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

Blue carpet tiles on the floor, a small square table with a fake wood top and black metal legs. More of the blue plastic chairs, the same as the ones in the corridor. A water cooler glugged in the corner. His leg was trembling, his knee bouncing. He rubbed the palm of his hand across his thigh and clenched his jaw, trying to relax.
      ‘Can I get you a cup of water, Mr Cook?’ she asked.
      ‘No, thank you,’ Mark replied. He just wanted to get on with it. She waved him into a chair and sat down herself in the seat nearest the door, then looked at him, her head tilted slightly to the right.
      ‘So. You’ve not seen your wife for three days?’
      ‘Yes, she left on Friday morning. She should have been home some time yesterday, but she never arrived. I’ve tried her mobile hundreds of times, she’s not phoned, not sent any texts, not been on Facebook . . . it’s just not her. Her phone’s not even ringing anymore.’
      ‘What happens when you call her number now?’
      ‘Nothing. It doesn’t even connect.’
    Mark watched as she made a note, her left eyebrow lifting. He looked away, not wanting her to think he was staring.
      ‘And she was going on a hen weekend?’
      ‘That’s right, meeting a friend we met on holiday last year once she was in Amsterdam. The last text I have from her says she was on her way,but I’ve had nothing after that.’ Mark gulped. The sergeant radiated a calm tha t only served to make him even more nervous. He folded his arms, then uncrossed them again. She looked up, watching him as he fidgeted.
      ‘The friend’s details, please?’
      ‘This is going to sound bad, but I can’t remember her last name. Her first name’s Sarah.’ Another note. Another twitch of the eyebrow. ‘I could check on Facebook, see if I can find her surname? I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. To be honest, I just found her annoying, her and her boyfriend, but Lauren got on well with them.’
      ‘That would be helpful, thank you. If I could just ask you a few more questions first?’
    Mark dipped his head. ‘Of course.’
      ‘What about clothes? What was Lauren wearing the last time you saw her?’
    He gawped, his mouth hanging open. Sergeant Bishop waited, pen poised.
      ‘Jeans, I remember that. The thing is, I nipped out to get some milk and when I got back she’d gone, so she might have got changed in the meantime. She took a little wheeled case with her, you know, hand luggage size? She’s had it for years, it’s a bit battered . . .’ Mark realised he was babbling and closed his mouth.
      ‘Have you checked her wardrobe to see what clothes Lauren might have taken with her?’
      ‘No. No, I’m sorry, I didn’t think to.’ He hung his head like a child after a telling-off.
    She smiled.
      ‘It’s not a problem. Can you think of any reason why Lauren might have chosen to stay away from home, Mr Cook?’ Again, her eyes were on his face. There was no accusation in her voice, but Mark shuffled in his chair, feeling more uncomfortable with each passing moment. She was friendly enough, polite and professional, but there was a stillness in her manne r that he found unsettling.
      ‘No, none at all. She’s happy, we’re happy. She’d been looking forward to going away, once we’d saved enough.’ He swallowed again, wishing he had accepted the water she had offered him. ‘I was made redundant a while ago, you see, and I’ve struggled to find work. Lauren’s parents gave her some money for her birthday and we managed to find enough in the end. I wanted her to go, she deserves a weekend away.’ He raised his eyes, anxious to make Sergeant Bishop understand. ‘I’ve done my best to find a job, but it’s not easy.’
    She nodded. ‘Have you spoken to Lauren’s parents?’
      ‘About her not being in touch?’ He hesitated. ‘To be honest, no. Her mum . . .’
      ‘Perhaps Lauren’s staying with them?’ Catherine suggested.
      ‘No,