BooksBarbecue
Back Ghosted
Chapters (61)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. Books by Emily Barr
  4. DEDICATION
  5. Prologue
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. Epilogue
  58. Acknowledgements
  59. Read on for an extract from …
  60. 12 December
  61. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘Might have been,’ he said. ‘What’s it to you? Like I told everyone at the time, I have nothing to say because nothing happened. I was working, yeah. Uniformed, which means you’re just standing around as a deterrent. Here, in plain clothes, I see them shoplifting, but in uniform you’re just a warning. I didn’t see Joe Simpson, or if I did I didn’t notice him. Why would I? By the time he was reported missing I was off shift. I know he turned up on CCTV, but it was patchy back then and they didn’t see anything that meant anything. As you very well know. If you think I’m going to tell you something the Devon and Cornwall police didn’t manage to get out of me back in the day then you have a bit of a jumped-up sense of your own skill, Little Miss Marple.’

He glared back at me. I took another step away, then stepped forward again, twice. I was so close now that I could smell his breath. Coffee and mints, with an underlying tang of meat.

‘OK,’ I said. ‘What do you think did happen?’

Pete started to say something, then stopped and shrugged. ‘It’s hard work being a young man, isn’t it? I’ve a son. He hasn’t had it easy. None of them do. Happens all the time. Bullying? What is it they have – mental health issues? Family problems? You’d know about them, of course, if you’re his cousin. Topped himself. That’s what I’d say, and no sleuthing you do is going to change that.’

‘Yeah,’ I said. This was bleak. ‘Well, thanks for –’

I was about to ask his surname for my records (knowing that it would be easier to ask Dan) when he ran off, grabbed a woman who’d just gone into Boots, and was immediately involved in a shouting match with her, which centred on the fact that she was barred and everyone knew it. I watched him looming over her, intimidating her with his size. I watched her yelling in his face until she turned and gave up.

I sighed. He was wrong about Joe. Wasn’t he?

The words he had used were odd, though. Something the Devon and Cornwall police didn’t manage to get out of me. That was an odd way of putting it, wasn’t it?

I moved to a bench, opened my notebook and started to write: