Two Feet Under (Lindenshaw Mysteries Book 3) by Charlie Cochrane

Author:Charlie Cochrane [Cochrane, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2018-01-05T18:30:00+00:00

Robin and Pru sat in the car after pulling into a convenient lay-by, watching the Kinechester traffic pass by and considering what they’d heard. Had they reached a crucial point in the case?

“What if Howarth and Becky Bairstow are in this together?” Robin proposed. “Running a dodgy business out of Culford rather than indulging in rumpy pumpy?”

“Rumpy pumpy? Is that what they’re calling it?” Pru made a disdainful face. “Maybe. It could explain why he was so determined not to take up some of those business ideas that student, Ros, put forwards. Wanted to keep anybody with a bit of nous out of Culford’s computer system.”

“Yep. And the timing of that suicide is interesting. I could imagine Sian Wheatstone tracking down the people who’d conned her father, maybe following them here. What if Becky got scared off at that point and did a runner with her fortuitously timed—and absolutely genuine—lottery win? Her legging it would have slowed down business for a while, but now Howarth’s got it up and running again. Maybe.” That mysterious file of Howarth’s, which he’d been so keen to recover; if only Robin had been able to have a proper look through it, would there have been some clue to his nefarious dealings?

“Hmm.” Pru stared out of the window. “Trouble is we still have no objective evidence to link them to the forgeries, or to the dead girl. We’re back there again.”

She turned and gave Robin a long, thoughtful look. “I know you don’t like Howarth, and I don’t blame you, but we can’t let our opinions blind us to other possibilities here.”

Robin took a deep breath before answering; his sergeant was right. “Point taken. If Howarth’s not up to his neck in fakes, who at Culford is?”

“One of the CAS? Or the detectorists? Or Jamie Warnock if he used to be involved with Palmer. Maybe Howarth didn’t suspect people were just digging up stuff illegally, but digging it up and selling it on. Or manufacturing it and selling it on. Or both.” Pru waved her hands. “Running some sort of operation out of the Culford site. That’s what he asked Becky Bairstow to look into.”

Robin could think of several arguments to counter that, but didn’t want to be accused of further anti-Howarth bias. “Okay. How would they have accessed the site?”

Pru spread her hands. “As you found from interviewing Sian, it would be easy enough to get a set of copy keys made. Or perhaps they’ve got their own mole on the inside. Warnock, for example, who might have had the opportunity to make an imprint of the keys when he was working at Culford.”

They sat in silence again, mulling over thoughts, until Pru said, “You didn’t ask Agnew about ritual killings. Is that because you don’t want this to be a replica of that Bronze Age burial?”

“No. I don’t think I’m that blinkered.” Robin gave his sergeant a smile; she seemed much more able to guess what he was thinking than Anderson had been able to.

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