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

was two-timing her, and maybe she was wasting her time.

‘I hope it wasn’t because I kept you late,’ said Walter.

‘Course not, Guv. He was late anyway, it must have been around nine before he called.’

‘That’s all right then. So what are you going to do?’

‘See him again, I guess, see if I can find out if he’s genuine, or simply a liar.’

‘You’re training should help you decide that.’

‘You’d think so, Guv, but somehow when it’s so close to home, everything gets cloudy, and I always seem to end up giving them the benefit of the doubt.’

‘I’d back your judgment any day. You know the score. Get more info. Evaluate the intelligence. Act accordingly.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, seemingly miles away, and then she said, ‘Never mind me, what about you?’

Walter was unable to keep a broad smile crossing his face.

‘I had a fantastic date.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep, one of the best,’ and he told her all about the late night barbequed chicken, and threw in a few hints of what had gone on before.

‘Lucky you!’

‘And of course it’s all down to you.’

‘Really? How so?’

‘Putting me on to that Internet dating site in the first place.’

‘She came from there?’

‘She certainly did.’

‘Does she know what you do?’

‘No, not yet, though I don’t suppose it will make any difference.’

Karen didn’t comment on that, but in her experience it wasn’t unusual for members of the team to lose their new partner once a full job description had been discussed, and tossed around.

‘When are you seeing her again?’

‘Don’t know yet. Might ring her tonight.’

‘You do that, Guv. Wanna lift home?’

‘That would be fab, Greenwood, I’ll just go and say ta-ta to the boss lady.’

‘She’s already gone, Guv.’

‘I didn’t hear her go.’

‘Think you were in the bog at the time.’

Walter grunted and bent under the desk and put his shoes back on, and did up the laces.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Karen pulled the car to a standstill outside Walter’s three-bedroom Edwardian detached house. It was already full dark and particularly dismal too, the streetlights straining to penetrate the murk.

‘Have a good night,’ he said, heaving himself out of the car.

‘You too, Guv,’ and twenty minutes after that he was setting the surplus barbequed chicken pieces Carlene had insisted he take home, in the oven and turning it on blitz. He didn’t even bother looking inside the silver foil. It didn’t matter about re-heating chicken, did it? No health issues there, were there? He was hungry, and he was going to eat the damned lot, along with a little crusty bread left over from that spagbol.

KAREN HURRIED HOME and sat on the sofa and considered making something to eat, though she wasn’t in the least bit hungry. She thought about Eleanor Wright, and what drove her to take up such a hazardous profession. Lack of cash, probably, she concluded, what else could it have been? And she thought about Tracey Day too, venturing down the same precarious road, and wondering if she had any real idea how dangerous it could be.

There were no stats, to Karen’s knowledge, as to the percentage of women under say thirty, who were murdered while practising the same grubby business, but Karen’s guess would be a big number. But what could you do? Make it legal? That opened a whole new can of worms, like making drugs legal. Where do you stop? Where do you draw the line?

She thought of something else. What about the Guv, eh? Wasn’t he just the lucky one, hitting the jackpot, by all accounts, when it came to Internet dating, though she didn’t begrudge him his obvious happiness. He’d lived quite alone for such a long time, but hey, where was her happiness coming from, and she let herself feel sorry for herself for all of twenty seconds, and right there, right then, her phone rang.

She picked it up and glanced at the screen.

David Baker.

Her first thought was to turn it off, blank him, but she didn’t. She’d hear what he had to say.

‘Hi there,’ she said, as indifferently as she could muster.

‘Am I still in the doghouse?’

‘I don’t know. Are you?’

‘Not at this end.’

‘What can I do for you, Mr Baker?’

‘Wondered if you’d like to go out for a drink later.’

‘Nope. Can’t.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m busy.’

‘Doing what?’

‘Work stuff.’

‘You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?’

‘What gave you that idea?’

‘I can tell.’

Karen sighed over-loudly and said, ‘I did think you might have called me last night on your way home, or something.’

‘I didn’t get home till nearly two, didn’t think you’d appreciate me calling at that unholy hour.’

She wouldn’t tell him she’d waited up late.

‘And did it all go well?’

‘Yeah. Pretty much. Contract all signed and sealed.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. Do you want to see it, or something? Inspect the evidence?’

‘No, I don’t.’

‘Don’t be like that.’

‘Don’t be like what?’

‘You know, offhand with me. I am trying to make it up to you here.’

Karen sighed again. ‘I don’t get the feeling that I am the most important thing in your life, and if we’re to go forward as a couple, I bloody well should be.’

‘Course you are!’

‘It doesn’t feel that way.’

‘What have I got to do to make it up to you?’ and in the way he said that she could tell he was grinning, and feeling super confident about things.

‘Try harder.’

It wasn’t the answer he had expected.

‘Sorry? What did you say?’

‘You heard me.’

‘I am trying. Dinner tonight. Good place, nice wine, my treat.’

‘No, I’m busy, gotta go,’ and she cut him off.

AFTERWARDS, SHE REMAINED on the sofa and replayed the conversation in her head. Did she regret giving him a hard time? No, not a chance. Did she think she’d put him off? No, but if she had, he wasn’t worth much anyway. Did she feel better about things? Yes! A hundred percent, he could experience a brush off and a cancelled or missed date for a change. See how he liked it. She grinned to herself. Her appetite had returned. There were some low fat vegetable burgers in the freezer, and she’d grill