MURDER AT THE MANOR a gripping crime mystery with a killer twist (DI Sam Clayton series Book 4) by ANNE PENKETH

Author:ANNE PENKETH [PENKETH, ANNE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thrillers and mysteries
Published: 2021-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Julie rang the doorbell of a nondescript red-brick house among a string of houses tucked behind the village pond.

A painted wooden sign depicting a wave looming over a flintstone cottage was planted beside the pond and announced to visitors they were entering Tideburgh. The reference wasn’t lost on Julie.

A Ford Fiesta was parked on the drive. A net curtain twitched before the front door opened a crack. A woman in her thirties was standing in the doorway.

“Yes?”

Julie showed her warrant card and explained that she was investigating the death of Iris Haggett.

“Is that the poor woman they found on the beach?” the woman asked, opening the door. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of shabby jeans and a T-shirt. “What’s it got to do with me, detective?”

“Well, we’ve heard that she’d had an argument with a gang of—” As soon as she said the word ‘gang’, the woman’s body stiffened.

“Are you saying my boy’s in a gang?” she retorted. Julie tried to stop the conversation derailing.

“No, nothing like that, Mrs Penfold. It’s just that one of her neighbours said she had a run-in with some boys who were playing in the old military installations by the cliffs, and so I wanted to ask Jason about that.”

“Playing in the tunnels? I can’t see there’s anything wrong with that, can you? When I was a kid we used to go down there too. It’s amazing what you can see.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the army was in the tunnels during the war. There’s like an underground room where you can see the metal frames where their bunks were. But it’s mainly junk. It’s quite frightening, actually — you wouldn’t want to go by yourself. And you need to be small to shimmy down into the tunnel. But Jason never told me he’d been playing there.”

“Does he go out in the evenings?” Julie asked.

“Yes, sure. With his friends. But how am I supposed to know what they get up to?”

“Maybe you could ask him. I’ll have to come back to see Jason after school, maybe tomorrow,” said Julie. “Will you be in?”

“Yeah, I’ll be in. I lost my job, didn’t I? And it’s not easy to find one round here,” came the reply. “But if I hear that Jason has got himself into trouble, I won’t be happy about that, I promise you.”

* * *

When Julie got back to the nick, Clayton was putting on his jacket.

“What’s going on, guv?” she asked.

“I got the call from the hospital. Dad’s on palliative care now. I told Bligh that I’m going home for a few days.” Clayton always referred to the Lancashire town where his father lived as home.

“OK. I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “Keep in touch, and good luck.”

“You too.” He picked up his backpack.

Before he turned to go, she asked, “Are we going to get reinforcements while you’re away?”

“I told Bligh that you can manage, with help from Bullard. That OK? And she’s the SIO on the case, so just follow up with her.

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