BLOOD DRAGON by Freddie Peters (books to get back into reading .TXT) 📕

“Wait to go back to your desk until he’s come in here, otherwise he’ll insist you go through the burner phone evidence from A to Z with him.”

Andy looked truly alarmed at the thought. Marsh did not like details, which Andy revelled in. Marsh liked speedy conclusions, Andy preferred to take his time.

“One quick question before the Super comes in … the burner phone we identified, you said it was on the premises, but could it simply have been very close by? For example, across the road on the banks of the Thames Embankment opposite the building itself or even near the reception area?” Pole spoke with a sense of urgency.

Andy’s head was turned towards the door, surveying Marsh’s progress.

“It would have to be closer than the embankment, but the pavement outside the building or the entrance next to the reception area would work …” Andy started to stand up. “Or perhaps the back of the building … there is a little garden that very few people use.”

Pole nodded encouragingly. “Someone outside surveying the building from close up, for example, and using a burner phone.”

“That’s possible.”

“How sure are you about that?” Pole’s voice became insistent.

“Yes, yes … that is definitely possible.”

Marsh stood in the doorway, waiting for Pole to welcome him with the courtesy owed to his seniority.

“Sir, how good of you to pay us a visit.” Pole stood up.

Andy made his excuses, muttering something about Ollie Wilson’s account.

Marsh moved out of his way to let him through. His lunch with Nancy had gone well. The Super was in a good mood.

“Has your DS made some inroads into the burner phone issue?”

Pole invited Marsh to sit. He needn’t have bothered, as Marsh had already grabbed the back of the chair to place it at an angle to Pole’s desk.

“We were just talking about that.”

Marsh squeezed his heavy frame into the seat, resting his elbows on the armrests. He was all ears.

“It might be tempting to think that the burner phone was on the Scotland Yard premises, but it is equally possible that the phone and its owner were outside the building.”

Marsh cocked his head. “You mean someone undertaking surveillance, keeping tabs on the place and the people inside?”

Pole had to give it to Marsh, he was not a complete dickhead. “That’s a real possibility.”

Marsh moved his head forward. His fingertips had joined in front of his face, lightly touching his lips. “There are hundreds of CCTV cameras in the area … We should be able to see something.”

“That’s what Andy is going to do next. Although the Ollie Wilson case is starting to gain traction.”

“Any new developments worth mentioning?”

“Nothing that requires your attention, Sir.” As much as Pole very much wanted to direct Marsh’s attention away from the Ferguson inquiry, he judged that it might not justify the bother, if Marsh got involved in that case to the same extent.

Marsh pursed his lips, disappointed.

“Well, I have news of my own … I spoke to Ms Wu.”

Pole sat back in his seat, bracing himself for a lengthy account in which Marsh would give a blow by blow account of their lunch.

“As reluctant as I am to admit it, I think Ms Wu is not quite telling us the truth.”

* * *

She rested the book slowly on the immaculate white sheet. She had heard it was good for coma patients to hear familiar voices, voices of the people they loved and who loved them. Johnny had run to the bookshelf and brought back a small compilation of Yeats love poems. Cora had found the words that Ollie used to recite to her when they had first met … All to show her he was not a soulless biotech geek …

It had worked. She had only put up a resistance, because she’d been too frightened to let him know how much she already cared for him.

“The rose in the depth of his heart,” she murmured and sank back a little into the chair, still holding his hand. The rhythmic noise of the instruments now attached to Ollie’s body permanently had become almost unnoticeable.

From time to time his hand twitched, raising her hopes, but the doctor had been very clear that this happened with most patients, a simple reflex of the nerves to touch.

Her mobile phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. She hesitated but dragged it out, prepared to ignore it. Nancy’s name was flashing on the screen. She stood up in a small jump. A call from a friend was exactly what she needed.

“Cora … how are you? Can you talk?”

“I’m at the hospital. It’s good to hear your voice … it’s so bleak here.”

“Perhaps I could call a little later.”

“No, that’s fine … please tell me what’s on your mind.” Cora had gently laid Ollie’s hand back on the sheet, and moved to the window. Perhaps a warm drink would ease the tightness of her throat. “Wait a moment if you don’t mind, I need to fetch a drink.”

She walked through the sliding doors and almost bumped into a tall nurse. Her face looked somehow familiar, but the woman turned around and disappeared into another patient’s room.

Cora hesitated but parked the thought. She approached the vending machine, ordered a tea and when it was ready moved to a row of empty chairs.

“Sorry, Nancy, I’m with you now.”

“I’ve made some progress in researching possible contacts with Randy Zhang.”

Cora’s heart jumped up in her chest. “That’s great. Do you have another address?”

“Not as such, but I found someone at the same Institute in Hong Kong … and I also spoke to Philippe.”

“I should have called him … it’s been so strange and difficult.”

“He understands better than anybody else … but you would not have been able to speak to him in any case … he’s gone to Hong Kong.”

“He’s mad … what is he going to do out there on his own? Let me call him now.”

“I’ve left messages already.” Nancy’s voice trailed off. “I