The Severed Streets Read Online Free PDF

arguing lost causes in dense language.Those who’d curated this material seemed not to have understood it much more than Quill’s group did.There were only gestures in the direction of a filing system or index.Nor could they find any useful occult objects in the ruins.On closer examination it had become clear that, as Ross had speculated, scavengers had been through the place and taken anything useful.
    Lofthouse had set up regular meetings between herself and Quill, and had listened with great interest to his reports of things which she should think impossible.True to his word, he had not asked her any questions.It meant that he left every such meeting feeling exactly as tense around her as he was feeling now.
    He picked up his bacon sandwich for a last bite before they had to go and meet the man in charge of the Spatley case and glanced to his team, trying to keep the wryness out of his voice.‘Good to have you onboard, ma’am,’ he said, ‘as always.’
    *   *   *
    Detective Chief Inspector Jason Forrest had a body like a rugby player’s, wore a bespoke suit and had an old scar down his left cheek.He looked as if he’d been persuaded at gunpoint to let Quill and Lofthouse into his office this morning.He asked a lot of questions about the exact purpose of Quill’s ‘special squad’ and rolled his eyes at the imprecise answers he received.‘Come on, why should I ask you lot to help with my investigation?’
    ‘Because if there are features you find hard to explain—’ began Lofthouse.
    ‘How do you know that?’He sounded bemused to the point of anger.
    Lofthouse looked to Quill.Quill told him about Ross’ search strings.
    The DCI’s expression grew even more nonplussed.‘Why are you interested in words like “impossible”?’
    Quill had his explanation prepared.‘Following the Losley case, we’ve been specializing in crimes with an occult element to the motive.’The look on Forrest’s face suggested that Quill was barking up the right tree.‘We’ve been given access to … advanced sensor … techniques, the details of which we can’t go into.It gives us a bit of an edge.’
    ‘You jammy buggers.We could do with that technology for the riots.’
    ‘We’re trying it out.Maybe other units will get it soon.’ ’Cos you’d really enjoy that.
    Forrest considered for a moment longer, looked again to Lofthouse and finally gave in.‘All right, I’ll formally request that your team assist in the investigation.You’ll get access to the crime scene after it’s been forensicated, and to witness statements and evidence.I’ll be overjoyed for you to help out my very stretched staff by interviewing persons of interest.I’ve already lined up searches at Spatley’s offices, both in Whitehall and the Commons, but if you can think of anywhere else to search, I’ll okay that too.’
    ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Quill.It was already occurring to him that his lot would not need just to find different places to search, but to go over the same places, given their advantage of having the Sight.
    ‘So, here’s the problem.’Forrest opened the file on his desk and placed some gruesome crime scene photos in front of Quill and Lofthouse.‘We have a car surrounded by witnesses for the whole time frame in which a murder could have been committed.We have CCTV footage of that car throughout.We have enormous coverage of the incident on Twitter, loads of social media photos.No one gets in, no one gets out.One of the two men in the car is brutally murdered.The other maintains he didn’t do it.Incredibly, we have some reason to believe his account – because we can’t find the weapon.The driver, Tunstall, has some of Spatley’s DNA on him, but only what you’d expect from him getting in the back to try and help Spatley after the attack, as he told us he did.I suspect,’ he finished, looking up from the photos, ‘this may well be how the word “impossible” popped up.’
    Quill was making a determined