Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey Book 12), M Comley [world of reading TXT] 📗

Not giving him a chance to bolt, Sara raced forward and smiled at the young man with auburn-coloured, shoulder-length hair. “Jack Scott, I presume?”

“That’s right. And you are?”

Sara produced her warrant card and he examined it thoroughly. “DI Sara Ramsey and DS Carla Jameson. We’d like a quick chat with you, if you have the time?”

“The boss has told me to grab a quick break. If you don’t mind sitting with me while I have a coffee and a sandwich.”

“Suits us.”

He pointed at the shop and then at a few tables outside. “Grab a seat, I won’t be long. I can’t offer to buy you a drink as I’m on a tight budget.”

“We’re not expecting you to buy us a drink. We’ll be waiting for you here.” Sara chose the chair facing the shop so she could keep an eye on his progress.

He slipped inside, picked up a sandwich from the fridge and popped a coin into the vending machine. He rejoined them at the table and tore open his sandwich. “What’s this about?” He took a bite of his lunch and spilt some lettuce scraps on the table. He gathered them up and shoved them in his mouth.

Sara cringed at the number of germs that were now on their way to mess with his guts. “Your ex-girlfriend.”

He grinned and took another bite, and then said, “Which one? I have dozens of them.”

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Popular young man then, are you?”

“I have my moments. Most of them pleasurable, if you get my drift.”

“I do. There’s no need for you to elaborate further. What about Mona, have you seen her recently?”

He paused for a split second and then ploughed on. “Not seen hide nor hair of her, not for a few months.”

“Since she dumped you, is that what you’re telling us?”

“We parted company. No bitch dumps me.” His eyes narrowed as his gaze met Sara’s.

“Bitch? Is that how you refer to all your exes?”

He tore another chunk out of his sandwich and chewed for a second or two. “Not really, just the mean ones.”

“She was mean to you? How did that manifest itself?”

He stared at his cup of coffee as he answered, “I was down on my luck and she kicked me into touch when I needed her the most.”

“That must have made you angry.”

“At the time, it did. I was furious. One of my mates stepped in to help me out. If he hadn’t, I would have been calling a cardboard box my home by now.”

“When was the last time you saw Mona?”

“Not for a while. Look, what’s this all about? She’s my past, I’ve moved on. If she’s been telling tales on me, then I have a right to know what she’s been saying.”

“She hasn’t.” Sara despised his attitude so much that she decided he deserved to be shot down in flames. “We’ve been told that you found it hard to let her go.”

His nose wrinkled and his lip curled up at the side. “Someone’s been feeding you a lot of bullshit.”

“Really? So you didn’t hang around outside her flat, hoping to see her after you’d split up?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Someone has been telling lies about me. Why would I hang around that bitch’s place when she refused to even speak to me?”

“You tried to call her?”

“Only a few times after she tricked me and locked me out of the house. How callous can someone you thought you knew be? I was in a desperate situation and she threw the towel in instead of helping me out. I could never do that to another person.”

“Sorry to hear that. You’ve moved on now, you’re settled again somewhere else? With another woman perhaps?”

“No. I’m still sleeping in my friend’s spare room. He’s been good to me. We get on great, he’s told me to stay as long as I need to and I’m going to take him up on that.”

“You still sound bitter from the whole experience.”

“Wouldn’t you be? I thought I had something with Mona, we’d been seeing each other for around five months, then one day she bloody locked me out of her flat and refused to speak to me.”

“No reasons given?”

He sighed and his expression darkened. “No. I wish I knew why, maybe we would’ve been able to overcome what had gone wrong between us.”

“And you would have been willing to have done that?”

“Yes, I loved her. Wait, I think I was in love with her.”

Sara frowned. “You’re not sure?”

“It felt like love. Hard to tell when you’ve never had those types of feelings for someone before. I’m not likely to in the future either, after the way it was shoved back in my face by Mona.”

“Relationships can be complicated and need to be handled carefully at times.”

“You’re not kidding. Which is why I’ve decided to steer clear of women for a while. I’m so much better now, you know, more settled. I’m having a blast being single again, why would I want to change things? Anyway, you’ve asked enough questions about me and yet, you still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

“The thing is… Mona was found dead today.” She came right out and said it, eager to see what his reaction would be to the devastating news.

He slumped back in his chair and stared at Sara. His sandwich flopped out of his hand onto the paper bag it came in. Stunned, he shook his head, and his mouth opened and closed a few times as he grappled for the right words to say.

“Are you all right?” Sara asked after a few telling moments.

“I’m in shock. Are you sure it was her? She was so young. How did it happen? Was she involved in an accident?”

“I’m sorry, no, she was killed.”

“Wh… what? I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Who would want to kill…? Wait, I get it now! Jesus, you’re here questioning me because you believe I did this. I swear I didn’t. I don’t have it in me to kill another person. You’ve got