Free Wrong Place: A gripping serial killer crime thriller. by M A Comley Page A

shrugged. “Not really. I just hate the thought of her suffering.”
    “I see. Well, that’s one thing we’ve yet to have confirmed by the pathologist. I can tell you this, though, her death wasn’t pretty, and we believe the crime might have been sexually motivated.”
    “Shit! Poor Maddie. She didn’t deserve that.”
    “No person does, Mr. Trent. Have a good think about the customers you saw at the pub last night and get back to me if anything crops up, okay?” Sally prompted the man for the last time before she left the house with her partner.

CHAPTER FIVE
    The rest of the week turned out to be murder-free, nevertheless uber-frustrating for Sally and her enthusiastic team as they waited impatiently for the DNA results to come through from the pathology lab. They had managed to track down and question Maddie’s ex-fiancé, who seemed so genuinely traumatised by Maddie’s death that Sally had no alternative but to cross him off the suspect list. Returning to both pubs to question staff and numerous customers had been a fruitless exercise, too.
    “Why don’t people take an interest in what goes on around them anymore?” Sally complained, shuffling papers in her office just before six o’clock struck.
    “Too self-absorbed maybe. I don’t know. What have you got planned for the weekend? Still unpacking?” Jack asked.
    “Nope, that’s all done now. Believe it or not, I’m going on the Broads with my parents. Over the last few months, Dad’s fixed up the cruiser, and this will be the first time it has been fit for use this year. Should be a relaxing weekend, I hope.”
    Jack shook his head and shuddered. “Dry land for me all the way. Can’t be dealing with all that rocking on the ocean lark.”
    Sally laughed. “Idiot. It’s as calm as a millpond on the Broads. The only dicey part is Braydon Water. Now that stretch of water can get really choppy if the weather is bad. You should try relaxing on the boats one day. The kids would love it.”
    He stood up and placed his hands on the back of the chair. “My girls are into the three M s.”
    Sally narrowed her eyes. “Which are?”
    “Music, make-up, and causing mayhem. Welcome to my world and what lies ahead of me this weekend.”
    Sally chortled. Standing, she slipped on her jacket and reached for her handbag before following Jack out of the office. “And that, my dear friend, is why I don’t intend having children. My life is stressful enough during the week here without having to deal with teenage tantrums at the weekend, too.”
    “Thankfully, Diane has a few years to go before she reaches thirteen. Teresa is certainly revelling in her role, though. I sometimes think life was far easier back in Afghanistan.” Jack tutted.
    Sally punched the top of his arm. “Go on with you, Bullet. You don’t mean that really,” she said, playfully using the nickname his army colleagues had granted him. The Taliban had shot him on four separate occasions during his final mission.
    “Seriously, give me a battle against the Taliban any day of the week, rather than thrashing it out with Teresa about some of the stupid outfits she tries to sneak out in.”
    “Ah, the battle of wills. You should know by now that we girls will win every time on that one.”
    “Yeah, you’d think I would’ve learned that by now, eh? And don’t even get me started on that boyfriend of hers!”
    Sally laughed loudly. “I bet Donna’s parents felt the same way about you when you guys first started dating.”
    He placed a hand to his chest and looked hurt. “What? I was the bloody model boyfriend right from day one.”
    “Yeah, I bet you went rapidly downhill after that, though.”
    Jack shook his head vehemently and grunted his disapproval of her insensitive comment. “No way. To this day, they still insist I was the best boyfriend to ever grace their front doorstep. And there were many, so I’ve been told, frequently!”
    “Oh dear, not quite what you’d want to hear