MURDER IN PEMBROKESHIRE an absolutely gripping crime mystery full of twists (Tyrone Swift Detective , GRETTA MULROONEY [books to read now .txt] 📗

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DI Weber was sitting in the chair with a back like a hand, rocking back and forth. She wore thick purple wool walking socks rolled down over her DMs, a red elastic band secured her coat buttons and there was a hole in the side seam of her trousers, just below the knee. He appreciated a fellow scruff, but Jasmine would be appalled.

She said, ‘Your friend wasn’t into home comforts, was he?’

Swift brought her a mug of tea. ‘I was taken aback when I arrived. It’s such a contrast to how he used to live when I knew him.’ He described Afan’s beautiful flat in Lyon.

She sipped the tea. ‘That’s not a bad brew. So, why the huge life change?’

‘No idea. I wasn’t in contact with him during the process that brought him here.’ He recalled what Mark Gill had told him. ‘A friend of mine from the Met knew Afan slightly. He said he’d heard that Afan left Interpol after an issue about bullying. I gathered that he was off work suffering from stress.’

‘I see. We appreciate, don’t we, Mr Swift, that someone’s life often explains their death.’

‘We do and you can call me Ty. At least you haven’t called me Mr Smith, like Jasmine did.’

The DI snorted. ‘She’s a madam, that one. Very haughty. You can call me Sofia as you’re not a suspect and we’re kind of in the same line of work. We spotted your car on the motorway by Swansea at 1.15 p.m. on Monday and the post-mortem says that Mr Griffith died between midday and 2.30 p.m. The email to you was sent from his phone at 2.15 p.m., so I’d guess the killer wrote it just after the stabbing and before they got rid of the phone and the weapon.’

‘That does point to the killer being from here, because it was someone who knew that Afan was expecting me and who wanted to delay us worrying about his absence. He’d told them all that I was visiting.’

She grimaced. ‘Ah yes, they mentioned it at the “colloquy”. But Mr Griffith did go into Holybridge regularly. He could have told someone there about your visit. Although if you’re right about a shadowy figure fetching the book to place on his body late Monday night, that suggests someone resident here. I agree with you about the reason for the email, although whoever stabbed him must have grasped that it wouldn’t be too long before his body was found. It’s late summer and that stretch of path is fairly well used.’

Swift had placed a plate of fruit on the table. Sofia took a glowing strawberry and murmured with pleasure as she ate it. ‘Nothing like fruit that’s just been picked. I can taste the sun and rain on it. I couldn’t live in a place like this, but there are odd moments when a flight of fancy makes me half believe I could. All the Tir Melys residents say that Mr Griffith was content here. This cottage does have a peaceful, if spartan atmosphere.’

Swift said, ‘I’m not sure that I buy into the happy community angle that they try to promote. I’ve observed a number of personality clashes already. Something was troubling Afan’s contentment. I’ve been giving some thought to the huge change in his lifestyle. He went through a difficult time when he left Interpol. That kind of trauma can make you re-evaluate your life and take a different direction. I was stabbed when I worked for Interpol and that made me rethink my career. That’s why I started my own private investigation agency.’

Sofia cradled her broken arm, rubbing the plaster as if she could ease it through the hard casing. ‘I googled you and fair dos, I could see you’ve had some results.’

‘Thanks. I’ve had a few casualties as well, things that keep me awake at night.’

She shrugged. ‘You stir shit, you get some on you. I’ve had my moments.’ She took a sharp breath, clearly in pain, and reached into a pocket of her voluminous coat. She took out painkillers and tried to pop two from the pack with her left hand. It slid to the floor and Swift picked it up. ‘Thanks. Can you get them out for me? I’m right-handed and I’m finding that my left one is a hopeless supporting act.’

Swift put the capsules in her hand, and she swallowed them with a draught of tea.

‘This bloody arm gives me bloody gyp.’

‘It’s hard, conducting an investigation when you’re below par. I caught a parasitic infection when someone tried to drown me in the Regent’s Canal, and the job was quite a struggle for a while. Is it a good idea to be at work with a broken arm?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘We’re down to a skeleton staff as it is, so I persuaded the doctor to say I could work. I wanted to as well, I’d rather be busy than loitering at home. But I’ll be honest with you, I’m a bad-tempered DI at the moment. I hate not being able to drive myself. I either have to listen to DS Spencer’s passion for ten-pin bowling or get cabs. I prefer the cabs.’

Swift understood her need to be active, but a murder investigation was a tall order when you were hampered with a badly broken limb. He wondered how many murders she’d investigated — there wouldn’t be that many in this area. ‘Just don’t take your bad mood out on me.’

She sighed. ‘I’ll try to reserve my irritation for that numpty Spence, who has been placed on this earth with the sole purpose of trying my patience. He moved out from his mam’s recently and he’s like a chick that’s fallen out of the nest.’

‘High time he moved out, surely? He must be in his late twenties.’