Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again Book 2) by M Comley (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

way, Charlie.” She leaned to her side and whispered, “I think we make a pretty shit-hot partnership.”

Charlie laughed. “You took the words out of my mouth.”

The team showed up within half an hour of each other. Charlie ensured everyone had a cup of coffee to hand while Katy filled in the necessary details on the whiteboard.

She turned to face her team. “Thank you all for returning to work this evening. I hope the quick turnaround hasn’t affected your home lives too much. Please send my apologies to your loved ones. Right, as you’re aware by now, Charlie and I were called out to attend yet another murder scene this evening. It was a gruesome one. The victim had several stab wounds across his chest and to his back as well. My suspicion is that he was possibly in the process of running away from his assailant. There were two separate areas of blood spatter to back this idea up, too. His eyes were also gouged out and left to rest on his chest.”

“Yuck, not pleasant,” Karen muttered.

“No, not in the slightest. The intriguing part is that when we went to break the news to his wife, she informed us that her husband, Dale Peters, knew this man.” She pointed at the first victim’s name on the board with the marker pen. “Bruce Crawford. So that’s where we need to start digging. How did these men know each other, and what did they do to make someone so angry with them that they chose to exact their revenge?”

“Any clues at all as to where we should be digging, boss?” Patrick asked.

“At this stage, no. Anything and everything you can find. Links to their jobs, the types of interests they held, I want it all. I’m going to ring Nadia, request a meeting with her, see what she can tell us. Let’s hit the computers hard and fast on this one, folks.”

Katy left the team and walked into her office. She searched for Nadia’s number and rang it. It immediately went to voicemail.

Is she at work? Or at home? I need to speak with her, urgently!

She took a punt and rang the hospital. The ward sister informed her that Nadia had finished her shift several hours earlier at six o’clock. Katy’s head spun.

Six o’clock, so it would have been possible for her to have driven out to the murder scene and to have committed the crime, wouldn’t it?

She searched for a home number for the woman—she didn’t have one, and there was no telling if she even had one either. Most people tended to have a mobile number these days without the necessity of having a landline. She pushed her chair back and sped out of the office. “Charlie, let’s go.”

Charlie unhooked her jacket from her chair and followed Katy out of the incident room. They flew down the stairs, brushed past several of their colleagues and out to the car.

“I take it we’re going to see Nadia?” Charlie hopped into the passenger seat as soon as the doors unlocked.

“That’s right. Something is way off to me. I know I keep saying it but…I rang her mobile, no answer. So I tried the hospital. They told me she left work at around six.”

“Holy moley! You’re thinking she would’ve had enough time to have driven out to the crime scene and killed Peters.”

“It makes sense to me.”

“Want me to ask a member of the team to check the ANPRs, see if they can spot her car?”

“Good thinking. Ask Graham to do it, would you? He’s got more experience than the others with that side of things.”

Charlie made the call and put Graham to work. He said he’d contact them as soon as he found anything.

Katy drew up outside Nadia’s house.

Charlie pointed at her car. “She’s home.”

“Well, her car is here, that’s a good sign. Come on. Let’s see what she has to say for herself.”

Katy approached the front door with her heart hammering against her ribs.

“Are you all right?” Charlie whispered.

“Yeah, maybe feeling a little hyper. I want this killer caught.”

“Understandable. Take a few deep breaths. If that doesn’t sound too condescending.”

“It doesn’t. Good advice.” Katy sucked in several breaths and let them out slowly, then knocked on the door.

Nadia, dressed in a leopard-skin onesie, opened it a few seconds later, an expression of surprise covering her pretty face. “Hello, Inspector. What brings you here at this time of night?”

Katy offered up a tight smile and held the woman’s gaze. “Would it be possible for us to come in and speak with you?”

“Of course. Would you like a drink? I was just about to make a coffee when the bell rang.”

“No, we’ll pass this time around, but thank you anyway.”

Once they were in the lounge, Nadia gestured for them to take a seat and left the room. She returned a few moments later carrying a mug and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa which was now covered in a fur throw. “You didn’t answer me. Am I to take it that you have news about my father’s murder?”

“Yes and no. Can I ask what you’ve been up to today?”

Nadia frowned and took a sip from her drink. “Of course. I worked until six and came straight home. I’m knackered, I’ve been doing all sorts of weird and wonderful hours lately, mostly to keep my mind off what happened to Dad. I must say, it’s helped a lot during the day, however, once I’m at home, I can’t stop thinking about him. Finding him in that state and being unable to help him, even with my experience as a nurse.” Tears formed, and she quickly brushed them away.

“I can understand how distressing that must be for you. Has your sister returned to Scotland now?”

“Oh yes. She went back home immediately after the funeral.”

“I see.”

“Do you? I detect a strange tone to your voice, Inspector. Would you mind telling me what this visit is about? Either you have some news