Coming, Ready or Not (D.S. Hunter Kerr Book 4) by Michael Fowler Read Free Book Online

back she happened to bump into this guy she knew – a boyfriend of a client. She said they had a bit of a general chit-chat, which lasted about ten minutes and then she returned to Adam and a group of friends they were out drinking with. She said that everything was fine between them until they got home and them he just went mental. Apparently started accusing her of ignoring him because she fancied the guy she’d been talking with. She told him not to be stupid and he slapped her across the face. Because of some earlier incidents when he’d threatened her she told him she’d had enough, and that she wanted him to leave and that’s when he kicked off. Punched her in the face and blacked her eye. She kicked him in the balls and managed to get out of the house. Ran to the next door neighbour’s house and called the police, but by the time they’d got there Fields had left. Gemma went to hospital for treatment and then stayed with a mate overnight. The next day she came in with her mum and made her statement. I arrested him at the gym he goes to later that afternoon. He admitted they had rowed but he said the reason for Gemma’s bruising was because she’d been drunk and tripped and fallen against the coffee table. I couldn’t budge him from that without the medical evidence so on CPS advice I bailed him to his parents’ address.’
    ‘ What about the other incidents.’
    ‘ There were two previous calls from Gemma herself, and they were for threats and not assaults. He was warned by the officers who attended as to his future conduct. And there were three calls from the next door neighbour because of their arguing, but on each occasion Gemma refused to make an official complaint.’ Tom Hagan tapped the paperwork, ‘The logs for each of the incidents are in the file and as I said earlier I have summarised them.’ He closed the folder, picked it up and proffered it across the desk.
    Grace took it out of his hand. ‘Thanks for this, we’ll be in touch.’
     
    In the secure car park compound of Divisional Headquarters, Hunter started the car but didn’t immediately set off. He sat in the driver’s seat, listening to the engine tick over, staring out through the windscreen, drumming his fingers upon the steering wheel.
    ‘ Did you sense anything about Tom Hagan?’ Hunter asked Grace, his gaze still focussed on the set of blue garage doors in front of him. A large white sign in bold black letters read ‘Overspill exhibits store.’ It revived the bad memories again of the last case. The team had stored everything here from that investigation.
    ‘ What do you mean – sensed anything?’
    Grace ’s quick-fire question snatched his thoughts back, ‘I don’t know exactly. It was early on in our conversation. Did you think he was a bit reticent with some of his answers?’
    Out of the corner of his left eye he caught his partner shaking her head. ‘I think you’d be a bit reticent if you were in his shoes, Hunter. Think about it. He’s just dealt with a domestic, in which the complainant has been murdered, and there were five previous domestic incidents logged to the address as well. The IPCC is going to be crawling all over this one, checking to see if everything was done according to the national policy. I think I’d be a little nervous as well.’
    ‘ Yeah, I suppose you’re right.’ Hunter engaged gear and reversed out of the parking spot. But as he made towards the barrier exit he wasn’t convinced by what Grace had just said. There had been something about the detective’s demeanour which had disturbed him, and the first thing he was going to do when he got back in the office was to go thoroughly through the file that Tom Hagan had handed over.
     
     
    Hunter grabbed a sandwich for lunch and then spent the afternoon wading through Gemma Cooke’s case file. He made his desk a jumble as he separated documents and made copious notes. He learned that Gemma had begun her relationship with Adam Fields