For Reasons Unknown by Michael Wood Read Free Book Online

ones who aren’t have stayed out of my way. I think Ben Hales has been avoiding me.’
    ‘He seems to have done a good job while you’ve been away.’
    ‘That’s not really what I want to hear Adele.’
    ‘I’m not saying he’s better than you but you can’t deny he’s good at his job. He’s not got the people skills you have. I was speaking to Sian a couple of weeks ago when that body was fished out of the River Don. She was telling me how the atmosphere changes when he enters the room. He just can’t chat to people.’
    ‘He’s never been able to. He can’t make eye contact. I heard he only made DI because of who he’s married to.’
    ‘Who is he married to?’
    ‘Sara Monroe as was. Her father used to be Chief Constable down in Southampton.’
    ‘Bloody arse-licker. Have you seen the car he drives?’
    ‘It’s not an Audi is it?’
    ‘A bloody great big Audi.’
    ‘I thought so. It’s been in my parking space all day.’
    ‘Paid for by Chief Constable Father-in-law no doubt.’
    Their gossiping was interrupted by a young barista bringing over their food. He looked like a student who was working part-time. Adele admired that in the young generation. As he turned to walk away she also admired his bum.
    ‘Adele! He’s young enough to be your son.’
    ‘So I can’t even look now?’
    They both laughed. It almost felt like old times – before Matilda’s life fell apart.
    ‘I was trawling the Internet this afternoon and did a bit of digging about the Harkness killings,’ Adele said between bites. ‘There wasn’t a shortage of suspects.’
    ‘I know. The Harkness case really was a mammoth task. Stefan was a researcher doing something with testing on animals. He’d received death threats from animal rights groups and I’ve got a file of over thirty interviews to go through. Miranda was a GP and was setting up a clinic to help teenagers know all about safe sex. That didn’t go down too well in the local community. If I was Poirot and I wanted to gather all my suspects I’d have to hire the Crucible Theatre.’
    ‘I don’t envy your task.’
    ‘Neither do I. The problem is I feel like I have to solve this to prove myself once again. It’s like an initiation.’
    ‘Did Masterson actually say that?’
    ‘Not in so many words. What with the house being demolished tomorrow it’s back in the press and it doesn’t look good for South Yorkshire Police to have a famous unsolved case on its hands. I just don’t think I can solve it.’
    ‘Come on, Mat, less of the negativity. Look at yourself; you’re back at work. You’ve made it. Show them what they’ve been missing out on while you’ve been away.’
    Matilda threw down the remnants of her panini. Suddenly the weight of the task was back on her shoulders. She felt the room closing in on her, the lights seemed to dim, and the background noise of a hissing coffee machine and chatting customers all mingled into white noise. She closed her eyes and took in a slow deep breath.
    Adele saw the signs of an oncoming panic attack. She had been through many of these with Matilda over the past nine months. She knew the drill. She placed her coffee mug on the saucer and leaned across the table. She put her warm hand on top of Matilda’s ice-cold hand.
    ‘Let’s start at the 1900s. Arthur Balfour,’ Adele encouraged.
    Matilda didn’t say anything. She screwed her eyes tighter and took a deeper breath. Everything went dark. The background noise of coffee drinkers chatting and the machines spitting out steam grew louder and mingled into one undefinable squeal.
    ‘Clear your mind Matty. Come on, Arthur Balfour.’
    ‘Arthur Balfour…’ she said slowly.
    ‘You can do this, come on. Concentrate. Arthur Balfour.’
    ‘Arthur Balfour, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Herbert Henry Asquith, David Lloyd George.’ Matilda’s breathing began to steady.
    ‘Two more.’
    ‘Andrew Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin.’ She took a deep breath, in through the