The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards Read Free Book Online Page B

Lakes.’
    ‘The usual checks were made?’
    ‘Mountain rescue, helicopters, the lot. An elderly neighbour gave us a lead. Her kitchen looked out towards the fells and when she was taking her washing off the line one afternoon, she said she caught sight of Emma, making her way up a rough track that meanders towards the fells. When we couldn’t find any wet-weather clothes in the bungalow, we thought we were on to something. She might have got into difficulties and broken a leg or worse. But the witness was scatty and couldn’t put a date or time on the observation. Besides, Emma was more into yoga than yomping. Nobody knew what was in her wardrobe, so we couldn’t check what might be missing.The search of the fells came up with zilch. It’s hard enough seeking a needle in a haystack when you’re sure the needle is waiting to be found. The weather was against us too. Gales, thunderstorms, landslides, the whole apocalyptic bit.’
    Les sighed. ‘What about Emma’s dark secrets?’
    ‘Her cupboard seemed bare of skeletons.’
    ‘That’s suspicious, for a start. Everyone has dark secrets.’
    ‘Even you, Les?’
    He scowled. ‘Never you mind. How about yourself?’
    ‘If only. They might make me more fascinating.’
    ‘What’s up, Hannah?’ He bent towards her. ‘Feeling unloved?’
    His insight shocked her. Swallowing hard, she told herself to take care. This was the danger of working with good detectives. Time for a diversion.
    ‘Lauren bollocked me for not alerting the media about our continuing active interest in Emma’s case. To appease Di Venuto, of course.’
    He sniggered. ‘So she’s happy for you to reopen the inquiry?’
    ‘You know what she’s like. If something photographs well or merits briefing the media, she’ll throw resources at it like confetti.’
    He slid off her desk. ‘Best let you get on with it, then. Shout if you need me.’
    As the door closed behind him, Hannah groaned. She mustn’t let her problems with Marc spill over into herwork. Things would sort themselves out. Into her head came the voice of a dead man, Ben Kind, when a row with an odious colleague the week after her promotion to DS drove her to the brink of tears.
    ‘Stop putting yourself down. All you need is more confidence in yourself. Trust me, I’m a policeman.’
    Remembering Ben led her to thinking about his son. What was Daniel Kind up to these days? The other night, with Marc out book-hunting and nothing worthwhile on the box, she’d searched against his name on the internet, but found no recent mention of him. Presumably he’d settled down with his pretty girlfriend to live the dream in Brackdale. Maybe one of these days they’d bump into each other again.
    She picked up Emma’s photograph again and forced her mind back to the unfinished business of the misper investigation. She still believed Emma to be dead, but yearned to be proved wrong. Maybe if they ever met, the two of them would find they had things in common. Things bubbling beneath the surface that nobody else suspected.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Families fascinated Hannah. She studied them as others might scrutinise exotic fish in an aquarium. Some glittered and charmed, others bared sharp teeth, all seemed mysterious to her. Supposedly, your sister should be your best friend, but she’d met dozens of sisters who hated the sight of each other. First time around, Hannah hadn’t met Karen Erskine. This time she intended to speak to her and her husband – but not yet. She wanted to feel her way back into Emma Bestwick’s life and it made sense to start with people she’d interviewed before.
    Last time, she’d spent hour after hour trawling through lists of Emma’s school contemporaries, teachers, people she’d worked with. Most of their recollections of her were fuzzy. She hadn’t made a lasting impression, nobody had bothered to keep in touch. Les was right. Ms Very Ordinary Indeed.
    Francis and Vanessa Goddard had given Emma a roof over her