Free SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense by JOY ELLIS Page A

managed to get a mugshot of the man, she could circulate it and get him brought in. Joseph could then have looked at him close up, and that would have been that. Either a simple case of mistaken identity or Joseph would have to take an unwanted trip down memory lane.
    She gnawed on the inside of her cheek. Just say Joseph was correct and this Billy Sweet really was rampaging down a Lincolnshire High Street. What the hell did he want? It had to be something to do with Joseph. She wondered what Billy Sweet had done. If the whole unit despised him, it had to be something pretty grim.
    ‘Ma’am? You wanted me?’ Cat Cullen leant around the door. Her recently emerald green striped hairstyle was now reduced to just white blond spikes.
    Nikki grinned at her. ‘Very good work with the cannabis farms, Detective. An excellent result.’
    ‘Ta, guv. Dave and me are pretty chuffed with ourselves.’
    ‘You have every right to be.’ Nikki jabbed her thumb in the direction of a chair.
    ‘I want you to do me a little favour before we discuss your next investigation. You’ve spent a lot of time on the streets recently, would this man mean anything to you?’ She handed Cat, Joseph’s written description of Billy Sweet.
    ‘Phew, that could be half the guys that I’ve been hanging out with, but it really doesn’t sound like anyone I could name. Want me to make enquiries, guv?’
    Nikki nodded, then looked up as the CCTV operator appeared in the doorway and handed her a CD.
    ‘Stick this in the machine, Cat. It may help, although I’m told the quality is crap.’
    Cat took the CD and switched on the viewer. After a few moments they were watching three lanes of painfully slow moving traffic.
    ‘This will never make the Cannes Film Festival, ma’am. When does the action start?’
    ‘About now I should think. There’s Joseph’s Ford, at a standstill in the middle lane.’
    ‘And what are those yobs doing?’
    ‘They are the ones that we are interested in. Watch Joseph’s vehicle. One of those men apparently hammered on his windscreen, then ran away.’
    ‘Wow!’ said Cat. ‘If that’s their idea of fun, they really need to get out more.’
    As Joseph had described, the group of men ran in and out of the traffic, dodging and weaving as the vehicles moved forward or stopped. Then one of them broke away and dived in front of Joseph’s Ford.
    ‘The quality is crap. You’re right.’ Cat leaned in closer. ‘What’s he doing?’
    ‘Looks like he’s slapping the windscreen. Now he’s leaning over the bonnet and staring inside.’
    ‘What an arsehole,’ Cat frowned. ‘And now he’s off.’
    Nikki stared at the screen. No question, the man was unidentifiable. But now she looked at Joseph. He had jumped out of his car and was staring around anxiously, trying to see where the man had gone.
    ‘The sarge overreacted a bit, didn’t he, guv?’ asked Cat. ‘It was only some prat, doing what prats do.’
    Nikki didn’t answer. She’d been thinking exactly the same thing, and whether the man was Billy Sweet or Lord Lucan, Joseph clearly believed he had seen a ghost.
    ‘Go out for the afternoon, Cat. Ask around. See if this description rings any bells with anyone, and concentrate on the West Street Quarter, those other men were apparently foreign.’
    ‘Sure. No problem. And if I find him?’
    ‘Ring me, and steer well clear. Understand? No contact with him. He maybe an innocent party, but just as easily, he may be very unpleasant.’
    As Cat stood up to leave, Nikki added, ‘And keep this just between us for the present, okay?’
    Cat tapped the side of her nose. ‘Got it, ma’am. I’ll be silent as the grave.’
    As the young detective closed the door, Nikki looked back to the photograph of Martin Durham. She was getting sidetracked by Joseph’s problems, but Martin was dead, and Joseph was alive and troubled.
    Somehow she’d find time for both.

CHAPTER NINE
    The Hammer and Anvil pub was packed with celebrating