Unlikely Graves (Detective Inspector Paul Amos Mystery series) by Rodney Hobson Page A
Authors: Rodney Hobson
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see the same girl peeping round the bedroom curtains. She hid again when she saw me glance up.
‘Just to make up for that, at the third house we got a father and two daughters. However, it didn’t do us much good. It didn’t help to have the father sitting in a chair with a can of lager in his hand watching football on the telly. Football in the middle of the afternoon!’ He does no work but he can afford a satellite dish. He also made it clear that he discouraged his daughters from breaking out of the downward spiral although at least he didn’t stop them from going to a decent school.’ Anyway,’ she got back to the point after seeing Amos losing his customary patience at the deviation. ‘We couldn’t get much sense out of him and his presence put off the girls. We finally got the right daughter on her own in the kitchen. Given a choice between keeping an eye on us and the football, the football won.’
‘The damage was done, though. She firmly denied anything we asked. She actually denied attending the school! Those two girls were terrified. I’m going to tell social services about their father. The younger girl is still under age.’ Swift finally paused to sip her now tepid coffee. Sorry, sir,’ she said again between gulps.’
‘Don’t let it worry you,’ Amos assured her. ‘You’ve ascertained exactly the same as we did. We’re on the right track. These are obviously the girls who match the names in the diary. And whatever happened, it is something that they can’t or won’t admit.’
Swift broke the silence that followed.
‘Perhaps they won’t speak in front of a male officer. Why don’t I have a go at one more name on my own? What have we got to lose?’
Amos pulled out the now crumpled list from his inside pocket and selected the address nearest the café.
‘Best of luck,’ he said. ‘We’ll wait here for you. It’s walkable.’
Another round of coffees was ordered, although no-one really wanted one. Amos was simply uncomfortable occupying a table that had just been cleared of the used crockery without doing the decent thing and justifying keeping the otherwise empty café open.
They talked about anything but the case, mainly the sport that had aroused Swift’s scorn a few minutes earlier. Chief topic was Lincoln City’s ability to transform an apparently won game into defeat, especially at home, and the dangers of slipping out of the Football League and into the Conference.
Being based in the county town, they voiced their dismay that those upstarts at Scunthorpe United were in the ascendancy and settled a few mental scores over Grimsby Town, whose fortunes had sunk along with most of the trawlers that once docked at Britain’s premier fishing port.
It was three quarters of an hour later that Swift appeared. The length of time indicated to Amos that she must be getting somewhere at last. He looked up expectantly as she burst in through the door. Optimism immediately turned to dismay.
Swift’s face was drawn and ashen. She collapsed onto a seat, took a deep breath, then blurted out: ‘Sarah Daley is dead.’
Chapter 15
The other three officers present stared at her in silence for a few seconds. As Swift recovered her composure, Amos turned to the waitress behind the bar and called for a coffee. It seemed a rather meagre gesture but the place was not licensed to sell anything stronger.
The café was still empty apart from the four officers and the teenager doling out the sustenance, who was more interested in clearing up as a way of dropping a hint that she wanted to get off home early. There was still a quarter of an hour to the closing time shown on the door, so Amos had no compunction in making her earn the last few minutes’ worth of her wages.
He felt that they could talk freely as long as they kept their voices down.
‘When you’re ready,’ he said to Swift as the waitress retreated after bringing the coffee. ‘Take your time.’
Swift
‘Just to make up for that, at the third house we got a father and two daughters. However, it didn’t do us much good. It didn’t help to have the father sitting in a chair with a can of lager in his hand watching football on the telly. Football in the middle of the afternoon!’ He does no work but he can afford a satellite dish. He also made it clear that he discouraged his daughters from breaking out of the downward spiral although at least he didn’t stop them from going to a decent school.’ Anyway,’ she got back to the point after seeing Amos losing his customary patience at the deviation. ‘We couldn’t get much sense out of him and his presence put off the girls. We finally got the right daughter on her own in the kitchen. Given a choice between keeping an eye on us and the football, the football won.’
‘The damage was done, though. She firmly denied anything we asked. She actually denied attending the school! Those two girls were terrified. I’m going to tell social services about their father. The younger girl is still under age.’ Swift finally paused to sip her now tepid coffee. Sorry, sir,’ she said again between gulps.’
‘Don’t let it worry you,’ Amos assured her. ‘You’ve ascertained exactly the same as we did. We’re on the right track. These are obviously the girls who match the names in the diary. And whatever happened, it is something that they can’t or won’t admit.’
Swift broke the silence that followed.
‘Perhaps they won’t speak in front of a male officer. Why don’t I have a go at one more name on my own? What have we got to lose?’
Amos pulled out the now crumpled list from his inside pocket and selected the address nearest the café.
‘Best of luck,’ he said. ‘We’ll wait here for you. It’s walkable.’
Another round of coffees was ordered, although no-one really wanted one. Amos was simply uncomfortable occupying a table that had just been cleared of the used crockery without doing the decent thing and justifying keeping the otherwise empty café open.
They talked about anything but the case, mainly the sport that had aroused Swift’s scorn a few minutes earlier. Chief topic was Lincoln City’s ability to transform an apparently won game into defeat, especially at home, and the dangers of slipping out of the Football League and into the Conference.
Being based in the county town, they voiced their dismay that those upstarts at Scunthorpe United were in the ascendancy and settled a few mental scores over Grimsby Town, whose fortunes had sunk along with most of the trawlers that once docked at Britain’s premier fishing port.
It was three quarters of an hour later that Swift appeared. The length of time indicated to Amos that she must be getting somewhere at last. He looked up expectantly as she burst in through the door. Optimism immediately turned to dismay.
Swift’s face was drawn and ashen. She collapsed onto a seat, took a deep breath, then blurted out: ‘Sarah Daley is dead.’
Chapter 15
The other three officers present stared at her in silence for a few seconds. As Swift recovered her composure, Amos turned to the waitress behind the bar and called for a coffee. It seemed a rather meagre gesture but the place was not licensed to sell anything stronger.
The café was still empty apart from the four officers and the teenager doling out the sustenance, who was more interested in clearing up as a way of dropping a hint that she wanted to get off home early. There was still a quarter of an hour to the closing time shown on the door, so Amos had no compunction in making her earn the last few minutes’ worth of her wages.
He felt that they could talk freely as long as they kept their voices down.
‘When you’re ready,’ he said to Swift as the waitress retreated after bringing the coffee. ‘Take your time.’
Swift
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