Strike a Match (Book 1): Serious Crimes Read Online Free Page A

scarce. Forging a printed, paper note was far more difficult than building a stamp to press out a metal coin. This coin, however, had never been used as currency. One side was stamped with what looked almost like a large backwards ‘L’. Around the face was an inscription, THE TRUTH LIES IN THE PAST, with each word separated by five stars. It felt like silver, but that was so common as to be worthless. It was certainly an odd thing to carry after the man had clearly gone to the trouble of emptying his pockets. There was no ration book, no handkerchief, no scraps of paper, and no keys. The man’s clothing was worn, but well repaired. The boots were old and clean but not polished. Boot polish wasn’t cheap, but it was certainly cheaper than black market government-issue ammunition. The coin was the real clue. Someone had gone to the trouble of creating it, and that meant there was a meaning to it. If he found the meaning, he’d find the answers to the other questions. Of course, first he would have to secure the scene, call the coroner, report the shooting to the commissioner, and begin the tedious mound of paperwork that would then ensue. He looked at Fairmont. Or perhaps not.
    “Get up,” he said, hauling the man to his feet.
    “You have to release me,” Fairmont said. “I’ve got diplomatic immunity.”
    “That’s not how it works. How old are you?” He opened the man’s passport. “Thirty-six. If that’s close to the truth then you’re too young to remember. What your piece of paper means is that I have to take you to the embassy. I’m sure they have a cultural attaché who’d be interested in speaking to you.”
    “Cultural attaché?” Fairmont asked, clearly confused.
    “You see? That’s what I mean. You’re too young.” He dragged Fairmont along the path. There was probably someone from the embassy at the antenna. If not, he could send someone to fetch one. Hopefully what he’d stumbled across counted as a diplomatic incident and that would make it the business of the SIS - the Secret Intelligence Service. It certainly wouldn’t be a matter for Serious Crimes, and that meant Mitchell could ignore the paperwork and get busy solving the case.
     
     

Chapter 1
    A New Cadet
    17 th September
     
    Police Cadet Ruth Deering stared at the handwritten sign on the door to the small cabin. Serious Crimes. She looked at the slip of paper in her hand. There it was, in slightly smudged black and white, Serious Crimes. It was her first assignment as a police officer, and it would be where she worked for at least the next three months. She couldn’t say this was the last thing she’d wanted because she’d never heard of the Serious Crimes Unit until yesterday. As much as she’d wanted anything, it had been a placement somewhere outside of Twynham. Instead, as most of her class had hurried off to catch the trains that would take them to the far-flung corners of Britain, Ruth had gone home. She’d pressed her new uniform and tried to convince herself that it could have been worse. Looking at the building, with its chipped paint, rotten felt roof, and rusting metal ramp, she wasn’t sure how.
    The cabin was hidden behind what was now the stable, but which had been a swimming pool in the days when Police House was a school. The cabin wasn’t even a proper bricks-and-mortar building, but one of those temporary structures about the size of a shipping container and with just as much charm. Ruth reread her assignment one last time, but wishing wasn’t going to change the handwritten words. She straightened her cap, smoothed down her jacket, made sure the belt with its truncheon, revolver, and handcuffs, was square, and raised a hand to knock. She stopped. It had been her idea to join the police. For good or bad, it was what she’d wanted, and now, as her adoptive mother said, she had to own the decision. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
    “This isn’t a storeroom anymore,” a man said.