Read Online Faithfully: Chase & Halshaw #1 by Howard Mellowes - Free Book Online Page B

with her hair
tied up in a high ponytail. For a pleasant moment he remembered his dream of
the previous night, but quickly forced it from his mind.
    A few moments later she reappeared at the door. “Di says you
want to see me.”
    “Yes, if you‘ve got a moment.”
    Amy smiled. “Of course.” She perched on the edge of the
table. “Any news?”
    “A fair bit, actually,” he said, with more confidence than
he felt. “We’ve confirmed that it wasn’t Bryn Lewis who sent you that text. The
number is assigned to a pay-as-you-go mobile, activated within the last couple of
months. We’ve traced the text he received in the meeting to one of his
friends.”
    Amy nodded thoughtfully. “That’s something, I suppose. But
what about the break-in? Any news there?”
    “We’ve got a suspect in custody for some of the other
break-ins. We think he knows something about yours but he hasn’t said much
yet.” God, that sounded weak, he thought.
    She pursed her full, rather sulky lips. “Oh.”
    “Received any more texts?”
    “Only one.”
    “When was that?”
    “Yesterday evening sometime. It went to my company phone
which was switched off, so I only got it this morning.”
    “From the same number?”
    “Yes.”
    “What did it say?”
    “See for yourself.” She handed Chase her phone. He read,
    You’re holding up well, bitch. So far. But this is just the
start.
    He looked up, and saw her looking intently at him.
    “I’m not sure what to say,” he floundered.
    “You don’t look surprised?”
    “Don’t I? Maybe I’m not.”
    “Why not?”
    Chase sighed. “If this person’s trying to undermine you,
they’re certainly not going to stop just yet. So far, they only seem to have
made you more determined.”
    Amy smiled grimly. “Too bloody right,” she replied.
    “Good for you,” he smiled. “Look. Les Salter’s due here any
minute. So I’ll see you later on. OK?”
    Amy began to leave. At the door she turned. “You will catch
them, won’t you, Inspector?” she asked, her bright blue eyes boring into his.
    Chase said nothing.
    *
    Les Salter arrived a few minutes later. He was an older man,
slim and grey-haired, with a neatly trimmed goatee and large glasses that gave
him an owlish appearance. He wore a tweed jacket and an off-white poly-cotton
shirt, teamed with a navy knitted tie. Chase did a double-take: for a moment he
thought his old geography teacher had returned to haunt him.
    “Is this about the break-in at Amy’s?” Salter asked, once
the two men had shaken hands. His voice was clipped, the words emerging in
rapid-fire bursts.
    “Partly, yes,” replied Chase.
    “Why partly?”
    “I’d rather not say at the moment, Mr Salter. Can you
describe your relationship with Amy, please?”
    “My relationship with Amy?” mused Salter, stroking his
salt-and-pepper beard. “We don’t have a relationship, Inspector. Not as such.
We’re colleagues, that’s all.”
    “Do you like her? Resent her? What?”
    “Oh, I’ve got nothing against Amy personally. She’s pleasant
enough, and very capable. It’s just that...”
    “What, Mr Salter?”
    “Well, she’s young and inexperienced. She’s impatient. She
doesn’t have the deep understanding of our business that you need to be
effective.” He smiled self-deprecatingly. “Yet, I mean, of course.”
    “Of course.”
    “The thing is this, Inspector. Bryn Lewis is a man in a
hurry. He wants success, wants to look good to the Group board. So he brings in
young, pushy people like Amy, and gets them to do whatever it takes to force
his changes through. He rides roughshod over those of us who know the business
better. He doesn’t bloody listen, basically.”
    “So Amy’s one of Bryn Lewis’ henchpeople ,
is that what you’re saying?”
    Salter shook his grey head. “Not exactly, no. Amy is one of
Bryn’s people, it’s true, but she has a mind of her own. Not like most of them.
Amy’s quite prepared to stand up to him if she needs to.