Whisper For The Reaper by Jack Gatland (best book series to read TXT) 📕

scrapes, around a foot, maybe eighteen inches high, and coming from the west. It looks like a car swerved, clipped itself on the passenger side. That could have spun the car, causing it to roll…’ she followed the road, as if imagining the rolling car passing her. ‘And then ended up in that ditch.’

‘What are you implying?’ Declan followed her gaze. ‘That dad wasn’t going to Maidenhead?’

‘Oh, I think he was definitely going to Maidenhead,’ Doctor Marcos replied. ‘But he wasn’t coming from Hurley when he crashed. He was coming from that direction.’ She pointed at the Dew Drop Inn sign.

‘Maybe he met someone at the pub before he carried on,’ she said. ‘Someone who maybe caused him to crash and placed a Red Reaper card in his car at the same time.’

Declan looked up the bridleway. If Doctor Marcos was right, then Patrick Walsh had stopped off at a pub in the middle of nowhere for a clandestine meeting in the middle of a thunderstorm, moments before he died in a fatal car accident.

The question was, though, with who?

12

Adding Up

Declan returned with Monroe and Doctor Marcos to The Olde Bell just after one in the afternoon, and pretty much as the lunchtime rush was starting. Anjli and De’Geer were in the Library, both eating pub-bought lunches on the table; Anjli was eating some kind of curry of the week with basmati rice and a naan to the side, while De’Geer was polishing off a roast beef baguette, dripping with horseradish sauce.

‘I hope you saved some for us,’ Monroe muttered. Anjli slid a bar menu across the table to him.

‘Order at the bar,’ she said through mouthfuls. ‘Vegan is VG, vegetarian is V.’

As Monroe picked up the menu and examined it, Declan looked around. ‘Anyone seen Jess?’

‘She’s just popped to the bar to order herself a black bean burger,’ De’Geer replied. ‘Says she has some information on Wing.’

‘And Billy?’

‘He’s on a lunch date,’ Anjli grinned. ‘Seems that after we all left, that German guy, Rolfe turned up at the door, flashing his own badge and demanding to see all the crime stuff we had in here, as if we were all beneath his remit or something. Anyway, Billy plays dumb, says he’s just the tech guy, brought in from Marlow and can’t let anyone in or it’s his job. Rolfe stomps off, but an hour later Ilse turns up, all smiles, and invites him to lunch.’

‘So they want to gain intel from our weak link?’ Declan almost chuckled. ‘By the end of the first course he’ll have everything on them instead.’

‘Or they’ll be dating,’ De’Geer muttered.

‘Not likely,’ Anjli replied, looking across to him. ‘She’s not his type. Plumbing’s all wrong.’

De’Geer’s eyes widened slightly at this revelation, but then returned to his baguette. Monroe threw the sheet back to the table.

‘Sod this, I’m having a small and a large plate,’ he said. ‘And maybe a dessert. I didn’t eat before I travelled here today. Salt and pepper squid, and a sausage and mash.’

‘Because they’ll go so well together,’ Doctor Marcos wrinkled her nose at this.

‘Well luckily, you won’t be eating any of it,’ Monroe sniffed.

‘You sure about that?’ Doctor Marcos smiled and almost winked at Monroe, and for a moment Declan almost wondered if the two of them had finally revealed to each other how they actually felt. But then the moment passed, and Declan realised it was nothing more than accidental flirting. He pulled out a twenty-pound note and passed it to Monroe.

‘If you’re going to the bar, get me a pint of coke and a chicken and bacon salad, yeah?’ he asked.

‘When did I become your bloody servant?’ Monroe protested.

‘When you told me to stop deferring to you and take charge,’ Declan smiled. ‘And make sure it has the honey mustard dressing on it, too.’

Monroe huffed irritably, but with the hint of a smile he turned to leave the Library as the door opened and Billy and Jess walked in, Billy beaming with pride as he did so.

‘You know, I thought I’d had enough of being undercover, but it’s actually quite invigorating,’ he said. ‘I’m Billy Myers, IT Support.’

‘It’s not quite Bond, James Bond, but it suits you, laddie,’ Monroe replied. ‘I take it you got some tea for us?’

‘Oh, I hadn’t ordered—‘ Billy’s face fell.

‘He means gossip, news for us,’ Doctor Marcos interrupted. ‘As in spill the tea. He’s been watching a lot of reality TV of late.’

‘Well, in that case I have an entire pot of it,’ Billy said as he walked to the table.

‘Hold on it until we’ve ordered,’ Declan suggested. ‘If we miss the lunchtime cut off, the Guv will be miserable as sin all day.’

Monroe left for the bar to order a round of drinks and food, and Declan looked to Jess.

‘You did okay?’ he asked. Jess nodded.

‘I have information on Wing,’ she replied. ‘But it can wait until after food.’

And wait they did for the food to arrive. During that time, with Anjli and De’Geer now finished eating, they spent the minutes finally catching up, the matters of the case placed on hold until after lunch was consumed. Anjli brought them up to date on the state of her mother’s cancer, pointing out that it was now effectively in remission, while Monroe talked about some television show he’d been binging about very rich Asians in Beverley Hills. After ten minutes PC Joanna Davey finally arrived, having finished up in Maidenhead and was surprised at the boos and annoyance her arrival brought, until it was pointed out that this was because she wasn’t bearing their food, which turned up five minutes after her arrival.

Eventually lunch arrived, and they ate heartily, possibly the most relaxed that the Last Chance Saloon had ever been. And, once they’d all finished, Jess and De’Geer were sent to take back the dirty plates, purely because of their time on the team.

Once they returned, it was time to catch up on what they’d all learned.

‘Ellie