Free Team Spirit (Special Crime Unit Book 1) by Ian Mayfield Page B

‘As
yet there’s no clear motive for the crime. Obviously Robin will be in no fit
state to tell us anything for some time. It’s possible Luke might have some
idea why they were picked on, or even who might have done it.’
    Nick
sat down beside his friend and said something softly into his ear. Luke nodded
bleakly.
    ‘Thank
you, Luke,’ Sophia said. ‘So far we’re in a bit of a bind. None of the
neighbours seem to have seen anything, despite the fact that someone setting
fire to a cross in your front garden would have been pretty hard to miss.’
    ‘I
can tell you why,’ Luke said.
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘All
shit scared, case they get put on the spot. I know who did it and I know why.’
He saw his listeners’ expressions change. He steepled his fingers and leaned
forward, elbows on knees. ‘Robin’s babysitter knows about it. Debbie Clarke.
Talk to her.’
    Concealing
their surprise, Sophia and Sandra told him about the circumstances surrounding
Debbie’s disappearance. With much prompting Luke, already distressed enough, was
able to clarify why they’d found what they had.
    Although
Doreen Benton had been left adequately provided for by her late husband, her
status as the family’s breadwinner had required her, for her own peace of mind,
to return to the job market she’d abandoned when Robin was born. His starting
school had finally given her the opportunity, and she’d been lucky enough to
find a job that corresponded roughly with his school times, leaving only the
hour or so afterwards unaccounted for. Debbie Clarke was the latest in a string
of babysitters employed through cards put up in Mrs Blissett’s shop. She was
also the prettiest, and Luke, despite some misgivings about her age, had asked
her out.
    ‘She’s
sixteen, though,’ Sandra remarked.
    ‘Yeah,
but she acts younger sometimes. She’s sort of in the angry teenage phase. I
never should’ve involved her but it’s difficult to take no for an answer with
her.’
    ‘Involved
her in what, Luke?’ Sophia said.
    He
sighed, struggling to marshal his thoughts. ‘Long story,’ he said. ‘I picked
her up one night, she was in a right strop. Something on the news about a
robbery, and her dad had been spewing his middle class crap about all black men
being muggers and rapists. Then of course we got dragged into it ‘cause
Debbie sits for us, and she flew off the handle.’
    ‘Do
the Clarkes know about you and Debbie?’
    ‘You
joking?’ Luke scoffed. ‘Bad enough their little girl even being associated with
us - working for Sambo. Oh, they never say as much, least not in my hearing.
But it’s plain enough.’
    Sophia
nodded. Believable, if Kim’s impressions of Andrew Clarke were anything to go
by. She said, ‘So you think they might have found out?’
    ‘Eh?’
He looked puzzled. Then he shook his head. ‘No, I’m just telling you how it
started. Anyway, she knew I was involved with this pressure group, Justice for
Mark Watkins.’
    Sophia
stiffened. Kim had mentioned a possible link. She’d have to talk to her when
they got back.
    ‘D’you
remember it?’ Luke asked, noticing her reaction.
    Sandra,
who’d been uncharacteristically taciturn so far, said, ‘I was on the
investigation.’
    Luke
and Nick turned piercing stares on her. Luke said, ‘D’you reckon it was
Carruth?’
    Sandra
hesitated, conscious of Sophia beside her. ‘We were pretty certain he was
involved,’ she said. ‘And we knew he didn’t act alone. But because he never talked…’ She
tailed off, knowing as she had known then that it wasn’t enough.
    Nick
made a loud, dismissive noise with his tongue. The tension in the room had
risen.
    Sandra
said, ‘A person can’t be tried twice for the same crime. That’s the law.’
    Nick
wasn’t impressed. He chewed his lip and then said, ‘You reckon he had something
to do with - ?’
    ‘I
checked him out.’ Sandra shook her head. ‘He’s got the perfect alibi. Emigrated
to America two years ago and he’s