Human Frailty, a Detective Mike Bridger novel by Mark Bredenbeck

people". He felt compelled to add.
    He looked at Mrs. Watson but could not
detect anything in her expression that told him if she believed
that little ruse.
    "My first husband was a drinker Sergeant. He
was a brute of a man when he had the drink inside him. Then there
was Jimmy, he was better at controlling himself. His weapon was
words not fists. Not that he could have used violence if he wanted
to, he was such a weak pathetic man in the end".
    "Who's Jimmy? ” Bridger asked.
    "Jimmy is Marion's father, my second
husband. He's dead now … , gone three years".
    "I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Watson".
    "He was seventy eight, Sergeant; I think he
had a good go at it, don't you".
    "Yes I suppose he did", he said aloud, while
thinking of his own father, dead at the age of 60, still working a
full day. Did he have a good go at it, or did he waste it toiling
away at work for no other reason than to have some sort of promised
retirement that he would never enjoy.
    Bridger sipped at his tea as his mood
darkened. Death and taxes were the only certainty in life.
    He did not like to ask, but thought Mrs.
Watson looked to be in her 60's. There would have been a bit of an
age gap between her and the late husband, he thought.
    "Well that's enough of that", Mrs. Watson
was saying, "I think we had better get onto my daughter
Marion".
    Bridger got out his notebook and pen and
waited for her to speak.
    "I know you probably think I'm being silly
Sergeant but Marion is all I have left, I know she is twenty seven
now and should have her own life but I rely on her for so much
these days. She knows that, which is why I think she has gone
missing. I haven't heard from her and she didn't show up for her
exam on Friday".
    "Exam? ” queried Bridger.
    "Marion is a Masters student at the
university, she had an exam. Her tutor rang me to see where she was
when she did not show up. I guess he thought she still lived here
with me".
    "Where does she live Mrs.
Watson? ”
    "She moved out about six months ago, It was
a shock to me, she seemed so happy at home. Of course, she had
rules and boundaries, it was only proper. She said she wanted to be
closer to the university, I know it was so she could spend more
time with that boy. Mat something...; I do not remember his last
name. To be honest I rather switched off when she spoke about him.
He was the reason I have not called earlier, I thought she would be
off with him somewhere and forgot to tell me. She would be much
better off at home".
    Mrs. Watson started to rant a little as
Bridger was just starting to drift away in his own thoughts.
    Twenty-seven sounded a bit late to be just
moving out of home, he was thinking. Sounds like a bit of a mummies
girl.
    Mrs. Watson continued, "This boyfriend
Mat, he spends far too much time at Marion's flat. He is always there
when I pop in on Marion, and that is only on the odd occasion that I
can make it out of the house, but I bet he is there all the time.
He has a look about him that makes me uneasy. You know the look
Sergeant; the way he looks at you with those beady eyes. I have
seen that look before and it always means trouble. No I
don ’ t think
he's at all the type of boy Marion should be seeing” Mrs. Watson
was shaking her head vigorously as she spoke, the jowls below her
chin were swaying back and forth making Bridger feel slightly
nauseous watching them.
    Mrs. Watson continued to speak.”Mat’s
friends…, well they are all thugs and lay-about types as well. You
would not know what went on when they were all hanging about
Marion's flat."
    The way Mrs. Watson's demeanor changed when
she was talking about these boys made Bridger think she did not
trust the male species much.
    "I told her my reservations about him, let
her know I disapproved. Marion had to concentrate on her studies
not boys", Mrs. Watson continued. "She would never be allowed to
spend that sort of time on boys if she lived at home".
    She did well to stick it out for as long as
she did, thought