Too Much of Water Read Online Free

and his fragile confidence drained away as he spoke to the duty sergeant. His assertion that ‘It’s probably nothing really!’ meant that he was left waiting on a bench for twenty minutes whilst a shoplifter was processed and the details of a missing dog were entered in the register.
    It was only when he went up to the desk again and said that he thought he might be able to throw some light upon the identity of the Lydney corpse that he was ushered briskly through to the CID section. There Chris Rushton listened to his first halting sentences and decided that John Lambert would want to hear what this uncertain figure with the clean but frayed shirt collar had to say.
    Once he was invited to speak, the words tumbled from him like a fall of scree. ‘My name is Harry Shadwell. I’m a tutor at the university. I thought you should hear what one of my personal students told me yesterday morning. We each take a personal responsibility for three or four students in each year, you see. They can come to us with personal as well as academic problems. I thought at first that it was probably nothing, but on reflection—’
    â€˜On reflection, you thought we ought to know about it. Your second reaction is the right one, Mr Shadwell. It’s a pity that it took twenty-four hours for you to decide to come here, but better late than never.’
    Curiously, the rebuke emboldened Harry Shadwell rather than checked him. He was not the most efficient of teachers, and he was used to being chivvied in his academic work. He plucked the cuffs of his shabby leather jacket straight, fastened onto the idea that his information was to be welcomed rather than derided, and became more precise. ‘This concerns one of my personal students. A young woman called Clare Mills. She seems to have gone missing.’
    Lambert made a note of the name. ‘Missing since when, Mr Shadwell?’
    â€˜Only since the weekend. And there’s probably a perfectly good explanation for it. It’s just that I thought—’
    â€˜Thought that you should act as a good citizen and give us the information. Quite right, Mr Shadwell. If she proves to be alive and well and merely embarrassed, so much the better!’
    Yet Lambert knew that a part of him was hoping that she wouldn’t be alive, that this was the body which had been cut up to reveal its secrets on the previous afternoon. He tried to conceal his growing excitement as he asked, ‘How normal would it be for a student to disappear from her studies for a few days like this?’
    â€˜For many students, quite normal, I’m afraid. But not for Clare Mills.’
    â€˜And why is she an exception?’
    â€˜Clare’s a mature student. Twenty-five years old, and determined to make the most of the opportunity she’s been given to read for a degree. They’re often the best, you know, the students who come to higher education a little later. Better sense of perspective, better attitude to work, better—’
    â€˜They also often have other responsibilities. You don’t think that it might be some other concern, some family matter for instance, which has required this student’s attention?’
    Harry Shadwell smiled in spite of himself: this was so near to his own initial reaction that it gave him confidence. He looked over the top of his glasses at his questioner and spoke as if outlining a difficult idea to a student. ‘That was exactly my initial reaction when her flatmate came to me yesterday, Mr Lambert. I thought the girl was probably busy with some other concern. But another twenty-four hours have gone past and there is still no news of her. Moreover, I have given some thought to the matter, as I indicated earlier. For Clare Mills, this is atypical behaviour. She does not miss lectures and tutorials: she is a most conscientious student. If she had needed to miss them – if she were ill or she had some family concern