Death Dues Read Online Free PDF Page B

they didn’t have immediate, discreet access to the murder scene, as suspects they featured lower down the list.
    ‘Of immediate interest, of course, are those who might have had a motive for murder.’ He grinned at Llewellyn and in an attempt to jolly him out of his attack of the sullens, said, ‘They don’t call me a detective for nothing.’
    ‘One would have thought you could then detect the 30 mph speed limit sign.’
    ‘Oh, get over yourself, man. There are worse crimes than going a little over the limit. As we should know.’
    He ignored Llewellyn’s muttered, ‘Like going twenty-five miles over the limit, for instance,’ and grabbed his phone to ring Lizzie Green on her mobile.
    ‘Lizzie. How are you doing on getting that list of Forbes’s debtors in Primrose Avenue?’
    ‘I’ve got it, Sir, as well as the details of the dead man’s next of kin. He was living with a woman called Annie Pulman in a flat off the High Street.’ She rattled off the address. ‘I’m on my way back to the nick.’
    ‘Good man. Come straight to my office. If we can do some mixing and matching on opportunity and motive, we might get somewhere sooner than expected.’
    Rafferty replaced the receiver and sat back, contemplating the ceiling. He’d given up smoking, but would give anything for a drag or two right now. But he refused to give into the craving. Instead, he would have to rely on that other stalwart crutch for cases of emergency. He needed tea, hot and sweet. It helped him to think. Or so he believed. It would, anyway, help him get through the next few hours. He walked to the office door and opened it, collaring Timothy Smales who was passing by. ‘Finished with Eric Lewis and his statement?’
    ‘Yes sir.’ He handed the paperwork over.
    ‘Get me and Sergeant Llewellyn some tea, son, there’s a good lad. Have you managed to dry out?’
    Tim Smales smiled and nodded. ‘I use the old plastic bag inside the shoe trick. Keeps the feet nice and dry.’
    Rafferty grinned. ‘You’ll do. Getting as savvy as an old timer.’ Though not this old timer, unfortunately, Rafferty thought. The dignity of rank meant his feet had to go plastic-bag-less. It wouldn’t do for the plastic to peep over his shoes.
    Mission accomplished, Rafferty returned to his chair. The ceiling, having proved unhelpful as a provider of answers, he contemplated his navel instead. But all it told him was that he was getting the beginnings of a paunch. He was glad when Lizzie knocked on the door and brought in the list of Primrose Avenue debtors.
    Six of those in the odd side of the street who were at home and had the opportunity to kill also had large debts with Malcolm Forbes. The rest, on the surface at least, had no motive that they had yet discerned. But it was early days. Too soon to be leaping to conclusions as Llewellyn would undoubtedly tell him if he was foolish enough to voice another theory so early in the investigation.
    Still, he reasoned, those six were the most interesting to a suspicious policeman. Questioning them was a matter of urgency, but he’d postpone that until after the post mortem. He wanted to be armed with a more certain idea of the time of death than he currently had before he questioned anyone further, apart from the four street corner hanging youths.
    As soon as Sam Dally had provided a description of the likely weapon, Rafferty had set a couple of the uniforms on checking out back gates and shed doors for locks. None of the back gates had either locks or bolts and few of the sheds. Anyone with a mind to could have entered the back garden of one of the houses, helped themselves to a hammer or some other tool, and waited for Jaws to come along. On the surface, those with gardens that backed on to the alley where it curved would have had the best chance of killing him out of sight of the youths at the top of the alley. But the youths would doubtless have spent their time moving and mucking about so wouldn’t