The Reckoning by Jane Casey Read Free Book Online Page A

typical Irish girl. I don’t have red hair and freckles.’
    ‘Those grey eyes are like the Irish Sea on a cloudy day. You couldn’t be anything else.’
    ‘How poetic.’ My voice was pure acid.
    ‘That’s me.’ He began humming tunelessly under his breath and I slowly realised it was intended to be ‘Molly Malone’.
    ‘She was from Dublin. My parents are from the country.’
    ‘Don’t know any other Irish songs. Sorry.’
    ‘My loss, I’m sure.’
    ‘Just wait until you hear my version of “My Way”. I’ll take you out some time. We can have a few beers and you can hold my coat while I take on the karaoke machine.’
    It would be a cold day in hell before I socialised with Josh Derwent. ‘I don’t think that’s going to happen.’
    ‘What is it – jealous boyfriend? He wouldn’t like you going out for drinks with another man?’
    ‘Hardly.’
    ‘Don’t tell me a girl like you is single.’
    I hesitated, not sure how to answer that one. Technically, yes. Emotionally, no. And it certainly wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with the inspector. ‘Let’s just say it’s complicated. And not relevant.’
    ‘Oh, so there’s a story.’ Another sidelong glance, this time accompanied by a wide grin that showed lots of white teeth. It was like a dog’s smile. ‘You don’t have to talk to me about it, but be warned, I’ll find out.’
    ‘There’s nothing to find out. It’s just not clear-cut, that’s all. And it’s not the reason why we won’t be going out, sir.’
    Eyebrows raised. ‘Sir? Are we back to being formal? You can call me Josh.’
    I was beginning to think Derwent had misunderstood the concept of a charm offensive. ‘I’d rather not … boss. No offence. I’d just rather keep things professional. I like to keep work about work. I don’t socialise very often with colleagues.’ Apart from the one I occasionally sleep with, obviously .
    ‘I get it. You’re serious about your job. I should take you seriously.’
    ‘That would be nice.’
    ‘That’s the other thing Godley said about you, actually. That I shouldn’t underestimate you.’ He glanced at me sardonically. ‘He’s a big fan.’
    ‘So that’s why he’s put me on the case from hell.’
    ‘You and me both.’
    ‘That’s a point. You’ve told me why I’ve got this one. Why did he put you on it too?’
    ‘Because I’m new to the team and no one else would have wanted it.’ A beat. ‘And because I’m really, really good at my job. Godley trusts me to get this guy, so that’s what I’m going to do.’
    ‘I admire your confidence.’
    ‘It’s justified. I will catch him.’ He sounded certain. ‘I might hold off until he’s crossed another few paedos off his list though. Because Barry Palmer may have been innocent, but Ivan Tremlett pleaded guilty, and he’s no loss to anyone.’
    That grin again, and I felt increasingly uneasy. It wasn’t a dog’s smile at all.
    It was a wolf’s.

Chapter Three
    ‘Welcome to Sidley Street, home of the Kwik Kleen Laundrette and Ivan Tremlett’s office, and roughly four-fifths of a mile from Barry Palmer’s house. And we’ll be lucky if we can get parked in this borough, let alone near the crime scene.’
    Derwent was only slightly exaggerating. The road was too narrow to allow for parking beside both kerbs so there were cars on one side of the street only and spaces were hard to come by. He crawled along looking for gaps in the bumper-to-bumper chain of cars, finding only double-yellow lines and loading bays. A hundred yards ahead of us a van pulled out and Derwent stamped on the accelerator to get there before anyone else could steal the spot. I decided not to complain about whiplash, judging that he wouldn’t be sympathetic. As he parked, I looked across the street. By chance we had stopped almost opposite the laundrette. It occupied a central site in a parade of down-at-heel shops with flats and offices on the floors above them. The buildings were