[Sally Fairburn 03] First Victim by L.A. Larkin

Author:L.A. Larkin [L.A. Larkin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803148830
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2023-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-EIGHT

September 12, 2016

On Monday morning Sally left the puppy with Olivia, who was happy to look after him. She had a courtyard at the back of the store where Jax could play. Olivia’s only worry was how her cat would react to the pup. Sally apologized for causing a scene with Scott yesterday, then headed for the boxing club where Niall Pickerd coached, keen to persuade him to give her his DNA and fingerprints. She and Clarence had agreed to split up that morning so they could cover more ground.

But there was more to her desire to be out of the office. She bitterly regretted losing her self-control with Scott yesterday. She had embarrassed her son who wasn’t speaking to her. Years of pent-up fury had burst from her mouth, and she simply hadn’t been able to stop it. Worse still, it had been in a public place, with witnesses. Even Olivia was upset by the altercation outside her store; it wasn’t good for business. Worst of all, Scott had recorded her outburst. She never should have shoved him. She couldn’t believe that she had done it. It was not like her to do that. Her greatest fear was that he might use it to claim she was an unfit mother, or demand she be removed from the case. She shouldn’t have taken the bait, but his lies had incensed her. They’d been like gas poured on a smoldering bonfire.

Sally toyed with the idea of going to her boss and fessing up. But she couldn’t face the humiliation. Nor could she face the sniggers and whispers from other police officers with whom, she guessed, Scott would share the recording.

She planned to avoid the office for as long as she could and throw herself into her work.

The gym was in an alley, an old brick building with a shoebox of a reception area. One side of the gym was the boxing ring, the other was an open space where members could lift weights, hit punchbags, and do other fitness training. The stale smell of sweat hung in the air. The man behind the reception desk had a towel draped around his neck and beads of sweat clung to his face.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Looking for Niall Pickerd.” Sally didn’t show her PD badge because she didn’t want to make life difficult for him.

“He’s coaching. Should be finished in ten. You can go in and wait.”

Sally entered the main gym where the sweat smell was amplified. The ceiling fans hadn’t managed to dissipate the smell, nor had the open casement windows. A coach was shouting at two boxers in the ring. Sally saw Pickerd with a young, skinny guy, no more than twenty, who was doing his best to punch the crap out of the punching bag dangling from a thick chain from the ceiling. At the other end of the gym, a big guy lifted free weights. She guessed that Monday morning was a quiet time there.

Pickerd saw her out of the corner of his eye and excused himself, walking over.

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