Dying to Know (A Detective Inspector Berenice Killick Mystery) by Alison Joseph Read Free Book Online

two, we don’t know. It’s probably unconnected, but it seems odd he’s on the edge of the lab when they’ve had all this trouble. He’s got previous, too, did a stretch for robbery over in Herne Bay six years ago.’
    ‘Murdo Maguire,’ Berenice began again. ‘He was forty-three. Very well thought of in his field. He’s published papers on these meson things. Muons, neutrinos...’ She avoided Mary’s gaze. ‘He’d been with this lab for years. Family – one wife, she lives locally. According to one of his colleagues, it wasn’t a happy marriage. Estranged, he said, but still sharing the same house. No siblings. He grew up in Aberdeen. Parents deceased. The wife – ’ she scanned the room. ‘Who did the visit?’
    A young DS raised his hand. ‘With DC Cowling,’ he said. ‘We told her we were waiting for more tests.’
    ‘So she thinks he flung himself into the sea. Listen, Ben, as soon as the results come through, you need to see her again. The rest of you, the schedule is up on the wall. The car’s secured, but it can be towed now. The tower site is secured. I want an assessment of the tower, I want CCTV of the seafront, and there’s a team on the victimology. It’s all up here. Any questions?’
    The room was hot and airless. She clicked off the power point, told them, once again, that she’d be in her office – ‘And if anything – Anything – comes to light, anything you want to say, however small… I’m here. Got it?’
    And then the room was empty. She went over to the windows, reached up and opened a tiny, high-up pane. The door clicked behind her.
    ‘Thought you’d need a coffee, Boss.’
    ‘Mary – ’
    ‘Thanks aren’t needed.’
    ‘Thanks anyway.’
    DC Mary Ashcroft gave a smile.
    Berenice went back to her seat and sipped at the paper cup. ‘The seaside’s not for wimps, is it?’
    Mary laughed. ‘You never took this job for an easy life. Though, it’s true, you don’t get drownings in inner city Leeds.’
    Berenice dabbed white foam from her upper lip with a finger. ‘There was always the canal.’
    They sat in silence. Outside there was birdsong and the occasional rev of an engine.
    ‘Estranged,’ Berenice said.
    ‘You what?’
    ‘I was thinking about that word. This dude washed up on the beach – they were estranged, someone said. But still sharing a house.’
    ‘And?’
    ‘It’s kind of weird. What do we know about the wife?’
    Mary shrugged. ‘Ben said you can never tell when you’re bringing that kind of news. She was very quiet, he said.’
    ‘He’s right. You can never tell.’
    ‘Biscuit? There are two in here and I should only eat one.’ Mary passed her a chocolate digestive. ‘Well, I shouldn’t be eating any really.’
    ‘You’re not dieting again?’
    Mary nodded. She pulled at her sweater, which was fluffy and turquoise. ‘We’re like a comedy double-act. DI Killick and DS Ashcroft, the thin black one and the fat white one…’
    Berenice laughed. ‘You’re not fat.’
    ‘It’s all right for you. You don’t eat. I’d say it was heart-break, but you didn’t eat in Leeds either.’
    Berenice looked at her. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Not heart-break. Not over him.’
    ‘You don’t even drink.’
    ‘Apart from alcohol,’ Berenice said.
    ‘And you wonder why you get cystitis.’
    Berenice shook her head. ‘That’s just stress, that is.’
    ‘You don’t need to prove yourself.’ Mary got to her feet. ‘Remember that. You were a great copper in Leeds, and you’ll be a great copper here.’
    A brief squeeze of her shoulder, then the door closed behind her.
    Alone, Berenice picked up her phone. ‘Hi, yes, it’s DI Killick. DIO on the Hythe drowning. Can we get those fibres over to the lab asap? Thank you.’
    She rang off. She stared at her computer screen. A great copper, she thought. One day, maybe, I’ll believe it.
     
    ‘And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not