Foul Justice by MA Comley Read Free Book Online

he left for Afghanistan, she had no idea. She had genuinely never known that love could rule someone’s life as much as it did hers and Tony’s. They’d spent endless hours discussing the depth and value their lives meant to each other.
    Walking back into the kitchen, while Tony answered the door for the delivery guy, she shuddered and picked up the plates and cutlery. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back before you know it. Now don’t go getting all maudlin. It’s his last night. Let’s make it special.
    They ate their chicken korma and rice in the lounge in front of the TV. Tony absentmindedly turned on the BBC news. A reporter was out in Afghanistan, telling the viewers that a couple of British soldiers had been killed in an IED incident. They looked at each other, fear filling their eyes. Tony grabbed her hand and kissed it.
    “What have I told you? I’ll be fine. While I’m away, you’re forbidden from watching the news, you hear me?”
    She felt the bubbling emotions threaten to show themselves. She stood up. “I hear you. I’ll put Henry out, and then I’m going to bed.”
    “Mmm…‌sounds like fun,” she heard Tony say as she left the room. She found Henry jiggling around, waiting for her at the back door.
    The night was fresh and clear, and the stars glistened as far as she could see. Picking out the brightest star, she whispered, “I’m depending on you to look after him, Pete. Bring him home to me, safe and well.” Feeling blessed that she had someone on the other side to help guide Tony on his mission, she whistled Henry in and closed the door behind them.
    That night their lovemaking was filled with tenderness and fraught desire, after which they spent the night entwined in each other’s arms, almost afraid to let go of each other.
    In the morning, Lorne considered throwing a sickie at work so that she could travel the seventy-odd miles to Oxfordshire to drop Tony off at the RAF base. But he’d persuaded her not to and instead had waved her off on the doorstep. She’d held back the tears, not wishing him to take that memory of her away with him, but as soon as she had driven round the first corner, she pulled over and wept. Luckily she wasn’t the type to wear heavy makeup, so when she arrived at the station and looked in the ladies’ room mirror, the damage was minimal. Slight red rings surrounded her hazel eyes. She took a tissue from her handbag and held it under the tap to create a cold compress, then placed it over her eyes for a few seconds.
    When she looked at her reflection again, her eyes had returned to near normal.
    Lorne left the toilet and walked into the incident room to see people frantically scurrying past. “AJ, what’s going on?”
    The young man looked up at her and grimaced. “We’ve had another burglary overnight, ma’am.”
    “I see. Any victims?”
    “Yes, ma’am. One nipper deceased, and his mother stabbed multiple times and left for dead.”
    “Jesus!” I guess I’m going to be too busy around here to feel sorry for myself while Tony’s away, anyway.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    T he phone on her desk was ringing off the hook when she walked into her office. She answered DCI Roberts, “Yes, sir. Just got in myself. Can’t tell you any more details at the moment. Would you like to sit in on the meeting?”
    He sighed down the phone. “Fill me in after, Lorne, will you?”
    By the time she finished her call, the team had gathered ready for the team meeting.
    “AJ, do you want to fill us in?” Lorne asked.
    The young six-foot male left his seat and took up a position alongside the whiteboard, his black marker pen in hand, and started jotting down notes. “Yes, ma’am. At approximately eight thirty yesterday evening, the home of premiership footballer Les Kelly was broken into. When he returned home after a Cup match, he found his son murdered and his wife beaten, stabbed, and left for dead. Again, early signs are that there is no evidence to be found at the scene.