Time to Die by Stephen Puleston

Author:Stephen Puleston [Puleston, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Drake chose his newest charcoal grey suit that Monday morning which he paired with a powder blue shirt and a tie with several garish coloured stripes Annie had chosen as a birthday present. Having Sunday off had done Drake the power of good – he sensed his mind was fresher than it had been when he had left the Incident Room on Saturday afternoon. They had spent Sunday morning enjoying a long walk around the beach at Traeth Lligwy before having lunch with Annie’s parents at their home in Beaumaris.

He was halfway on his journey towards headquarters when a piece on the Welsh news turned to the journalist who had made contact with him the previous week. Oldfield’s self-important tone and his clipped public-school accent sounded odd when most of the broadcasters or journalists on BBC Radio Wales had a distinct Welsh twinge to their accents. As Drake focused on what Oldfield was alleging, he became more and more annoyed. He wanted to banish from his thoughts the prospect that someone had leaked the details of the murder and the method used by the killer. He trusted all of his team but there’d be others at headquarters with access to the information. Unless, of course, Oldfield was making a link to suit his own agenda. It was scaremongering of the worst possible sort. Superintendent Hobbs would be likewise displeased although his former boss Superintendent Wyndham Price would have been on the phone already threatening hell and damnation for the journalist.

Drake reached the tunnel after Penmaenmawr and switched off the radio. He had had quite enough of that reporter for one morning. Running an inquiry was tough without having to contend with a hack who wanted to make a name for himself. Before reaching headquarters Drake took a brief detour to the newsagent he had visited most mornings whilst living in Colwyn Bay. He bought his usual broadsheet and folded it open at the sudoku page. Completing a few squares of the puzzle first thing would always settle his mind for the rest of the day and once he had diced and sliced some of the lines, he laid it on the passenger seat. He would return to it later, maybe lunchtime, maybe with his coffee. Its presence in the meantime would be reassuring.

Once he had parked, he headed over for reception and then up towards the Incident Room. Saturday’s jaded, tired looks had been replaced by a fresh-faced enthusiasm and determination. There was a collective ‘Good morning, boss’ from Luned and Sara as he entered. He nodded and returned the greeting as he walked for his office. He shrugged off the jacket and carefully hung it on a wooden hanger. He sat after checking the bin by his desk – empty just as he liked it. Then he scanned the top of his desk pleased at its dust-free environment.

His computer had barely booted up when he heard chairs being moved and he registered Sara’s voice, a little louder than usual – ‘Good morning, Superintendent.

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.