Free Ten Guilty Men (A DCI Morton Crime Novel Book 3) by Sean Campbell, Daniel Campbell Page A

know about the drugs, even down to the specific type taken. That shouldn’t have hit the newspapers yet!’
    ‘I’m sorry.’
    ‘You know what this means? There’s got to be a leak in my department.’
    ‘If there were, wouldn’t they know more? I’ve read all the papers today. None have said anything about a naked man running from the scene in the dead of night, and you know that would be front page news,’ Sarah argued.
    ‘I suppose you’re right. But we only just found out about the pentobarbital.’
    ‘So someone in Ellis’ life spilled the beans. Money is a formidable temptress.’
    Morton crumpled up the paper, and threw it back in the recycling. ‘It’s got to be the sister.’
    ‘Maybe. You can find out in the morning. I’ve got a movie in. Come take the evening off. I even made dessert.’
    ‘You really did think I’d say no. I would never do that to you. It’s your choice what you want to do with your days.’
    ‘Well then, I choose a quiet night in with my husband.’
    Morton smiled. The question of who was selling details of his investigation to the press could wait.
    He wouldn’t have to wait long.

Chapter 12: Wake Up Britain!
    Wednesday April 9th – 07:30
    Kal wasn’t doing his normal breakfast segment. The fifteen minutes normally allotted to discussing who might win in the Wednesday evening Premier League fixtures had been ditched in favour of what the viewers really wanted to hear about: the murder of Ellis DeLange.
    It was an open secret at the studio that Kal and Ellis had been an item, so when the producers had been offered the opportunity of an exclusive interview with the dead girl’s little sister, she had immediately roped in Kal to round out the show, and so Kal sat not on the presenter’s sofa on the Wake Up Britain! set but on the guest sofa instead. Kal would have preferred to have stayed in bed, but orders were orders, and at least this way Brianna wouldn’t be able to stab him in the back.
    Brianna sat to his right looking every bit the grieving sister. Her mascara had been artfully smudged to give the appearance that she simply couldn’t hold back the tears and she clutched a box of tissues in her left hand.
    Kal’s co-host, Meredith Creswell, sat forward on her sofa to listen to Brianna speak.
    ‘Growing up with my sister was... Do you have a sister?’ Brianna asked.
    Meredith nodded. ‘Two.’
    ‘Then you know what it’s like. She annoyed me constantly. We competed over clothes, jewellery and boys. She could be incredibly frustrating. She had to win at everything, and everything had to be done her own way. She was so smart. Twelve ‘A’ grade GCSEs. Our parents always said she could have done anything. But Ellis didn’t want to be a lawyer or doctor. She chose photography. On her eighteenth birthday, she packed her bags and moved to a squat in Covent Garden with an older man. The rest, as they say, is history.’
    ‘She sounds like a real free spirit.’
    ‘She was. But she always had time for me. When I needed to talk, she was there. And when our parents died...’ Brianna said, then paused to sob. She dabbed at her perfectly dry eyes with a tissue, and when the camera panned back, Kal could see she had brushed the corner of her eyes with artificial tears.
    Brianna huffed, then pretended to pull herself together with a shudder. ‘It’s been just the two of us for a while now. Our parents died a few years back, and Ellis, well, Ellis didn’t take it too well.’
    Meredith shuffled forwards to the edge of the sofa, and leant towards Brianna. ‘That’s an understatement! I remember she was all over the papers back then.’
    ‘Our parents’ demise started her on a downward spiral. They weren’t exactly old.’
    ‘It was a car crash, wasn’t it?’
    ‘Yes. One night the roads were icy, and Daddy lost control. Mummy died within minutes. When Dad found out she didn’t survive the crash, he became despondent. Three days later, he was gone. It was