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

‘Deffo,’ said Jun, mimicking Karen’s earlier reply, and by then they were through the tunnel, and past the tollbooths, and veering left and south, and heading back toward Chester.

18.55. BACK IN THE OLD city, Karen pulled the car carefully into the basement car park. Walter said, ‘Put a note on the car – IN USE – WD – we’re going to need it again.’

Upstairs, the Incident Room was busy. Hector was there, looking pleased with himself. Gibbons too, back from the hospital, two uniforms were at the bedside, Brinton wouldn’t be left alone for a second, and Mrs West was in the office too, thoroughly enjoying herself, because she and Hector had been interrogating the young kid from Minstrel all afternoon, and in her eyes she had “broken” him, well and truly.

Jan and Jenny, both armed, thanks to Walter’s carelessness, were still hunkered down at Minstrel in case the bad guys returned, and they’d been reinforced with a couple of keen young uniforms, anxious to impress.

Walter and the girls streamed in, and Gibbons jumped out of his chair and came over to meet them, and Gibbons said, ‘I have been dying to meet you!’ as he shook Jessica’s hand, and looked up into her eyes, all the while grinning stupidly.

‘He’s talked about nothing else all afternoon!’ said Hector, completing the introductions.

‘There’s still lots to do,’ said Mrs West, bringing them all back to reality. ‘Walter, my office,’ and she turned and scuttled away, and Walter limped after her like a naughty boy at school, and all the others watched and grinned and sat down and shared stories, and Jun and Jessica felt safe and so much at home, as if truly amongst friends.

19.00. SEATED IN THE inner sanctum of Mrs West’s office.

‘So!’ she said, ‘Do you want to start, or shall I?’

‘Whichever you think best, ma’am.’

‘Bring me up to speed,’ she said, taking off her glasses, and sitting back in her big chair, and closing her eyes.

‘Well, as you know...’ and he told her everything he had to tell, but as before, leaving out certain details that she didn’t need to know right there. And then he said, ‘Jessica’s asked if she can stay at my place for a few days. Bit unusual, I know, but if it’s okay with you, ma’am, I’m happy with that.’

‘I’ll bet you are! Not everyday a supermodel comes on a sleepover, what?’

‘True, ma’am.’

‘Save spending money from the public purse, I suppose, fine by me.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Brinton’s suffered a broken jaw,’ she said, trying to stifle a yawn, her eyes still closed.

‘So I believe.’

‘How did that happen?’

‘I hit him, ma’am, just the once.’

‘Witnesses?’

‘Several.’

‘And was it necessary?’

‘He was armed and ready and trying to kill Karen and myself. I’d say so.’

Mrs West opened her eyes and smiled, ‘Yes, Walter, from what you say, I have to agree. Make sure it’s all in your report, mind, chapter and verse.’

‘It will be.’

‘Do you want to hear my news?’

‘Sure.’

‘Hector and myself, he has potential, that boy, by the way, have been interviewing the young man from Minstrel, one Raymond Edwards, and in the end he told us everything. Couldn’t stop talking by the time we had finished with him. Too much to go into now, the important thing is that the two missing guys have taken away Pryce’s and Barton’s bodies to be buried. They are going to do that on Formby sand hills at one in the morning.’

‘Do we have a name for these guys?’

‘We do, and you won’t believe it.’

‘Go on.’

‘Smith and Jones.’

‘Really?’

‘As I breathe. They are the same guys who abducted Jessica Stone, and the same guys I believe killed Stevie Cliffe.’

‘Yes, that figures. Are you going to arrange for Merseyside Police to scoop them up?’

A strange mischievous look came across her thin lipped and normally mean-looking face.

‘I thought, Walter, that seeing as we have been active on this operation right from the start, that we should be doing the scooping up, as you so colourfully put it.’

Walter was happy enough with that.

Said, ‘It would be nice to finish it off.’

‘Indeed! I’ll give them the heads up, of course, the Liverpool boys, tell them we have a little observation operation going on, just so as they don’t blunder in.’

‘Probably wise, ma’am. Smith and Jones will be armed.’

‘Of course they will be armed, and so will we. It’ll be done by the book. In cases like this overwhelming fire-power wins the day, you know the drill.’

‘Yes, sure,’ said Walter, trying to figure out a way of retrieving his weapon from Ellesmere Port.

‘I have put together an impressive team. You, Karen, Jun, and Gibbons in one car, and Hector, myself, and that huge hunk of a uniform, Richard Spence, and his wiry mate, in another, and another four armed uniform guys who are primed and ready to go, in a third. We’ll leave Jan and Jenny at Minstrel just in case they turn up back there. What do you think?’

Walter said one word, ‘Impressive,’ and she looked happy to hear that, and he spoiled it a tad by saying, ‘Are you sure you want to go?’

‘Damned right, I do.’

Walter glanced at his watch. 19.30.

‘What time do you want to set off?’

‘How long will it take to get there?’

‘An hour and a half, tops.’

She nodded and said, reverting to a twelve hour clock, ‘If we left at say, ten o’clock, that should give us plenty of leeway.’

Walter nodded and said, ‘They all need a break, ma’am, time to get something to eat, suggest we send them home right now with orders to be back here for half past nine, for a quick final briefing.’

‘Agreed!’ she said. ‘I’m quite excited. Get them moving, Walter.’

He stood and tried a grin at her, though if she noticed there was no recognition, so he opened the door and left the room.

Eighty 

19.20. Walter stepped out of Mrs West’s office and saw the whole gang gathered in a circle in the centre of the office, Gibbons holding court, his