Legacy of Lies

Alec thanked him and went back to fill the others in about what he had said.

‘So, we still don’t know exactly how Ki

‘But once Elaine’s daughter had told him north and antiques he was halfway there. Not knowing Rupert’s real name must have been the biggest difficulty. Once he had that, he just had to look up north for an antiques dealer called Friedman. It’s not a common name and not a particularly common occupation.’

Alec nodded. Harry was right about that. Whatever else Ki

‘He hasn’t gone far,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I’ll bet on it. He’ll either dispose of his phone or leave it switched off so he can’t be traced, but he won’t have gone away.’

Marcus shifted restlessly in his seat. It had been decided that he should stay the night. He felt safer in company than he did about going back to the shop. ‘I hope you’re wrong, Alec. I truly do. I know it sounds cowardly, but I just want him gone.’

Alec was right when he said Ki

He had driven his car to within a mile of White Farm, parked in a small copse of trees he had used before when he had gone to the farm, and walked the rest of the way, cutting across the fields on the opposite side of the road to the direction taken by Derek Reid when he had abandoned his crashed car.

Once behind the farm he had watched and waited. He’d seen the boy come round the back of the house and go in through the front door, heard him calling out to his father and get no response.

Satisfied that only Da

A ladder led him up on to the platform once intended for the storage of hay but now empty but for the junk they had no use for but could not bear to throw away. Empty feed sacks, rope and twine and boxes filled with general household junk. Bags whose logos declared they were destined for charity but which had gone uncollected or undelivered. A cardboard box filled with empty jars and, when he risked a second brief flash of his tiny light, topped with an abandoned recipe for damson jam.

Ki

Not that Ki

A small window at the end of the gable gave him a view on to a section of the yard and out on to the field beyond. Not quite what he wanted but a quick flash of the torch reinforced his guess that this was the best he could do.

Ki

He had waited this long. He could afford to wait another day.

Thirty-Three

Ki

Now he had it back, and the prints had confirmed the identity of the owner as one Derek Reid, Fine was happy to be getting on with the task in hand, particularly as he had now been told that Mr Reid had just been picked up and taken into hospital, apparently in a pretty bad way. Fine wasn’t going to be able to talk to him until the medics said so and from the sound of things that wasn’t going to be soon. Fine was preparing for a very late night.

In fact Derek Reid’s phone was a little disappointing. Either Reid had very few friends or he had bought the mobile recently. I mean, Fine thought, who has the local takeaway on speed dial.

Wan’s Kitchen was one of only five entries. Ki

That one caused Fine to pause. Da

Fine pressed the button and called. Sharon Fielding picked up on the second ring. ‘Derek? Where the hell have you been. I’ve been waiting to hear from you since last night.’

‘Mrs Fielding. No, please don’t hang up, this is DS Fine. Derek’s been hurt.’

‘Hurt? Oh my God, what did that effing animal do to him?’

He guessed she must mean Ki

‘He was involved in a car accident, Mrs Fielding.’

‘A car accident?’

‘Yes. Now, Mrs Fielding, I’d like you to tell me where you are.’

‘Why?’

‘Two reasons. One, I’d like to take you to see Mr Reid. The other is that there’s reason to believe Sam Ki

Well, he reflected, what was a white lie between friends. It was the kind of lie that might reveal how much she knew about Ki

It appeared she might know quite a lot because he had the address of the hotel within the next breath. That and an appeal for someone to come and get her. Now.

Fine told her he was on his way. At least, he thought, he’d be able to tell Da

Sharon Fielding was in the lobby with her bag on the floor at her feet when he arrived. She looked scared, Fine thought. Scared and tired as though she’d not been sleeping. He found himself hoping this was the case. She had cost her young son too many sleepless nights and in Fine’s book that was stepping way beyond the line.

A female officer was waiting for them in the car. Fine asked her to drive and then seated Sharon in the back.

‘You’ve got your mobile on you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then phone Da

‘Da

‘Da

‘I know who he is.’

‘Really? He’s not so sure.’

‘I left him a letter. I left it on the kitchen table, a letter explaining where I’d gone and why. It’s Da

‘I don’t think he got your letter,’ Fine told her.