Restless Dead (Harry Grimm Book 5) by David Gatward (english reading book TXT) 📗

weren’t actually bothered if they were. And I don’t know which I find more worrying.’

‘Why?’

Harry turned to face Jadyn.

‘Imagine you’re a burglar,’ Harry said.

‘Why?’

‘Because I said so,’ Harry said. ‘Now, say that you’re off to rob a huge house, right? Lots of nice stuff inside, jewellery, that kind of thing. And you’ve sorted out the alarm, so that’s not a problem.’

Harry stopped talking and stared at Jadyn.

‘Do I need to ask why you’ve got your eyes closed?’

‘You said imagine you’re a burglar,’ Jadyn said. ‘So, I am. Imagining.’

‘And you need your eyes closed to do that, do you?’

‘I do,’ Jadyn said.

Harry took a deep breath, shaking his head.

‘Right, so, as I was saying, you’re a burglar, you’re at this big posh house, so what’s going to make you confident about possibly disturbing someone?’

‘You mean there’s someone in the house?’

‘I do,’ Harry said.

‘And I’m breaking in?’

‘You are.’

Harry watched as Jadyn screwed his face up a little, the thoughts of his mind playing themselves out in the lines dancing around his face.

‘I’d be armed,’ Jadyn said.

‘Exactly,’ said Harry. ‘And you can open your eyes now,’ he added.

Jadyn did as Harry instructed.

‘But you don’t get armed gangs in the dales,’ Jadyn said.

‘You can get them anywhere,’ Harry said. ‘If there’s easy money to be made, then take it from me, there are people out there willing to do anything to get it.’

‘But an armed gang, though,’ Jadyn said. ‘That’s a bit of a leap, isn’t it?’

Harry had to agree, but he didn’t do so out loud and instead continued to stare out over the fields. They stretched out before them, once again demonstrating in their quiet beauty just how many shades of green there were in the world. The grey drystone walls held fast the pasture, locking the beauty in and refusing to let it go, as they had done for centuries past. Across the pasture, tracks led from the barn and out to other fields, their scars on the ground eventually fading to nothing. Except that wasn’t quite true, Harry noticed.

‘Jadyn?’

‘Boss?

Harry pointed out across the field.

‘Those tracks look different to you at all?’

Jadyn turned to look where Harry was pointing.

‘Those ones leading down the hill? Yeah, a bit, I suppose,’ he said. ‘Fresher, maybe?’

‘It’s not only that though,’ Harry said, and pointed at the ground just in front of where they were standing. ‘See all these other tyre marks? They head off, right, to other fields, yes, but those tracks, not only do they look fresh, they just keep on going, don’t they? Right on down the hill. But where to, though?’

Jadyn gave a nod. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘I don’t know quite yet,’ Harry said, and before Jadyn could say anymore, Harry was through the gate and following the tracks across the fields and away from the farm.

Chapter Six

It wasn’t that Patricia didn’t want or need to visit her father, because she really truly did, more than ever actually. And yes it was absolutely bloody awful that her mum, Helen, had been killed, hugely upsetting actually, because death was, wasn’t it? And she was upset, of course, she was, but really she just didn’t have the time or the space in her life or her mind to be dealing with it all right now. But what choice did she have? It wasn’t that she was being heartless and cold, just pragmatic, practical, and she was right in the middle of putting together the final stages of the launch of her next new business venture, this one as a freelance accountant and consultant, and that was where her energy really needed to be focused. Not in sorting this other thing out, not when she’d worked so hard to get everything else sorted.

Sometimes, life really did send things her way to try her, she thought. Why couldn’t it all just go to plan? But, as her husband Dan had pointed out, she could pretty much launch and run the business from anywhere couldn’t she, and wasn’t that the point, anyway? He had also helped her to realise that the only real reason she needed to visit was because it was her duty to do so, and that would do just fine. Also, they could do with a break, which was a little rich coming from him, she had thought, as he’d never really bonded as such with her parents, but he had a point. Not that what they were driving into now was in any way a holiday as such, but her parents’ house really was quite something, and a couple of months in the dales would probably do them both the world of good, wouldn’t it? It would also help take her mind off her last venture, which had gone south rapidly, and perhaps this visit would help her solve it. Something certainly needed to.

‘At least there’s plenty of room at the old place,’ Dan said, pulling off the motorway to head on towards their destination, a tractor towing a huge trailer immediately in their way. ‘Your dad will appreciate having you around, I’m sure of it. And for this to happen on his birthday, too. Well, it’s just awful.’

Patricia wasn’t really listening, her laptop out on her lap, and the Wi-Fi dongle immediately losing signal as hills started to rise about them, as though the earth was alive now and swelling up on each side to close in and consume them, the road itself dropping down a steep twisty slope.

‘Well, there’s no way I’ll be able to do any work now until we get there,’ she said, shutting her laptop with a huff. ‘Not unless I want to end up being travel sick. And as we both know, I don’t do well at being sick at all. And I’m tired.’

‘The travel sickness tablets not working?’ Dan asked.

‘They’re working fine at the moment,’ Patricia snapped back. ‘But these roads are just terrible.’

Resting her head in her hand as she leaned on the window, Patricia felt a squeeze at