Making A Killing (The Romney and Marsh Files Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

to something they had already had to observe themselves and wished they hadn’t.
    The pathologist pulled back the shroud and waited. Romney felt something of his last meal stir deep within him. Marsh exhaled audibly the deep breath she had been holding. Grimes said, ‘You’re right, gov, I think we can definitely rule out suicide.’ Everyone had their own way of dealing with the horrors of the job. Romney thanked the pathologist with a nod and the sheeting was returned.
    ‘Move him whenever you’re ready, Maurice. And thanks.’
    Romney gave himself a long moment to take in the contrasting beauty of the surrounding area and a few deep breaths. He shook another cigarette free and lit it.
    ‘So,’ he said, sending out a stream of smoke, ‘why here? It’s the middle of nowhere. How did he get here? Who did this to him and why? For a start we need to verify that this really is the closest part of the course to a public highway. If it is that might explain why this particular area of it, but why specifically the green? And, of course, why the golf course at all?’
    ‘If he is the c lub captain that’s a connection we can’t ignore,’ said Marsh.
    ‘Maybe that’s just an association the killer wants us to make,’ said Grimes. ‘A red herring.’
    ‘How did he get here?’ said Romney.
    ‘Carried, dragged, lured, threatened, enticed,’ said Marsh.
    ‘That narrows it down,’ said Grimes.
    ‘He was alive when he arrived. The pathologist has a notion that there may have been more than one person involved in the execution of, well, let’s call it the execution, shall we? It certainly has that sort of feel about it, despite the mess.’
    ‘Premeditated?’ said Grimes.
    ‘Possibly,’ said Romney, ‘but it’s equally possible that he was here voluntarily and things took a turn for the worse for him.’
    ‘Maybe he was meeting someone,’ said Marsh.
    ‘In the middle of the night in the middle of a golf course?’ said Grimes. ‘Why would he do that?’
    ‘It’s a possibility,’ said Romney. ‘And we’re not ruling anything out yet. I want us to consider every conceivable explanation for him being here and discounting suggestions only when to keep them alive defies all rational thinking. Is that clear?’
    Grimes and Marsh exchanged the briefest of glances, their eyes drawn to each other instinctively , as are those who share a secret that is suddenly discovered. Both were thinking of the last time Dover police had had to deal with a serious crime and how it had unfolded and ended. DI Romney had blamed himself for not preventing further serious crimes associated with the first because he had failed, in his own words, to keep an open mind.
    Romney looked over towards the low wire fencing that formed the boundary between the golf course and the highway. ‘Grimes, take a look along the road and in the long grass. See if there is anything to suggest it’s been disturbed recently, if, that is, the world and his wife who’ve been trampling about over there haven’t destroyed any evidence. If there was more than one killer that’s at least three people who had to be present. If he was brought here against his will, carried, dragged, bundled, whatever, it’s likely there would be some trace of it.’ Grimes slouched off. ‘And get one of the uniforms to check that this really is the closest part of the course to a public highway and have someone check out the road if they haven’t already for anything that might suggest that this is where he got onto the course.’ Grimes raised his hand without looking back. To Marsh, Romney said, ‘So, he could have been carried, or dragged against his will. That would have taken at least a couple of men.’
    ‘Not necessarily, sir. If he’d had his hands tied, for example, one person could have led him out here at knife or gun point.’
    ‘He wasn’t killed with a knife or a gun, but I know what you mean. What if he had come out here voluntarily? To meet