Too Close For Comfort Read Online Free PDF

hell
not? You’re both the bloody same. All that matters is the police
force and the rest of the world can go to hell.”
    “Michael, you
really need to understand that we’re on the same side here. You’re
not to blame for being here in this hospital bed. The people to
blame are the scum who push drugs onto vulnerable people and get
them hooked; the people who use their filthy drug money to feed
organised crime; the people who think nothing of being a rapist or
a murderer. They are the people I have a responsibility to bring
down, Michael. We’re fighting the same battle.”
    “I dunno, Wend.
At the end of the day you’re able to go home to your warm cosy
little flat while I’m still out fighting on the streets. It’s
twenty-four seven for me, you know.”
    “So join me.
Come and stay with me in my ‘warm, cosy little flat’ and I’ll look
after you. No more drugs, no more dealers knocking on the door, no
more temptation.”
    “What? Are you
sure?”
    Wendy almost
regretted the offer as soon as she had made it. Was this really the
right decision to be making? Getting involved in something like
this could impact badly on her career. There it goes again – that
word. Career. What does a career matter when your brother is dying
slowly and painfully through a drug addiction? Wendy knew what she
had to do.
    “I’m sure,
Michael. At the end of the day, you’re still my brother.”
     
    ***
     
    As she left the
Egret ward with the Jamaican woman still blissfully snoring away,
Wendy was on an emotional high. She knew she was the right person
to look after Michael and to aid his recovery. What’s more, she
felt increasingly confident about the serial killer case. She
hadn’t felt this good in ages.
    Fumbling
through her pockets for her car keys, Wendy pulled out a crumpled
business card.
    Robert
Ludford ~ Chartered Accountant .
    She took her
mobile phone from her jacket pocket and dialled the number.
    “Hello,
Robert?”
    “Yes. Is that
you, Wendy?”
    “Yeah. Listen,
I wanted to apologise for what I said on the phone earlier. I was
out of order. I’ve been under a lot of stress recently and...”
    “It’s fine,
honestly. Apology accepted.”
    “Thank you,
Robert. Does the offer still stand?”
    “Dinner? Of
course it does.”
    “Excellent.
Shall we say tomorrow night?”
    “I’ll pick you
up at eight.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER
NINE
     
    Tom Connors sat
in silence as Culverhouse began to conduct the interview.
    “For the
benefit of the tape, Tom, my name is DCI Jack Culverhouse and this
is my colleague, DS Wendy Knight. Tom, I’ll cut straight to the
chase. We’d like to speak with you about a young lady called Ella
Barrington. We believe you may have known her. For the benefit of
the tape, I am now showing the suspect a photograph of Ella
Barrington.”
    “Suspect? You
didn’t say nothing about me being no suspect!”
    Wendy
interjected, “It’s just police terminology, Tom. For the benefit of
the tape, you know. Don’t worry – you’re not under arrest.”
    Culverhouse
shot a thankful smile at Wendy.
    “Terminology,
exactly. Tom, do you recognise this woman?”
    Tom shuffled
uncomfortably.
    “No, I’ve never
seen her before.”
    “Are you
sure?”
    “I told you.
I’ve never seen her before.”
    Culverhouse sat
in silence for a moment, wistfully planning his next move.
    “Tom, do you
recognise this woman? For the benefit of the tape, I am now showing
the sus—Mr Connors a photograph of Maria Preston.” He handed the
photograph to Tom Connors. It looked as though it had been taken at
a recent party. Fellow drunken revellers partied on behind her
whilst she posed daintily for the camera, a single lock of blonde
hair draped across her forehead; a symbol of the care-free attitude
she must have had that night. It had been one of her last.
    “No. I don’t
recognise her either.”
    Culverhouse let
out a slight involuntary grunt and glanced almost apologetically at
Wendy.
    “Tom, we’ve got