Inner Circle by Claire McNab

Author:Claire McNab [McNab, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781931513470
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2017-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

The rental car Carol was driving while the cracked windscreen in her vehicle was replaced was a white Ford with an irritating scent of fake-leather spray that apparently had been employed in an attempt to disguise the smell of cigarette smoke. Even though it was chilly and overcast, she wound down the window to a blast of cool air as she took the road that crossed the Boolworrie River and ran south out of town.

After three kilometers the Agar house flashed ostentatiously into view. The bulky three-story edifice lived up to Beryl Bennett’s disparaging description. The architect had apparently been instructed to recreate a European minicastle in the Australian countryside, ignoring how incongruous it would look on its perch overlooking the robust beauty of the Katamulla Valley. Its battlements and towers were painted a blinding white. Three flagpoles carried respectively a jumbo Australian flag, the Union Jack, and an elaborate heraldic design. Carol had the sardonic thought that this was undoubtedly Kent Agar’s flashy version of a family coat of arms.

Kent Agar’s wife, Maggie, didn’t fit the picture Carol had formed. She was slim, soft voiced, and wore a pale blue skirt and white sweater. These toned with the neutral shade of her brown shoulder-length hair and lightly tanned, rather wistful face. She offered Carol a limp hand and then led her down a wide hallway to a sitting room adjoining a large kitchen where an array of pots and pans hung suspended from the ceiling on huge black hooks.

“Scott, this is Inspector Ashton. She’s come to see you.”

Barefoot and wearing tattered jeans and a T-shirt, her son was sprawled on a striped couch surrounded by textbooks and papers. On top of a pile of books a metal ashtray with a half-smoked cigarette vied for space with an open can of beer.

Scott Agar got to his feet reluctantly, brushing ash from his jeans. He was a taller, blander version of his father, with the same small features and high-arched eyebrows, but his auburn hair was thick and his mouth was wider and weaker. “Hi. Find somewhere to sit.” His tone was surly.

Maggie Agar cleared a low upholstered chair for Carol, then collected a tall stool from the kitchen and placed it nearby. Sitting upright on the stool, she loomed over Carol. “You won’t mind if I stay, Inspector?”

“Of course not. These are just routine questions.” To Scott, she said pleasantly, “You’re not at school today.”

“Studying.” He sat down, took a long drag at his cigarette, and left it dangling from his lower lip. “Got exams soon.”

“Take that cigarette out of your mouth,” said his mother quietly. He shot her a look, then stubbed it out in the ashtray.

Folding his arms, he declared, “I told Sergeant Griffin on the phone I didn’t know anything.”

“You didn’t see him in person?”

Maggie Agar said smoothly, “Scott was studying. I didn’t see any point in having Griffin come here.”

Carol said to Scott, “You’ve heard about the explosion at the police station?”

“Yeah.” He leaned over to take a swallow from his can of beer.

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.