The Freeman Files Series Box Set by Ted Tayler

Author:Ted Tayler [Tayler, Ted]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-13T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Gus arrived at London Road with several minutes to spare. He had time to sign in, get upstairs to the administration floor and locate Vera Jennings well before his two o’clock meeting.

Vera was chatting with Kassie Trotter. Nothing new there. They both gave him a beaming smile as he approached. A clear sign they had been talking about him and desperately trying to hide the fact.

“Good afternoon, Mr Freeman,” said Kassie, “you look stressed. Are you sure you’re getting enough sleep?”

Ah, they had been discussing Suzie Ferris and her overnight stay. The rumour mill was in full flow. Suzie had promised what happened on protection duty stayed there and that she didn’t tell Vera everything. There was no point stirring up a hornet’s nest. Least said, soonest mended.

“I’m getting enough, thanks Kassie,” he replied, then wished he hadn’t.

Vera raised an eyebrow on the young girl’s behalf. Kassie’s sat way up on her forehead already.

Vera steered him away from Kassie’s desk.

“I missed you earlier,” said Vera, “I hear it was a lively meeting. Suzie thought you were about to punch one of the nation’s highest-ranked officers.”

“I thought he must be important,” said Gus, “but he was still a shit.”

“Are we good for tomorrow evening?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“It’s just a meal. Do I detect a problem?”

“Only with the venue. A witness in our latest case is now the landlady at the Ring O’Bells. We’re interviewing her tomorrow at half-past nine. There’s no point in offending people by turning up at their place of work only hours after you’ve interrogated them. They scream harassment and run for a lawyer.”

“Leave it with me,” said Vera, “I know the couple who run the Ferret at Newton Bridge. It’s a quiet country pub that will suit us very well. Good food and not busy midweek in the early evening. We’re far less likely to bump into anyone familiar.”

“I knew I could trust you to have the answer,” said Gus.

“I’ll book a table for half-past six. That will give you time to drive home and get showered and changed.”

“It’s just a meal,” he said.

Vera gave him an enigmatic smile and returned to her desk. Gus wondered where the heck he might find Newton Bridge. How did a village he’d never heard of keep springing up out of nowhere?

As he struggled with the geography of this corner of West Wiltshire, two uniformed officers joined him by the ACC’s door. Geoff Mercer and Suzie Ferris.

“Will I enjoy this?” Gus asked.

“Take your punishment like a grown-up,” said Geoff, “the ACC’s in the same boat as me. Truelove can hardly sack you, can he? Well, he might, but your pension’s safe.”

Suzie knocked, and they invited in.

“We have lots to get through,” said Kenneth Truelove, “sit yourselves down and let’s get on with it.”

Gus knew the ACC was flustered because he sat behind his large executive desk. There was no one stood by the window, staring out over the visitor’s car park. The room seemed off-kilter, somehow.

“First things first, Freeman.

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