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

you being prepared to take the fall for your son, would it?”

He fidgeted in his seat. Sara knew she was on to something. He refused to answer, so she pressed on. “Has he reached out to you since you came in here?”

Again, the prisoner refused to answer.

“Come on, Jo. If you love your son, you’d want to make sure he didn’t get harmed when we find him, wouldn’t you? Because considering the unbelievably crass choices he’s made, as soon as the armed coppers get him in their sight, his life will be over with one squeeze of the trigger. Do you really want that to happen, after you taking the fall for him?”

“What are you going on about? You’re talking absolute shite. My son has nothing to do with this. He doesn’t even live in the area.”

“His address is in the Morecombe Bay area, is it not? See, just so you know I’m not trying to pull a fast one. I know all there is to know about your son.”

“Funny that! Why are you here then?”

“Because I want there to be a peaceful end to this. There have been too many deaths this week. Are you aware that he raped and killed another victim last night?”

“No. He wouldn’t.”

“I’m not lying, I assure you. Come on, Jo. Tell me where he is.”

He closed his eyes and his head dropped as if Sara had finally defeated him. “At home. If he’s not there, then your guess is as good as mine.”

“So he was staying at the house with you?”

“Yes, I’ve only got a small place. I told him I didn’t have a spare room, but he said he’d be comfortable on the couch. So that’s where he slept. I can’t believe he’s killed another one.” His shoulders slouched in defeat and he muttered, “He killed that old woman. It was my idea to rob her. He got pissed off when she said there was no money in the house. He went in search of it, found it and killed her for lying to him. We fell out over that. I told him to pack his bags. The next thing I knew, you were knocking on my door and accusing me of all sorts, things I had no knowledge of.” He shook his head and wrung his hands. His voice was strained when he spoke again. “I couldn’t dob him in, I’ve only just got him back after years apart. His mother left me and moved out of the area.”

“Did he have a violent streak before he moved in with you?”

“No. I don’t think so. After he killed that old woman, we went back to my place and he sat there rubbing his hands together, the cash he’d found at her house spread all over the floor. Then he told me this would be the first of many, that we’d be rich in no time at all.”

“That’s terrible. So he was the one who took the money out of the ATM, who used the old lady’s card?”

“Yes, he must have borrowed my coat and hat without my knowledge. As soon as you showed me the image, I knew it was him.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why take the fall for someone like that who, let’s face it, you barely know?”

“He’s my blood. He has my genes, and that of his fucker of a mother, of course.”

The officer took a step forward again, but Sara looked up and shook her head. “Please, don’t, I need to question him further.”

“Once more, and I’m pulling the plug on this interview. I have my limit and it was reached, a long time ago.”

“I understand that. Jo, please, I’m here to try and help save your son, swear again and there will be no going back. The chance will be lost. Do you really want to fail your son in that way?”

“No.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll behave. It slips out, years of practice, sorry, mate.”

“I’m not your mate, got that?”

“Loud and clear.” Jo faced Sara again and rolled his eyes.

Despite the anxiety coursing through her veins, Sara had to suppress a laugh caught in her throat. “Is there somewhere else he’s likely to go?”

Jo shook his head and wrung his hands tighter until his knuckles turned white. “I can’t think of anywhere. Please, you have to believe me. I swear I’d tell you, now I know he’s in imminent danger.”

“I suppose he has money to burn, he could be anywhere, right? Does he have any other relatives in the area?”

“No, no one.”

“What about friends, either old or new?”

He thought the question over for a little while and then answered, “Nope, no one. It was just him and me, until he killed that woman. Bloody hell, why did he do it? She was such a sweetheart, too. I’ve laid awake in my cell since I got here, wishing I could turn back the clock. I want him found as much as you do before he really gets a taste for going after old people. The thing I can’t forgive is the fact he’s started raping girls and then killing them. Where the… heck did he get that from?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to find out if he’s in the system, maybe he has a record that you’re unaware of.”

“Sounds possible. He turned up on my doorstep after all these years, and I invited him into my home with welcoming arms. Well, you would, wouldn’t you, if your flesh and blood had gone out of their way to track you down like that? Jesus, I regret the day I opened the front door to him and he announced he was my long-lost son.” He shook his head in disbelief.

Sara’s heart went out to him. Here was a man, taking the blame for his son’s sins. “I’ve kept something major from you.”

He stared at her and inclined his head. “What’s that?”

“Your son has pushed the boundaries in the last few hours.”

He frowned and scratched the stubble that had