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

headed out to that shed of his, drunk too much, and never woken up. That’s all there is to it. Smoke, I would assume, then the fire. It’s terrible, but that’s it.’

‘He burned to death!’ Ruth spat, turning on her sister. ‘Dad burned to death! That’s what happened, Pat! How can you be so, so you about it all? So bloody cold and matter of fact?’

‘I’m not being anything about it!’ Pat said. ‘I’m just saying what happened! Dad did a stupid thing and we have to sort everything out now, don’t we? Have you thought about that? Have you? This house? The will? Everything!’

Harry watched as Dan rested a hand on his wife’s knee, but she knocked it off.

‘And don’t you go thinking that helps!’ she snapped, glaring at Dan.

Harry had seen exactly these reactions before, relatives unable to deal with the grief they were feeling, confronted by more terrible news. The brain just wasn’t designed to take it all in and people lashed out.

Dan edged away just a little from Patricia.

‘I think it’s best if we all just calm down for a moment,’ Harry said. ‘What I’ve got to tell you, well, it’s not easy to deal with I’m afraid. And we will need to speak to you all separately about it, just so that we can all be clear about a few things.’

‘What do you mean?’ Patricia said. ‘You’re starting to make it sound like this already truly awful thing that happened is actually much worse.’

That’s because it is, Harry thought, and after a long, slow breath in and out, said, ‘Your father died in the fire. That much you know. And we really are truly sorry for your loss. Particularly after the loss of your mum. You’ve all had a rough time of it and we really don’t want to add to what you’re going through. However—’

‘However?’ Patricia said. ‘You say all of that and finish with however? Just get to the point will you!’

Harry glanced at Matt, who was sitting opposite him, hands together, then said, ‘Although we’re unable to give you the exact details, for obvious reasons, we now have reason to believe that James’, your father’s death, was suspicious.’

‘And just what does that mean?’ Dan asked. ‘Suspicious? How can a man dying in a fire be suspicious? What’s suspicious about it?’

Harry knew he had to be careful now, because under these circumstances, with what had happened to James, he wasn’t just sharing this news with relatives, but with suspects. And if he gave too much away, then there was always a chance that he was going to give whoever was responsible a way to cover their tracks.

‘All we can say is that we now need to investigate the death further,’ Harry said. ‘Which is why we’re here today, to talk to you all individually about what happened last night.’

‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ Ruth said.

‘He’s rarely anything else, to be honest,’ Matt said.

‘But what do you mean by suspicious?’ Dan asked. ‘That’s a bit vague, isn’t it?’

‘It means,’ Harry said, doing his best to explain, ‘that although we know the cause of death, how the victim, I mean James, died, we have reason to believe that it may not have been an accident.’

At this, the room erupted and Harry sat back as everyone started speaking at once.

‘Not an accident?’ Ruth said. ‘Then what? What else was it? What are you saying you think dad did, kill himself? He’d never do that, ever! He just wouldn’t!’

Patricia spoke, backing up her sister. ‘Absolutely ridiculous! Why would dad kill himself? Yes, he was upset, but I agree with Ruth, he just wouldn’t do that! This is nonsense! Who’s your superior? I want to speak to them, immediately!’

Dan then stood up and Harry watched as the man tried to calm everything down.

‘Perhaps it’s best if we just give the police a chance to do their job?’ he said. ‘Clearly, we all know that there’s no way that anything suspicious happened, and it just needs clarifying or something, and I’m sure it will all work out fine. Isn’t that right, Detective?’

Harry said nothing at that moment because really there was nothing to say.

‘I just don’t see how it could be suspicious,’ Ruth said, and Harry heard real confusion and not a little anger in her voice. ‘Dad would never kill himself, would he?’

Dan, Harry noticed, was still looking at him, brow furrowed deep.

‘Wait a minute,’ he said, taking his eyes from Harry, ‘it’s not that they think it was suicide at all.’

‘Then what?’ Patricia demanded. ‘What else could it be?’

It was then that the chatter finally died to nothing.

Harry decided to speak before anyone else did, this time working to give his voice a harder, clearer edge, not aggressive as such, but commanding, demanding attention. ‘As I’ve said, we are here now to speak to you all individually about what happened last night. This will enable us to clarify certain facts about what actually happened and how that relates to the evidence so far collected.’

‘You think he was murdered,’ Patricia said, and her words sent a chill through the room, a ripple of doom that swept out to touch everyone.

‘Murdered?’ Ruth said, her voice a bark of shock and disbelief. ‘Dad? But . . . I mean, by who? Who would do that? Why? He can’t have been murdered! That’s, well, it’s just insane!’

‘But what about that intruder he’d been seeing?’ Dan asked.

‘He was just seeing things that weren’t there!’ Ruth said. ‘It wasn’t a real person, we all know that, don’t we? It was grief and exhaustion, and that’s all it was.’

‘But what if it wasn’t?’ Dan asked. ‘What if it was someone and he disturbed them and they killed him?’

‘Please,’ Patricia sighed, looking at her husband, a finger raised to shush him, ‘shut up.’

Patricia’s words brought a moment of calm to the scene and Harry cast an eye back over his team before addressing the family again. ‘The sooner we get on with this, the sooner it’s