The Piggy Farmer (The Barrington Patch Book 3) Emmy Ellis (notion reading list TXT) đ
- Author: Emmy Ellis
Book online «The Piggy Farmer (The Barrington Patch Book 3) Emmy Ellis (notion reading list TXT) đ». Author Emmy Ellis
She wondered whether theyâd be recording this today, whether theyâd indulge her with the idea of catching her out. Whether her name was below the word SUSPECT? on their incident room whiteboard, never mind that Dina would have passed on her expert opinion, proclaiming them innocent.
âPlease, take a seat.â Gorley pointed to the spare chair.
Clearly, he wasnât in the mood to be polite and shake her hand today, and the other officers werenât inclined to use their manners either, remaining on their arses instead of standing when sheâd walked in.
Lou couldnât help but feel the seat left for her was so she could be seen from all angles, her responses scrutinised, her body language interpreted to fill whatever mould they wanted it to fit in. Well, they could study her all they liked, she hadnât killed her daughter, so they could piss off on that one.
She sat, regardless of her stubborn nature urging her to insist sheâd stand, thanks, and placed her handbag on her lap. Theyâd probably see that as her putting a barrier between herself and them, some kind of psychological nonsense, but no, she just didnât want it on the floor. Who knew how many germs itâd pick up there. She had to ensure her home was free of dirt for when Jess returned from Cornwall.
âHow can we help you today?â Gorley sat beside Bob on the sofa. He crossed his legs and laced his fingers, cuddling his knee with them, his shiny-shoed foot swinging.
âThe man in the back of the van.â Lou stared at him. âOr woman. They still havenât been found. Why not?â
Gorley winced at her directness and cleared his throat, his cheeks going rosy. âAh, see, hereâs the thingâŠâ
DS Lisa Codderidge leant forward in the chair opposite, hands curled over the ends of the arms. âPlease know we didnât want this to happen.â She gestured to herself then DC Simon Knight.
Gorley glared at her, his nostrils flaring.
It reminded Lou of the pigs on the farm.
âIâll handle this, thank you.â Gorley appeared uncomfortable, either annoyed at Codderidge or bracing himself for what he had to say. Was bad news on the way? âJessâ case has been closed for the time being.â
Blood pulsed in Louâs ears, and the room seemed to spin. Disorientated for a moment, she blinked. âWhat?â She hadnât said it breathily, on a gasp, a mother at the beginning of a long road who just wanted to curl up and die, but more in anger, a blunt delivery through clenched teeth.
âWe will still be looking out for Rear Van Man, and of course the one who had the gun, but as of today, the team has been disbanded. The clues we have to go onâthe people involved, the white van, the shotgunâthatâs all we have, nowt else. There were no traces on Jess or her clothing to lead us to whoever took her. Iâm sorry.â
âSo sheâs only just been put in the ground and already youâre giving up?â Lou couldnât believe this. Didnât her daughter matter? Now she was buried, the case was being buried, too?
âAs I said, we will still be activeâwell, I will be; Simon, Lisa, Dina, and Bob will need to return to normal dutyâbut I assure you, if I find owt, youâll be the first to know.â Gorley swallowed.
âWhatâs your reasoning behind this?â she asked. âIâve heard about cases being active for years. Why is Jessâ so different?â
Gorley smiled as though heâd armed himself with this information previous to the meeting and was well able to fob her off. âWith so little clues to go on, the search of your husbandâs land and Sculptorâs Field bringing up absolutely nowt regarding a perpetrator, despite the body being left by The Beast⊠We have no van sightings other than Joe following it as far as he could, then it disappeared on the Barrington, as you know. No discarded shotgun, boilersuit, balaclava, or the brown gloves from Rear Van Man, no witnesses coming forward saying they saw someone on the field placing Jess there. Weâre chasing ghosts.â
âYouâre washing your hands of it, you mean.â Lou had a hard time remaining in her chair. She gripped the top of her bag, the contents hard against her fingertipsâthe back of her brush, perhaps, the can of Coke sheâd brought in case her throat went dry.
Codderidge wasnât successful in hiding a smirk; was she glad Lou had sniped at her boss? But was it really the best time to chalk up slights? Was it appropriate? No, it bloody well wasnât. Lou was offended by it. Wanted to leap up and hurt the woman: Donât you dare sully the meeting about my daughter with your stupid, stupid one-upmanship, you fucking bitch!
Codderidge maybe sensed Louâs animosity and straightened her treacherous face into something more respectful. âDespite not being on the case any longer, myself, and Simon especially, will be keeping our eyes and ears open. There must be something out there for us to find.â
My thoughts exactly, although I still donât trust you, woman. Why havenât you found it already? Youâve had long enough. Too busy shagging your colleague, Iâll bet.
âUm, thatâs not what the superintendent wants,â Gorley butted in, hand held up to stop Codderidge from talking. âWeâve unfortunately had our orders.â
So had someone else made the call? Was Gorley only passing information on and the decision was nowt to do with him? Sheâd heard of âdonât shoot the messengerâ, of course she had, but right this second, if she had a gun, sheâd fire all six bullets into his bastard face.
Lou rose, unable to stand these people any longer, their presence, their breathing, their everything. Yet she stared at each officer in turn, wanting to gauge where they stood on this, the tiny root of revenge grasping in the darkest corner of her mind, a
Comments (0)