Shot of Silence (Justice Again Book 3) by M Comley (best contemporary novels txt) 📗

wrong with the way your brain is functioning then.”

“I told you, I’m fine.”

Charlie came bounding into the room again, as eager as a child on a promise. “Nope, nothing else. Should we go over there and check the guy out?”

“We should. If Patti hasn’t got anything else for us?”

“I haven’t, now get out of my hair. Both of you.”

“Keep me informed on this one, Patti, especially the forensics side of things because I feel that’s going to be imperative in breaking the case wide open.”

“I will. Trust me. Just take care of yourself. Charlie, on your head be it if she suffers a relapse.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Wow, really? Why should I be to blame? I tried talking her out of coming back to work, but she was having none of it. But thanks for blaming me if she cocks up.”

Patti nudged Katy. “Yep, just like her mother, bites before she engages her brain.”

Katy and Patti laughed while Charlie harumphed and left the room.

4

As it happened, they had two addresses for Gordon Brightman. His home and his work addresses. Katy took a punt and instructed Charlie to drive to the warehouse from where he ran his export business.

The noise of the forklift trucks shifting pallets around the large warehouse gave Katy a thumping headache. She winced and closed her eyes.

“Shit, are you all right?” Charlie asked.

“I will be if we can get away from the blasted machinery.”

A woman appeared at the doorway to an office over to the left. “Hey, you shouldn’t be in here, not without the proper safety get-up on.”

Katy and Charlie crossed the warehouse to join her.

Katy flashed her ID. “Sorry, we need to have a chat with Gordon Brightman, if he’s here.”

“He’s out back, watching over the goods being loaded. Can I ask why you need to speak with him?”

“It’s personal. Is there somewhere we can wait? Could someone take over from him?”

“No. He oversees all the loading. He’d go with the driver and watch the goods being unloaded at the other end if he could. Come through to the office. I’ll go and have a word, see if he can spare you five minutes or so. The delay shouldn’t matter too much. He won’t be happy, though. Just warning you.”

“Do your best. Before you go, has he been here all morning?”

The secretary chewed on her lip and thought it over. “Yes, although he did pop out earlier for an hour or two.”

“Did he say where?”

“On a personal mission, he told me. I won’t be long. Take a seat.” She scooted past them, rushed through the warehouse and disappeared through a door at the back.

Katy and Charlie sat on the two spare chairs in the room.

They didn’t have to wait long until a rotund man in his fifties came into the office, his secretary not far behind him. “I’m Gordon Brightman, you wanted a word with me?”

Katy presented her warrant card again. “DI Katy Foster and DC Charlie Simpkins. If you don’t mind. Is there somewhere private we can have a chat?”

“Yep, come this way. I can only spare you five minutes, though. I have a hectic schedule today.”

“That’s fine.”

He opened the door behind where Katy was sitting, and she and Charlie followed him into another tight office, boxes piled high in one corner and a desk with a computer in the other.

He removed two chairs from a stack and placed them in front of his desk. “Now, what’s all this about?”

“Between the hours of one and three today, where were you?”

“Here. Loading wagons, it’s our busiest day. Why?”

“Your secretary said you went out this morning for a while. May I ask where you went?”

“Out on personal business. That is allowed, isn’t it? Or is that a criminal offence nowadays?”

“It’s allowed. Can I ask what sort of business, sir?”

“I went to book a holiday as a surprise for my wife’s fiftieth birthday which is coming up next month.” He bent down and opened the briefcase lying on the floor by his desk. He threw the tickets at her. “There, see. Two tickets to Mexico. First-class accommodation and flights.”

“Thank you. Your wife is lucky to have such a thoughtful husband.”

“She is. I appreciate her as much as she appreciates me. We both work hard. She’s a barrister.”

“I see. And she agrees with your dealings with Zedex?”

His brow pinched into tight lines. “What do they have to do with anything?”

“Answer the question, if you would,” Katy prompted.

“She knows briefly that I invest.”

“Is she aware you recently lost a large sum of money on the stock exchange?”

His cheeks reddened under Katy’s intense gaze. “No, she’s not aware of that. She has no need to hear about it either. It was my personal money I invested and lost on that deal.”

Katy probed further. “I see. You were angry about losing the vast sum, weren’t you?”

He inhaled and exhaled several large breaths and glared at Katy. “Too right I was. Wouldn’t you be?”

“Not really, because I wouldn’t have gambled that much money in the first place.”

“I’m a businessman, my whole business is about taking risks in one form or another. Every firm either lives or dies by the owner’s ability to take a gamble now and again, I can assure you.”

“Sir, there’s no need to be so defensive.”

“Sorry. It’s still very raw.”

“Am I to understand that you blamed Zedex for losing that money for you?”

“One person in particular more like. The bitch who took over my account and screwed up.”

Katy tilted her head. “Harsh words for someone you should have trusted.”

“It’s the truth. She didn’t know what the hell she was doing. I used to deal with someone else there, but he upped and left. I have no idea why. I was told that Hunt woman was the best the firm had, therefore I had to go with her. I’ve regretted my decision ever since. She was hopeless. Before I realised what was going on, my bank balance was a million quid lighter, go figure.”

“Sorry to hear that. Can you