Perfect Murder: The Reluctant Detective, #6

By T M Goble

In the riveting sixth instalment of the Detective Sergeant Josh Anderson series, "Perfect Murder," Josh is faced with a formidable challenge when a new Inspector arrives, and their initial encounter leaves him anxious and uncertain about the direction his career may take. Personal feelings must be set aside when tragedy strikes within the ranks of the police force, thrusting Josh into a complex and high-stakes investigation that will test his resolve and loyalty.

However, when a fellow police colleague is brutally murdered, Josh is catapulted into the unforgiving limelight of the investigation. As he delves deeper into the case, unsettling and unsettling information begins to emerge, forcing him to confront the unsettling possibility that he must investigate fellow officers—individuals he once considered friends and allies.

In "Perfect Murder," Detective Sergeant Josh Anderson's unwavering commitment to justice is put to the test as he grapples with personal conflicts, professional loyalties, and the quest for truth. With the spotlight glaring upon him, he must navigate the treacherous terrain of a case that threatens to unravel not only the lives of those involved but also the very fabric of the police force itself.

Join Josh as he embarks on a relentless quest for answers, striving to unravel the complex web of deception that shrouds his fellow officers in suspicion. "Perfect Murder" is a gripping and emotionally charged thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, as Detective Sergeant Josh Anderson confronts the moral and ethical dilemmas of investigating those he once stood beside, all in the relentless pursuit of justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Creative Peak
• Release date: Feb 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224406456

Book preview

02

Josh Anderson exited the courtroom after the judge had passed sentence on the person he had arrested. The mundane court appearance resulted from an assault on the Regent estate. Today was the first occasion that he had entered the refurbished courtroom which had taken on a modern feel with light varnished wood replacing the heavy dark oak that had been in place for over a hundred years. The judge’s bench had been lowered, although it still dominated the room, which remained too small for modern court proceedings. He wasn’t sure if it had been money well spent as he doubted that the criminals who attended would worry or notice. In his view the main police station would have benefitted from being upgraded as it’s air of neglect was an embarrassment.

Relaxing his shoulders as he had completed his giving of evidence early in the case, he smoothed the leather on his jacket as he walked through the court building. Today he had made a special effort with his clothes as he would meet the new Inspector, who would be the first female boss of his career. He had deliberately not sought information about her, so it did not cloud the initial meeting. Forsaking his favourite brown leather jacket, he had chosen a new black one that his mother had bought for him. Yesterday, he’d had his hair trimmed and brought a new pair of black trousers to replace his habitual jeans. This new smart appearance wouldn’t last as he enjoyed a casual approach to his clothes.

Outside the courthouse he paused on the steps and breathed in the fresh air which was a welcome relief after the stuffy and soporific atmosphere inside the building. Many of his recent cases had focused on the inner city 1960’s tower block development. Burglary, assault, domestic violence, and drugs cases were the norm, but there appeared no initiative to resolve the problems at the source. The fresh air, although under an overcast sky, enlivened his spirits, as another case had been successfully completed. It never failed to lift his mood when a case concluded. In the past he had doubted his ability to solve the simplest crime but thanks to his friend and colleague Tom Collins he had muddled along. The drive of the early years in the police force had deserted him and he still considered that his days as a detective were numbered. It was not the job that he wanted for his future life. A career with more dependable hours and less stress would be so much better, perhaps he might manage to find and keep a girlfriend and settle down. With a sigh of frustration, he turned away from the courthouse.

Striding through the town centre, despite the drizzle, he would return to the police station. Had his new boss arrived yet? Would they manage to work well together or would he still be reprimanded on a regular basis for his inadequacies with his paperwork? With a grimace he negotiated the area which buzzed with people and traffic. Only time would tell what his new boss would be like so there was little point in trying to guess. The court appearance concluded his case, so he had volunteered to assist Chris Smart, his fellow Detective Sergeant, with his investigation into a bank robbery. Chief Inspector Haskins had left a week previously following his promotion to Superintendent so with no direction from above as to his next case, he would support his colleague who had arrived from London a few months ago. They had built an easy working relationship which suited Josh.

Removing his phone from his pocket, he pressed his colleague’s number. ‘Hi Chris, I’m free from court. How can I help you?’

‘Thanks Josh, I’m about to visit the Black Lion pub where I hope to meet someone with information and pick up lunch. Why not join me and I’ll update you on progress?’

The pub had a poor reputation for noisy evenings and fights, but he suspected it would be quiet at lunchtimes. Chris wanted to meet an informant and they could have lunch and talk about the case before returning to the station and meeting the newly appointed Inspector.

Tucking his collar up, he strode along the High Street and turned into a side road towards the oldest part of Blackford. The narrow, cobbled streets and the seventeenth century buildings formed the original heart of the village before the industrial expansion. The inner-city area was now dominated by the tower blocks of the Regent estate. After avoiding people on the narrow pavement, he stepped into the lounge bar of the Black Lion. The lights were on despite being close to noon. The tired red bench seats were threadbare and the bar empty. It wasn’t an environment that lifted his mood. Despite the noise of him opening the large wooden door which gave a resounding crack as it slammed behind him, no bar staff appeared.

Chris’s informant would no doubt frequent the public bar. The landlord had kept the traditional difference in the bars, although most of the other pubs in the town had moved to a more inclusive approach.

Josh crossed to the public bar and went through a side door. Chris was buying a drink, so he mouthed lager as he spotted him. Josh nodded as he jingled the mints in his pocket, which he always kept, depending on who he had to meet after drinking alcohol. An orange juice would stand out for a man in this traditional environment of outdated décor of dark woods and walls, which had not been updated for decades. A few locals had already arrived and had bought their pints. They sat on their own at round battered and scratched tables, but after a quick glance across the assembled drinkers he concluded that he did not recognise any of the customers.

‘I’ve ordered two ham sandwiches.’ He leaned close to Josh. ‘We will stand at the bar to eat and drink. If he comes, he will slip a note to me as he buys his drink.’

Perhaps it was Chris’s method as he was from London, but Josh preferred to meet people who would give him information and chose remote spots away from any spying eyes. You never knew who else might be around and what they might observe.

The sandwiches arrived and Josh took a bite. ‘How can I help for the next few days before the Inspector allocates me work?’

‘Can you call into the Control Centre and check on the CCTV cameras near the bank? They checked them through once for any obvious issues, but I have asked for them to be revisited, as they might yield a clue.’

It would be a mundane job, but he would be happy to help. ‘After checking in at the police station, I will go to the Control Centre.’

‘Thanks, Josh, you are a mate.’

Meetings with informants were unreliable, so he slowly munched his poor limp sandwich and sipped at his pint, as he would have only the one at lunch time. Although he had been involved in the Regent estate court cases, he doubted anyone would recognise him. Chris, relatively new to Blackford, would need many years of service before being picked out.

As the market trade, near to the pub, tailed off at lunch time the stall owners would arrive in the public bar. From being half empty when he had arrived, the seats were filled, and men and woman, with their money apron waist bands, stood with their drinks on the tiled floor. He and Chris stood at the traditional dark wooden bar. Chris led the conversation to football, which didn’t interest Josh, but it was in keeping with the environment and in case they were overheard would sound innocuous.

The landlord, a short scruffy man in his sixties, appeared to have a permanent frown, but he joined the young female bar staff in serving as people queued for their drinks and food.

‘Excuse me, mate.’ A tall bald man with a wispy beard, who Josh didn’t see arrive, gave a brief smile to Chris. ‘As you have a newspaper, can I check last night’s football scores?’

Chris opened his hand to the newspaper on the bar next to him.

The man took it and turned to the back pages. He gave a false laugh. ‘My team, Halifax, lost as usual. Thanks mate.’

Josh assumed that the man was Chris’s informant because he finished his drink and sandwich. ‘Shall we go Josh?’

As they walked along the street, Chris studied the piece of paper that had been left inside his newspaper. ‘This is perfect news, Josh.’ He waved the paper jubilantly, ‘Another snippet of information. With your checking in the Control Centre tomorrow, we could have a substantial lead.’

03

I drifted around my small office and peered through the dirty window to a view of the police car pound and a lorry garage in a neighbouring plot of the scruffy trading park. Not a welcoming landscape and a sigh of dissatisfaction escaped my lips as everywhere, both inside and out shabbiness prevailed. I smoothed a hand over the material of my smart beige trouser suit and pushed a strand of hair away from my face. Although disappointment swirled through me, I reasoned that this was a job that would help me climb the career ladder. I persuaded myself that in such an environment I would easily make my mark and the next promotion would be mine. Turning away from the window I returned to my desk, took a sheet of paper from the drawer and wrote a list of essential requirements to make my small office more habitable. I’d anticipated being thrown in at the deep end of many cases and had not expected a lack of interest in my arrival. It verged on apathy which summed up the impression I had formed of my new work colleagues and the environment. My initial nervousness had disappeared to be replaced by an impatience to be embroiled in the day-to-day business of police work. Although I might be eager to immerse myself in my new job, the station remained quiet, with no sense of urgency.

A knock on the door jolted me back to reality. Perhaps this will be the turning point. ‘Come!’

A round man with a bald head and piercing blue eyes stood in the doorway. As Superintendent Fosbury was my new boss, I rose to my feet with a welcoming smile and an outstretched hand which he grasped with enthusiasm. His overall appearance pleased me as he wore an immaculate uniform, and his neat thinning grey hair gave an aura of command. With a broad smile, ‘Sarah, welcome to Blackford. I can’t stay now but will give you a tour of the station tomorrow.’ The words came as a surprise, as I expected a full briefing session. Did no one have a sense of urgency here?

With a wave of his hand, he indicated for me to sit behind the desk which I duly did and he selected one of the mismatched chairs and positioned it facing me. I waited in silence with my face fixed in what I hoped was a welcoming expression. Perhaps he wanted to brief me before I received the files and computer access. At my interview for the job, while he was a friendly man, he wasn’t the chatty type, which suited me as I was impatient to become embroiled in the cases.

‘You have a hard act to follow as your predecessor, Jeremy Haskins, contributed significantly to solving crime in Blackford and I fully supported him in his promotion to Superintendent. He never put a foot wrong in the building of a strong department, but we struggle to recruit talented and trained officers, so I will look forward to your help in attracting new detectives. At the interview, you came across as being dynamic and became my first choice.’

I blinked in astonishment as he stood and moved to the door. What a surprising although succinct welcome? Why hadn’t he time to brief me and introduce key personnel in the police station? I’d anticipated a longer chat and a great deal more information about my role and the colleagues that I would be working with. Standing with his hand on the doorknob, he announced in a stiff and formal voice, ‘I’m leaving the site for the rest of the day. If you want an early tour, ask Tom, as he will introduce you to key personnel. Also ask him if you require help in locating what you need to acquaint yourself with the current investigations.’

Now wasn’t the time to raise my reservations about the constable, ‘Was that the Constable on reception?’

‘Yes, he’s been here thirty-five years. Knows everything about us and Blackford. Although he has his strange ways, he’s an institution.’ I nodded. My first impression of Tom Collins was a man who needed to be persuaded to retire so we could recruit young blood. ‘I must go. See you later.’

‘Thank you, sir.’ But the door had already closed behind him.

With no computer access and no one senior to brief me on the priorities, I wasn’t sure what they expected of me.

With an audible sigh I slumped back in the chair. All was silent apart from the sound of a car engine revving up. The cream cracked walls draped with cobwebs in the corners stared back in distaste. A strange mixture of loneliness and confusion settled on me. Forcing such ridiculous emotions aside I pulled the drawers of the desk open to check for information or files, but without any success. They were empty apart from a few sheets of blank paper. Flicking open the small mirror from my handbag I checked my appearance. A small application of lipstick revived my mood and I am ready for a busy day, so I’d better find the languid constable and tell him to arrange a log in to the computer. That will at least be a beginning.

04

Josh strolled up the path to the police station with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket as he crunched on another mint to hide the smell of alcohol from his lunchtime pint. The cool air gliding across his skin was a welcome relief after the stuffy atmosphere of the Black Lion. Chris had remained in town but would join him shortly in the canteen. With two cups of tea, Josh settled at an empty table to write notes on his court case. With the harsh lighting and the uncomfortable plastic chairs, the area had become tired and uninviting, but he could finish the quick job to keep on top of his paperwork, which would be a novelty. This morning the judge had pronounced the attacker guilty and had sentenced him to two years.

Sipping his tea, his mind drifted to his new boss. What would she be like? Perhaps she would be more meticulous than Chief Inspector Haskins although that would be difficult. He groaned at the thought, no doubt the reprimands for late and unfinished paperwork would continue. It was his colleague Tom Collins that kept him going although he had established a sound working relationship with Chris Smart. He had only been in Blackford for a few months but the friendship with him was developing and it was far superior to the frosty relationship with Clare, Chris’s predecessor.

Chris joined him and slurped at his tea, ‘Thanks, I needed to buy a card for my sister, as it’s her birthday at the weekend.’ After a glance around the room, he pulled the card from its envelope. Josh raised his eyebrows at the innuendo of the racy card.

Sitting back in his chair and after downing his lukewarm tea. ‘Sis and I are close as we were born in the same year, but she is prim and proper, so I wind her up with these cards. She laughs about them but never displays them on the sideboard along with the others she receives.’ With a shrug and a chuckle, he returned the card to the envelope.

Tom grinned as he walked up to their table. ‘I’ve come for an afternoon cup of tea and a Belgian bun. Inspector Cockcroft has arrived and would like to meet with you together.’

Chris jumped from his chair. ‘Come on, Josh, let’s go and find her.’

Josh swiped up his notebook from the table and matched stride with Chris as they stomped through the police station corridors. A tinge of regret and apprehension had settled on him when the Superintendent had informed him, he’d appointed a fast-rising woman from London.

Chris, in his usual boisterous manner, banged on the Inspector’s office door with relish.

‘Come.’

Swinging open the door he led Josh into the office. The memory of all the reprimands from Chief Inspector Haskins swept through Josh as he stepped into the room.

A beautiful woman greeted them. The slim figure with short shoulder-length blonde hair neatly styled was perfectly complemented by a beige business trouser suit.

‘Hello Chris, we haven’t met for a while.’

Chris grinned. ‘No, it’s wonderful to see you again, ma’am.’ Josh raised his eyebrows at the formality. Even though they had worked together before, it remained on a formal footing. ‘This is Josh Anderson, my equal.’ They shook hands, and she offered them seats in front of her desk. The smile of greeting had gone.

‘There is no reason to delay the serious work as when I was interviewed, I was told that the Super wanted an improved clear up rate for crimes.’

Josh nodded his agreement. Her wish would happen if she could achieve a fully staffed department, but there had never been a full complement since his appointment to Blackford.

Chris’s sharp eyes scanned the office. ‘Have you everything you need as when I arrived it took ages to acquire a login, a new phone and to find the paperwork?’

‘I’m glad you brought that up. No one’s given me anything.’ Her voice was sharp with sarcasm, ‘The Constable on reception just showed me to this room and disappeared without trace.’

Chris raised his eyebrows, but Josh’s face remained featureless. ‘Tom is on reception. He’s a funny bugger when you first meet him, but you will warm to him, I will guarantee that, a damned good copper.’

Josh remained silent but agreed with the comment.

Chris leaned forward