Free Deadly Deceit by Mari Hannah Page A

They needed tracing and eliminating as a matter of urgency.
    Daniels instructed Maxwell to check out the Albrights’ alibi. ‘I want confirmation that they stayed over at Slaley Hall. I want times, names of other guests they might’ve seen,
including when they turned in and what they had for breakfast. Don’t save the horses – and time your journey, starting at the crime scene. If they slipped out to start a bonfire,
whatever route they took, there are too many cameras to get there and back without detection. It’s what? Twenty-five miles, tops?’
    Maxwell nodded. ‘About that.’
    ‘The Albrights seem to think they’re home and dry with the Chief there,’ Carmichael said. She got up and handed A4 sheets to everyone. ‘These are the people that lost
their jobs when Albright’s company went bust.’
    Having speed-read the list, Daniels looked up. ‘Names ring any bells with anyone?’
    Heads shook and no one spoke.
    ‘OK, run them through the database, Lisa. See what gives. Do it now, please.’
    Carmichael was already on her feet and heading for her computer, DCs Neil Maxwell and Andy Brown watching her leap into action. Daniels smiled. Either Carmichael was totally unaware of the
effect she had on these two or she chose to ignore it. She had only one thing on her mind, and it wasn’t getting her rocks off with fellow officers, on or off duty. She’d been burned
once and there was no way it was happening again.
    ‘What else have we got?’ Daniels asked. ‘Any news from the search team?’
    ‘Sure is,’ Brown said. ‘A petrol can dumped in a wheelie bin three streets from the crime scene, along with a singed rubber glove. The householder has been interviewed, gave a
statement claiming
she
didn’t put it there. She seems pretty genuine, according to the reporting officer.’
    ‘Make sure the items go off for urgent forensic examination, marked for my attention.’
    ‘Already taken care of, boss.’
    The team were buoyed by this potential new lead. Daniels was too. However, her enthusiasm was replaced by annoyance as her mobile phone rang out. If it had been anyone else but Stanton calling,
she’d have ignored it. It must be important for him to interrupt her during a briefing. And
important
from a forensic pathologist usually wasn’t good.
    What he had to say depressed her.
    ‘Are you sure?’ Daniels’ mind raced back to the A1 crash: the rain, the mayhem, the dead and the dying,
Bridget
.
    ‘We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I wasn’t, would we?’ He sounded hacked off.
    It wasn’t like him to snap. It made Daniels realize that her team weren’t the only ones in the criminal justice system working flat out. The incident room suddenly came into sharp
focus, like a scene fading up on a movie screen. Faces were turned in her direction, inquisitive expressions on all of them, Stanton’s voice bringing her attention back to the phone.
    ‘. . . despite the massive injuries, even at her age, I’m certain this lady
would
have lived, given the necessary medical intervention. I’m afraid you’ve got
yourself another murder case, Kate. One of the worst I’ve come across in all the years I’ve been practising.’
    ‘What about her husband? The other crash victims?’
    More worried stares from around the room.
    ‘So far, so good.’ He didn’t sound entirely convinced.
    ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘I’m about to examine the last one. They were all unlucky, but this lady in particular, murdered when she was at her most vulnerable.’

25
    T he redhead had practised all day yesterday. Nothing written down. Just a script she’d created with the Cypriot, learned by heart by the time she stepped from the train
and set off for that all-important meeting equipped with the relevant documentation. The meeting went the way she’d planned it. Word perfect, in fact.
    It had been quite a while since she’d been in London and she was filled with excitement as she woke early in a