Finders Keepers Edie Baylis (phonics readers .TXT) 📖

House of Horrors at all.’ He chuckled to himself with his apt naming for Dulcie Adams’ place. A perfect name for the creepy dump of a place.

‘And you think the girl is in possession of the diamonds?’ Saul said, barely able to believe they’d landed such a bonus.

‘I don’t know for certain, but that’s the impression. Adams gave her something personal that she didn’t want the police to find,’ Keith said.

‘The dippy bitch didn’t have the nous to look?’ Saul scoffed. ‘I mean, what sort of fuckwit wouldn’t look?’

Keith laughed. ‘Her, obviously. She thinks the world of this old crone, so the stoner says.’

‘Hmmph, that won’t do her any favours.’ Saul lit himself a cigarette and wound down the window. ‘With this is mind, we haven’t got much to lose but to lift the bird.’

Keith gripped onto the steering wheel to stop himself swerving into the central reservation. ‘Lifting her? The young girl? What the fuck?’

Throwing his head back, Saul laughed loudly. ‘Oh, Keith, you’ve been working with Jonah too long.’ He could see Keith’s anger bubbling from his remark which only made him want to laugh harder. ‘I told you I’m sorting this and not fannying around. We’ll lift the bird and see exactly what she’s holding for the thieving witch. I reckon she knows a lot more than what she’s let on to her stoner boyfriend.’

Keith nodded, trying not to let Saul’s barbs rile him. ‘Perhaps. We’ll just have to hope that she don’t talk.’

Saul snorted in derision. ‘Talk? She won’t be talking.’

Keith nodded again, adrenaline flowing once again with the prospect of what he suspected that meant. ‘Don’t rush though because from what I remember, she’s a nice looker.’

‘Even better,’ Saul grinned. Grabbing his own crotch, he laughed. ‘Always up for use, this one! Now, how much further is it to the son’s place?’

‘Not long. I know where it is, but I never got as far as going there. I wanted to go and see the man because I had a good idea for doubling up on the job. According to the dweeb estate agent I dispatched he’s got a huge gambling problem,’ Keith said. ‘The Shepherd bitch told the dweeb that this Robert prick had all but sold his mother up the river for money.’

‘Sounds like a prize cunt if you ask me. I suppose Jonah stopped that,’ Saul said, flicking his fag end out of the window.

‘Yes he did. He wanted us to concentrate on the stoner,’ Keith continued. ‘But yes, this bloke must be a prize wanker. It must run in the family.’ He paused, remembering the part that he hadn’t yet mentioned. He knew he had to, but it was a question of when the right time was. And there probably wasn’t a right time because whenever he spoke about it he was fairly sure what kind of reaction it would get. ‘Talking of which, I learnt today that Robert Adams’ real father isn’t who he thought it was.’

‘What are you going on about?’ Saul snapped. ‘Auditioning for a research job on ‘This is Your Life’?’

‘No, Robert Adams is the son of Michael Pointer...’

Saul shot forward hard. ‘You fucking what?’

Keith nodded. ‘Yep, he’s Pointer’s son.’

His body rigid, Saul sat back in the car seat and Keith felt the manic rage coming off him in waves as they took the slip road off the motorway to Maidenhead. ‘What are you going to do?’

Saul cracked his knuckles, his icy stare fixed out of the window. ‘I haven’t decided yet,’ he spat through gritted teeth.

DRIVING BACK DOWN THE ROAD, the enticing aroma from the bag of fish and chips on the passenger seat made Robert’s stomach rumble in appreciation.

He chewed his bottom lip impatiently. Even though he’d only been gone fifteen minutes, it was uncomfortable leaving his mother and Teagan alone in the flat. It was the not knowing that was the worst thing. The not knowing exactly what had happened with Helen and why.

Robert brushed his hair from his face and placed his hand back on the steering wheel, noticing he was gripping it tightly. If he only knew, however bad, what Helen had been involved in to cause all of this, then at least he would know what he was dealing with. Who he was dealing with. But he didn’t and neither did the police and he didn’t like not knowing. He liked things to be neat. Ordered.

He'd seen the photofit his mother had put together with help from the police artist and the result wasn’t a face he could say he’d ever seen before or even marginally recognised, but if his theory was correct and all of this business was linked to Helen, then the truth was it could have been anyone. No matter which way he looked at it, she had to be involved, but what had she been so desperate to cover up to make her kill her own husband and poison her mother to the point of madness?

Cold anger seeped up Robert’s spine like it did every time he thought about the situation. None of it made sense.

And then there was that estate agent – the one who had disappeared. His forehead crumpled in concentration. The police had been interested in questioning Helen several times over that. Was it possible she was behind that too?

As it was, it stood he’d lose a shed load of money after pulling out of the purchase of that apartment Helen convinced him their mother needed, but he didn’t care about the cash. He didn’t want anything connected to his sister.

Robert blasted his horn at the car in front taking its sweet time. He needed to get home.

The question was, how would he feel when his mother returned to Footlights? Would whoever killed Helen return? Had they got what they were looking for? What they believed Helen had secreted in a property she was connected with?

A creeping dread trickled down Robert’s back. What if they came to his flat?

Teagan was a worry too.