The Inspector Walter Darriteau Murder Mysteries - Books 1-4 David Carter (autobiographies to read txt) 📖

for a poke in the eye. She folded the money and slipped it into her pocket.

Within two minutes of Jun Woo making her first withdrawal her Uncle back in Hong Kong was alerted to the fact, and even though it was 8pm local time, he apologised to his wife and left the apartment, and jumped in the car and hurried back to work, his heart beating fast.

Seventy-Three 

11.51. Detectives Hector Brown and Darren Gibbons pulled open the doors to Minstrel Electronics and went inside. Quiet as the grave. No sounds, no one rushing about, just a nervous young-looking guy to the right, standing behind a high counter. Hector flashed his ID, introduced them, and asked to see the manager. Gibbons stood behind, thinking about dining out on fish and chips.

‘I’ll see if I can find him,’ said the kid, and he jumped on the phone.

Hector turned round and playfully punched Gibbons in the stomach.

‘It’s empty,’ said Gibbons. ‘I’m starving.’

They heard the young guy say, ‘There are two detectives here to see you, Mr Brinton.’

They didn’t hear Brinton’s reply, which was probably as well, and then Brinton said, ‘Bring them to my office.’

A minute later they were being shown into Brinton’s room. Brinton stood and said, ‘Good morning, what can I do for you?’ and he pointed at two chairs and sat down himself.

Hector and Gibbons sat down too.

Gibbons stomach rumbled loudly, and he smirked and said, ‘Sorry about that, been on the go for ages.’

Hector ignored him and said, ‘We’re checking on electronics companies. Businesses that employ Oriental immigrant workers.’

‘Oh? Why’s that?’

‘Just general enquiries,’ said Gibbons.

‘Do you employ Oriental women here?’ asked Gibbons.

‘No, we are in the process of moving production facilities abroad. Thailand, as it happens.’

‘That’s not very patriotic,’ said Hector.

Gibbons almost started laughing.

‘When did patriotism ever pay the bills?’ said Brinton.

‘Mind if we have a quick look around?’ said Hector.

‘Be my guest?’ said Brinton, and they all got up and went outside for a walk.

Peeked in the room next door, Pryce’s office. The carpet had gone and the furniture was pushed against one wall and the room smelt of disinfectant as if they were cleaning the place prior to evacuation. No sign of activity, and no sign of any workers.

They went to the end of the corridor and the double doors that led to the inner hallway.

‘What’s through there?’ asked Hector.

‘Not much, small storeroom, not much else.’

‘Can we see?’

‘Sure,’ and Brinton opened the door to the hallway.

Gibbons glanced around. Square room, empty, not much to see, thick double doors straight ahead, small single door, presumably to another room, to the right.

‘What’s in here?’ said Hector, trying the door to the pep talk room.

‘Not much,’ said Brinton, opening up. ‘Desk, coupla chairs, all going soon,’ and Hector peeked inside, and Gibbons peered over his shoulder at the stale smelling room that housed a bit of office furniture and little else. Brinton stood behind them, the loaded Glock 17 still in his pocket, and the gun was bringing bad thoughts into his head that he didn’t want to explore.

Gibbons went back to the double doors to the Assembly plant and tried them. ‘And in here?’

‘That used to be the assembly plant, but we’ve sold it and rented it off. Don’t have the keys for it anymore. New tenants coming soon, apparently.’

Gibbons thought he heard something inside, listened at the door, but there was nothing there, nodded and moved back to the door that took them back to the corridor.

‘So you don’t do any assembly work here anymore?’ asked Hector.

‘Sadly, no,’ said Brinton, and he wanted to say: Have you seen enough, you schmucks? Get the fuck out of here, if you know what’s good for you, but instead he tried to look pleasant and helpful and it seemed to do the trick for Gibbons said, ‘Come on Heck! Lunchtime,’ and he set off down the corridor towards the reception area and the doors beyond.

Hector said, ‘Thanks for your help,’ and followed Gibbons outside. Gibbons was already getting in the car. Hector walked across the face of the building. Looked at the dispatch bay. The large roller shutter doors were down. Tried them. Locked solid. There were no trucks there collecting any finished goods, and no vans in the car park delivering inbound components, and no employees, Oriental or otherwise, coming or going, which you might expect at lunchtime, and not much sound, other than a pile-driver working hard in the distance, building vast new similar industrial sheds, and the ubiquitous discount airfare jet above their heads, sloping into John Lennon, and only one fancy car in the car park, and that was presumably Brinton’s.

‘Come on!’ yelled Gibbons through the open car window. ‘Before I starve to death,’ and in the next second Hector jumped back in the car, and they headed off to grab some lunch before returning to HQ.

11.52. ELLESMERE PORT shops, and Jun Woo finally found a public phone box. Stepped inside. It smelt of wee and vomit and was covered in colourful graffiti of an eagle with a beautiful blonde woman striding out of its mouth, and there was only one problem, there was no damn phone. Someone had taken it home as a souvenir.

Jun Woo stepped outside, walked back towards the main road, and when she arrived there she spotted another phone box on the far side of the road, and it must have been working for outside the box was a baby in a buggy, and inside the box was a young woman talking animatedly on the phone, the door somehow propped open with her foot, as she kept one hand on the buggy handle.

Jun Woo approached the box and exchanged eye contact with the hard-looking young woman inside. She glanced away and turned away and kept on talking.

Jun heard her say, ‘No no no Billy, I’m not taking you back! You’re always pissed, and you’ve never got any money.’ Short break and she continued, ‘I’ve heard it all before, Billy,