Substantial Threat by Nick Oldham Read Free Book Online Page B

ago, so I sold up, bought an empty hotel on South Shore and converted it into flats . . . done that ever since. Very lucrative. Got ten properties now.’
    â€˜Who is your father?’ Henry wanted to know.
    â€˜Bill Burrows – transport.’
    â€˜Oh,’ said Henry, slightly taken aback. He knew of Burrows Transport and their international fleet of haulage vehicles. It was a very successful business, rivalling the best transport companies in Europe, and Bill Burrows was one of the richest men in the north of England.
    â€˜I thought you’d know him,’ she said, seeing Henry’s reaction. Then she changed tack and said, ‘So why did you become a cop?’
    â€˜I think I’m here to ask the questions.’
    â€˜Fair’s fair,’ she insisted.
    â€˜Okay,’ he relented. ‘Impulse. Boredom. A desire to shock my mother. And it sounded like a fun job.’
    â€˜And has it been?’
    â€˜It has its moments . . . now, back to business. Somebody was murdered in one of your bedsits about a year ago.’
    â€˜Like I said before – I don’t know anything about it.’
    Henry paused before speaking again. He liked silence during interview situations, was never uncomfortable with it; it was always the interviewee who got twitchy – usually – but Jack Burrows did not seem to mind. She was a very cool customer, he thought. He hoped this was just a veneer and that underneath she was paddling like mad.
    â€˜I find that very difficult to believe.’
    â€˜It’s true,’ she replied without any trace of annoyance.
    â€˜Convince me,’ he urged her.
    â€˜When I started out in the rental game and had one or two properties, I did all the day to day stuff and I knew everybody who was in the flats. The more properties I took on, the less time I had to do that,’ she said, tweaking her fingers. ‘By the time I’d got five places, there was just no way I could personally know all the tenants, so I hired a manager and opened an office in town. He did all the routine tasks for me, including arranging lets to clients. I simply do not know who is in my flats now. I’m too busy buying another block and I’m also negotiating to buy a sea-front hotel. It’s go, go, go.’ She smiled. ‘And that’s why I don’t know anything about the girl who was murdered. Obviously it was a tragedy, but . . .’ She did not finish what she was going to say but then went on, ‘So it’s the manager who knew her and let her have the flat, not me.’
    Henry nodded, processing this information. He glanced down at his notes. ‘This would be Thomas Dinsdale, would it? He’s the manager?’
    â€˜Was at the time,’ Burrows corrected him. ‘He quit shortly after the girl got killed.’
    â€˜Where is he now?’
    â€˜Absolutely no idea.’
    â€˜No forwarding address? Contact number? New place of work?’
    She shook her head and pouted.
    Henry was just about to get very annoyed with her because he knew she was lying. He opened his mouth but his words were cut short by the pager affixed to his belt, which began to ring. Frustrated he unhooked it and read the scrolling message. He sighed and fitted it back on to his belt, then looked at Jacqueline Burrows.
    â€˜Saved by the bell,’ he said coldly. ‘But just for the record, Miss Burrows, I don’t believe you didn’t know anything about the dead girl, nor do I believe you haven’t got a clue as to the whereabouts of Mr Dinsdale.’ He finished his tea and struggled out of the settee. ‘So I’ll just have to find him myself, won’t I? And, as a muscular movie star once said, “I’ll be back.” I’ll find the front door myself, thanks.’
    Burrows, stony-faced, let him go without uttering a word. She watched him from the living-room window as he got into his Vectra. She was feeling very