Maxwell's Academy by M. J. Trow

Author:M. J. Trow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BLKDOG Publishing
Published: 2020-10-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

T

he Morley house could hardly have been more different from the MacBride one. It was tidy, with a minute brick-laid area in front neatly swept and with a small pot of crocuses in the porch, but everything about it was a little sad, a little mean as though whoever lived there was going through the motions for the sake of what the neighbours might say. Along the fence were ranged a few cellophane wrapped bunches of flowers and, unaccountably, a teddy bear, already rather bedraggled. Jacquie and the SOCO team drew up in echelon outside and she led the way round to the back door, the only one for which she had the key.

‘Did either of you attend the scene?’ she asked, over her shoulder.

Both men shook their heads, with a rustle of their paper suits.

‘She had fallen against the front door, more or less. Her husband had difficulty getting in, or so he says.’

‘Or difficulty getting out,’ Josh added.

‘Indeed. Well, lads, I don’t have to tell you your jobs. Usual thing. Upstairs, check for who sleeps where. I would like you to check the boy’s room carefully, though. I have ... well, a little inside info which makes me wonder about abuse. I’ll check down here.’

She had no real hopes of finding such gold on the answering machine and in fact it was even more disappointing than she expected; there was no answering machine. 1571 just informed her that there were no new messages. The few bits of post on the mat were catalogues and offers of cheap life insurance, which in the circumstances were rather redundant. The Morleys seemed to live in a vacuum of their own misery, with no real friends or even acquaintances, the flowers and teddy outside notwithstanding. Jacquie looked around downstairs, touching nothing, but apart from the dried pool of blood on the hall carpet, there was nothing that said anything about what had happened. The fingerprint powder from the first SOCO sweep was still evident, but with a quick wipe and a blast of Mr Muscle, the house was good to go.

Time to speak to Hetty.

Jacquie went to the bottom of the stairs and called up. ‘Josh? Are you there?’

There was a muffled response and a bump then he appeared, hanging over the bannister. ‘Yes, guv. Found anything? I was under the kid’s bed.’

‘Oh, sorry. No, nothing down here. I’m popping next door. Apparently, the neighbours called in possible child abuse a while ago.’

‘Really?’ Josh’s eyebrows disappeared under the hood of his suit. ‘That’s interesting. So the kid did do it, then?’

‘Let’s not rush to judgement, Josh,’ Jacquie told him. ‘The CYP report said there was nothing amiss.’

Muffled though it was through the mask he wore, Josh’s response was unmistakeable.

Ignoring it, Jacquie said, ‘The neighbour just happens to be DCI Hall’s sister, so we do have a bit more fore-knowledge than usual. At least we know it isn’t a mad old biddy with a grudge and a glass to the wall.’

‘True. Shall we leave the door when we go, if you’re not back?’

‘You might as well lock up.

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