The Inspector Walter Darriteau Murder Mysteries - Books 1-4 by David Carter (best finance books of all time .txt) 📕

number of them, perhaps, just maybe, amongst them might be a company that had something to do with the heinous trade they were looking into.

The team worked right through till 6pm with barely a break for lunch, and as luck would have it, no one wanted to go out anyway for the sheeting rain never once abated, and by the close of play standing water could be seen all over the green Roodee below.

Karen rang from the Church Stretton conference, though she had nothing fresh to add. She didn’t possess a cheque, no surprise there, but she did have promises and commitments from Kit Napoleon’s solicitor, no less, and she thought that no mean achievement and she might have been right. Walter would reserve judgement on that.

At the day’s end Walter thanked everyone for their great work, they agreed to convene again in the morning, when those remaining businesses would be allocated out for visits. Gibbo agreed to drop Walter off at home, for it was still tanking down, Jan asked Jenny if she’d like to go for a quick drink, which she readily agreed to, while Hector hunkered down beneath his two-tone umbrella, and hustled away through the old city, with thoughts of seeing his sweet Georgia Browne, and images of CPA very much to the forefront of his mind.

It had been a decent day all told in the Chester police HQ.

Only time would tell if it had been a productive one.

In any event, the team were playing together and batting off the same wicket, and that wasn’t always the case.

It had been an interesting day on the assembly floor of Minstrel Electronics too. Plans were being made and tested. After the weekend’s production a larger than usual amount of finished product was piling up outside the dispatch bay, ready for collection and delivery first thing Monday. It would be the best opportunity Jun Woo would ever get, and she knew it.

Her first attempt at hiding in a box had been a failure. She had tucked her knees up by her chest, legs folded behind her at the knee, head down, arms tight around her, self-hugging, holding herself into a ball, yet still she was too big. It puzzled her for she was smaller than Uncle, and if memory served, he had squeezed into an even smaller space.

On the second attempt she told Shu to be firmer with her, literally, ‘Pull my feet tighter! Push my head down!’

With that additional exterior force she just about managed it, though the pain was excruciating, and the girl in a box appeared a dumpy misshapen reject of a thing.

‘I’ll only be able to remain inside for a relatively short while,’ she said. ‘I’ll take some paracetamol to dull the pain. It’s vital I go in as late as possible, but I must go out on the first shipment.’

‘What about the odd looking box?’ asked Shu.

‘I’ll try and squeeze in some heavier card, hopefully that will help retain the shape.’

Shu nodded, though the look in her eyes betrayed her doubt.

Jun Woo said, ‘Will Jia Li be able to help you lift the box onto the pallet in the morning?’

‘Yes, Jia Li will help.’

Jun nodded and returned to sharpening a small screwdriver she had stolen from the production line. She would need that to break out through the thick polythene cover.

Everything was arranged. Jun Woo would attempt to escape from Minstrel Electronics in the morning.

LATER THAT NIGHT, BRINTON and Monica lay together, naked, spoons position, on the carpet, in his office, his back to the radiator, for it was growing cold at nights. His arms were tight around her and she felt wanted and protected and needed and loved. They had the building pretty much to themselves, Brinton knew that, and he’d been staying and working nights quite a bit lately. It sure beat being alone in that cold flat at home. His office door was locked, just in case, it wouldn’t have done for Pryce or the old guy to come barging in.

‘Jimmy,’ she murmured. ‘When will I have paid off my immigration and passenger fees? When will I be able to go free?’

‘Not for a while yet, lover.’

‘I’ve been here ages, it can’t be so long away.’

Brinton didn’t answer. It was not a line of conversation he wanted to explore. No one had ever paid off their fees in full and been freed. Stood to reason. They could hardly have former staff running around the Cheshire countryside, full of tales of slavery, beatings, abuse, and murder. But it helped smooth the way on occasion, to perpetuate such a myth. Brinton sniggered.

‘Wouldn’t you like me living in your flat, Jimmy,’ and she glanced over her shoulder to look into his face.

That same impassive look, but he never gave much away.

‘Well, wouldn’t you?’ she persisted. ‘You could have me every night, and every morning too, if I lived with you?’

Brinton resisted the temptation to say that he could have her every night and every morning right now if he wanted, but there was something in what she said. Truth was, he had never been great with women, oh he wanted them all right, he had never been attracted to men and boys, but wanting and getting were oceans apart, especially in Brinton’s world, but that was all before he landed his current position. Now, he had the pick of a hundred or more, and there was not a lot any of them could do about that. Strange that he had chosen the rather dumpy and not particularly attractive Monica, but she looked at him in a way that other women rarely had, and she’d taught him things that he’d barely imagined. He was happy enough, for now. He sure didn’t want to lose what he had.

‘I’ll see what I can do,’ he muttered, though it wasn’t that convincing.

‘Will you?’ she said, her face alight. She hadn’t felt so happy in three years.

‘Yeah, said so, didn’t I?’

She snuggled back into his muscular arms,