Page 9 of Return Ticket

“Bastard.” She glared at the car.

James gave a grim nod. “Bastard indeed. I’ll give you the address associated with this car, so you can send the fine to him in the post.”

“I’d like to give it to him personally.” She looked up and down the street. The crowds were slowly drifting away, now the drama was over, and there was no sign of him.

“You know him?” James sounded surprised.

“Had a set-to with him yesterday. Just before the boys who found the body came to call me for help. He was thoroughly unpleasant.” She brushed at her skirt and flexed her hand again, but it was already feeling much better. “Are you here to see where she was found?”

James nodded. “Do you think you can show me?”

She knew he didn’t need her to, there would be markers, but she had the feeling he was reluctant to let her out of his sight.

“Yes.” She paused, watching as Constable Evans approached from up the street.

His gaze went to her, then to James and Hartridge. “Problem?” he asked.

“That car is electrified,” Gabriella said, pointing. “It gave me and DC Hartridge a nasty shock.”

“Do you know who it belongs to?” James asked Evans.

The big man shook his head. “No, but I’ve seen it recently. Comes around maybe twice a week.”

“I’ll see what charges can be laid,” James said. “Both Miss Farnsworth and DC Hartridge could have been seriously hurt.”

Evans promised to keep an eye out for the owner, and they walked away, keeping a slow pace, mainly, she suspected, for her, but also for Hartridge to get his balance again, too.

She still couldn’t believe Shouty Man had electrified his car. It was clearly meant to stop him from getting a ticket. The craziness of the lengths he had gone to to save himself a fine gave her pause.

This was not a well individual.

When they reached the heap of rubble, she saw the tape the police had put around it had been broken or ripped, and it flapped in the stiff breeze with a snap, snap, snap.

“She was over on the other side of the slope?” James asked.

Gabriella nodded. “If you’re going to go up and look, watch your footing. It’s hard going.”

“And yet he carried her up.” James said it softly, as if to himself, and Gabriella realized that was true.

“Someone strong, then.” She looked up and down the street. “Someone could have seen him. Those windows there are for the flats, I think. And this is a shortcut from the Kings Road. Someone could have come along.”

“Strong and brazen,” Hartridge confirmed. “Or so caught up in what he was doing, he didn’t even think about witnesses.”

“That’s the best case scenario,” James said. “Because that means there’s more chance we’ll catch him when he does it again.”

“Again?” Gabriella frowned.

“We think this is the second time,” James told her. “I’m pretty sure there’ll be a third.”

chapterfive

James watchedthe police car he’d had come by to pick up Gabriella disappear around the corner. He would not hear of her going back to headquarters under her own steam.

“She seemed all right,” Hartridge said.

James glanced at him. “How are you? You were thrown to the ground as well.”

Hartridge shrugged. “I felt like I was going to throw up at first, but it passed quickly. The tingles in my arm took a bit longer to fade, but I’m honestly right as rain now.”