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.Never an object of ridicule or criticism.One thing was certain.He would never face another press conference.He’d hand over to Jimmy Scott and bury himself in the investigation.No press, no interviews, and no more run-ins with Kevin bloody Tresco.~A knock on the door heralded Marcus Ashenden’s return from Sherminster.“I thought I’d bring him straight up,” said Taylor, ushering the breathless DC into Shand’s office.“You look like you’ve run all the way from Sherminster, constable,” said Shand.“I had to park in town,” said Marcus, “the car park was blocked.”Shand closed his eyes.He’d forgotten about his car.He dug out his car keys and handed them to Taylor.“Sorry,” he said, “I was late for the press conference.See if you can find someone to move it.”“No need,” said Taylor.“It’s all sorted now.They didn’t know whose car it was so they broke in.”“Broke in?” Shand could see his day spiralling ever deeper down the plughole of misfortune.“It’s not damaged,” said his sergeant.“They released the door lock, disengaged the hand brake and pushed it clear.”“Where is it now?” asked Shand, half-expecting to be told it had been towed away.It hadn’t.By some miracle of good fortune it had been shunted into a space by the front gate.Shand pocketed his keys and asked for Marc’s report.“Everything appears to check out, sir,” he began.“I talked to the friends George stayed with – Duncan and Elaine Shepherd.They said George arrived about 8:15, they had a coffee and rang for a taxi that arrived about 8:45.”“Did they notice anything about George’s demeanour?” asked Shand.Marcus ran a finger back over his notes.“He was excited about the evening ahead.”“Excited?” said Shand, wondering if excitement could be confused with nerves.“Did you ask them if he was nervous at all?”“I did,” said Marcus, flicking onto the next page.“They didn’t think so.Duncan said he looked at his watch a few times during the evening, but he put that down to George not being used to staying out late.A ‘real home bird’ is how he described him.”Shand gestured for Marcus to continue while he leaned back in his chair and listened.“I confirmed with the taxi company that two men were picked up from Duncan Shepherd’s address at 8:51 and taken to the Crown and Anchor in Sherminster.A ten-minute ride.The taxi driver doesn’t remember any conversation.‘Just two men on the way to the pub,’ he said.”“Did anyone notice anything odd in George’s demeanour that evening?” asked Shand.“No, sir.One of his friends – a Clive Farleigh – said he was quiet for about twenty minutes around midnight, but no one else noticed.And Farleigh put it down to the drink.He thought George was feeling queasy.”“Did anyone see George talking to someone outside their party?”“No.Nor any phone calls, sir.Not that anyone saw.He went to the gents a number of times and would have passed a phone box, but no one saw him use it.”Nor would they, thought Shand.Helena’s abductors were hardly likely to ring the Crown and Anchor’s public phone on the off chance that George was passing at the time.“When did they leave?” he asked.“The party broke up just after midnight.Some walked home, the others waited outside for taxis.”“Was George ever alone?”“No, sir.The taxi for George and Duncan arrived at 12:30, dropped them off at 12:40, then the two of them stayed up talking for at least another hour.Elaine came down and made them coffee.And she made them both drink a pint of water.”“Wives,” said Taylor.“What would we do without them?”“So George went to bed about a quarter to two?” asked Shand.“That’s right,” said Marcus.“He stayed the night and left after breakfast.About eight o’clock, they think.”Shand leaned back farther in his chair.Why hadn’t Helena’s abductors made any attempt to contact George? Didn’t they know where he was? Helena hadn’t mentioned anything about being quizzed over her husband’s whereabouts.But then she was only just coming out of shock.It was a wonder she was as lucid as she was.He juggled times in his head.From 8:15 to 1:45, George was barely alone.Take away the handful of trips to the gents and he was never alone.Could anyone have made contact and not been seen? Slipped a note in his pocket, maybe? Something that he might not have read until the next day?No.It was too hit and miss [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Never an object of ridicule or criticism.One thing was certain.He would never face another press conference.He’d hand over to Jimmy Scott and bury himself in the investigation.No press, no interviews, and no more run-ins with Kevin bloody Tresco.~A knock on the door heralded Marcus Ashenden’s return from Sherminster.“I thought I’d bring him straight up,” said Taylor, ushering the breathless DC into Shand’s office.“You look like you’ve run all the way from Sherminster, constable,” said Shand.“I had to park in town,” said Marcus, “the car park was blocked.”Shand closed his eyes.He’d forgotten about his car.He dug out his car keys and handed them to Taylor.“Sorry,” he said, “I was late for the press conference.See if you can find someone to move it.”“No need,” said Taylor.“It’s all sorted now.They didn’t know whose car it was so they broke in.”“Broke in?” Shand could see his day spiralling ever deeper down the plughole of misfortune.“It’s not damaged,” said his sergeant.“They released the door lock, disengaged the hand brake and pushed it clear.”“Where is it now?” asked Shand, half-expecting to be told it had been towed away.It hadn’t.By some miracle of good fortune it had been shunted into a space by the front gate.Shand pocketed his keys and asked for Marc’s report.“Everything appears to check out, sir,” he began.“I talked to the friends George stayed with – Duncan and Elaine Shepherd.They said George arrived about 8:15, they had a coffee and rang for a taxi that arrived about 8:45.”“Did they notice anything about George’s demeanour?” asked Shand.Marcus ran a finger back over his notes.“He was excited about the evening ahead.”“Excited?” said Shand, wondering if excitement could be confused with nerves.“Did you ask them if he was nervous at all?”“I did,” said Marcus, flicking onto the next page.“They didn’t think so.Duncan said he looked at his watch a few times during the evening, but he put that down to George not being used to staying out late.A ‘real home bird’ is how he described him.”Shand gestured for Marcus to continue while he leaned back in his chair and listened.“I confirmed with the taxi company that two men were picked up from Duncan Shepherd’s address at 8:51 and taken to the Crown and Anchor in Sherminster.A ten-minute ride.The taxi driver doesn’t remember any conversation.‘Just two men on the way to the pub,’ he said.”“Did anyone notice anything odd in George’s demeanour that evening?” asked Shand.“No, sir.One of his friends – a Clive Farleigh – said he was quiet for about twenty minutes around midnight, but no one else noticed.And Farleigh put it down to the drink.He thought George was feeling queasy.”“Did anyone see George talking to someone outside their party?”“No.Nor any phone calls, sir.Not that anyone saw.He went to the gents a number of times and would have passed a phone box, but no one saw him use it.”Nor would they, thought Shand.Helena’s abductors were hardly likely to ring the Crown and Anchor’s public phone on the off chance that George was passing at the time.“When did they leave?” he asked.“The party broke up just after midnight.Some walked home, the others waited outside for taxis.”“Was George ever alone?”“No, sir.The taxi for George and Duncan arrived at 12:30, dropped them off at 12:40, then the two of them stayed up talking for at least another hour.Elaine came down and made them coffee.And she made them both drink a pint of water.”“Wives,” said Taylor.“What would we do without them?”“So George went to bed about a quarter to two?” asked Shand.“That’s right,” said Marcus.“He stayed the night and left after breakfast.About eight o’clock, they think.”Shand leaned back farther in his chair.Why hadn’t Helena’s abductors made any attempt to contact George? Didn’t they know where he was? Helena hadn’t mentioned anything about being quizzed over her husband’s whereabouts.But then she was only just coming out of shock.It was a wonder she was as lucid as she was.He juggled times in his head.From 8:15 to 1:45, George was barely alone.Take away the handful of trips to the gents and he was never alone.Could anyone have made contact and not been seen? Slipped a note in his pocket, maybe? Something that he might not have read until the next day?No.It was too hit and miss [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]