Restless Dead (Harry Grimm Book 5) by David Gatward (english reading book TXT) 📗

their shells burning, and their human contents blackened husks inside. That was so long ago now, another lifetime, but still, the memories had a way of crawling their way back to the surface again, like creatures that lived on the bottom of the deepest and muddiest of ponds, desperate for a glimpse of the sun.

‘You okay, Boss?’

Harry gave a nod, though he didn’t turn to look at his detective sergeant.

‘You nod a yes, I see a no, though,’ Matt said. ‘What’s bothering you?’

‘What isn’t?’ Harry said.

‘I know, it does all seem a bit odd,’ Matt said, ‘but my guess is it’s all just a bit tragic really. That’s the way life is, sometimes, isn’t it? Horrible, I know, but we’ll deal with it and help the family as best as we can.’

Harry wanted to agree with Matt, he really did, but he just couldn’t.

‘You’re right, I know,’ he said, ‘but there’s something niggling about all this, just at the back of it all.’

‘Is that a hunch rearing its ugly head?’ Matt asked.

‘Not yet. Well, not exactly, no,’ Harry said. ‘But it just strikes me as a rather odd collection of events, when they’re all stacked up alongside each other, that’s all. They all seem to make sense, with one thing leading to another, but still . . .’

Harry’s voice faded, because he just couldn’t explain what his thoughts were doing right at that moment, other than busying themselves with getting in the way of each other.

‘Is there anything else?’ Matt asked.

‘There’s the sheep thing,’ Harry said. ‘I mean, it was all very educational going around the mart, but what did we get from it? Bugger all, is what.’

‘It was good of Jim’s mate, Neil, to join in,’ Matt said. ‘But you’re right, we didn’t get anything from it.’

‘Except a nice pile of little evidence bags filled with cigarette butts courtesy of Constable Okri,’ Harry said.

Matt laughed. ‘It’s impossible to dislike the lad, isn’t it?’

‘I have to say it’s all eating at me a bit, if I’m honest,’ Harry said, his voice dropping low enough to grind itself into the tarmac at their feet. ‘The thought that somewhere, whoever did it, well, they know that they got away with it, don’t they? And that’s not right. Not only that, they’re probably planning to do exactly the same again, somewhere else.’

‘Our presence might have done something though, right?’ Matt suggested. ‘Seeing us around and that, it might have spooked them, if they were there, made them think again about having a go at another farm.’

Harry’s response was a low rumbling growl.

‘You’re right about all of that,’ Matt said, ‘but there’s something else bothering you, isn’t there? I’m sure of it. I’m right, aren’t I?’

‘No, there’s nothing else,’ Harry said.

‘Bollocks, there’s nothing else,’ Matt said, then he caught himself and apologised. ‘Shit, sorry, Boss, I didn’t mean to be—’

‘It’s alright,’ Harry said. ‘No offence taken. Just speaking your mind, and I appreciate that.’

‘Then what is it?’ Matt asked. ‘I’ve known you long enough now, so don’t go thinking you can pull the wool over my eyes, because you can’t. And you’d best be out with it before I get Fly out here to lick it out of you. Or worse, I’ll call Jadyn out here and I’ll tell him that you’ve a secret and that it’s down to him to find out what it is. Reckon you can handle that? All the questions? The relentless enthusiasm? He won’t stop either, you know that, don’t you? He’ll be on at you all day.’

Harry couldn’t help himself and laughed. ‘God no, anything but that.’

‘Well, then?’ Matt pressed again. ‘What is it?’

Harry breathed deep. ‘It’s about the job.’

‘What job?’ Matt asked, cutting Harry off before he could say any more. ‘Your job? What about it? Swift giving you hassle, is he? That’s not on, not by a long shot. You’re brilliant. You’ve fitted in right well with the team, too. And—’

‘No, it’s not that,’ Harry said. ‘But I have been speaking to Swift and Firbank, my DSup down in Bristol. And you know I was away, after the funeral, right? Well, you see—’

Harry was about to tell Matt about the interview, about how it did or didn’t go, because really he wasn’t sure, and he had been told that he wouldn’t hear for a few days anyway, when Jadyn crashed out of the community centre doors.

‘Good grief, lad!’ Matt said. ‘Are you trying to break the door off at the hinges?’

‘There’s a call in,’ Jadyn said. ‘For Harry, I mean Grimm, I mean, there’s a call for you, Boss. Inside. On the phone. Because that’s where calls come from, isn’t it? Phones?’

Jadyn stopped talking as much to his own relief as Harry and Matt’s.

‘He’s good at the details, I’ll give him that.’ Matt laughed. ‘But don’t think you’ve escaped, Boss. I want to know, right? Whatever it is. That’s how things work round here, just in case you were wondering.’

Harry followed Jadyn back into the office and picked up the phone.

‘Grimm.’

‘It’s Rebecca Sowerby,’ said the voice at the other end. ‘How are things in Wensleydale?’

‘A bit strange, if I’m honest,’ Harry said, never really sure as to how best to speak to the pathologist. When they’d first met, they’d not exactly got on, but over the months that initial loathing had thawed into something that resembled mutual respect and toleration. ‘And I’m hoping that what you’re about to tell me puts an end to it and wraps everything up nice and neatly.’

‘Oh,’ said Rebecca.

‘That’s not a good start now, is it?’ Harry sighed. ‘Come on then, best get this told so that we can deal with it accordingly. What have you got?’

‘I suggest you sit down.’

‘I already am,’ Harry said, pulling out a chair and slumping down into it. As he did so, Fly slinked over and ducked his head against Harry’s thigh. Harry reached out and scratched the dog’s head. He glanced up to see the rest of the team staring at him, expectation in