MURDER IN PEMBROKESHIRE an absolutely gripping crime mystery full of twists (Tyrone Swift Detective by GRETTA MULROONEY (free reads .txt) 📗

day and I’d tell him that he needed to get away, but I never thought he’d have the bottle to do it. I’m glad he did, but sorry for Caris. She might have gone with Morgan if it wasn’t for me tying her down. As it is, she says they’re not in touch because Morgan needed a clean break from here. Too many bad memories. And now Mr Griffith’s dead, another friend of hers has gone and she’s so unhappy.’

There it was again, the theme of bullying. It ran through this investigation like a refrain. ‘Are you worried about Caris because she’s depressed?’ He couldn’t imagine why Lori would want to talk to him about that.

‘Sorry, I’m going round the houses. I’ll try and get to the point. It’s not just that Caris is upset about Morgan and now Mr Griffith. I’m worried about what she’s up to. She’s been away a lot of weekends for months now since Morgan left. Leaving on Friday, not back till Sunday usually, depending on her shifts at work. She took off late this afternoon. Spence rang from the police earlier, wanting to talk to her but she’d already gone.’

Sofia would have got him to call as the good cop to bring Caris in. ‘You know DS Spencer?’

‘His mam lives at the end of this road. He went to school with my eldest. He’s a nice lad, always willing to lend a hand. Takes his mam out every Sunday to the carvery for a roast dinner. She’s a friend so I get to hear all about it! He’s got a good heart, has Spence.’

Lori seemed far away, so he said, ‘You were telling me about Caris going away at weekends.’

‘That’s right. She told me that she’s visiting her aunty Becca in Cardiff, said that she’s not well and she’s helping her out. Becca’s on her dad’s side and we’ve never had much to do with each other. She’s a bank manager and a bit up herself, so I was surprised when Caris said they were in touch. When I asked what was wrong with Becca, she said something vague about her having an operation. It sounded funny but Becca’s on her own, so I reckoned she must have asked Caris to give her a hand. Anyway, Becca rang me week before last, when it was my husband’s anniversary — he died eight years back. She asked how Caris was doing, said she hadn’t seen her for ages. She sounded fine and dandy, said she’d just been on holiday to Lanzarote.’ She gasped, rested her head back and used her face mask.

Swift waited until she had recovered. He listened to ‘Billie Jean’ being hollered on the other side of the wall. ‘Did you speak to Caris about Becca’s phone call?’

She shook her head. ‘I was going to, but in the end, I felt really awkward and I flunked it. I was a bit gobsmacked, to be honest. I mean, Caris has never lied to me, not about important things anyway. What if she’s caught up in drugs or doing something illegal? I can’t think of any other reason why she’d fib. And where’s she staying, if she’s not at Becca’s? Who’s she got mixed up with? When I heard you asking her why she’d borrowed money from Mr Griffith, I thought it must be for drugs. That’s what you hear, don’t you — that people beg, borrow and steal to feed their habit. I’ve read about the big drug problem they have in Cardiff, and how easy is it to buy them there. And that might be why she’s been so moody too, if she’s taking those awful things. When I saw on your card that you’re an investigator, I reckoned you might help me find out what she’s doing. Whatever you charge, I’ll pay you if it buys me peace of mind. I can’t sleep at night, wondering what’s going on.’

The obvious reason for Caris’s lie didn’t seem to have occurred to her. It couldn’t be easy, sitting here all day, worrying and imagining the worst. ‘Have you considered that maybe Morgan is in Cardiff and Caris goes there to see him? It seems odd that her trips away started after he left home.’

Lori’s eyes turned to saucers. ‘But he’s in London. Caris said he went to London and she’s not in touch with him.’

‘Maybe London’s a red herring. If Morgan wanted to put his family off the scent and make sure that his brother left him alone, he could have said London but headed to Cardiff.’ Swift was sure that whatever was going on involved Cardiff, and he now believed that Afan had been part of it.

Lori was having a little surge of energy and her pale cheeks were slightly flushed. It would be down to the relief of sharing what had been on her mind.

She said, ‘Oh, like a double bluff. You could be right. Listen, I always go through pockets before I do a wash. I found this in Caris’s jeans pocket when I was putting them in the machine. I’m not that familiar with Cardiff, so I googled the road. It’s in an area called Roath. Nowhere near where Becca lives, but that’s no surprise now.’

She handed Swift a Co-op receipt for a shop on Ninian Road, Roath. It was dated a fortnight ago and listed the sale of sliced ham, cheddar cheese, milk, teabags and a chicken biryani.

‘This tells us that Caris does go to Cardiff. Whether or not to see Morgan is another question,’ Swift said.

Lori’s face had drained of colour again. ‘Hang on, if she’s seeing Morgan, why wouldn’t she just tell me, instead of making up stories? I don’t understand. I can keep a secret. I wouldn’t tell a soul. Who is there to tell these days anyway, except Reg?’

‘Reg?’

‘The rabbit.’

Swift looked out. Reg had vanished, presumably