The Drowning Place by S W Kane

Author:S W Kane [Kane, S W]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 33

After picking his way through the charred remains of Sally Shires’ garage and moving carefully around the blackened body of the man he believed to be Jason Roye, Kirby was only too glad to be back outside in the fresh air. Even though the garage was small, the smell of smoke followed him to the car where he reached for the bottled water only to remember he’d given it to Vernon Reid. Reid was his next port of call and for once he hoped he would be offered a drink of some kind. He wanted to wash away the acrid taste of smoke in his mouth. It had seeped into his body leaving its pungent trail in its wake. Carter Jenks had arrived as well as an ambulance and there wasn’t much room in the garage, so he’d left him to it.

As he locked the Corsa, he glanced in the direction of the walkway where Anderson had had his accident. It was shrouded in darkness, only revealing itself briefly when the blue light of the ambulance grazed its angular features, and he shivered involuntarily. Hamer had called earlier to confirm what the council official had told him yesterday – that it looked as though Anderson had been the victim of bad luck and that so far there was nothing to suggest foul play. Alma’s words about how the estate had taken her father came flooding back and he wondered what the impact of living somewhere like this was, where lives could so suddenly be altered whether by accident or, in some cases, design. He pictured Eleanor alone at the hospital by her husband’s side and wished he could be there for her.

Connie’s earlier comment about Isabel being away had also hit a nerve. When Isabel had called to tell him she was going to visit her mother in Paris for a few days to clear her head, Kirby had been relieved. Now all he wanted to do was race back to the red Dutch barge and take her in his arms as the possibility she might not come back reared its head. The realisation that if he were ever to have children he would want them with Isabel had been growing ever since. He couldn’t conceive of being a parent with anyone else. And yet, at that precise moment he experienced a bleakness he hadn’t felt in years.

Reid was in the polytunnel watering his seedlings by torchlight when Kirby arrived, a worried look on his face. ‘Is it Jason?’ he asked.

‘It’s too early to tell, but as soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know. We need to talk, Mr Reid.’

Reid grunted, resigned. ‘You’d better come in then.’

Kirby followed him through the polytunnel and back to his flat where he turned off the hosepipe he’d attached to the kitchen tap. He began busying himself at the sink washing his hands and filling a kettle. Kirby noticed his hands were shaking again and he’d also spotted a cricket bat propped up by the front door that he’d missed on the first visit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.