worn, faded carpet that should have been replaced years ago, and walls with cracks in them. At least the three-piece suite in the lounge had covers on which hid its true state.

The house was the exact opposite to Janet, who looked as smart as before. She wore a smart flowery knee-length dress with black leggings underneath, her short pixie-cut hair was styled into a quiff, and her face was immaculately made up despite being newly widowed.

‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ Angus said in a serious tone, ‘Thank you for seeing us, especially so quickly. I appreciate that this is a difficult time for you but we need to find Daniel. It’s even more important now.’

Janet, hunched on the edge of her seat, nodded and dabbed her eyes with a tissue, even though there didn’t seem to be anything to mop up.

Charlotte glanced at the door, wondering if she should offer to make tea, but she didn’t want to miss the conversation. She might offer in a minute; while she was in the kitchen, she could easily hack the Wi-Fi and leave a worm virus to send her information. If Janet’s husband Billy had been doing anything dodgy, there would be an electronic trail on the computer.

‘How long were you married?’ Angus asked.

‘Twenty-six years.’

‘Do you have kids?’

‘No: we decided not to. Well, Billy didn’t want any, and I wasn’t bothered. We loved Daniel, though, and looked after him a lot, especially when he was little.’

Angus took out his notebook and pen. ‘I realise the police will have asked you this, but when did you last see him?’

‘Last night, at about eight. He said he was going out to meet friends at the pub.’

‘Was this something he did regularly?’

‘Yes. Not usually on a Monday, but he’d go out at least two or three times a week to meet friends. Not always at the pub. We’d been spending all our time outside work looking for Daniel, and we needed some time away from it.’ She paused. ‘But the friends he usually meets at the pub said he didn’t come that night that night, so he was lying.’ She crossed her arms and sat back in the chair.

‘Did his friends have any idea where he’d gone?’

She shook her head.

Charlotte glanced at Angus, wondering if he had the same suspicion as her: that Billy could have been seeing another woman. She didn’t catch his eye.

‘He said Daniel missing was his fault. He always looked out for Daniel, like any uncle would, so I thought that was what he meant.’ She frowned. ‘I thought when they found him, he’d killed himself. He went through a difficult time a few years ago. His mental

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