Free Cruel Justice (DI Lorne Simpkins (Book one)) by Tania Mel; Tirraoro Comley Page A

you were pretty successful in your mission."

    She groaned inwardly, was she really that easy to read? Or had Tom secretly placed a sticker on her head that read ' Had the shag of my life last night'. Drastic evasive action was called for.

    "What time is the conference today?"

    "Eleven o'clock on the dot," Pete replied with a smirk.

    "Thanks for the coffee, Pete. I'll be another thirty minutes here then we'll bounce some ideas around with the rest of the team, see what we can come up with."

    "I'll take that as my cue to leave, then."

    She ignored him and set about reducing the pile of paperwork on her desk.

    The team was ready and waiting for her thirty minutes, and the beginning of a headache later.

    "Right, now we know who the victim is, we can finally get down to solving this crime."

    "So it was Belinda Greenaway?" Mitch asked.

    "That's right. Mitch, start delving into Belinda and her husband Jack's background, will you?"

    "Am I looking for anything in particular, boss?"

    "Anything that can be perceived as dodgy in Jack's business. The oil business must be full of people bearing grudges because of lost contracts, things like that."

    "Didn't her husband die in a helicopter crash?" Pete chimed in.

    "You're right. See if there was anything suspicious about the accident, Mitch. Molly, I want you to poke around in the son's background. See if he's involved in anything untoward."

    "He lives 200 miles away," Molly groaned.

    "Your point being what, exactly?" Lorne bit back.

    "Any likely associates he has down there would hardly come all this way to bump off his old mum, would they?"

    "I don't know, Molly, why don't you do what I suggested and try to find out?" she told the sour-faced DS, who was stretching her patience to the limit. She was sick to the back teeth of Molly continually challenging her authority. Lorne wondered briefly if now would be a good time to get the woman transferred out of her team, while the chief was still around to support her.

    The rest of the team watched but remained silent as the two women glowered at each other. Molly was the first to break eye contact.

    "Tracy, I want you to question the neighbours, see if the Greenaways ever had any public arguments, that sort of thing. Find out what kind of things Belinda got up to while Jack was away on the rigs?"

    "Sure, boss, by the way, the incident van will be on site by ten this morning as instructed." The new recruit looked pleased with herself.

    Lorne smiled and wondered why the other woman on the team couldn't respond to her in the same respectful manner. Tracy had been like a breath of fresh air since she'd joined the team three months ago. Volunteering to do any job, however menial, just to show everyone how much she was eager to learn and progress.

    She was twenty, blonde with the looks and figure all the men in the team appreciated. She was refreshingly different from the sullen thirty-year-old Molly, who dug her heels in when she was asked to carry out the simplest of tasks.

    "John, see what you can find out about their finances. Try and access both personal and business accounts anything inappropriate I want to know about it."

    "Okay, boss, what about the son?" John said.

    John was another exceptional member of her team who was a renowned workaholic and one of Pete's best mates.

    "Go for it. Pete, I want you to get access to the Greenaway's house. We'll go over there this afternoon, once the conference is out of the way." Lorne said.

    "Okay, what time is the son due?"

    "He's flying up from Cornwall — should be here about ten. I'll take him to the mortuary, if the traffic's bad and he knows we're on a tight schedule he might think twice about wanting to see his Mum. He's aware of what time the conference is, fingers crossed, anyway."

    The phone rang on Pete's desk. While he answered it, Lorne brought the meeting to a close.

    "Hold on a minute," Pete said.

    Lorne raised an eyebrow.

    Pete put the caller on hold as Lorne