Catch as Catch Can (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 1), Malcolm Hollingdrake [best large ereader .TXT] 📗

He grinned, checked the table number and went to the bar to order. Tony’s phone vibrated and Skeeter looked across at the screen. It rang three times and then stopped. A minute later the message tone sounded. He returned with another round of drinks. ‘Save getting up when the food comes. I’ll get this. Some luck on the horses. My treat.’

‘Didn’t know you enjoyed a flutter. Your phone rang when you were at the bar. Cheers.’

Picking up the phone he checked it, pulled a face and slipped it into his pocket. ‘Loo, won’t be a tick and if the meals arrive don’t nick any of my chips.’

The meals came soon after he had left but she waited politely other than taking a chip and tasting it. He returned and pointed. ‘That better have come from your plate, Warlock, or there’ll be hell to pay.’

‘Checking it wasn’t poisoned. You’re fine.’ Her expression did not change as she plunged her knife into the pie allowing the gravy to leach onto the plate.

‘This is good.’ Tony looked up.

‘Was the call important? You could have phoned from here, no need to go into the bog.’

Tony blushed slightly. ‘Girl trouble. It’ll pass.’

Skeeter was neither stupid nor foolish and she chose to store that nugget.

Bob Lawn checked his watch, he seemed to be doing it a lot lately. He had sent the other members of the team off an hour ago. Sitting back in the chair he put his hands behind his head and stretched. He wanted to check the video of the disembarkation of the The Dawn Lady. He had viewed footage of the couple, the Brinkmans, and he was beginning to doubt his initial premise. He had allowed himself one more hour and he would be meeting the group at an Italian restaurant by the Wheel of Liverpool.

Bob allowed the video footage to speed through, his finger on the mouse ready to pause at any moment. It was seeing the wheelchair that made his finger click on the mouse. He enlarged the image, and although grainy, it was clear enough to make out the crutches held to the side as well as the porter and Arthur. Bob focused on the bag Arthur Brinkman was carrying; for hand luggage it appeared larger than those carried by other passengers. Returning the video to its normal speed, he watched as Lynn took herself unaided from the wheelchair before moving to a seat. The crutches seemed ineffective as if she had not used them before. His curiosity was spiked. He saw Arthur tip the porter after he had returned with three other cases. They would have been checked as they were taken through customs. He paused the video again taking a screen shot of the luggage. On restarting the video, he witnessed Arthur lean and kiss his wife before he left wheeling the case that had never left his hand. Within fifteen minutes he reappeared in the car, helped her into the passenger seat and loaded up.

‘Now why did you take that case all the way to the garage when you were bringing the car back here? Why not leave it with your wife and your other luggage?’ Bob pondered out loud. The same strong nag now returned, a copper’s curiosity as his wife called it. He knew it was usually accurate and suddenly he felt rejuvenated. Pausing the tape again, he saw the porter return waving something which he quickly realised was a book. What really caught his attention, however, was the car stalling as it pulled away. Just a stall, moving a foot too quickly off the clutch. That, to an experienced driver at least, occurred when flustered or anxious. Something did not gel. Having watched others depart there was not all of this fuss. He wanted to look at the footage from the hotel carpark but his stomach protested in a different way and angrily at that. It had been neglected since breakfast, and besides, he had to meet his colleagues. One thing was sure, he had much to discuss.

Chapter 24

Bob Lawn had not been the only one working late. Lucy had delegated a search through the statements to ensure everything had been logged. DC Michael Peet was on lates. He enjoyed the station when it was not operating at full blast, he could concentrate. He had always wanted to be a lawyer but his partner’s pregnancy in the second year of university had stopped that idea in its tracks. Quickly married, he joined the force and with the arrival of a second and then a third child, he saw his police career being the one he should focus on. Working lates also gave him respite from the kids.

It was whilst reading the report taken during the interview with Eileen Toland that Michael’s sharp eyes spotted something that might not have been fully considered. He checked all the details for the man found on Ainsdale beach before progressing. His hunch proved to be correct. The report stated that the male staying at the flat, the man believed to have been found on the beach, was a bit of a geek and that he owned computers. It was the term ‘geek’ and the sentence ‘a couple of those laptops on the go’ that arrested his attention. Michael jotted down the notes, sent a copy to April and attached the other to the Incident Room boards. It was highlighted in blue. According to the reports neither of these computers had been found during the forensic search of the flat.

He went for a coffee and mulled over certain questions: had anyone searched or considered searching the lower apartment? Excepting personal items, the contents of the upper flat belonged to the Tolands. They had a key. When both occupants went missing how easy would it have been to take valuable items into safekeeping? These notions were accompanied by what seemed to be a small alarm in his head. A second gatekeeper’s job was to