Free CRIME ON THE FENS a gripping detective thriller full of suspense by JOY ELLIS Page B

squaddies who turn copper. In fact, some of them hate us. So . . . ? Please?’
    Nikki tilted her head to one side. Maybe she was getting even more bitter and twisted, but recently she had found herself quite enjoying seeing someone squirm. But this was different. Joseph Easter was different. And strangely, she felt no pleasure, just a sad sort of discomfort for him. Certainly there were a dozen questions running through her head, but now was not the time to ask them. Not with a girl missing.
    She nodded, and to her surprise, found herself giving him the first smile that she could remember handing out for a very long while. ‘I think we have a suspect to interview, don’t we?’
    * * *
    The rest of the day passed in a blur, and by nightfall every available man and woman was out hunting for Kerry Anderson. Local media had been contacted and the superintendent had made an impassioned plea on national television.
    Kris Brown had told them no more than they already knew, and his distraught mother had painted them a picture of a sensitive, highly intelligent, but slightly introverted, home-loving boy. Something more on a par with St Francis of Assisi, than a cold-blooded abductor of pretty girls.
    Then at eleven thirty, Nikki received a call from one of the villagers from Barnby Eaudyke. A call that meant she would have to let him go.
    ‘There was a fox around, Inspector. That’s why I kept going out into the garden. I have chickens, you see.’
    ‘So what time did you actually see Mr Brown, Mrs Roper?’ asked Nikki with something like exasperation.
    ‘Well, off and on from around seven thirty, right up until two o’clock, I suppose. I saw him when I checked my hens. He has an ‘observatory,’ Inspector. Big posh shed with an opening window, if you ask me, but our Kris is something of a celebrity in the village. He’s an astronomer, you know. Nothing he don’t know about stars and stuff. Sometimes he’s out there all night.’
    ‘Yes, and . . . ?’ Nikki tried to keep her cool.
    ‘Well, I saw him going in and out, didn’t I? Moving his telescope around. Oh yes, and once, close to midnight, his dog started barking. Must have smelt the fox, I reckon. So he had to be there all evening, Inspector.’
    ‘And, to your knowledge, he was alone, Mrs Roper?’
    ‘Well, I can’t swear to it, but I never saw anyone else.’
    Nikki thanked the woman for her help, then slammed down the receiver and swore out loud. ‘Fuck it! We’re going to have to let him go.’ She puffed out her cheeks in exasperation.
    Joseph shrugged. ‘For what it’s worth, and I know he’s unlike any other twenty year old kid I’ve ever met, but I really don’t think he knows where Kerry is.’
    ‘Since when did you become the county profiler?’ enquired Nikki.
    ‘I know I’m no psychologist, but his body language didn’t exactly scream out ‘I’m a liar,’ did it?’ countered Joseph.
    Nikki leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. ‘Oh God! I need some sleep. But how can I walk out of this station with a girl missing?’
    ‘We have to. Wherever Kerry is, she needs us to be one hundred per cent on the ball. And as most of the Fenland Constabulary are out there looking for her, there’s little left for us to do right now.’ Joseph yawned and examined a darkening bruise on his wrist. ‘Plus, as we’ve just spent a happy hour brawling with Carborough thugs, I think we can grab a few hours shut-eye without too many recriminations.’
    ‘Oh shit! The boy who got stabbed! I’d better get down to the hospital and check on him.’ Nikki could feel the shadow of a headache forming behind her eyes.
    ‘I rang while you on the phone, ma’am. He’s conscious and stable. He’s got two uniforms with him until he’s well enough to interview, so you can relax over him.’
    ‘Nevertheless, that kid got stabbed because of one of those bloody masks. I need to get those evil things off the streets before something even worse