You Are Dead by Peter James Read Free Book Online Page B

white wine. But being on call and with all that was going on, he did not dare. It was twenty past eight. Panicking Anakin had phoned him earlier to say that Logan was neither an heiress or from a moneyed family, and he was going off duty. He’d briefed his replacement Golf 99, who was now the Duty Inspector for Brighton and Hove Police for the next twelve hours and who Roy was due to meet shortly at the Chesham Gate car park.
    Roy continued to stare at the wallpaper sample. It was rather elegant, he thought. “It’s fun,” he said. “You don’t think it’s too busy?”
    â€œI’d like to put in a dado rail and have plain white above it—I think we can bring a lot of color in with the curtains and—” Cleo was interrupted by his work phone ringing.
    Apologetically he retrieved it and brought it to his right ear. “Roy Grace,” he said, in a formal tone.
    It was the replacement Golf 99, Inspector Joseph Webbon. “Sir,” he said, “I know we’re due to meet soon, but things are not looking good on this misper, Logan Somerville. There has been no communication from her since the last update. We’ve checked with ANPR and their camera picked up Ball’s car in several locations consistent with the journey he claims to have made from his workplace in Croydon and south to Brighton.”
    Grace thought hard for some moments, weighing the options. When people disappeared, they had often been abducted or harmed by someone they knew—frequently their partner. Or they had run away from an abusive relationship, gone off with a lover, had an accident or, in some cases, committed suicide. A huge amount of police time got wasted on missing persons, particularly youngsters, who turned out to be in the next-door neighbor’s house watching television with a friend. But it didn’t appear to be the case on this occasion.
    Panicking Anakin had gone almost straight into abduction mode. It might turn out the inspector had made the right call, although Grace hoped not. Was there anything he was overlooking here that could point a finger at the woman’s fiancé? It did not seem so. “So we can eliminate Ball as a suspect, for now at any rate?”
    Webbon sounded hesitant. “The officers attending reported some blood at the scene—a small amount, but reasonably fresh. When questioned about it, Ball said she had stumbled getting out of bed and gashed her toe on the bathroom door—and subsequently had to go to hospital to have it sorted. We’ve checked with the Royal Sussex County and they have no record of her having been seen in Accident and Emergency this morning.”
    â€œDomestic violence?”
    â€œYes, CID here feel that’s a possibility, sir. But we have a development. We’ve been going to all the flats in the building asking if anyone was in the car park around the time she made a call. We’ve found one lady who was driving in and had to brake hard to avoid an estate car with darkened windows that came out at high speed, and drove off.”
    â€œDid she get the registration? Or see the driver’s face?”
    â€œUnfortunately not a good look. She says she was too startled and she thinks he was wearing a hat pulled down low over his face. All she can say is that he was white, middle-aged, clean shaven, with a round face and glasses. She’s not very good on car makes, but she says it was a medium-size car in a dark color. Possibly an old Volvo, navy blue or charcoal.”
    â€œHave you given that to CCTV in the Control Room?”
    â€œYes, sir, they’re on it.”
    â€œWhat’s the woman’s name?”
    â€œSharon Pavoni.”
    â€œDoesn’t necessarily mean anything, but we should get a cognitive interview as soon as possible, to see what else she can remember.” Cognitive Witness Interviews were a highly specialized field of their own, involving trained interviewers