NO AGE TO DIE: The release of a dangerous prisoner leads to murder (DCI John Blizzard Book 9) by John Dean (digital ebook reader .txt) 📕

The councillor hesitated for a moment, seemed about to protest, then thought better of it and nodded.

‘Well, if that will be all then, Mr Gill,’ said Ronald. He stood up and headed for the door. ‘I’ll show you out.’

‘That’s Councillor Gill,’ said the politician as Ronald led him into the corridor.

‘My mistake, I do apologise,’ said Ronald’s voice from the corridor. ‘I’ll remember next time.’

Blizzard gave a low laugh then clapped a hand to his mouth lest the councillor hear. The inspector jumped to his feet and scuttled quickly from the office. He did not want to be there when Arthur Ronald returned. They may be good friends but he was still the senior officer and, whenever Blizzard stepped over the line, Ronald made sure that he knew it. Back in his own office, he had just sat down when Colley limped in.

‘I thought the doctor said you should have a day off,’ said Blizzard. He looked dubiously at the sergeant’s heavily bandaged right hand.

‘Jay said I should stay home as well but I thought you might need me.’

‘Yeah, we’re always short of one-armed, one-legged officers,’ replied Blizzard.

‘Thank you for that expression of support, guv. Did I see the Super escorting our Mr Gill out of the building just now?’

‘That’s Councillor Gill,’ said Blizzard.

‘I take it you are in trouble again then?’

‘No, in fact, he came in to suggest that I be promoted to deputy chief constable immediately.’

‘Of course, he did,’ said Colley. ‘What have you done this time?’

‘I suggested that the future of the hostel should be reviewed while talking to a BBC national news reporter.’

‘Well, something needs to happen,’ said Colley. ‘I have just been up to the church and Margaret Hatton is in her element. Cameras everywhere.’

‘I just don’t trust the woman,’ said Blizzard. ‘I can’t help feeling that she is using the likes of Bob Lennox to further her own cause. That she’s as cynical as they come.’

‘That may be a bit harsh, guv. She did lose her son to a paedophile, after all.’ Colley shifted his position in the chair to ease the pain in his throbbing knee. ‘You’d be pretty angry. Anyway, I came to tell you that I have some interesting information.’

‘Go on.’

‘Well, I was sifting through the files that the Economic Crime Unit brought from the vicar’s office and I found this.’ Colley fished a brown envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it over to the inspector.

Blizzard slid a document out of the envelope. It was an outpatients appointment for a mental health unit in the city.

‘It’s for Henry Sanders,’ he said.

‘It is, so I contacted the specialist whose name is at the bottom of the letter. He didn’t want to talk, patient confidentiality and all that, but I took a leaf out of the John Blizzard Guide To Making Enemies and Influencing Friends and he agreed to talk to me.’

Blizzard chuckled.

‘Anyway,’ said Colley. ‘It turns out that the vicar has a long history of mental illness and the problems with Rose-Harvey’s bunch have brought it all to the surface again. Apparently, he first had problems when he was in his late teens – kept thinking he could see the Virgin Mary outside Marks and Sparks when he lived in Shrewsbury. He got very depressed at one point. He’s a man constantly on the edge.’

‘Once a basket case, always a basket case, I guess.’

‘You’d better not let Arthur hear you talking like that,’ said Colley. ‘Or Rory Gill.’

‘No, you’re right. He already thinks I’m a dinosaur.’ Blizzard stood up and headed for the door. ‘Come on, I think I need to get out of the building before Arthur pops in to discuss the finer points of social welfare policy with me.’

Colley hobbled out of the office behind him and grinned when he saw Blizzard turn left down the corridor then do an about turn and rapidly head the other way as Ronald appeared. As they entered the car park, Blizzard’s mobile phone rang.

‘You owe me one,’ said the disembodied voice.

‘You know, Arthur,’ replied Blizzard. ‘I think you may be right.’

He ended the call and noticed Sarah Allatt walking towards them, clutching a brown paper bag containing sandwiches from the local bakery.

‘Sarah,’ he said. ‘You get anywhere with Margaret Hatton?’

‘The detective I need at Thames Valley has been off for a couple of days. She’s due back today and her DS said she’d call.’

‘OK, keep me informed,’ said Blizzard.

‘What’s that about?’ asked Colley as Allatt headed off towards the police station.

‘I asked her to do some digging into Margaret Hatton’s background,’ said Blizzard.

‘Why?’

‘Just curious. There’s an itch that needs scratching.’

‘Play with fire, why don’t you?’ said the sergeant.

Chapter twenty-four

‘This is the worst coverage I have ever seen,’ said the Force Press Officer as she walked into Ronald’s office and dropped her copy of the local newspaper onto his desk. ‘Even for this rag. They’ve really gone for it.’

The superintendent and Blizzard stared bleakly at the front page. Plastered across the top were pictures of the chief constable, the superintendent and the chief inspector below a large headline which said Have They Lost The Plot?

‘Cheeky bastards,’ said Blizzard.

‘They’ve certainly pushed it just about as far as they can,’ said the press officer. Alice Greer sat down at the desk. ‘But can you really blame them? It’s only what a lot of people are saying.’

Blizzard did not reply but instead picked up the paper and scanned the front page, which reported on the arrest of Steve Holdsworth. There was a picture of Jamie’s father with the caption Protestors plead grieving Dad’s innocence.

‘Grieving Dad,’ snorted Blizzard. ‘That’s rich.’

‘Is he innocent?’ asked Greer.

‘Unfortunately, he is.’