SEVEN DEADLY THINGS (Henry & Sparrow Book 3) by A FOX (new ebook reader .txt) 📕

would like to know when you plan to interview us all again, so we can make plans to get home. Everyone’s a bit spooked. Julie, as you’ll know, was the second one of us to die here within a week.’

He sighed, screwing up the slippers and shoving them in his pockets. ‘I don’t blame you for getting the heebie-jeebies,’ he said. ‘I would, too. But there’s a strong police presence on site now, as well as the Buntin’s security team. It’s highly unlikely our killer will strike again in broad daylight before you’ve all gone home.’

‘So, when would you like to talk to us again?’

‘I was just about to contact you all,’ he said. ‘DS Stuart wants to see everyone in your party when she gets back from Beccles. It’ll be early afternoon, so we expect you all to stay put until then, please. You can save me a job and let your friends know that we will see them at 2pm outside the Entertainments Manager’s office. They’ll all be getting a text to that effect, too.’

‘OK,’ she said. ‘So… this note on the lard wrapper…’

‘How do you know about that?’ he snapped, fixing her with a narrow stare.

‘Well, I might have seen it when I found the body,’ she said. He looked at her blankly, so she shook her head and confessed: ‘Just a bit of detective work at my end,’ she said. ‘The note said, “I’m sorry”, yes? And it was written on a lard packet?’

‘I can’t divulge the details,’ he said. He didn’t say no, though

‘Please tell me you’re bringing in the crim psych,’ she said, adopting a quieter, more confidential tone.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Upton. ‘Crim psychs get a hard-on for this kind of crime scene, don’t they? Some serious sicko at work here last night. Ah… but, sorry for your loss,’ he added, remembering belatedly that Kate was a friend of the deceased.

‘What do you think the killer was trying to say?’ she said, turning to fix him with her gaze and biting her lower lip. It was an appalling hand to play, but she was not above trying it. ‘With the lard… and with Martin Riley… the sanitary towel? Making them write “I’m sorry”..?’

‘Well, it looks like they both did something to offend him,’ he said, quickly glancing up and down her strappy white sundress.

‘Or her,’ said Kate.

‘Maybe. It’s an equal opportunities business, murder.’ He emitted a dry chuckle.

She smiled and nodded, knowingly. ‘Yep. The female of the species…’

As they reached the tarp, she said, ‘Thank you.’

‘For what?’ He dug his hands into the pockets of his worn-looking jacket.

‘For not…’

‘…being DS Stuart?’ he guessed.

She laughed and shrugged. ‘I get that she’s guarding her patch,’ she said. ‘I would probably be the same.’

He snorted. ‘She’s not so bad. Once you get past that tough outer shell there’s a… marginally less tough inner shell. Nah — she just likes things done properly. You should see her when those Norfolk boys cross into our patch. Collaboration between the constabularies? Ha! Anyway. I’ve got several hours of Buntin’s security camera video to sit through, so if you’ll excuse me…’

‘I’ll go and tell the others about the debrief at two,’ she said. ‘We can at least get a walk on the beach in before then.’

‘Mind the crumbling cliffs,’ he called after her as she left.

She smiled. There was a lot of coastal erosion around here but the cliffs were only about three metres high, so she was probably safe.

Back outside the restaurant, a glance through the window told her the others had finished breakfast and left, so she followed them to Bill’s chalet. She’d noted all their chalet numbers last night, before they’d all gone to bed. Before she reached Bill’s block she met Nikki, Talia and Craig heading towards her. Nikki was looking furious. ‘You’re never going to fuckin’ believe it!’ she said, as soon as they were close enough.

‘What?’ asked Kate.

‘Bill’s gone. He’s bloody upped and gone!’ said Nikki. ‘Without a bloody word!’

Kate felt a stab of concern. ‘You checked his chalet?’

‘All locked up,’ said Talia. ‘Blinds open — can’t see anyone inside. We checked with reception and they said his car’s gone from the car park. The little shit.’

‘And then there were four,’ said Craig, nodding his head ominously.

‘I don’t blame him for going,’ said Nikki. ‘But he might at least have said goodbye. Talk about wham, bam, thank you ma’am! What a tosser! What a total and utter tosser! What the fuck is wrong with me?’

‘Let it go,’ said Kate. ‘I just talked to the DS down at the crime scene. They want us all to meet at Gary’s office at two for another debriefing, and then they’ll let us head home.’

‘So what about Bill?’ demanded Craig. ‘He just buggers off home, does he?’

‘No, said Kate. ‘I’ll let them know he’s gone. He’ll probably get pulled over by traffic and escorted back here. They’ll most likely do him for speeding at the same time,’ she added, wryly, remembering last night’s key fob flashing ‘He won’t being doing less than eighty in that Audi.’

‘Right then — I say we go back down the beach,’ said Talia, clapping her hands commandingly. ‘Let’s get your brother, Kate, and get down there now, before it’s choked with screaming kids and their lard-arsed parents staking out their patches.’

Kate winced at the reference none of them would get.

‘Still feeling the love for the punters, after all this time, Tally,’ said Craig.

‘I don’t work here any more,’ she said. ‘I can be as evil as I like.’

There was a pause at that, as everyone dwelt briefly on what evil had visited Julie last night.

‘Let’s go get Francis,’ said Kate, checking her watch. In a couple of hours Lucas would be here. It would be good to let some sea air clear her mind before the dowser arrived to inevitably fog it up again.

21

The Bluecoats’ morning meeting had never been quite like this. For a start, a uniformed police officer was sitting