Someone Who Isn't Me Danuta Kot (best books to read .TXT) 📖

Becca shrugged and turned away. She picked up some clothes that were piled up on a chair and started folding them. Dinah suppressed a moment of anger. This display of indifference was just a front, she was pretty sure. Becca Armitage didn’t trust her. Well, Dinah was prepared to take her time. ‘We’re having trouble getting information about what Andy was doing that last night. I thought you might be able to help. Did you see him?’

‘I haven’t seen him for weeks,’ Becca said. ‘Nearly a month now. I don’t know anything.’

‘You haven’t?’ That was unexpected. ‘Why was that? Did you break up?’

‘He had to go away. For work.’

This was something new. ‘Did he say where?’ Becca shook her head. ‘Just away. For work. He texted—’ She stopped speaking abruptly.

‘He texted you?’

But Becca just shook her head. ‘No. He didn’t.’

There was something off here. Dinah spoke carefully, feeling her way. ‘He went away for work?’ Andy must have been playing some kind of game. He hadn’t gone anywhere, Dinah knew that, but she couldn’t imagine Andy stringing a young woman like this along.

‘I said so, didn’t I?’

‘Yes, you did. Did he tell you what his work was?’

‘Yeah. He was an investigator.’

That was a strange was to put it. ‘An investigator?’

‘He was like, you know, a private investigator. You’re supposed to be finding out who killed him, and you don’t even know…’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘That wasn’t true, was it?’

Dinah wanted to defend Andy, but she wasn’t going to lie. ‘He was an investigator, but not a private one. He was a detective with the local police.’

Becca went very still, then busied herself with the clothes again, unfolding the ones she’d already folded and shaking them out. She dropped the shirt she was holding onto the floor and turned back to face Dinah. Dinah looked at her, taking in the bruised face and noticing, for the first time, red marks on Becca’s hands that looked like burns. Something bad had happened here, and recently. ‘If you’re in any kind of trouble, if people are giving you a hard time, I can help.’

‘I’m OK.’

The barriers went back up. Becca Armitage’s defensiveness aroused Dinah’s curiosity – why was she so suspicious? ‘Listen, Becca. Andy didn’t tell you the truth about what he was doing. I don’t know why. He shouldn’t have lied to you. But he was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die. And he’s left a child – a little girl. She’s already lost her mum. Now her dad’s dead too. I want to get the people who did this.’

‘Yeah, well, I…’ Becca Armitage’s voice died away and she was staring at Dinah. ‘What do you mean, lost her mum?’

‘He didn’t tell you? Andy’s wife died. Shortly after the baby was born.’

Becca just stood there, staring at Dinah. She looked very pale and the bruise stood out, dark and ugly on her face. ‘His wife… died?’

‘Nearly two years ago.’

‘And he was a copper?’

‘Yes. I worked with him.’

Becca turned away and started packing stuff into a bag. ‘You need to go. I’ve got things to do.’ Her voice was muffled.

Dinah waited, but Becca didn’t say any more. She put her card down on the table. ‘Think about what I said. If Andy hid anything from you, he was probably trying to keep you safe. If you think of anything that might help, get in touch. And if anyone… you know. You’ve got my number if you need it.’ Dinah waited a moment, but Becca didn’t say anything and didn’t turn to look at her.

Dinah was thinking hard as she went down the stairs, hearing the flat door close decisively behind her. Things were happening here, things the investigation team needed to know about. She had no idea why Hammond was dragging his feet, but she was going to bring it up at the next briefing, and she was going to have all the facts that were available to back up what she was saying. Then let him ignore it and try to throw her off the investigation.

She left the building via the back door into the yard, rather than go through the shop. She wanted to check a few things out.

The yard was small and enclosed. The high wall, with the narrow alleyway behind it, meant that it was isolated. A lot could happen here with no one knowing. Her gaze moved round, noting an empty plastic bottle, and the remains of burned rags and paper. She remembered the red burn marks on Becca’s hands.

Using her pencil, she picked up the plastic bottle and read the label. Premium Paraffin Fuel. She slipped it into an evidence bag. Her lips tightening, she collected the burned rags, even though the rain would have washed away most of what was on them, and slipped them into an evidence bag too.

She looked round the yard. A large wheelie bin occupied a lot of the space. There was something under the fire escape under a tarpaulin. She lifted it to check. A bike. A Yamaha. Small engine, but it could probably move. She dug around a bit more, but there was nothing else. She wanted to get back to the station and talk to Curwen, but there was no time. DCI Hammond had told her to get across to Stockport and check out the lead she’d found to the car. That would take the rest of the day.

She just didn’t have enough information. She knew that Andy had been into the Smokehouse as part of an investigation – it had to be, otherwise why all the cock and bull stuff about being a private investigator? Becca Armitage, his girlfriend, had been attacked and hurt.

She didn’t know who had hurt Becca, or why. She didn’t know specifically what Andy had been investigating at the pub.

Becca Armitage wasn’t talking, and Dinah couldn’t be sure what her involvement was.

But she was going to find out.

Chapter 30

It was afternoon before