False Witness (John Steel series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

locomotive, would have thought you would have heard that.”
    They laughed as they started to refill one of the bags.
    “Becky, your dad has had that TV on loud all night,” Mr Edwards told her. “I guess his hearing has probably gone, but can you have a word?”
    Becky nodded with an apologetic smile. “Oh, yeah, sure I’ll have a chat with him, sorry, Mr Edwards.” She stood up, slid the key into the lock, and turned it. She felt resistance, a stiffness which she found odd at first, but finally it opened.
    As the door swung inwards she was greeted by the loud blare from the television set in the sitting room. Becky left the groceries on the floor and rushed in, realising that there was a problem.
    The apartment was in darkness apart from a blue flickering glow from the television set that illuminated a path past the kitchen
    Confused and worried, Becky and her friend ventured along the small corridor and turned past the kitchen, taking in a full view of the sitting room.
    All appeared normal at first, so Becky headed for the heavy looking armchair to try to find the remote. Suddenly she stopped. Becky had caught a glimpse past the armchair, where she saw the shape of her father on the ground—his body was been lit up by the glare of the TV.
    Panicked, they both rushed over to him, only to find the man motionless on the thin stained carpet. His cold lifeless eyes were staring up to the ceiling, with its aging flaky paint job. Those eyes held an expression of utter horror. Mr Edwards turned and ran out before emptying his stomach on the building’s walkway.
    Becky moved slowly closer to the body. The sound of the TV set was now an irrelevance. The room was spinning as shock took hold, and tears poured down her face as she felt unable to do anything. After all these years of caring for him and now, she could do nothing except stare.
    Stare at his cloudy eyes and the bloodied stitching that held his nose and mouth shut.
     
     
     

EIGHT
     
     
     
     
    The morning traffic had built up to its usual madness. People were either rushing to work by cab or using their own vehicles. The sun had risen but had not yet brought its warmth, commuters huddled themselves in coats that they knew they wouldn’t need later, but they helped with the chill of the morning.
    Sam McCall reflected that Tony had sent her a text informing her of the fresh body at one of the tower blocks on Water Street.
    Parking on Water Street was a nightmare, its narrowness exacerbated by the badly parked vehicles, meaning that she had to park down the bottom, far away from the murder scene.
    However, she didn’t mind the walk. Finding a spot between an old Golf and a new Ford she parked then sat for a moment, taking in the surrounding view of large buildings of red and brown brick.
    As she got out the fresh morning breeze swept over her face, leaving a tingle in her cheeks. She closed her eyes and breathed in a lungful of the fresh air.
    The walk took her around five minutes. She could have done it in two, but she wanted to take in the whole layout of the land. The brown brick building itself was large with white window frames. She looked over at the entrance to find Tony waiting for her.
    “Hey, Tony, so what we got?” she asked her colleague.
    Tony smiled and took out his notebook from the inside jacket pocket of his smart grey suit, then held the door open for her as she approached.
    He read from the book: “We have a Caucasian male name of Andy Carlson, he was in his mid-fifties according to his driver’s license. There were signs of forced entry, the locks had been picked and the chain had been cut.”
    McCall took a mental note as they entered the elevator, Tony stood next to the control and pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the doors closed Tony flipped his pad closed and placed it back in his pocket.
    “Tooms is in the apartment with CSU,” he explained.
    Sam McCall nodded as she watched the round buttons on the control pad light