Death's Cold Hand by J.E. Mayhew (good romance books to read txt) 📕

landline phone and cracking Ian with it hard. Stars exploded in front of him, and he couldn’t see but once again he was being thrown through the air. He landed heavily on his side, the breath punched from his body by the hard ground and his arm burned with pain. He tried to stand but couldn’t. The man stood over him, he could see his boots, smeared with blood and Ian wondered if this was the last thing Paul Travis saw.

He suddenly felt calm but a little sad. Was this how he ended his life? He thought of his wife, Theresa and his son Joey who loved watching the trains with him. If he had the strength, he’d get up. But DC Ian Ollerthwaite could do little other than let darkness take him.

Chapter 25

It was an adventure, Blake supposed, that was the reason Madge looked so excited at being asked to make the call. Or maybe it was the romance. The gossip about Blake and Laura seemed to have leached down to reception and he was left wondering just how far beyond the building it had gone.

“Don’t forget, Madge, you mustn’t tell a soul about this,” Blake said, the words sounding pathetic the minute they left his lips. Of course, everyone would be hearing about this eventually. Madge wouldn’t let a good bit of ‘goss’ go to waste.

“You know me, Will,” she said, winking.

“Okay, so here’s the number. Can you remember what you’re going to say?”

Madge looked hurt. “Will, I’m a professional. I do this for a living. What do you take me for?”

Blake just smiled and watched as she dialled the number. He knew that Superintendent Martin would skin him alive if he found out that he was trying to contact Laura but, as Blake had pointed out, it would look downright odd if he didn’t make some kind of attempt. This seemed the best way without rousing any suspicions. But deep down, Blake just had to know what Laura was thinking. The idea she could just ditch him for Quinlan was torture. He needed to know why.

“Hello? Is that… Laura?” Madge said. Blake had to admit, she was brilliant. “Yes, it’s my dog, he keeps barking incessantly and I’m at my wits’ end.” The conversation went on. Blake could just about hear Laura’s voice and he felt a weight in his chest. He just wanted to snatch the phone and speak to her but there was always the danger she’d hang up. He needed to see her in person and find out what the hell was going on. Madge continued talking. “I’m at work at the moment, would you be able to come around seven tonight? You would? Lovely…” She left Laura with the address Blake had given her and hung up.

“Perfect,” Blake said. “I owe you a bottle of fizz, Madge, thank you.”

Madge coloured a little. “Oh, give over. You just tell me how you get on.”

“I will,” Blake said but he didn’t think he’d have any good news for Madge in the short term. His phone rang. “Kath? Where are you?”

“I’m at Arrowe Park Hospital sir,” Kath Cryer said. “It’s Ian...”

*****

In the busy hospital with nurses and doctors hurrying back and forth, the side ward felt like another world, silent and shaded. Although DC Ian Ollerthwaite sat upright in bed, he was unconscious, his arm plastered and bandages wrapped around most of his head. Theresa, his wife, sat at his side, holding the tips of his fingers. She was a short woman with ringlets of mousey brown hair and sharp blue eyes. Blake would have said that she was a few years younger than Ian but then, Ian always seemed a hundred years older than everyone else. Although her face was lined with worry now, there was a softness and kindness about it. Blake could tell she was used to laughter and smiles. He felt a tug of guilt that he knew nothing about Ollerthwaite’s personal life and had never asked. And now he was meeting Theresa for the first time over the drips and monitors attached to her husband. Ian’s face was purple with bruises.

“Theresa, I’m DCI Will Blake. Ian’s on my team. I’m so sorry this has happened. Believe me, we’ll get whoever did this. How is he?”

Theresa Ollerthwaite gave a brief smile. Her voice was subdued. “Broken arm and ribs. He punctured a lung, too. And then…” she waved her hand around the bruised face. “There’s quite a lot of trauma around his head. Hopefully there’s no permanent damage.” Her face creased briefly and she scrubbed a tear from her cheek.

“If there’s anything we can do, anything at all,” Blake said, feeling powerless. What could he do? Heal her husband?

“Is this to do with the case he was working on?” Theresa said. “Was it the murder in Port Sunlight?”

“It was. I’d asked Ian to go through the books at the Pro-Vets charity. Given that he was attacked by a member of the Pro-Vets staff, I’d say it’s a strong possibility that there’s a link. Did he say anything to you about it?”

She shook her head. “Ian never tells me anything confidential about his work but I piece things together from what he does say. All I gathered was that the staff weren’t being very cooperative.”

“That’s useful in itself. We can look into that, too.” Blake paused, uncertain whether to reveal any more detail. “The man who we think attacked Ian wasn’t very well. He had mental health issues and an acquired brain injury. I’m not certain it was malicious, Theresa…”

“Malicious or not, he needs catching, doesn’t he?”

“We’ll do that, I promise.”

*****

Cars blared their horns as Terry White staggered across the road. There was blood again, everywhere. It seemed like he was leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind him. The sky above was red with it, spinning round as though he was on a merry-go-round. Seagulls screamed at him and swooped. When he threw his hands up to defend himself, he bumped