A Body in the Lakes by Graham Smith (great books of all time .TXT) 📕

There was also the fact that a lot of people who were as clever as Forster, had a deficit of common sense. They might be super-smart when it came to writing reams of computer code, but they’d be unaware of what was going on around them; they’d be the last person to spot danger, recognise a charged atmosphere or understand the frailties of human nature, and comprehend all the duplicity that came with it. To have succeeded in political office, Forster must have had good instincts and awareness, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t given someone trust when they didn’t deserve it.

‘I can see what you’re getting at, but you’re wrong; none of them would try and frame me like this. They wouldn’t do it. I might not have been close friends with them, but we got on as well as any tight-knit team could be expected to. Besides, if what you’re saying is true, one of them is a serial killer. You’re wrong, wrong I tell you. Wrong.’

Beth didn’t respond; she just let Forster carry on thinking. It wasn’t her he was trying to convince, it was himself.

The colour hadn’t yet returned to his face, and there was a tremble to his voice that hadn’t been there earlier. As far as Beth was concerned, she was seeing another hidden part of Forster: she was seeing him weakened and distraught as he came to terms with thoughts he found unthinkable.

Throughout her life, Beth had encountered the usual mix of people that everyone does. Some she’d liked and some she hadn’t, and she couldn’t get away from the feeling that she really did not trust Derek Forster. Surely anyone who’d hurt someone enough for them to frame him in this way couldn’t be a wholly good person?

‘Mr Mayor.’ Beth only used his title to remind him of how far from grace he could fall. ‘If what you say is true and it’s not one of your former employees, who do you think it could be?’

‘It’s not them, I tell you, they wouldn’t do that to me. By all means, check them out, but I’m telling you, you’ll be wasting your time.’

Beth lifted a hand from her knee. ‘Please, Mr Mayor, calm down. It wasn’t my intention to upset you. I’m just a police officer who’s been trained to think a certain way.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Forster dragged a hand down his face as he tried to pull himself together. ‘I just find the accusations against me reprehensible and the thought that it might have been one of the SimpleBooker guys has sickened me.’

‘I know this can’t be easy for you.’ Beth didn’t intend to make it easy. What she intended to do was ally herself to him by making it hard and then presenting a solution by solving the case. ‘But if we’re to identify your persecutor, then all of this will go away. Please, think about who could have enough of a grudge to do this to you. Have you had any threats made against you? Any damage to your property?’

Forster’s face crumpled a little then twisted in anger. ‘My car had a tyre slashed a few weeks ago. Before that it was scratched while in a car park.’ A shrug. ‘I put it down to someone who didn’t agree with my politics or someone damaging a nice car just because they could.’

‘I see. Did you report either of these incidents?’

‘I didn’t bother. Like I said, I thought it was someone jealous of my success or someone who held a different political stance. The acts were small and petty and I didn’t want to waste the police’s time, as I know how stretched you all are.’

‘Were there any other incidents?’

‘None that I can recall.’

‘So, there weren’t any altercations? Nobody gave you a piece of their mind, shouted abuse at you for something they thought you’d done?’

Forster shook his head.

‘Okay.’ Beth used the blunt end of her pen to scratch an itch at the back of her neck. ‘That’s that part of your life dealt with. Still a long way to go though.’

Forster slumped back into his seat. ‘What else do you want to know?’

‘We’ve covered the business side of your life, so we need to look at the political side, and that will leave just one part of your life to discuss.’

‘What’s that? I’m a businessman turned politician. What else is there to discuss?’

Beth managed to not smile at Forster’s unwitting naivety. ‘The personal side. By your own admission you’re one of Cumbria’s most eligible bachelors and it’s no secret that you enjoy, shall we say, female companionship?’

Forster gave a terse nod to say that he was up for the discussion, but to Beth he looked weakened and vulnerable.

Twenty-Four

Forster’s political life had yielded no obvious suspects as to who might want to frame him. He claimed to have good relationships with his opponents and that there was no deep-seated animosity despite opposing political opinions.

That left his love life to discuss.

It was clear that Forster was reluctant to speak about his sex life, and it wasn’t a subject Beth wanted to get too far into, but she knew that it was a credible line of enquiry and, as such, it would have to be pursued regardless of how uncomfortable either party may feel.

‘Okay. Now you need to tell me about your relationships. I’m talking about the women you’ve dated, courted or even had a one-night stand with. I suggest you start at the present day and work backwards.’

‘I thought a gentleman should never tell.’ The wan smile that accompanied Forster’s words never got close to his eyes.

Beth couldn’t stop herself adding a harder edge to her voice. Even as he was being questioned about his persecutor, there was a charm to the mayor’s words. ‘That applies to locker rooms and bars, not police investigations. Who are you currently seeing?’

‘Do you really need to do this?’

‘Yes, we do. If you want us to find the person who’s framing you. Someone who, I