Dead Memories (D.I. Kim Stone #10)(82)

Kim felt relief that she was being let out of the naughty corner.

‘Of course, sir.’

‘One more thing. Alison’s daily report focusses on the end game, as she calls it, where she feels the threat of violence will inevitably turn away from replicating events and will turn towards you directly.’

‘It’s a guess, sir,’ she said, wondering why she hadn’t known there was a daily report.

‘I would prefer to be safe, so given the level of threat against you, you will ensure that you remain with a colleague at all times.’

‘Yes, sir,’ she said.

Poor Bryant, she thought.

‘And there will be a car outside your house all night. It’ll be there in fifteen minutes.’

She opened her mouth to argue and then closed it again.

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Fifteen minutes, Stone,’ he said, ending the call.

She appreciated the gesture of protection from her boss.

But she needed to leave her home and she didn’t have fifteen minutes to wait.





One Hundred Five





Alison paused and took a breath outside Elite, aware she was doing this without the support of West Mercia Police.

Not that she hadn’t tried. Her first three calls to Merton had been cut off and the fourth had been answered curtly.

She’d only got as far as saying that Curtis was innocent before being interrupted with the statement that he was now lodging an official complaint against her. And then he’d ended the call. She hadn’t tried again.

She had made one other call and had known there was only one person who could help her now.

The car park was half full and the majority of those customers appeared to have brought their drinks outside to the canopied entrance to enjoy the air as it cooled back to the low twenties.

She entered the club and saw Jamie Hart sitting in the corner. She waved as she glanced at the bar and swallowed. Tom looked her way, a smile forming on his lips. He glanced in the direction she was headed. The smile disappeared and he returned to what he was doing.

Good, she didn’t want his attention on her. Not yet.

‘Th… thanks for coming,’ she said, slipping into the seat opposite.

‘You okay?’ he said, pushing a glass towards her. ‘Dry and white and it looks like you need it. What’s wrong?’

She followed his instruction and took a sip. Just one.

‘I tried to talk to Merton but he wouldn’t listen. He’s reporting me instead. Says I’ve obstructed the investigation.’

Jamie took a sip of his drink to hide his smile. ‘From his point of view, you have been a bit of a nuisance.’

‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ she said, looking over his head. ‘But I didn’t know who else to call and you hinted the other night that there’re cracks in the investigation, so I knew I could trust—’

‘I didn’t so much say cracks but—’

‘He didn’t do it, Jamie,’ she blurted out. ‘Curtis has an alibi. He was with Tilly from behind the bar.’

He frowned and looked behind her disbelievingly. ‘So, why wouldn’t he say?’

‘He probably doesn’t remember, but she does. Don’t you recall that Tom and Tilly effectively provided alibis for each other?’

He nodded. ‘In the office or something?’

‘Said Tom, but Tilly said something else just a bit different. Enough to get her to admit that she lied to protect her marriage.’

‘Bloody hell, are you sure?’ he asked, rubbing at his chin.

‘Oh yeah, she’s got a lot to lose in coming clean.’

‘But hang on,’ he said, catching up with her. ‘That means Tom Drury no longer has an alibi for Beverly’s attack.’

‘Exactly,’ she said. ‘Now can you see why I called you?’

‘Ali, you’ve got to speak to Merton; however you do it, you’ve got to make him listen to your suspicions about Drury.’

Alison shook her head. ‘He won’t believe me, but he might believe you.’

Jamie considered her words while looking over her shoulder towards the bar.

‘So, you were right all along. Your profile was spot on. He’s young, good-looking, successful, organised, probably academic…’

‘Business degree,’ she confirmed.

‘Lives local and—’

‘And you know he didn’t do it, don’t you, Jamie?’ she asked, turning back to face him. ‘Because you did.’

His face registered shock before being covered by a grin. ‘Have you lost your mind?’

Alison forced down the nerves inside and forged ahead. ‘You blocked me every step of the investigation, argued my profile, made cases for people who couldn’t possibly have done it all because my profile fitted you too. You murdered Jennifer and then got yourself involved in the case. You pushed the investigation towards Curtis, but the team were listening to me. You couldn’t help yourself. You had to do it again. Had the thrill of Jennifer’s earring worn off? You could no longer imagine her begging for her life. And you chose someone who had some contact with Curtis knowing the police would have to consider him more seriously after that. And Curtis played right into your hands when he couldn’t remember a damn thing.’