Dead Memories (D.I. Kim Stone #10)(79)

‘You only checked two,’ she said. ‘What about John Duggar?’

‘No need to check on him. Duggar wouldn’t have ordered a book. That guy couldn’t read or write.’





One Hundred Two





‘So, what do you think?’ Bryant asked, as they exited the building.

‘Not being able to read or write doesn’t stop the man ordering a book but at least Gennard still checked.’

‘He didn’t react too kindly to your suggestion that one of the guards ordered it and passed it along,’ Bryant observed.

‘Yeah and despite his bluster he couldn’t completely rule it out. I mean, come on, we know guards have been persuaded, cajoled and threatened into bringing in mobile phones, smokes, drugs, weapons. If someone got forced to bring in a book, I’d imagine they’d not lose too much sleep.’

‘My guards are trustworthy and have integrity…’ Bryant said, lowering his voice and impersonating Gennard.

Kim laughed, allowing some of the tension to seep out of her body.

For someone officially not working it had turned into a very long day, and they still had evening rush hour to contend with.

‘Okay, Bryant, let’s head back and…’ her words trailed away as a silver BMW pulled onto the car park two rows behind.

She watched as Mallory Preece stepped out with a carrier bag.

‘Give me one sec, Bryant,’ Kim said, getting out of the car.

Mallory shook her head as Kim headed towards her. ‘Leave me alone, Inspector, I have nothing to say to you and neither does my son.’

‘I wasn’t here to see Dale,’ Kim said, falling into step with the woman who hadn’t even paused. ‘But out of interest, do you know if your son ordered a book?’

‘How would I know what my?—’

‘The book is about me.’

Mallory stopped walking and looked at her. ‘You’re not all that, Stone. Why the hell would there be a book about you?’

‘I’m not going into that but you must be aware of how much he hates me,’ Kim said.

‘Do you blame him?’ Mallory asked. ‘Because of you he lost his grandfather and his brother and now he’s locked up in here. He was very close to both of them but especially his grandfather who—’

‘Mallory, your father was a cold-hearted despicable bastard who—’

‘I’m not going to listen to—’

‘Okay, but Mallory, I need to know if he ordered that book. There’s a hate club for me in there and your son seems to be a huge part of it. If you find out about the book would you let me know?’

‘Of course, Inspector. Right after I burn in hell.’

Kim sighed heavily. ‘Jesus, you do know that innocent people are losing—’

‘I couldn’t care less about anyone else,’ Mallory said, coldly. ‘I care only about my son and if you want the truth if there’s a book about you he probably did get it. You seem to occupy his thoughts more than you should do,’ she said, bitterly. ‘And much as I love him, I’ll never be at peace with what he did.’

‘I’m not—’

‘He had a choice, Inspector, to save his own brother or you. And I’ll never understand why he chose you.’





One Hundred Three





‘Guys, I hope you’ve got something good,’ Kim said, as she and Bryant entered her home.

‘Getting there, boss,’ Stacey said, rolling her head to release the tension in her neck.

‘No fix on Duggar’s location,’ Penn said, eating the last finger of a KitKat. ‘Last sighting I’ve got for definite is a meeting with his probation officer yesterday morning and…’

‘Stace, we need to meet this—’

‘You have an appointment with her first thing in the morning.’

Kim smiled and removed her jacket and headed for the percolator in the kitchen. The overindulgence of caffeine first thing had long since been absorbed into her system. Her nerves needed a swift top up.

She updated them on their afternoon at the prison as she prepared the coffee machine.

‘So, pretty sure Joel Greene isn’t involved in any of this, but his parents could have come into contact with John Duggar.’

‘Learned a lot about the guy,’ Stacey said, scrolling back through her notes. ‘Born in 1986 to an alcoholic mother who left him and his two sisters when he was three. Grandmother managed for a few years until Duggar was seven and she gave him and one of his sisters to the state. She kept the oldest girl and never saw the other two again.’

‘Rough,’ Bryant said.

Stacey nodded. ‘Didn’t have a good time at school, got targeted for his height and written off as stupid. Spent more time in trouble for skiving and was expelled from three different schools. Eventually at fourteen he just disappeared from the education system.

‘His sister fared better and after a long-term fostering stint with a good family left school with some half-decent qualifications. Works in business admin and moved to the Isle of Wight with her husband eight years ago. Trying to make contact to see what she knows but no response yet. And now over to Penn while I just finish off this last check.’