Up in Flames Read Online Free PDF Page A

Langley.’
                  ‘Anything known about the family?’
                  ‘No. But Angela Neerey was right about the father owning a chain of shops. The clothes shop on the High Street is one of his. I rang the main office and Mr Khan is working in the High Street shop this afternoon.’
                  Casey nodded. ‘Let’s get over there. If Mrs Neerey is right and the flat is one of his properties, it’s possible the arson was directed against him rather than the daughter. He must be a successful businessman, from what Angela Neerey said. Maybe someone had a grudge against him. No one becomes successful without stepping on a few toes.’
                  ‘Unless he torched it himself.’
                  Thomas Catt had a habit of jumping to cynical conclusions; unfortunate given the possible racist implications of the case. But as long as ThomCatt kept such remarks between the two of them, Casey was prepared to consider them. At this early stage he  would be foolish not to consider every possibility. ‘Insurance job, you mean? A businessman who’s not as successful as he would like the world to think?’
                  Catt nodded, brought out the comb which he seemed to carry everywhere and smoothed the slickly-styled hair that the fireman’s helmet had ruffled. It was how he had earned his nickname. ThomCatt was as particular as the most vain Persian about personal grooming. ‘Maybe, after the other arson cases, he thought it would be timely to jump on the bandwagon.’
                  ‘With his daughter and baby granddaughter inside? Too cynical even for you, TomCatt. And put that comb away, for the love of God.’ The puritan in Casey was uncomfortable with his sergeant’s obsessive grooming habits. ‘This is a murder scene, not a barber’s shop.’
                  An orphan, who had been abandoned as a toddler and brought up in a succession of children’s homes, Thomas Catt might well feel the need to adopt a well-cared for image, but he usually had a short way with family sentiment. He lived alone in a streamlined bachelor flat through which an endless succession of girlfriends came and went. Catt had never shown signs of getting serious about any one of the; to Casey a sure sign of his sergeant’s fear of commitment. Scarcely surprising given his background.
                  Now Catt shrugged, put his comb away and commented, ‘Maybe he expected them to be out. Maybe he hired a couple of thugs who didn’t trouble to check before they torched the place.’
                  ‘Either way, it’s early days yet. Later, it might be necessary to discreetly check out his financial situation, find out if he was in debt and desperate for funds. But let’s wait and see. Maybe we’ll learn something from his reaction when we break the news. I’ll want to speak to the mother as well.’
                  Remembering Angela Neerey‘s comment about the mother possibly not speaking English, he told Catt to get hold of Shazia Singh, the one Asian WPC the station possessed. ‘We might need her when we speak to the mother. Maybe for the father as well. Even if he speaks English well, if it’s his second language shock might make him temporarily forget it. We’ll pick up Constable Singh from the station. Just hope she speaks the same language as the family or we’ll have to wait while another translator is found.’
                  Casey was anxious to extend every consideration right from the start; something he was always careful to do with every bereaved family. But Superintendent Brown-Smith would certainly insist that this case demanded extra sensitive handling, particularly after the Stephen Lawrence investigation and the damning report that came after.
                  ‘While you’re organising that, I’ll see if Dr Merriman and