Nine Lives by Anita Waller (best english books to read .txt) 📗

wine, sipped slowly to make it last. I’ll let you choose the film, though, to make up for it.’

Erica smiled as she disconnected. Her wife seemed to have the knack of making life simple. It usually involved wine, but she never let anything faze her, not even the most difficult of cases she had to deal with in her own job. Traumatised children, battered wives, even the occasional battered husband would be enough to flatten anyone, but she handled it, almost compartmentalised it so that it didn’t impinge on her own life, but she never had a bad word to say about anyone. Erica knew their years together had been special, and she hoped they would have many more.

She turned on her computer and pulled up Google Earth. She wanted a close look at the garage site; there had to be some way of keeping observation on the comings and goings. She fiddled around for a while until she got the angle and clarity she wanted, and realised quickly that with such a narrow entrance, once the suspect was inside the garage site, a vehicle could easily be positioned across the entrance to block her exit by vehicle.

She identified Adam’s garage from the description given to her by the two officers, and she wondered how they could make sure he was absolutely safe once the action started. If it started. First of all they had to know when she was there. There was no CCTV, nowhere to put cameras, and did she arrive in a car, or even by taxi? She would ask Sam to go find the lad, and ask if the suspect ever arrived in a different car before leaving in the Fiesta.

Erica took out two paracetamol from her drawer and swallowed them with the rapidly cooling coffee. This bloody case was one constant headache, and she doubted if paracetamol would help in any way.

34

Adam was eating a bowl of vegetable soup when he heard the knock on the garage door.

‘Adam, it’s Sam. You in?’

‘I am.’ He watched as the door slowly rose a few feet. Sam entered quickly, then pulled the door back down to the bottom, carefully balancing two takeaway coffees.

‘Finish your soup, then we’ll chat.’ The police officer smiled. ‘This is starting to look like a proper home.’

‘Central heating’s crap.’ Adam grinned. ‘Your mother’s a lovely woman, by the way. Please thank her for me; she’s sent loads of stuff that’s easy for me to cook, or doesn’t need cooking.’

Adam had brought in a few bricks he had scavenged from outside and created a raised plinth on which to stand the camping cooker. The rug was underneath the sleeping bag, an extra layer of protection against the cold that struck upwards with some brutality from the concrete floor.

‘It was good sorting through it all after you’d gone. I think,’ he hesitated, trying to find the right words, ‘that what your mum and you have done is possibly the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me, and you don’t even know me. I could be a real blagger, lying to you, into drugs, and you wouldn’t know.’

Sam laughed. ‘Credit me with some intelligence, Adam. Of course I’d know. Yes, I’ve been lucky to be blessed with the parents I have, but I’ve been in this job long enough to see the dark side and you’re not part of it. You’ll get yourself out of this, I know.’

‘Started already.’

‘Started what?’

‘I’ve got a job. Begins next week. I nipped round to the shop for some milk and the feller who owns it was having a right bull and a cow with his cleaner. She walked out, and I jumped in. I’m going round there on Sunday at twelve, when he closes, and he’s going to show me what he wants doing. You’ve done this,’ Adam said, looking up at Sam.

‘Me?’

‘You and Mike. I was pretty down when you turned up.’

‘Invading your space.’ Sam laughed.

‘Yeah. You did. But you bought me a McDonald’s. You didn’t have to do that. And then you turned up with the contents of your loft. And now you’re here again with a warm drink, and I know you’re checking on me, but I can take that.’

‘I’m not checking on you, I’m here to ask something. And to tell you something.’

Adam sipped at his coffee. ‘Oh?’ His eyes searched Sam’s face; he was instantly on his guard.

‘Stop worrying. It’s about the black car. At least, it’s about its owner.’

‘I’ve told you I don’t know her name. She’s never said it.’

‘You say she doesn’t arrive here to collect the car before five.’ Sam glanced at his watch. ‘It’s not three yet, so I should be safe. It’s important no police are here when she arrives. The car is of little use to us if its owner scarpers and we lose her. It’s been damned hard work tracking her down, and we’ve only done that because we had the happy accident of finding you. Luck like that never happens twice, I can assure you. It doesn’t usually happen once. So after this, I won’t be able to contact you until we’ve got her. However, we will be in the area. I don’t have details yet, but if she does come she’ll probably bring you food. That’s what she usually does?’

Adam nodded. ‘Yes, then she goes down to her garage, gets out the car and disappears. In the summer she used to take it out for ten minutes, then come back and leave after a wave towards me. But this past couple of weeks she’s kept it out for longer, and brings it back after I’ve nodded off. I don’t hear her. The rain’s drowned out all other sounds.’

‘How does she get here? Does she have another car?’

‘No idea. If she does, she leaves it out on the main road, because I only ever saw her walk up that alleyway to get to the garage. I used to think she maybe had a van or something