Someone Who Isn't Me, Danuta Kot [good books to read for adults TXT] 📗

it was the right thing. I was told it would protect it. I didn’t want it getting stolen, sitting on the drive like that.’

Janet Sandison didn’t sound as if she had the technical know-how. There was something odd here. Watch out for odd things. It was something else Curwen had told her.

‘Why didn’t Miss Bagnall just sell the car?’ she’d asked. ‘It’s taxed and its MOT certificate is up to date, but…’ It sounded as though Miss Bagnall had been unable to drive for some time, and wasn’t likely to start again – so why pay good money for an unused car?

‘The family don’t like to think she wasn’t going to, you know…’ The companion had shaken her head.

‘The family?’

‘Yes. Well, it’s just her niece now. Her sister died a couple of years ago, but her niece keeps in touch, keeps an eye on things. It was her told me how to make sure the car was safe. She was worried about joy riders, and people like that.’

‘She told you to disable the car?’

‘No. Well, she told me what to do so it couldn’t be driven.’

Dinah had tried to keep the excitement from her voice. She wanted the details of this niece, this woman who was so keen to make sure this car stayed off the road. Miss Sandison had been a bit reluctant at first, but after thinking about it, she’d said, ‘She deals with most of Liz’s finances. It was Liz’s sister first, but after she died, her niece took over. It was all signed and sealed before I came on the scene. Liz talked about changing it but she never got round to it. You know how it is.’

Dinah didn’t. Her own finances were mostly nonexistent, but what possessions she did have, she watched with care. ‘Her niece has power of attorney? Can you give me her contact details? It would be much simpler if I just talk to her.’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’ Janet Sandison had led her back to the house and rummaged in a drawer as Dinah waited. ‘Here.’ She’d taken out a business card and handed it to Dinah.

Alicia Traynor, Director, CaLa Enterprises, Hull.

There was a phone number and a post code. ‘Thanks,’ Dinah had said. She’d wanted to ask some more questions, but the relative lateness of the hour had caught up with Janet. Dinah had decided further questions could wait for now. It was late and she had to drive back to Brid. She was behind the wheel, fastening her seat belt when her phone rang. She checked the screen, but she didn’t recognise the number. She answered with a feeling of trepidation.

It was Becca with a story of a break-in and vandalism. As Dinah listened, she could feel herself going cold. ‘Right. Listen. I’m sending a patrol car to you.’ She gave Becca more instructions, trying to make sure she’d covered all the bases. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’m on it.’

After Becca hung up, Dinah dithered for a minute. She had to chase up the Alicia Traynor connection, and make sure someone would question Janet Sandison and find how much more – if anything – she knew. But there was a raw urgency to Becca’s call she couldn’t ignore. Her first instinct was to contact Hammond, but she was no longer confident she could trust him to help Becca. In the end, she called Dave Sykes. ‘I’ve got information about the car,’ she told him, and explained quickly what had happened to it, and gave him the details for Alicia Traynor. ‘There’s something else.’ She ran through what she knew about Becca Armitage and about the break-in at Becca’s flat. ‘I think the kid conned her to get the key off her and then they went in and trashed the place.’

‘Looking for something?’

‘I think so. Andy Yeatson was seeing her, so maybe that’s got something to do with it.’

‘Yeatson was seeing her? Why didn’t we know about this? Why didn’t you tell—?’

She cut through his questions. ‘I did. I told the boss this morning. Listen, I think they could still be after her, and—’

‘I want to hear what she’s got to say. You reckon she’s part of the drugs scene?’

Dinah outlined what she’d seen at the flat, and the evidence that Becca had been attacked. She could feel Dave Sykes’ disapproval radiating down the phone and wanted to defend herself, but needed to get help for Becca first.

‘I’ve sent someone round,’ Dave said. ‘And a car to pick her up. We need to talk to this Armitage woman. Now. Right, get yourself back here – we need to get all this in detail.’

Dinah’s head was spinning as she tried to work out how much trouble she could be in. She needed to prioritise – the whole thing was out of her hands now, but Becca could still be in danger. Dinah needed to let her know what was happening. She called her as she ran along the road to where she had left her car, but there was no reply. The phone rang and rang. Frustrated, she sent a text. Are you ok? Get back to me.

As she slipped behind the wheel, she tried to sort things out in her head. It would take her over two hours to get back – by that time, whatever was going to happen to Becca would have happened. What would Hammond say? What would he do? And Becca – Dinah had been quick to dismiss her as a user, a kind of low-life, and had been surprised at Andy’s choice. She could remember Becca’s prickliness, her apparent lack of concern about what had happened to him, but as the conversation came back to her, she began to wonder…

That odd exchange when she’d talked about Mia, about Andy’s baby, an orphan now, and all the colour had left Becca Armitage’s face. What was it she’d said? His wife died?

And then she’d turned her back and started sorting through a pile of clothes as if she