Free Flashpoint by Felicity Young Page B

security con; they got more money by staying single. They were a couple but as far as the government was concerned, they just shared a house.’
    â€˜Interesting,’ Cam said, writing in his notebook.
    â€˜Oh, it gets better.’
    Cam raised his eyebrows. Bell gave him a calculating look in return. ‘It seems to me that I’m providing you with quite a lot of useful info here,’ he said. ‘It’s been bloody inconvenient for me to close up the house. God knows how many potential buyers could have been through by now. I might have sold the place twice over. I don’t suppose . . .’
    â€˜No. You don’t suppose, sir. Withholding information during a murder investigation is an offence.’
    â€˜OK, OK, don’t fart sparks over it. I’ll cooperate. What else do you need to know?’
    Cam took a deep breath. ‘How old was your brother?’ ‘Well,’ Bell paused and did some mental calculations. ‘Fifty-six or sixty-six – it depends.’
    â€˜On what?’
    Bell slapped his hands on his knees and laughed. ‘On which birth certificate you’re looking at! He told me this scheme of his years ago, and to be honest’ – there it was again – ‘I thought of dobbing him in over it often enough. He’d a fake certificate you see, saying he was ten years younger than he actually was.’
    Cam could see where this was going. ‘Had he been claiming an invalid pension?’
    â€˜Yeah, he’d been on one for years. Sore back or some such crap.’
    â€˜So he could go on receiving the invalid pension instead of the aged pension, which pays out a lot less.’
    â€˜Spot on.’
    â€˜You’ve mentioned this Gay woman. Do you know the names of any other friends or associates of your brother?’
    â€˜Never have and never want to.’
    â€˜Any other family members?’
    â€˜No, just him and me.’
    â€˜For the record, sir, where were you last Saturday night?’
    Bell did not seem surprised or offended by the question. ‘That depends,’ he smiled, giving Cam the feeling that he was in fact quite keen to divulge his whereabouts.
    Jesus, here we go again. ‘Depends on what?’ Cam asked.
    â€˜On who you ask.’
    â€˜Your niece?’
    Bell drew an hourglass shape in the air with his hands and winked. ‘You’re a quick one, Sarge, I’ll give you that. OK, I’ll cough up. Tiffany and I went out to dinner, then I went back to her place. I didn’t get home till late Sunday afternoon. My wife thinks I was in Albany. Now I hope I can count on your discretion here.’ He tapped the side of his nose. ‘You really don’t need to write it down in your little book.’ He shifted a buttock and reached for his wallet, freezing when he saw the look on Cam’s face. His voice smarted with hurt. ‘My card, Sergeant, I want to give you my card.’ He extracted a crumpled card and held it out. Cam took it gingerly, as if it was smeared with something foul. ‘Idon’t suppose you’re in the market for a house, are you?’ Toby Bell said.

10
    The sun stabbed at Jo’s eyes as she stepped away from the school’s cool front entrance. She stopped for a moment, thinking that what she saw had to be an illusion caused by the glare. She put down her heavy book basket and rummaged in her bag for her sunglasses. But this was no trick of light. Her car door was clearly open and someone was leaning into it from the driver’s side.
    Some bastard was trying to steal her car!
    She looked around. The school was deserted. Hers was the only car in the car park. There was no one she could call for help.
    Without a second thought she ran down the path and vaulted the small wrought-iron fence that bordered the ornamental front garden. She wouldn’t warn him with a shout; she wanted to catch the creep red-handed.
    But the thief must have heard