Page 34 of Twisted Lies
She pressed the answer button and began to speak immediately. ‘Look, whatever I’ve done to piss you off this time will have to wait. I’m busy.’
‘Yeah, busy poking your nose into other people’s business as usual,’ Stone retorted.
Frost frowned. The words she expected but not the tone. It was maybe one or two degrees above the freezing temperature Stone normally employed with her.
‘Why are you…?’
‘I read your article last night. It wasn’t bad.’
Frost felt a smile tug at her lips. High praise indeed.
‘You got more to say on the subject?’ Stone continued.
‘Oh yeah, but it wasn’t even your case so why the interest?’
There was a slight hesitation before the inspector answered. ‘Trisha Morley is what we call a choke case.’
‘Choke?’
‘So-called because it sticks in the throat of every officer on the force whether it was their case or not. No one believes Nick Morley is innocent, but proving it is a different matter. At the centre of this PR circus is a woman who suffered for years, and your article last night helped remind the public of that fact. So, like I said, well done. You didn’t fuck it up.’
Frost opened her mouth to reply, but the line went dead in her hand.
For a moment she considered the situation from the side of the police. They had done all they could to secure a conviction. They were fully convinced of his guilt, but once the evidence had been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service they could do no more. That knowledge must torture them all but none more than Stone, who lived and breathed justice.
And that was the point of the call, she realised. The inspector was telling her that, regardless of their personal feelings, the police could do no more. But that she could.
With Stone’s words ringing in her ears, she resumed her search for Ariane Debegorski.
Pilkington
No results found
Prestwich
1 Result found
Frost froze, not quite believing her eyes. There she was. For the last seven years, Ariane Debegorski had been living in Prestwich, just three miles out of Manchester city centre.
A slow smile spread across her face. That was the thing about long shots. It sure felt good if you managed to hit the target.
Frost wasted no time in grabbing her jacket and handbag.
Ariane Debegorski, I am coming to get you.
Twenty-Six
Kim ended her call to Frost as they entered the Hayes Trading Estate. She hoped the reporter had received her message loud and clear.
‘You know you were almost civil to her then,’ Bryant noted.
‘Almost?’ she asked. On her thermometer the conversation had bordered on almost warm.
‘Well, the bit where you end a conversation without warning needs a little work.’
‘I said what I wanted to say and I was done,’ she replied, shrugging as she looked out of the window.
‘It’s a shame,’ she noted, shaking her head.
