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

thought I was going to be,” Charlie said after clearing her throat.

“Great news. You can take over doing them once you become DS, I hate the damn things. Talking of which, that’s another reason I’ll be coming back to work tomorrow, so you can toodle off to your exam.”

“Hey, don’t leave your sick child on my account. I can easily postpone it for a few weeks.”

“Phooey! You’re going, end of.”

“You’re a star, Katy. Hopefully, if I get through the exam I’ll be even more of an asset to the team.” She glanced up, and Roberts shook his head. She frowned and mouthed, “What?”

“Are you going to say it, Sean, or do I need to?” Katy said.

“My take is, that young Simpkins here is fishing for compliments.”

They all laughed.

“No seriously,” Charlie chimed in. “I truly mean it. I never want to be a burden, so you must tell me if I ever become one.”

“Blah, blah, blah…what a lot of nonsense you speak, young lady,” Katy admonished good-naturedly.

“Umm…joking aside, we have news for you.” Charlie cringed when Roberts shook his head.

“Oh, what’s that?”

“There’s been another murder. It took place in the Zedex underground car park,” Charlie said.

“Oh bugger. Who?”

Charlie sighed. “Andrea Gregory.”

“Fuck,” Katy muttered. “What about the other two colleagues?”

“We’ve got that sorted, don’t worry. Just concentrate on looking after Georgie for now,” Roberts said.

“All right. You’ve clearly got everything under control there, I’ll leave you to it. No, wait, any sightings on Boyd yet?”

“Not yet, except we think we spotted him driving one of the stolen vehicles we highlighted yesterday. Graham is tracking the vehicle on the ANPR cameras now.”

“That is good news. Keep a close eye on him, he’s likely to dump the car again. Get the desk sergeant to make sure his staff are out there searching for it and any possible dumpings in the meantime.”

“Go. It’s in hand, we promise. Thanks for keeping us updated, Katy. Love to AJ,” Charlie said.

“Good luck tomorrow in the exam, Charlie. Fingers and toes crossed for you, not that you’ll need it.”

“I appreciate it. Speak soon.” Charlie ended the call.

“Good news. Let’s hope we can keep the momentum going and receive the news we want from the appeal when it goes out.”

Charlie rose from her seat. “I’ll get back and share the good news with the team, sir, leave you to get on with your paperwork.”

“Be sure to give me a shout if anything interesting crops up. I can drop all of this in an instant.”

Charlie left the room. “Katy’s just rung. Looks like Georgie is on the mend, although it’s very early days yet. She’ll be back at work tomorrow. I tried to persuade her otherwise, but she’s adamant she wants to get back. Also, she’s aware I won’t be here tomorrow because of the dreaded exam I have to attend.”

“You’ll be fine,” Patrick called out.

The others added their encouragement, too, which lifted her.

“You guys are the best. I wish I had your faith. How’s it going, Graham?”

“I followed the car through to Whitechapel and then lost it.”

Charlie’s high came crashing down. “Damn. All we can hope now is that a member of the public living in that area calls in and gives us a possible address.”

The team’s frustrations mounted during the course of the day because the phones remained silent until gone five-thirty when Charlie took an interesting call from a resident around the Whitechapel area. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore the call, given what Graham had spotted on the cameras earlier that day.

“Yes, Mrs Smallwood, any information you can give us about James Boyd will go a long way to help our investigation.”

“Good, good, umm…not that I can really tell you much. I’ve seen him in my street a few times. Croft Road, it is, dear. You’ll need to look it up on the map, I’m in my seventies and not one for giving accurate directions, I’m afraid. And hubby is long gone, so I can’t even hand the phone over to someone else to fill you in either.”

“Don’t worry, I can sort that out. Can I ask if the gentleman in question visited a certain house at all?”

“I couldn’t tell you that. He walked past my window one day, looking over his shoulder and acting suspiciously, which drew my attention. Then he got in a blue car. I know what you’re going to say next, no, I neither know the make nor model of it. I’m sorry to be so useless.”

“Goodness me, you’re far from that, believe me. Your call could be just what we’ve been waiting for to solve this case.”

“Really? I saw you on the TV, and I’ve been sitting here debating whether to ring you or not, thought I’d be wasting your time. What with me not knowing much.”

“Nonsense. We appreciate your call. We haven’t had many and were beginning to get concerned.”

“Oh, in that case, I’m glad I took the plunge.”

“If I can just take your details for our records. We’ll look into the information you’ve given us.”

Mrs Smallwood gave her address and phone number and added, “I hope this doesn’t come back and bite me in the bum. I’m all for helping folks out but I’ve never snitched to the police before. That is the right term, isn’t it?”

“It is. Although, I wouldn’t class what you’ve just told me as snitching. I can’t thank you enough for contacting us. Promise me you’ll stay vigilant, and if you should see this man in your area in the near future, will you call us?”

“Oh, I will that. I thought I’d be nervous speaking to an officer of the law, but I must say, you have a nice way about you, my dear.”

“Thank you. I do my best. Enjoy your evening, Mrs Smallwood.”

“I’ll do that now I’ve relieved myself of such a burden. Thank you and good luck.”

Charlie ended the call and left her desk. “Graham, I’ve taken an interesting call from a sweet old lady.”

“Is there any other type? Oh, wait,