Nothing but Meat: A dark, heart-stopping British crime thriller Read Online Free

soon maybe?’ she said.
    ‘Give me your mobile number. If I get any time to myself I’ll
call you.’
    ‘Oh.’ She flustered, images of her phone ringing while Martin
was around flashed through her mind. ‘Um, give me yours, I’ll call you,’ she
said casually but it was dreadfully transparent and she could tell that West
knew exactly why she had suggested it but he pretended not to notice and
quickly reeled his number off while Simone jotted it onto a napkin.
    ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’ve really got to go.’ He quickly leant
into her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘It’s good to see you again Sim.’
    ‘You too Nathan.’ She could feel herself blushing. ‘You’re
going to be late.’
    ‘I’m already late, and I’ve got to find the fucking station
yet.’
     
    Simone made her way home. She knew a local murder
investigation was going to be big news, she also knew it would have to be
something heavy for them to pull West from his leave and have a London copper
investigating a case in Cambridgeshire. She wondered what could have happened.
She was eager to get back to work but she knew it would be a few days yet, her
injuries wouldn’t prevent her from working but they were painful and unsightly
and officers with bruised faces didn’t exactly give the service a good image.
    Hungry for more information she pulled out her mobile and
dialled fellow police officer Lucy Peterson. Lucy answered, ‘Hello.’
    ‘Lucy, it’s Simone. What’s going on?’
    ‘The shit’s hit the fan; I don’t have any details yet, but
I’m hearing rumours about a body at Bishop’s Thorpe Wood. We’ve got a meeting
with Jackson in about half an hour. How’d you know something had happened?’
    ‘I have my sources.’
    ‘Then you probably know more than me at the moment.’
    ‘Do me a favour Lucy and keep me in the loop.’
    ‘Will do. How are you? I heard it was a rough one yesterday.’
    ‘Painful, but I’ll live. Thanks for asking.’
    ‘No problem. Take care.’
    ‘I’ll see you when I get back to work. Keep in touch.’ She
hung up.
    The news had broken by the time she had walked home and
switched on the TV. Sky News, BBC News 24, details were slim but it was
national. The ticker bar at the bottom of the screen read: Breaking News: Body
found in Cambridgeshire. They occasionally looped the same aerial view of Bishop’s
Thorpe Wood and the police activity within – uniforms, cars, blue and
white crime scene tape and the big white forensics tent peeking through the
dense foliage. She left the news on in the background while she tidied up the
lounge. The room was a tip, she hadn’t been in there since last night and she
knew well enough not to expect Martin to clear up after himself; he was way too
macho to demean himself with woman’s work. The coffee table was still littered
with empty beer cans and the room smelt of stale Heineken.
    ‘Home sweet home,’ she muttered to herself as she put the
rubbish into a black bag and opened all the windows and the door to the back
garden. She thought about Nathan and tried to push the thoughts away but she
couldn’t – would she be clearing up his beer cans if they lived together?
It seemed unlikely. She thought about being with him and a feeling of warmth
washed over her. Embarrassed with herself she pushed him to the back of her
mind and concentrated on Sky News as a reporter was now on the scene. He did a
reasonable job of filling the time with little substance: the quiet
Cambridgeshire village of Bishop’s Thorpe has been rocked by the shocking news
of a murder in a nearby wood. The unidentified victim was found in the early
hours. Cambridgeshire constabulary will release a statement later today.
    Simone didn’t like to be at home; she enjoyed filling her
time with work so she busied herself around the house and waited for the police
to make a statement. She also waited for her husband to come home. No doubt he
would bring her