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

‘Agreed, but he didn’t want to. His mam told him it was time to stand on his own two feet. He has abandonment issues.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘He’s curiously old-fashioned, which is occasionally endearing, but the rest of the time I want to wring the chick’s neck. Now, back to business. Your friend was stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver, which we haven’t found, probably because it went into the waves with his phone. It caused a severe internal haemorrhage with little external bleeding. He was killed just a few feet from the cairn, and then his body was dragged in there. His solicitor is in Cardiff and I’m going to speak to him in the morning. He confirmed that Mr Griffith had no next of kin but left a will and that he’s his executor.’

DI Weber seemed very open with her information this afternoon and he decided to reciprocate. He told her what he’d learned in Holybridge and his conversation with Caris Murray.

‘She came to see me, and she was fishing for information about Afan.’

‘Maybe she’s hoping he’s left her something.’

‘Maybe. But there was something else — she seemed to know things about Afan that he hadn’t shared with any of the others here.’

A glint came into Sofia’s eye and she wiggled her eyebrows. ‘They might have had a relationship. He could have been consoling her after the boyfriend vanished. Older man . . . shoulder to lean on.’

‘They might have, although no one here has indicated that, and Suki told me he didn’t have a partner. It wouldn’t be easy to keep it under wraps in this community. Also, Caris is just eighteen, according to Bruno. I can’t imagine Afan going for a woman that much younger.’

She glanced out of the window. ‘Oh, I’m not so sure. There’d be ways to keep it under the radar. You could be tending the garden and then you’d pop into the house or the shed for a while. And clearly, your friend had changed a fair bit since you knew him. Maybe Caris’s youth made him feel rejuvenated.’

Swift could see her point, although he was dubious. ‘I suppose. Afan could have met her in Holybridge. Maybe that’s what he was doing when he was supposed to be at his Welsh class.’ He was still reflecting on Caris’s comments about her on/off boyfriend. ‘Did you find out anything about Morgan Callender?’

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. ‘I’ve asked Spence to check it, so I might hear something this side of Christmas if I’m lucky.’ The light was grey outside, and her freckles seemed darker in the dimness. She crossed her legs, hugging her arm. ‘As you’ve gathered, DS Spencer is my cross to bear and not a lot of use to me. Willing and likeable, but not too sharp. Pendafad, my mam would say. A sheep-head. He was transferred to me a couple of months back from another team. The idea was that my experience would rub off on him. It might, given at least ten years and a miracle. Now, you strike me as an astute kind of man with brains to spare, and I gather that you’re keen on staying around here and asking your own questions. Am I right?’

‘You’re right.’ He could guess where this was leading. He hoped that he was reading Sofia correctly.

‘Good. You’ll have plenty of opportunity for hanging out, chatting with the community and picking up bits of gossip. So, Ty Swift, my proposal is that we work in harmony. I can’t say together because I have to be careful what info I pass to you, and I don’t dare use any official communication channels. Let’s say as much of a reciprocal relationship as possible. How does that sound?’

‘Attractive. Will DS Spencer be party to this arrangement?’

‘He won’t. He’s one of those limited people who have to do everything by the book. The few brains he has would be in a spin if I told him. What do you think?’

He’d now received confirmation that Afan had had no next of kin. There was no family to represent him and make sure that his killer was caught. Afan had been in his corner more than once when he’d needed help. After a long silence, his friend had contacted him when he’d needed assistance, presumably because he’d valued Swift’s investigative skills. Swift had been too late to give that help. Or maybe not. Maybe he could give it now. ‘Okay, that sounds good to me.’

‘I thought it might. What’s your instinct about anyone here as the killer? Could it be Kat, with her unfulfilled romantic yearnings?’

He reflected on those scratchy suppers around the table. ‘It could be any of them. A community like this must have hidden tensions as well as some obvious ones. Kat isn’t liked much, Bryn Price loves to stir things and Bruno seemed tense at the prospect of the police being around. The Merchants have financial problems and the Brinkworths’ marriage isn’t the happiest I’ve seen. Suki seems straightforward, but maybe she’s too good to be true.’

‘Let’s assume that the killer came back in here late on the night of the murder to fetch the book and take it back to his victim’s body. That was a real gamble. Why take it?’

‘Regret? Trying to offer Afan comfort in death? It suggests that the motive wasn’t hatred. More that he couldn’t be allowed to live.’

‘Hmm. Strange.’ Sofia picked up a strawberry by its hull and handed it to Swift, then took another for herself. The way she made herself at home reminded him of Nora but, thankfully, that was the only resemblance so far. ‘I saw Elinor Brinkworth earlier, walking that dog that’s like a soft toy,’ she continued. ‘She was down in the mouth. She used the dog as