Free Joint Enterprise (The Romney and Marsh Files Book 3) by Oliver Tidy Page A

text-book patronising. ‘Just wondered if they’d turned up, or you’d heard anything, that’s all. Also, as they went missing on your watch , I suppose I expected Samson Security to be looking to save a bit of face, not to mention some legal trouble with the film company when their lawyers start making noises and representations about your failings. Still, I’m sure you’ve got all your insurances in place. Is that what you’re busy with now?’ Romney made a show of looking over at Wilkie’s cluttered desk. Wilkie reacted by leaning forward and folding his arms across it.
    As an observer Marsh was thoroughly disappointed but not surprised.
    Wilkie looked like someone had turned the heat up under his chair. ‘I haven’t heard anything about the m issing film. Do you want anything else?’ Wilkie maintained a controlled and neutral tone.
    ‘Actually, yes. The theft of the film aside , we still have a murder to investigate.’
    Wilkie continued to simmer. ‘I hope you’re not going to start suggesting that Samson Security is in any way culpable for that? What went on on that field was out of our control and out of our jurisdiction.’
    ‘That’s as maybe,’ said Romney, ‘but just to give you a friendly heads up, you should know that we’re investigating the possibility, actually make that the probability, that whoever was responsible for the death of that man was not part of the official re-enactment. We have good reason to believe that a small group of men who managed to get hold of costumes of the period just waltzed through security here, got themselves down on the field, had their idea of fun, and then walked away laughing and joking. I should know because we bumped into them in the car park and on their merry way before the alarm was raised. I don’t know where your blokes were at the time. Maybe it was their tea-break. Anyway, that’ll all come out in our investigation, no doubt.’
    Marsh switched her attention between Romney’s obvious sadistic enjoyment of this little bombshell and Wilkie’s reaction to it. It was a quiet and tense few seconds.
    ‘Can you prove any of that?’ said Wilkie, at last.
    ‘Working on it, Brian. Working on it. If you hear anything you’ll let us know , won’t you?’
    Romney didn’t wait for a reply. He wheeled around and left leaving Marsh and Wilkie staring at each other in the ensuing silence.
    ‘You got something to say to me?’ said Wilkie.
    Marsh forced herself to say nothing, express nothing, just turn and walk out. Something in Wilkie’s stare; something in his barely concealed hatred for her and what she obviously stood for to him had reached deep into her and disturbed her. She saw in that fleeting moment whe n their eyes locked that he would never forget her and what he believed her role to have been in his fall from grace. She knew that he would always harbour a deep and malicious grudge towards her and that one day, if he ever got his chance, he would have a reckoning with her. As she strode quickly to catch up with Romney, she realised that despite the coolness that came with the rain, she was perspiring and that her heart rate had increased. She also realised that Wilkie had frightened her.
    Next on Romney’s list of people to upset was Hugo Crawford. Romney was like some cantankerous old hospital doctor doing his rounds determined to leave no one that he encountered in his work pleased for the experience. He popped his head through the opening of the tent they had had their meeting in the night before to be told that because of the change in the weather the young director and his entourage were within the castle walls working on an interior scene.
    Unable to resist it , Romney said, ‘Animal or building?’
    Romney was told building.
    ‘Mind me asking what we’re doing here, sir?’ said Marsh , as she followed him through the channels and openings in search of Crawford. She had been under the impression that they were to visit the castle to