Page 27 of One Left Alive
He drove to the house with Morgan. Abigail and Claire followed in the car behind.
‘Ben, do you think a woman could have done this? I just don’t see either Olivia or Bronte resorting to this level. I’ve read a lot about violent crime and it doesn’t sit right with me.’
He glanced at her. ‘I agree, personally I think our suspect when we apprehend them will be male, but we can’t rule anything out. Harrison is looking viable at the moment. He knew where there was a key to the property, and he’s in and out all the time. A familiar face that they all seemed to trust.’
‘He’s so young though.’
‘Is there a minimum age for murder? We’ll see what happens when he’s interviewed. If he has a cast-iron alibi then we’re back to square one.’
There was a PCSO guarding the entrance to the drive and a man in a flashy blue BMW was talking to him, blocking his entrance. He didn’t look as if he was about to move.
‘What’s this clown doing?’
Ben beeped his horn, but the car still didn’t move. The PCSO looked towards him and shrugged. Ben got out of his car, striding over to the BMW, about to drag whoever was being an arsehole out of the driver’s door.
‘Is there a problem here?’
Ben recognised Jamie Stone, the editor of the local paper, but wouldn’t give him the pleasure of acknowledging him.
‘Yes, there is. I want to go up to the house.’
Ben crossed his arms. ‘Why? Are you family or a close friend?’
‘No, I’m the editor of—’
‘I know who you are. You say you’re not anything to do with the family who live here?’
‘No, I’m a reporter. The public have a right to know—’
He cut him off again. ‘A right to know what exactly?’
‘About this?’ he finished lamely.
‘At this moment in time, neither the public nor you have the right to know anything. This is an ongoing case which has nothing to do with you. So, I suggest you move your car out of my way before I arrest you for police obstruction. As the editor of that piece of crap paper, you should know that all enquiries into serious incidents are run through the constabulary press office.’ He lowered his voice. ‘So, piss off out of my sight before I arrest you.’
‘Hey, you can’t talk to me like that.’ He radiated a sense of anger towards Ben.
Ben turned and waved Morgan over. ‘Have you got your cuffs on you and pepper spray?’
She jumped out of the car, a pair of cuffs dangling from her fingers and began to walk towards him.
Ben leant in and grabbed the guy’s collar.
‘You can’t do this. It’s police brutality, I’ll have you reported.’
A red mist fell over Ben’s eyes and if it hadn’t been for the voice of DCI Claire Williams behind him he’d have dragged the arrogant man out of his car and cuffed him. He let go of his collar and stepped back.
‘What is the problem here? You are indeed obstructing a police officer, so I’m going to ask you kindly to move your vehicle. I like to think I’m a reasonable person.’ She looked at the Apple Watch on her wrist. ‘So I’ll give you ten seconds and then I’ll be arresting you.’ She smiled the whole time she spoke, and the driver of the car shook his head.
‘You wait, you won’t hear the last of this. I’m good friends with the Crime Commissioner.’
‘Are you really, then you’ll already have his number. I won’t need to give it to you. Ten, nine, eight, seven.’
The car engine roared into life and he drove away, the whole time shaking his head.
Ben stared at Claire; his opinion of her had just gone from okay to awesome.
‘What a prick; I wouldn’t worry about the Crime Commissioner either.’
