Child's Play (D.I. Kim Stone #11)(41)

Penn nodded. ‘It’s an easy mistake to make. His testimony was based on hearing his neighbour call the dog in at ten thirty every night. He was no threat to the case.’

‘He was a threat to someone,’ Mr Kapoor said, simply.

Penn agreed but was hoping that the team working the McCann murder case were going to turn up some indisputable reason for the defence witness’s death being unrelated to the Kapoor case. Perhaps the man had defaulted on gambling debts to the wrong person or maybe he was a drug dealer murdered by a disgruntled client. His logical mind told him that the forty-six-year-old accountant was unlikely to be either, but he had to hang on to the hope.

‘We’re investigating every angle to ensure that—’

‘Please don’t do that, sir,’ Mr Kapoor said, smiling sadly. ‘From that first night, you’ve treated me with respect. We stood over Dev’s body together,’ he said, glancing at the spot where he’d lain. ‘You explained even then that you might not find the person responsible without any CCTV, but I sensed in you the passion to do your best. You’ve always been fair and honest, please don’t give me police-speak now.’

Penn nodded and took a deep breath. ‘Mr Kapoor, we are checking to make sure we got the right man.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I can understand how that must make you feel. You’re angry at me and us as you have every right…’

‘I am angry at the person who took my son from me. I am angry at the person who robbed my wife of her first-born. I am angry at the person who has caused my young daughters to face grief, fear and mistrust earlier than they should. I was told repeatedly by the police to improve my security, and I didn’t listen to you or your colleagues and I paid a high price. I have no one to blame for that but myself.’

Penn suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

‘Mr Kapoor, I want you to know that we will do everything we can to get this straightened out.’

‘I know you will, sir,’ he said, as another customer entered the shop.

Penn nodded his goodbye and left the premises, feeling even shittier than when he’d walked in.





Forty-Two





‘You sure I can come in?’ Bryant asked, as he pulled the car to a stop.

‘You a vampire who can’t enter without an invitation?’ she asked.

‘You know why I’m asking.’

‘Yep, but this isn’t a personal visit.’

‘Great, I love this guy.’

Kim rolled her eyes. She had another guy at home who got just as excited when she brought him to this address.

‘Hey, Ted,’ she said, as her old counsellor opened the front door.

‘Hello, Kim, and I see you brought reinforcements.’

Kim smiled as she stepped into the house. ‘He’s got a bit of a man crush on you,’ she said, walking past him.

‘She’s right, I do,’ Bryant said, following her into the house.

‘Well, thank you. And I’m guessing this must be work related,’ Ted observed. ‘As this is not even close to the unreasonable hour you call if it’s a personal visit.’

She nodded her acknowledgment.

He tipped his head. ‘So, are we just going to pretend that the last time you were here you didn’t snap my head off and then storm out?’

‘Absolutely,’ she said. This was nothing new to them. It was how she’d grown up.

‘She did?’ Bryant asked, as they all stood in the small kitchen.

‘Indeed, Bryant, when I told her I didn’t think she should be working that copycat case.’

‘Ah,’ Bryant said.

‘Our visit did not end well.’

‘So, I’m cannon fodder?’ Bryant asked.

‘Oh yeah,’ she said, taking a custard cream from the biscuit barrel.

‘And where shall we be sitting today, my dear?’ he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

During her last visit, he had explained that she chose to sit outside when she didn’t want to speak. She chose to sit in the living room if she wanted his help, and she chose the kitchen if she wanted his opinion as it was the closest of the three to the door ready for when she stormed out if his opinion didn’t agree with her own.

‘Living room,’ Kim advised. ‘And I’ll make the coffee while you two catch up.’

Ted nodded and guided Bryant into the lounge.

She put the kettle on and pulled down three mugs from the cupboard.

‘What a lovely room,’ Bryant said, as she spooned in the instant granules. ‘So this is where young Kim talked to the only person she could trust?’

‘Not really,’ Ted said, as she poured in the milk. ‘She talked very little anywhere in the house and yet still she continued to come. Every scheduled appointment she turned up and most of them for silence.’

Kim poured the water into the mugs. She remembered each and every session.

‘She never let me help her and yet she still continued to come. Not sure exactly what she got—’

‘Hey, Bryant, that’s my seat,’ Kim said, carrying the tray into the room.

Bryant moved from the single chair by the fire to the end of the sofa.

Ted looked at the drinks, shook his head and stood.