Free As The Crow Flies (The DI Nick Dixon Crime Series) by Damien Boyd Page A

supply a Class A drug.’
    ‘It was only a little bit here and there. Small time for pocket money, really.’
    ‘How much was he making?’
    ‘I told you, just a bit of extra cash. Nothing serious. He’d buy ten pills for fifty quid and sell them on for a hundred. It really wasn’t anything.’
    ‘I understand that, Sarah. My only interest in this is purely as a possible motive for his murder.’
    ‘I know, I know.’
    ‘Did you know he was supplying PMA too?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘You know what PMA is?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Did you ever meet his supplier?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Could it have been the man Jake was arguing with outside the Vic the night before he died?’
    ‘I’d definitely not seen that man before. It could’ve been him, I suppose.’
    ‘So, he’s dealing a bit of ecstasy here and there for extra cash. He’s doing the odd bit of cash in hand work and getting, what, Jobseekers Allowance?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So where did all his money come from?’
    ‘What money?’
    ‘The Subaru?’
    ‘Look, I’ve got no idea, ok?’
    ‘Tell me about the climbing trip to Jordan. When was it?’
    ‘April, I think. Over Easter.’
    ‘Who did he go with?’
    ‘Dan.’
    ‘How long was he away?’
    ‘It was a week. Just a week.’
    ‘When did he buy the Subaru?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘I can check with the DVLA.’
    ‘May. He got it in May.’
    ‘Tell me about his climbing trips before he went to Jordan, then. Where did he go?’
    ‘He had a couple of weekends in Wales, I think, and went to the Lake District a couple of times as well. The weather wasn’t great then, of course.’
    ‘What about when he got back from Jordan?’
    ‘Not a lot after that until the season opened at Cheddar Gorge. Then he started working on As The Crow Flies again.’
    ‘Ok, so we’ve got a couple of trips to Wales, a couple of trips to the Lake District and then he goes to Jordan. Then, when he comes back, he buys the Subaru.’
    ‘What do you think he was up to then?’
    ‘I know full well what he was up to, Sarah. I’m just waiting for you to tell me.’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Did he make any alterations to the car when he got it?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Alterations to the car. Modifications. Did he make any?’
    ‘Yes, he was mucking about with wires and things in the back seat.’
    ‘Didn’t you ask him what he was doing?’
    ‘No, it was none of my business.’
    ‘Ok, I’ll tell you what I think Jake was up to and you tell me if you think any of this sounds familiar. The climbing trips to Wales and the Lake District weren’t climbing trips at all. He was collecting birds’ eggs. Let me re-phrase that. He was stealing birds’ eggs.’
    ‘Bullshit.’
    ‘I found a telescopic golf ball retriever in his bedroom at his parents’ house. It had a hole drilled in the handle so that it could be hung on his harness. I’m thinking that the eggs were stolen from Peregrine Falcon nests and if you can keep them alive, each egg is worth about seven thousand pounds in the Middle East. Now, how am I doing?’
    Sarah stared at her drink. She didn’t respond.
    ‘That explains the trip to Jordan doesn’t it?’
    Sarah nodded.
    ‘Did he really go to Jordan or was it somewhere else? Dubai perhaps?’
    Sarah sighed.
    ‘I can find out, Sarah, so it will save us all a great deal of time.’
    ‘They went to Dubai.’
    ‘How many eggs were there?’
    ‘Ten.’
    ‘Seventy grand?’
    ‘He split it with Dan.’
    ‘Cash?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Who organised it?’
    ‘What you mean?’
    ‘Jake could collect the eggs and keep them alive but he’s not going to know anybody in Dubai to sell them to, is he? Who was his contact? Who set it up?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘He never mentioned anyone?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘And you heard no phone calls or anything like that?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘How about the internet?’
    ‘Could be, I suppose.’
    ‘How did he keep the eggs alive?’
    ‘He had a small plastic box. It had a tiny light bulb in