Little Ghosts by Gregg Dunnett

Author:Gregg Dunnett [Dunnett, Gregg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781805080664
Published: 2023-05-10T22:00:00+00:00

Clarke was confused by something as he made his way back to his own office. By the time he sat down he’d got it. He had received exactly the news he’d wanted to hear – and yet, instead of feeling good, he felt flat. Confused. A little concerned.

Partly it was the boy. Not knowing how he knew. But there was more to it as well. DS Starling might be gullible enough to put the man who had killed Layla Martin in charge of her murder inquiry, but it would be unwise to dismiss him completely as a fool. And there was no doubt he had been a little cool just then.

The reason was obvious. His boss hadn’t been willing to believe what the stupid kid had said – the boy would need better evidence to achieve that – but at the same time, he had sown seeds of doubt. What’s more, Starling had been to his house. He’d seen his beautiful girls, which meant he knew his officer was capable of keeping certain things private from the rest of the team. Starling had seen that Clarke wore something of a front at work, and had glimpsed behind it. It was no catastrophe, but Clarke knew he would have to be careful.

Back at his desk he sat musing for a long while. He thought about calling Rachel Martin to thank her, but rejected the idea. Better to wait for her to contact him. He thought about his own plans to take another child, which now felt increasingly overdue, and he thought about the Crimebusters programme, and how much of his time that was now taking up. He also thought about the problem of Gale Martin.

And then the phone did ring. The young producer from Crimebusters wondering why he hadn’t replied to her latest emails. He made some excuse about being busy, and got back to work, coordinating the reconstruction.

There was a lot to do prepping for the programme, but it was fascinating to see how policework was blended with the TV side of things. Clarke knew also that this was a high-risk strategy, to focus so much attention on the actual abduction of Layla. After all, he had been the one who took her, and though he’d worn a disguise – a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, and a pair of mirrored sunglasses, and contact lenses – these would have done little to alter his age, height or body type. But there was also a secondary layer to the disguise. Focussing on the abduction was exactly what any good investigation would do, especially one with no other clear leads to follow. If he didn’t focus on it, that might look suspicious. And if any sightings of men in their late thirties did come in, with dark hair and a beard, it would be easy enough to guide the investigation towards other suspects he had pre-selected that would fit such a description.

The real problem, he decided, was not Gale at

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