No Name Lane (Howard Linskey) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Doc’s tastes. Their last row had been loud enough for half the office to hear every excruciating detail. Alex Docherty wanted to see dreams, wealth and steamy love affairs in each horoscope, every day.
    ‘But that’s not how it works,’ protested Cryptic Ken, ‘life isn’t like that.’
    ‘Who cares how it works?’ demanded the Doc. ‘It’s all a load of wank anyway! Horoscopes are bullshit. How can one-twelfth of the population experience exactly the same level of good or bad fortune on the same bloody day, just because they were born during a random positioning of the stars? I’m selling dreams on every twatting page here. I want each and every reader to think it could happen to them; whether it’s playing for England or ending up in a threesome with Sharon Stone and the bird behind the bar at their local pub and you, pal, are letting the fucking side down!’
    Now Jennifer sat on the edge of the couch and crossed her legs primly, holding a pen close to her notepad, ready to transcribe the editor’s latest death warrant.
    Butfirst the Doc turned to Tom. ‘Do me a favour, son, leave my office now will you, like a good little boy – and don’t ever have the temerity to go mentioning your contract to me again or I’ll terminate it on the spot.’ And he turned back to Jennifer.
    ‘I want you take this down word for word, exactly as I speak it,’ he told her. ‘Dear Cryptic Ken … as you no doubt will have foreseen … you’re fucking fired … fondest regards, the Doc,’ then he glanced to one side and realised Tom was sitting there in mute shock. ‘Why are you still here?’ he demanded.



CHAPTER SEVEN
    The team was so large they had to go the training room so their senior officers could address them all. The twenty-five detectives assigned to the investigation into the murdered girls filed into the room. DI Peacock was already there and DCI Kane, so too was Chief Superintendent Trelawe. A fourth man Bradshaw had never seen before was standing to one side of the top brass.
    ‘I’m sure you’ve all heard by now,’ Kane began, ‘we have another missing girl.’ He looked around the room to let that one sink in. ‘Now, I’m going to give you the bare facts as we know them,’ he continued, ‘then I’m going to hand you over to Chief Superintendent Trelawe.’
    DCI Kane waited to ensure he had their full attention then continued, ‘the latest girl is Michelle Summers, aged fifteen, from Great Middleton. She disappeared last night, her last known whereabouts being the bus shelter at the foot of the hill at the eastern end of the village. She was seen there by a number of witnesses, presumably waiting for the last bus that would take her through the village to her home at the opposite end of Great Middleton, right by the main arterial road. Michelle lives there with her mother and stepfather, no siblings. None of our witnesses saw her walk away from that bus shelter or get into a car with anyone. The driver has already been questioned and swears that nobody boarded his bus from that stop lastnight. We are looking for passengers who can confirm this.’
    ‘There’s a boyfriend, Darren Tully, same age as Michelle, but he got a lift home from a friend’s mother. The mother confirmed she saw Michelle alive and well, so we can rule him out. We’ve spoken to Michelle’s mother. She fell asleep on the couch downstairs and didn’t hear her daughter come home but there was a light on in the girl’s room when she went to bed, so she assumed all was well. It now looks as if it may have been left on when the girl got ready to go to the youth club earlier that evening.’ Then he added, ‘We’re not sure how reliable a witness the mother is.’
    ‘Meaning she’s a pisshead,’ whispered the officer next to Bradshaw.
    Either Kane didn’t hear this comment or he chose to ignore it. ‘Now it is of course entirely possible that young Michelle is a runaway but she only had the clothes on her back and