The Detective Game by Adam J. Wright

Author:Adam J. Wright [Wright, Adam J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-12-31T00:00:00+00:00

WEDNESDAY

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

A YOUNG WOMAN with long red hair came bustling into the office on Wednesday morning, a cardboard box balanced in her arms. She was neatly dressed in a blue blouse and black skirt and her makeup had been applied immaculately, but her hair was plastered against her forehead with perspiration, her face flushed with exertion.

Tom, who had been looking out at the bright morning while drinking his first coffee of the day, started as the door slammed against the wall.

“Sorry I’m late, sir.“ She dropped the box onto a desk by the window. “Can I sit here? That’s a wonderful view.”

“Sit wherever you like.” Tom checked the clock on the wall. It was five to nine. “And you’re not late at all. You’re five minutes early, in fact.”

She looked at her watch, her eyebrows arching with surprise. “Ah, right. That’s good, then.”

“In fact, you’re the first member of the team to arrive. I assume you are part of the support team?”

“I am the support team, sir. Tilly Francis.”

She held out her hand. Tom shook it, as surprised by her strong grip as he was by the revelation that she was the entire support team for the station. Holt hadn’t mentioned how many people would be on the team, but the word itself had implied more than one.

Tilly removed various items from the cardboard box and arranged them on the desk, populating the work station with pens, notebooks, a pink mousepad, and a potted spider plant which she placed on the window sill.

“When you’re settled, I want you to find the address of a Mr Barker.” he told her. “Probably local. Walks his dog by the river. We need to talk to him, but I don’t have any more details than that, I’m afraid.”

Tilly opened a notebook, found a blank page, and plucked a pen from the desk. “Mr Barker. Local. Got it.”

“Let me know when you have something.” Tom finished the coffee in his office, studying the weather reports. No rain today, according to the forecast. Not much wind either, except on the hills. That was fine. He didn’t expect to be out on the hills today; he had a barn to inspect. Technically, he needed the owner’s permission to enter the barn, but it sounded like the structure was derelict, so it probably wouldn’t be locked, and might not even have a door. Besides, a child was missing. Tom had to search everywhere.

Ten minutes later, there was knock on his open office door. Tilly came in with a scrap of paper in her hand. “I think I’ve found Mr Barker, sir. There’s an Edward Barker who lives on Church Street. He’s the only registered resident at the address. He owns a dog licence, so he’s likely our man.” She placed the slip of paper in front of Tom.

He looked at the address that Tilly had written in neat, swirling script. Church Street ran alongside St Paul’s Church in the village. It was certainly close enough to Stone Peak for someone who lived there to take their dog for a daily walk on the trail by the river.

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