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

“Did you feel her forehead? Does she have a temperature?”

“Katy…she’s fine. Leave it there. If anything changes, I’ll get her to the hospital immediately, I promise you.”

She blew out a breath. “Thanks. I’m in no way doubting your parenting skills, don’t ever think that. It’s me being a worrying ninny, that’s all.”

“You’re entitled to be. Now back to work with you, you have a case to solve.”

“He’s a spree killer now. Three murders all linked to one man.”

“You know who it is?”

“Yep, all we’ve got to do now is find him.”

“That’s the hardest part, you have my sympathy.”

“Thanks. I’d better get on now. Promise me you’ll call me if Georgie’s condition deteriorates.”

“I promise. Don’t worry, she’s fine with her old dad caring for her.”

“That’s not my concern, and you know it.”

“I do. Some men might get a complex, but I’m fine, honestly.”

They both laughed.

“Cheeky sod. I love you and appreciate all you do for us. Any calls regarding the business today?”

“Yep, an extra couple of bookings. Next month is shaping up to be good so far.”

“I’m thrilled for you. You’ve worked so hard to pull it all together.”

“I know. Thanks for being such a supportive wife.”

“Get away with you. I’ve gotta fly. If all goes well today, we’ll have a celebratory drink or two later.”

“I’ll put a bottle in the fridge to chill.”

Katy ended the call with a smile on her face. It slipped soon after she placed the phone in the docking station. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Georgie. Although, the consultant did say that they should prepare for things to get worse before they got any better. Why did God have to punish children in this way? If he was angry with the parents then take it out on them and not the innocent babies out there. Some of whom are born with a heart defect, such as Georgie. Where was the justice in that?

Charlie knocked on her door and poked her head into the room. “Everything okay? What’s wrong, Katy?”

Katy brushed away the tear that had seeped onto her cheek. “Nothing, me being silly, that’s all. What have you got?”

“We’ve confirmed James Boyd’s address via the electoral roll.”

Katy rubbed her hands together in glee, pushing aside her own problems for the time being to concentrate on the investigation again. “Marvellous news. We need to organise a surveillance team ASAP.”

“Graham and Patrick have volunteered to be the first shout.”

“What about their tasks?”

“The rest of the team have said they’ll take up the slack, add them to their to-do lists.”

“If everyone is okay with that suggestion then give them my blessing. Tell them to keep in touch if he’s there or if he goes on the move at all.”

“Of course I will.”

Charlie left her to celebrate the news on her own with a bottle of water from her desk drawer. She spotted her roll from the day before and binned it.

She downed the contents of the bottle and then joined the others. Graham and Patrick had already left.

“Can we go over where we stand?”

The phone rang, and Charlie answered it. “Thanks, not what we wanted to hear. I’ll pass on the news.” She hung up and grimaced. “The blue Honda was spotted on a waste site this morning, burntout. The desk sergeant saw it on the wires and thought we’d better know ASAP.”

“Great. Hey, let’s not lose heart, at least we’ve got an address for Boyd, we don’t need the vehicle.”

“What if…?” Charlie began and stopped.

“Go on, Charlie.”

“What if he dumped that car, torched it and stole another one close by?”

Katy pointed at her. “See, now that’s what I call thinking outside the box. Can you do some digging in the system for me?”

“With pleasure. It’s the only way I can think of him getting out of there.”

“Either that or he got a cab, if it’s near a main thoroughfare,” Karen chipped in.

“Damn, I never thought of that,” Charlie admitted.

“Another great suggestion. We can work both angles. Karen, can you ring round the many taxi firms in the area and see if any of the drivers picked James Boyd up. We’ll need to trace his steps ready to fling at him during an interview and a possible court case. What am I saying? You’re aware of that shit!”

Charlie smiled. “Leave us to it.”

“I’ve chased up Forensics, they’re going to do their best but they’re up against it because of all the different crime scenes involved. Nothing in this life is easy, apparently. I know what I can do, call the hospital, see how Camilla is,” Katy said as if justifying her need to be active. She raced back into the office and dropped into her chair. She glanced up to see Charlie standing in the doorway.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Don’t I seem it? Oh no, you think my flighty behaviour is to do with the bump on my head. It’s not, I promise.”

“Okay, I was concerned for a moment there.”

“I might as well tell you. Come in and shut the door. I called AJ. He told me Georgie was feeling under the weather, and my motherly guilt gene took on a life of its own.”

Charlie placed her hands on the back of the spare chair and asked, “Define ‘under the weather’?”

“A slight cold. She was tucked up in bed. I made AJ go and check on her while I was on the phone.”

“Gosh, then I can see why you seem a bit anxious. She’s in good hands with him.”

“I know. I have no qualms in that department. We were told by her consultant to keep a close eye on her so, naturally, when she comes down with something, no matter how minor it might seem to others, to her, and her damaged heart, we could be talking about a life-or-death situation.”

“Damn. I knew there was an underlying problem but I never knew how severe it was. No wonder you’re fretting. Should you be here?”

Katy waved the question away. “Yeah, if I dropped everything and went home