A Genuine Mistake by Ted Tayler (miss read books txt) 📗

poised to pour her a glass and paused. Half a glass for himself while he finished cooking, and then a glass of water each at the kitchen table when they ate. Old habits die hard.

“Did you make any progress with your case today, darling?” asked Suzie as she breezed through the hallway into the main bedroom.

“Two steps forward, three steps back,” said Gus.

“Never mind. There’s always tomorrow.”

Five minutes later, Suzie joined him in the kitchen. She looked radiant.

“That smells good,” she said. “You’ll never guess who I saw going to lunch together today.”

“Vera Butler and Rick Chalmers,” said Gus.

“Heavens, no. Where on earth did you get that idea? They’re the most unlikely pair I know. No, it was our police surgeon and the new girl.”

“Rhys Evans and Geraldine Packenham?” said Gus. “I hope they stuck to the thirty-minute comfort break that she imposed on the rest of the back-office staff.”

“No idea; I spotted them walking along London Road as I moved between the Hub and the main building. Geoff Mercer has added another topic to the list of things he wants me to oversee. In a few weeks, I’ll need to break it to him gently that I won’t be there to keep his string of plates spinning.”

“What was it this time?” asked Gus.

“Victim support,” said Suzie. “It’s a good idea because it dovetails with the other projects I’m handling.”

After they had eaten, Gus joined Suzie in the lounge where they tackled the list of people and companies she needed to notify of her change of address.

“Not an exciting evening,” he said after they finished the task, “but worthwhile.”

“Will tomorrow night be exciting then?” asked Suzie.

“I need to spend an hour or two at the allotment,” said Gus. “August is half over, and I’ve got lots to do. If you feel up to it, you can come with me. Then we’ll drop into the Lamb. I’d like to hear from Bert how Irene was this evening. Brett said last night that he was taking him to the RUH whether he protested or not.”

“I’ll see how I am,” said Suzie. “I can rustle up that omelette and chips for us to enjoy. Then we could walk to the Lamb later. What have you got planned for the morning?”

“I have a nine-thirty meeting with a fitness instructor,” said Gus. “A beautiful thirty-six-year-old single lady.”

“Time for bed,” said Suzie. Gus didn’t argue.

They both got out of bed a few minutes later than usual in the morning. Suzie felt better than she had for a week, and they sat in the kitchen, eating breakfast together for a change.

“If this mood lasts throughout the day, I might join you at the allotment after all,” said Suzie as they dressed ready for work.

“Fingers crossed,” said Gus. “Before I do a thing today, I need to decide who to take with me for this morning’s meeting.”

“Who is this woman you’re seeing?” asked Suzie as they left the bungalow.

“Our victim’s partner,” said Gus. “They’d been together for five years. There was talk when she inherited the vast majority of his estate, but nothing suggests she had anything to do with his death.”

“Is she still single?”

“I don’t know,” said Gus. “I don’t remember reading her current status in the murder file.”

“You didn’t consider interviewing her on your own?”

“Geoff said that I should always have a serving officer present. We’ve strayed from that on the odd occasion. I vary the team member who comes with me for obvious reasons.”

“To share the load and make sure each of them feels as important as the rest,” said Suzie. “That should be standard practice, but I’ve met senior officers who do the exact opposite.”

“Don’t bite my head off, but Lydia has been the ideal choice when we’re talking to male suspects or inmates. She distracts their attention from the line of questioning.”

“There’s a word for that, Gus Freeman.”

“I think Luke might fit the bill today,” said Gus. “Does that fall into the same category?”

“Possibly,” said Suzie. “Although, you might not learn as much from this woman if two blokes gang up on her. She might not suss that Luke’s gay. Why not take Alex Hardy?”

“Alex is crunching the numbers for the financial firm our victim ran. I don’t want to take him off that task. It’s our last hope for a quick breakthrough.”

“Luke, it is then,” said Suzie. She got into her Golf and set off for London Road.

Gus followed her as far as the car park and then drove to the Old Police Station office. Neil Davis was already upstairs when Gus exited the lift.

“Morning, guv,” said Neil. “All systems go for today and tonight. I’ve cleared a visit to the snooker club with Melody, and Nick Barrett reluctantly agreed to see me at eleven-thirty this morning.”

“Terrific, Neil,” said Gus. “Press him hard for information on the girls who Batman and Robin chatted with, whenever and wherever that was. Feed that to Blessing so she can liaise with Divya in the Hub. The sooner we can get those searches underway, the better. Good luck tonight, too. You might bump into Sean Hogan. If you do, then beat a hasty but dignified retreat. I won’t have time to talk to him, at least until tomorrow. I don’t want him spooked by finding out we’re digging into the background of his family and Nick Barrett.”

“Got it, guv,” said Neil. “That sounds like the others coming up now.”

Luke and Blessing were next to arrive.

“Luke, you’re with me this morning,” said Gus. “It’s okay if you didn’t bring your shorts and trainers. We’ll be talking to Rachel Cummins, not taking a fitness lesson.”

“Very droll, guv,” said Luke.

The lift descended to the ground floor once more, and Alex and Lydia came up and joined