Chris Collett - [Tom Mariner 01] by The Worm in The Bud (txt) Read Free Book Online Page A

Sally? Sally-Ann?’ Mariner interrupted again.
    ‘It might have been, we were never actually introduced.’
    ‘What did she look like?’
    ‘She was a pretty girl, tall, with lovely long dark hair.
    But a bit … you know.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Well, sort of common looking. You know what these young girls are like these days. Tiny little skirts that leave nothing to the imagination.’ Eddie and the brunette, sounding like more than just a one-off. And were she and Sally-Ann the same person?
    ‘Did you see this girl around last night?’ Mariner asked.
    ‘No.’ The micro-hound had begun to wriggle and whine in her arms. ‘I’ll have to go now, Oscar needs to do his business. But if I can be of any more help, Officer…’
    After what he’d just heard, Mariner doubted that she could, but he nodded thanks anyway. He went back to the car, mulling over the new information. ‘Could this Sally have been Eddie’s girlfriend?’ he asked Anna.
    ‘I didn’t even know that Eddie had a girlfriend,’ she replied, testily. ‘As you heard, I haven’t been near the place for years.’
    ‘Well, whoever she is, we need to find her.’
    ‘So what now?’
    ‘We’ll take you home.’
    ‘No!’
    Mariner was unprepared for the force of her response, but then, if he imagined a home as perfectly turned out as she was herself, and the potential effect on it her brother might have, he could understand the reaction.
    ‘Jamie goes to a day centre on the other side of Harborne,’ she was saying. ‘I think I can direct you to it. If we take him there first, it will give me time to arrange things.’
    They drove in near silence as she issued hesitant instructions to Knox, which left Mariner wondering how sure she was about where they were going. ‘Eddie worked for the Echo, didn’t he?’ he said, firming up facts as they drove.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Doing what exactly?’
    She seemed relieved to be able for once to answer him.
    ‘He was a reporter,’ she said. ‘It meant he could work flexible hours and be around for Jamie.’
    ‘Do you know what sort of stuff he covered?’
    She was out of her depth again. ‘All sorts, from what I remember,’ she said, vaguely. ‘You’d need to talk to the paper.’
    It was on the list.
    Judging from Jamie’s reaction as they drew up outside a low, modern building, Anna’s memory of where he spent his days was accurate. He bounded in like an eager puppy, visibly relaxed and clearly at home. Knox waited in the car.
    ‘Greencote Day Centre’ was the logo emblazoned on the chest of the middle-aged woman who emerged from an office to greet them in the foyer. ‘Joyce Clark. I’m the centre manager. Can I help you?’
    Mariner produced his warrant card yet again, which Joyce accepted as though visits from the police were an everyday occurrence. ‘We were wondering where Jamie had got to,’ she said. ‘Eddie’s usually good at letting us know if he’s going to be late. Has he been running away again?’ So perhaps they were.
    ‘I’m afraid it’s more serious than that,’ Mariner said, in an attempt to prepare her. ‘I’m afraid Eddie Barham is dead.’
    Joyce just gaped at them. ‘When? How?’ she ventured when she finally found her voice.
    ‘Late last night,’ said Mariner. ‘We’re not sure of the exact circumstances just yet.’
    ‘Oh my goodness, poor Eddie, poor Jamie. What on earth will happen to him? Where will he go?’
    Taking her cue, Anna put out a hand. ‘Hi, I’m Anna, Jamie’s sister,’ she said.
    ‘Oh. I had no idea…’ That he had a sister? As the women shook hands Mariner completed Joyce’s statement in his head. A pattern was beginning to develop.
    ‘I’m so sorry.’ Joyce was flustered now. ‘This is such a shock.’ She turned to Mariner. ‘You don’t know…’
    ‘It’s early days,’ he said. ‘But anything you can tell us might be helpful. For instance, when did you last see Eddie?’
    ‘Well as far as I remember, he came to collect Jamie