Dying to Meet You Read Online Free PDF Page B

their other lives. Had Linda risked her life because of Jude? She felt her guts twist up inside as her feelings got the better of her. She was damming back her tears.
    She should not have left when she did. She had made a quick exit by the fire escape when Linda let in her late night visitor. Neither of them could take the risk of being discovered together. Linda had not said who was calling on her but Jude knew that it was more than likely Linda had entertained her murderer because as she was leaving she had heard a man’s voice. Jude thought she might recognise it if she heard it again. Could it have been one of Freddie’s boys? Linda definitely wouldn’t have let Freddie Kaufman call in so late at night. In any case he wouldn’t have come alone. It didn’t seem likely that he was responsible for her death.
    God! She was hurting so bad inside; it had been difficult to stop the tears from flowing when Linda’s name had been revealed to her in the club by Connell, the barman. How that devil Freddie would gloat if he knew how she was feeling right now. If he knew that Linda’s death had scored a hit on her too.
    Barely able to hide the pain and loathing that she was feeling, Jude watched Freddie leaning against the marble surrounded fireplace in a swaggering pose. He wore built up heels on the expensive custom-made Gucci leather shoes to give him extra height. Erik gave him a good six inches before his accident. Even Freddie’s thick head of barbered brown hair couldn’t help his lower stature. Freddie was Erik’s Achilles heel. But Freddie was his baby brother, he could do little wrong in his eyes and Erik would never give him away to the cops even if he knew he was guilty.
    ‘So - have you had the pigs here yet? That dead bitch, Handley , was in the Orchid Club on her own last week. Did you know she was suspicious about your old tart’s death?’
    Erik studied his brother and smiled. ‘You let her in, bruv. Don’t worry, Jude said Handley never picked up on anything. She was just curious like the rest of them. ’
    Freddie wasn’t listening. ‘They can’t wait to pin something bad on us. And that bitch gave Connell a good going over.’ His smile was evil. ‘Our young Connell has a bad reputation as far as women are concerned. And DS fucking Handley was no slouch; she was quick to pick up that he has been accused of rape in the past and a case of stalking.’
    ‘Not convicted though. It only needs something like Handley’s death to finish us and the business here for good.’

     
    Eleven
     
    ‘So the cause of death is...?’ Peterson studied the young woman’s body from the side view in the examiner’s theatre. It wasn’t a pretty sight. She’d sent Calder out to the gents when the Medical Examiner proceeded to make his first exploration with the knife as he was looking pretty ghastly.
    ‘Death by strangulation, Chief Inspector. A fractured thyroid. Considerable strength was used to achieve it. The severe cuts and bad bruising on her face and head were inflicted with a heavy weapon after death,’ the pathologist Henry Lawrence said. ‘The piece of rock fits the bill. I found a sliver of mussel shell in one of the facial cuts.
    ‘ She was raped after she’d obviously put up quite a desperate struggle, I would say; moved sometime afterwards to where she was left on the sea shore.’
    Peterson hadn’t had much time to get to know DS Handley. A good officer with an excellent record, she was a local girl, and been on the force six years. So was rape the motive for her death after all? If he had killed for sexual gratification once he could do it again, and again - till he was caught.
    Linda wasn’t attacked at random out on the street, although it had been a sexual assault. Her murderer had made a hit on her in her own home.
    ‘He needs to be caught and soon,’ Lawrence remarked sharply breaking the silence that had built up. ‘Just a suggestion but you could put it on Crimewatch. That could