Double Dealing (Detective Sergeant Catherine Bishop Series Book Two) Read Online Free PDF

falling over his own feet.
      ‘Yes, yes, please. I’m worried about my wife, she’s not come home and it’s not like her.’
      ‘Okay, I’m Sergeant Smithies. Can I just take a few details?’
      ‘Yeah, of course.’
      ‘Thank you. Your wife’s full name, date of birth and address, please?’
    Mark gave them, then cleared his throat. Smithies asked for her mobile and their landline number and Mark reeled them off.
      ‘And when did you last see her?’
    Mark swallowed. ‘Friday. She was getting the ferry over to Amsterdam to meet some mates there for a hen weekend. I expected her home yesterday, but she didn’t arrive and none of her friends have heard from her.’
      ‘She was travelling alone?’
      ‘From Hull to Amsterdam, yes. The woman who’s getting married is called Sarah. We met her and her boyfriend on holiday, they don’t live around here. That’s why Lauren was meeting them there.’
      ‘And when did you last hear from her?’
      ‘I had a text to say she was on the ferry. I thought it was weird that she hadn’t been in touch since then, hadn’t answered my texts, but I thought with it being a hen weekend . . . Well, you know what they’re like.’
    The desk sergeant scribbled down a few more notes, then met Mark’s eyes.
      ‘What I’m going to do, Mr Cook, is ask another officer to come and have a chat with you. If you wouldn’t mind waiting over there?’
    He nodded towards a few battered-looking blue plastic chairs that had been set against the wall in the corridor. Mark nodded and turned away. Rich Smithies watched him for a few seconds, then picked up his desk phone.
     
     
      Hearing footsteps approac h him, Mark glanced up from his phone. The woman who strode down the corridor wore a dark grey trouser suit with a black top underneath. Mark watched her pull the embroidered silk neckline away from her skin for a second, grimacing as if it irritated her. She held a couple of sheets of paper in her left hand which rustled as she walked, the tapping of her shoes on the tiles echoing down the corridor. When she stopped, Mark got to his feet, towering above her. She met his gaze and her eyes seemed to be assessing him. He felt his cheeks grow hot.
      ‘Mr Cook?’ Mark nodded. Her voice was quiet, the accent local. She seemed familiar, though he couldn’t remember seeing her before. ‘I’m Detective Sergeant Bishop. My colleague tells me you’re worried about your wife?’
    Mark nodded a few times, licking his lips. A detective. He’d expected an ordinary PC Plod. He glanced over Bishop’s head and down the corridor. Who knew what was going on behind those doors? Maybe they were looking into Lauren’s disappearance already?
      ‘Mr Cook?’ She was waiting for him to speak and he was flustered.
      ‘I’m sorry, yes, I’m so worried. I’ve not heard from Lauren and it’s not like her, she’s usually on her phone all the time.’
      ‘Okay. Let’s go and sit down and I’ll take some more details.’
    She led him down the corridor, about halfway, then pushed open a blue painted door and gestured for him to go in first. The lights came on as he entered the room; some kind of energy saving idea, Mark assumed. It was cold, the window letting in a draught. One-way glass in the windows - not surprising in a police station. Mark could see an elderly couple making their way slowly down the pavement outside. The man leant on a walking stick and the woman clutched his arm protectively. Mark swallowed, images of Lauren helping him out of bed after he’d had his appendectomy vivid in his mind. On another occasion, they had both had heavy colds over Christmas and had spent most of the holiday snuggled up in bed together, watching films. He blinked. The memories were tainted now, spoiled. The tone in Lauren’s voice, the disgust in her expression.
      His lies.
    Sergeant Bishop came into the room, closing the door behind her, and he forced himself to concentrate.