The Scribbler by Iain Maitland

Author:Iain Maitland [Maitland, Iain]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saraband
Published: 2020-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

14. THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER, MORNING

“So,” Gayther said, looking at Carrie, Cotton and Thomas around the desk in the portacabin office. “A bright and early start. All well with everyone? We have a busy day. Busy, busy, busy. Lots to do.”

Cotton and Thomas nodded and smiled.

Carrie went to say something.

Gayther hushed her down, eager to share out the day’s workload straightaway.

“Cotton, Thomas – jobs for you this morning. I want you to track down the two who got away from The Scribbler. Alan Wade, the teacher at the private school in Ipswich. And the other … Martin Wilkerson, the bank manager from Diss. They’d be retired now. See what you can find. I’d like to have a chat with them. You never know. Every little thing is helpful.”

Gayther turned to Carrie.

She went to speak.

He shook his head, silencing her. “In a minute … busy, busy.”

He continued, “Carrie, lots to keep you occupied. I want you to speak with whoever’s handling the Karen Williams case … and Aland … and bring us up to speed on that as soon as you can … I think we can dismiss them as Scribbler-related, but you never know. Sally and Jen, whichever one it was you spoke to, contact them and see if anyone recognised the photos. We’ll go back in this afternoon if they did. If we get a positive identification, we can move forward fast on that.”

“We also need someone to check out Halom and whether he was at the caravan park when he said he was. Probably best to run up there. Carrie, can I leave that with you for this afternoon, please? Take Thomas or Cotton.” Before she could answer, he went on. “Burgess … vanishing like this … I don’t buy it. Something about it bothers me. He’s the one my money’s on. So, Cotton, Thomas … one of you … have another go at that this morning. Dig deeper. See if you can find him. I can’t help thinking he’ll not have an alibi for the night of Lodge’s killing. If he doesn’t … well, maybe the net’s closing in already.”

Gayther blew out his cheeks, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms out above his head. He then leaned forward, summing up, “And that just leaves Challis and his completely over-the-top reaction to our visit yesterday. And the son … getting the records wiped … the London lawyer. That doesn’t add up. None of it. We need to follow that up at some point soon. It worries me. Something’s not quite right there either. I just can’t put my finger on it. Anyone? Any thoughts on Challis? From what you’ve seen so far? Is there something I’m missing?”

He turned towards Cotton, who looked pensive but didn’t say anything.

Thomas shrugged slightly, “Not sure, sir.”

He turned towards Carrie. “Go on then, Carrie, you’ve been itching to say something. What is it?”

“Boss Man, sir. He popped in five minutes before you arrived. Looking for you. He wants you to go and see him at 11.

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