Swansong Read Online Free PDF Page A

say.’
    ‘Thanks,’ replied Jane.
    Dixon threw the shirts and some clean underwear into his sports bag and then went into the bathroom.
    ‘What’s the plan, then?’ shouted Jane, sitting on the end of the bed .
    ‘Haven’t got one yet,’ came the reply. Dixon reappeared in the doorway carrying his toothbrush, razor, a can of shaving gel and a towel, which he stuffed into the top of his bag. ‘I’m just gonna play it by ear to begin with.’
    ‘And me?’
    ‘You’ve got the difficult job. I need details of anyone arriving at Brunel within the last seventeen years. Teachers and support staff.’
    ‘Support staff?’
    ‘Kitchen and grounds staff, bursar, secretaries, the lot. Look for anyone who was at St Dunstan’s seventeen years ago and moved to Brunel. It’d be useful to have details of anyone who left St Dunstan’s within the last seventeen years too.’
    ‘Bloody hell.’
    ‘It’ll be easy to get the Brunel stuff. Chard should’ve done full background checks on all of them anyway. Just look for the dates they arrived.’
    ‘What about St Dunstan’s?’
    ‘That won’t be so easy.’
    ‘What reason can I give without giving away the connection?’
    ‘I know. For now, just focus on the Brunel staff and where they were before. We can worry about the rest later if we come up with nothing.’
    ‘Wait a minute,’ said Jane. ‘If someone was at St Dunstan’s and killed Fran and is now at Brunel and killed Isobel then they might recognise you, surely?’
    ‘I doubt it. Anyway, it’s a chance I’ve got to take.’
    ‘You’d have been at St Dunstan’s at the same time.’
    ‘I know.’
    ‘Bloody hell.’
    ‘I was only there for two years and it was seventeen years ago. I’ll be using a different name as well, don’t forget.’
    ‘It’s too risky,’ said Jane, shaking her head.
    ‘I’ll be fine, really. I’m the hunter, not the hunted.’
    ‘You’d better be.’
    ‘The driving instructor,’ said Dixon, changing the subject. ‘I have n’t got a copy of his statement.’
    ‘I’ll get it.’
    ‘Fran passed her test the day she disappeared.’
    ‘What about her file?’
    ‘My name’ll be all over it so we’d best leave it in store for the time being.’
    Jane followed Dixon down the stairs. Monty was curled up on the sofa so Dixon sat next to him and scratched him behind the ears. ‘Keep an eye on her, matey. I’m relying on you.’
    Jane rolled her eyes.
    ‘Routine stuff on the usual number, OK? They’ll expect that. Get a pay as you go SIM card for anything else, just in case,’ said Dixon .
    ‘OK.’
    Dixon opened the back door of his cottage. It was still raining. He turned back to Jane and kissed her.
    ‘Don’t do anything stu . . .’
    He reached up and put his fingers over Jane’s lips, stopping her mid-sentence.
    ‘Once upon a time, maybe, but I’ve got too much to lose now,’ he said.

Chapter Three
    T he rain had been replaced by sleet, which danced in the headlights of Dixon’s Land Rover as he drove south on a quiet M5. He had stopped at the supermarket just off the motorway roundabout and paid cash for a pay as you go SIM card with twenty pounds of credit, which was safely tucked into his inside jacket p ocket.
    He turned off West Road into the main entrance of Brunel School, and parked on the far side of the car park, opposite the main school building, to take in the scene. To the left of the ca r park was a large single storey building that looked as if it had once been the school chapel. Stained glass windows revealed rows of bookshelves inside, telling Dixon that it was now the library. The main building itself was set over three floors with leaded windows and old weathered brickwork. The top floor had dormer windows and there was a large tower in the centre above the entrance. Two large carved oak doors were set side by side in an ornate stone porch.
    Dixon could not see a single room that was unoccupied. Either that or someone had left the