Bad Moon Rising (#1 - D.I. Paolo Storey Crime Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

but she nodded.
    He turned to Dave. “I have no idea what you said, but you seem to find this girl’s death amusing and that’s something I won’t allow in my office. Any more inappropriate humour and you’ll find yourself walking a beat. Understood?”
    He turned back to his team.
    “CC, I want a second questioning of all those with a view of the car park from their windows. I know uniform has already asked, but her body didn’t arrive there by magic. Maybe one or two of the residents will have remembered seeing something. Even if we can’t find out what type of vehicle we’re looking for, one of them might have spotted what they thought was rubbish being dumped. George, you go too.”
    “Right you are, sir,” Cathy said, waiting while Detective George Stone gathered his belongings.
    Paolo held his temper in check until he and Dave were alone. “You really shouldn’t rile CC, you know. She’d make mincemeat of you.”
    “She’s a dyke, that doesn’t make her superwoman,” Dave said with a shrug.
    “Jesus, Dave, are you stupid, or just pushing me to see how far you can go? Don’t ever use that word in front of me again or I’ll make sure you end up in front of a disciplinary panel. Cathy’s preferences are nothing to do with you or anyone else. She’s a bloody good copper and you’d do well to remember that. As for her not being superwoman, she comes damn close. She’s a judo black belt. The last time I saw her in action, the idiot who tried to molest her ended up with a broken wrist.”
    He wondered if Dave would have a comeback on that, but it seemed he’d given the younger man something to think about.
    “Right, you and I are going to pay a visit to my old friend Frank Azzopardi. It’s too convenient for him that Lisa disappeared when she did. Let’s find out what he was up to the night she died, shall we?”
    ***
    As Dave started the car and pulled away Paolo opened the window and lit a Camel. Everything pointed to Azzopardi. Could it be that simple? And if it were, would he be able to prove it?
    “You still pissed off with me, sir?”
    “Why?”
    “You’re quiet. I wondered if you were still mad at me, that’s all.”
    Paolo shrugged. “No, just thinking about this case. I can see Frank going after Lisa, but what reason would he have for killing the first girl?”
    “Enjoyment? From what you’ve said, he seems to like slapping women. Maybe it’s the way he spends his leisure hours.”
    Paolo thought he could hear a note of approval in Dave’s voice. He hoped he was wrong, but now seemed as good a time as any to try to find out what was going on in his head.
    “So, what is it with you, Dave? What have you got against women?”
    “Me? Nothing. I love them.”
    “You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Paolo said. “The way you’ve been talking about our vics, it sounds like you despise them.”
    “They’re prostitutes, not women. Well, yeah, they’re women, but ... oh shit. I can’t explain it.”
    “Try.”
    Dave flicked the indicator and turned into Connaught Way. “They’ve decided to sell their bodies. You know? Put a price on it.”
    “You think they’re doing it from choice? Most of them have been forced into it one way or another. I don’t suppose there are many women who go on the game because they want to.” Feeling he’d said enough for now, Paolo changed the subject. “Anyway, how did it go with Rebecca?”
    “Rebecca? Who’s Rebecca?”
    “The WPC you made a date with on Gallows Heath. Remember?”
    Dave laughed. “I’m not likely to forget her, she was quite something.”
    “But you couldn’t remember her name?”
    Dave didn’t answer and Paolo gave up. He had enough on his mind without trying to solve Dave’s problems.
    The car pulled to a halt outside the gates of Azzopardi’s mansion. Dave let down his window and pressed the intercom.
    Through the ornamental ironwork, a wide tarmac drive curved away from the gates and disappeared into