Walk a Narrow Mile by Faith Martin Read Free Book Online

Begbrooke, guv.’
    Hillary nodded. The small village, distressingly situated beside a busy dual-carriage way, was literally only a few minutes’ drive away.
    ‘Well, since he’s having trouble getting work, I dare say we’ll find him at home then,’ Hillary agreed. ‘You fit?’
    Jimmy hastily gulped the last, still piping hot dregs, from his mug, making his gums wince in protest, and nodded gamely.

    Brian Vickary lived in a pre-fab bungalow that looked something like a beach hut. Tucked away far from the road, it appeared to be damp and somehow sagging. Even in the bright May morning, it looked as if it should be condemned. An identical bungalow beside it had a FOR LET sign. Hillary guessed that the landlord owned both, which meant that Vickary didn’t even own the place.
    A come down indeed for a man who’d set up and run a highly successful company, not so long ago. According to Sam’s research, Victory Glazing had rented offices in Banbury, and had employed four workmen/fitters and two office staff.
    Hillary rang the bell, realized it was defective, and banged on the door instead. The paint was peeling, and she was still wiping the knuckles of her hand when the door was yanked open suddenly and aggressively.
    ‘Hello? Whatever is you’re selling, I don’t want it.’
    The man who answered needed a shave, and was wearing an open-topped white shirt with grubby collar, and black, shiny trousers. With a mop of brown hair and large grey eyes, he was though unequivocally a handsome man.
    The whiff of beer coming off him at not even ten o’clock in the morning wasn’t quite so attractive.
    ‘Mr Vickary?’ Hillary showed her ID. ‘We’re here about your wife, sir. Can we have a few moments?’
    ‘Don’t have a wife,’ Brian Vickary shot back at once. ‘Got an ex-wife though. I suppose you mean her?’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘I heard she went missing. Wanna dig up the back garden? Help yourself.’
    Hillary smiled pleasantly. ‘Thank you, sir, but I think we’ll give the cadaver dogs a miss for now. Just a few questions, like I said.’
    Brian’s grey eyes regarded her steadily for a moment, and then he gave a reluctant grin, exposing white, even teeth. His smile was attractive too, and Hillary could understand why a woman with good looks of her own might have chosen him for a partner.
    ‘OK, fair enough I suppose,’ Brian said mildly. ‘Come on in. Mind the mess. But you’re wasting your time. Meg will just have found herself some other mug to feed off. She’s probably living it up on the Costa del Sol somewhere with a big, fat, ugly sugar daddy. Or do people still go to Spain now the bubble’sburst?’ he asked, with probably automatic and inconsequential charm.
    Hillary smiled obligingly.
    As he was talking, he led them through into a tiny living room – which was indeed messy. The floorboards underneath her had an oddly spongy feeling, and she half expected to put her foot through one of them. Two of the walls were badly affected by damp, and the wallpaper was peeling off.
    ‘Welcome to Casa Vickary. My other home’s a chateau in Bordeaux.’ Brian grinned, then abruptly sobered. ‘We used to go there you know. France. And Florida, and places like that. Twice a year, when the business was good.’
    Hillary nodded, but didn’t want to give him time to start getting maudlin.
    ‘I take it the break up wasn’t amicable, Mr Vickary,’ she said, sitting somewhat gingerly on a couch. Whilst it didn’t actively have broken springs digging into her backside, it wasn’t exactly welcoming either.
    ‘No,’ Brian said succinctly. Then, ‘Do you want a beer? I’d offer you tea, but I don’t have any milk. Or sugar. Or teabags, probably.’
    ‘Thank you, sir, we’re fine,’ she said. ‘Can you tell me why you broke up? Was there another man? You seemed to think your ex-wife wouldn’t be lacking for male companionship.’
    ‘What? Oh no. No, it wasn’t a man that broke us up, I’ll say that