BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book by Rebecca Bradley (whitelam books .txt) 📗

Dominic turned back to Derek. ‘I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Krish. Again, I’m sorry you had to go through this today. We’ll get you back home as quickly as we can.’

‘Thank you,’ Derek said, his voice shaking again. Dominic couldn’t tell if he was stressed by the situation, or if he was lying. Maybe he was covered in the victim’s bodily fluids because he had decided to move her and then changed his mind and called the cops instead. It was now his job to determine which one he was.

Chapter 12

Claudia

Fourteen hours since Ruth’s attack

‘So, you thought the dog walker had something to do with the first murder?’ Claudia scribbled on paper.

‘It was a line of inquiry as it would be for any investigation that is just up and running. The person who called it in is closest to the victim so we have to check them out. You know all this, why would you query me on it?’ Dominic’s tone was harsh. ‘In fact, why are you questioning my actions on that case at all? What the hell does it have to do with Ruth going missing?’

‘You tell me, Dominic. You’re the one who is sitting here telling me that your case is the reason that Ruth is missing and potentially dead if the amount of blood we’ve found is any indication.’

‘Yeah, I’m talking about the case. To let you know what it was about, so you’d understand how Ruth got involved and why I’m a target. Not so you can second guess my decision-making skills during the running of it. You might be a DI but you’re not my DI.’ He was bolt upright in his chair now and completely rattled.

Claudia, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm. The louder Dominic became the calmer she found she was. She wanted answers and she would not apologise for doing her job. If he found that tough going then maybe he did have something to hide, though that thought terrified her. If he only wanted her to ask certain questions but not others maybe she was on the right track. His agitation seemed a little off. Like he was struggling to keep his thought processes in line. But his wife was missing and he’d been arrested for her murder so it was probably no surprise he was finding it difficult to focus on Claudia’s questions. The problem was, going by the blood in the garage, if Ruth was not dead then she didn’t have long to find her, and if Dominic could help with locating her then she would push as much as needed. Finding the truth, either way, was imperative.

‘I might not be your supervisor but right now I am the person who is interviewing you and if we’re being pedantic, Dominic, I do outrank you and I’m in control of you. Of when we talk, when you eat and when you sleep. I can put off this interview to follow other lines of inquiry if I want, but I thought you wanted to be involved? I thought you wanted to help the investigation into your missing wife? Yelling at me is getting you nowhere.’

Dominic slumped in his seat and dropped his arms onto the table, defeated. ‘You know I want to do this. I don’t want you to leave. I want to work with you to find her and I think I’m the best person to help you because I truly believe the case we were working is where you’ll find your answers.’ He looked from Kane to Claudia. ‘I’m sorry, okay? We’ll do it your way. Ask me anything you like. About the investigation, my decisions during the investigation. You might be right, it might be that one of my decisions has led us here.’ He bowed his head.

Kane glanced at Claudia and she inclined her head to let him know that she was okay. He was ready to jump in and take the lead should she give him any indication that was what she wanted. This was going to be a long interview if they were going to work through the entire investigation of his current case. It had been running for the last six months.

She could keep Dominic here to question him for twenty-four hours before she had to make a decision on charging or releasing him, though she could apply for extensions. She’d need them because included in that twenty-four-hour time limit was allotted time for an eight-hour sleep, plus breaks for meals. There was no way she would work through what she needed — interviewing him and working through any evidence the interview threw up — in the basic twenty-four hours. She would be applying to a superintendent for a twelve-hour extension.

Claudia looked at her watch.

‘You want to get on with it?’ Dominic asked. ‘I’ve said I will do anything to help you find Ruth and I mean that. I’m sorry for my outburst. I feel so helpless sitting here. I’d rather be a part of the investigation as you are, not in the way I’m being now.’ He shrugged. ‘But if it helps, then so be it. Promise me you are doing everything you can outside of this interview room, Claudia.’

She put the mug down with a bit of a slam. ‘Do you think I want to be in here interviewing you? I’d also rather be out there following other lines of inquiry, but the powers that be have determined that I’m the best person for this task, so we’re stuck with each other and with that, we’d better do the best job we can.’

Dominic rubbed a hand through his hair. A sigh escaped his lips.

‘Why is it so important that you tell me about the start of the investigation, Dominic? Why not just tell me the