by J. E. Mayhew
“I thought you’d be pleased with yourself,” Jeff said. “After all, that’s what all this was about, right? Splitting Will and Laura up. Making my brother’s life a misery.”
Gambles hissed impatiently. “Perhaps,” he said. “The trouble with you, Jeffrey is you don’t see the bigger picture.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow you.”
“No, Jeffrey, you don’t do you? I shouldn’t blame you. I have my ear to the ground. Knowledge that you don’t possess.”
“Go on then,” Jeff said. After being kidnapped by Harry Thorpe and coming so close to losing his life or being tortured, Jeff was a bit tired of Gambles’ melodramatics. “Impress me with your superior knowledge.”
“Something spooked Laura,” Gambles said.
“Yes, probably me revealing her whereabouts to a psycho like Thorpe.” Jeff had used the word deliberately, knowing that Gambles hated it.
“No. Something bigger. You see, I calculated that Laura would be alarmed at Thorpe knowing she was back in town, but he was small-time, really. The kind of person your brother could have dealt with easily. But for her to vanish like that suggests a bigger evil…”
“You just spoke of Harry Thorpe in the past tense,” Jeff said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. “What bigger evil?”
“I think we’ll be using the past tense about a lot of people soon, Jeffrey, if Kyle Quinlan is back in town.”
*****
Blake sat in his kitchen and sipped at a mug of tea and stared morosely at Serafina and Charlie who lay huddled together in a dog basket that Ian Youde had bought. The cat glared back at Blake, just daring him to try and stroke Charlie. Ian Youde sat in a wooden rocking chair blowing into his own mug and appraising Blake.
“The little girl is safe, that’s the main thing, Will,” he said.
Blake nodded. “It was horrible, though, Ian. Percival just disappeared. I keep seeing his angry face, those furious eyes glaring at me and then bang. Gone…”
“Give it time, mate. Give it time. Will the force give you any counselling?”
Blake looked up at Youde. The man never ceased to surprise him. He seemed so tough and workmanlike on the outside, the kind of person who would dismiss any kind of therapy out of hand. And yet it seemed Blake had misjudged him again.
“Yeah,” Blake said. “I dare say I could see someone if I needed to…”
“Worth having a chat if it’s on your mind all the time. Just saying.”
“Right. Maybe I will. I want to find Laura, before I do anything else, though.”
“Any idea where she’s gone?” Youde said, his letterbox mouth barely moving. For a moment, Blake wondered how on earth the man ate. Did he cut it up into strips and post it through?
“No,” Blake said at last. “I went to the house, but the hire car had gone. Dropped back at the rental place by a big guy called Nick Duplicitous.”
“That’s never a real name.”
“I’d have queried it but the young man at the car hire office seemed to have no problems with it. The man had all the relevant documents, too. Maybe he just couldn’t read his name properly.”
“Kids these days,” Ian muttered. “So what’re you gonna do?”
“I don’t know, Ian. She said she didn’t want me to go looking for her. Laura wouldn’t be happy if she thought I was chasing her.”
“So you’re gonna look for her then,” Ian said with a grin.
“Jeez, Ian, who’re you, my Mum? You know me so well. Yeah, of course. I might take some time off, see what I can turn up. Can’t just leave it can I?”
They both paused for a moment to savour their tea and stare at the strange sight of the most oppositional cat in the world licking the ear of a Jack Russell puppy. “Maybe she’s tenderising his ear before she eats it,” Blake said.
Ian grinned. “I guess she’ll miss Charlie, when he goes back to his owner.”
“I don’t think Charlie’s going anywhere, mate.”
Ian Youde’s narrow, suspicious eyes widened for once. “What?”
“I never believed her for one minute. All that stuff about a friend called Chelsea. It was obvious to me that Charlie was Laura’s all along.”
Ian nodded. “That kind of makes sense. I mean, someone called Chelsea would be more likely to have a chihuahua or a pug called Chardonnay. Not a Jack called Charlie.”
“Chardonnay?” Blake gave Youde a pained look. “Where did that come from? No, I think she left him for me to look after while she was away. Which will be a pain in the arse without a bit of day care…” Blake looked at Ian expectantly.
“Okay, okay,” Youde said, cracking a rare smile. “I can take him out for a walk during the day.” He paused. “You don’t sound too cut up about Laura leaving, if you don’t mind me saying so, Will…”
Blake shrugged. “If this had happened a few months ago, I think I’d be in pieces, but Laura taught me to face up to life and meet it head on. I wish she’d taken her own advice. Besides, Ian, I’m going to find her and bring her home. She shouldn’t have to run away from anyone or anything. If she’s done anything wrong, then she should face up to whatever she’s done.”
“Ever the copper, Will,” Youde said, grinning. “Ever the copper.”
About the Author
Jon Mayhew lives on the Wirral with his family and has done all his life. A teacher for many years, he enjoys traditional music and plays regularly in ceilidh bands and sessions. Jon is also an award-winning author. His dark children’s books are published by Bloomsbury.
Find out more at www.jemayhew.blogspot.com
Find JE Mayhew on Facebook and twitter.
Also by JE Mayhew:
http://mybook.to/PoisontreeBlake
http://mybook.to/FearsomeSymm
http://mybook.to/Bonesofdead
Get a free DCI Will Blake prequel on Bookfunnel:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/gs5oc6n68k
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
About the Author
Also by JE Mayhew:
