Wrong Place: A gripping serial killer crime thriller. Read Online Free Page A

complained about a stomach ache or something along those lines. What about her?”
    Sally inhaled then exhaled a large breath. “She’s dead, and we’re trying to ascertain why.”
    “What?” Greg’s voice rose, making the other people in the pub turn their way.
    “Can you tell us how Brenda usually travelled home after her shift? Did she bring a car to work?”
    “How the heck should I know?” Greg queried, clearly traumatised by the news.
    “Would the lady behind the bar know?”
    “Denise, did Brenda usually bring a car to work?”
    The woman behind the bar left the customers and came over to Sally’s table. “I’m not sure. Why?”
    Greg lowered his voice and told Denise, “Brenda’s dead. These two are coppers investigating her death.”
    Denise gasped and stumbled against the table when her legs wobbled beneath her. Jack leapt out of his seat to support the woman. “Are you all right?”
    She flashed a smile heavy with grief and patted his hand gripping her arm. “I’ll be fine. It’s such a shock. I knew she was ill last night, but I didn’t realise it was that serious. Damn, I should have called her a taxi to take her home.”
    Sally’s gaze drifted between Greg and Denise. “The thing is, she was found murdered. Her death had nothing to do with her illness.”
    “What?” Greg said almost before Sally had finished talking. “Why? Where?”
    “ Why , I can’t answer that yet, but the ‘ where’ I can. Her naked body was found in a graveyard in Acle. What I’d like to know is if she was talking to anyone in particular last night? A stranger perhaps?”
    Denise rubbed her head in thought. “There was a man, but he left a good ten to fifteen minutes before she did.”
    “Can you give us a hint to his identity?” Sally asked.
    “Crap, can’t say I took that much notice really. We were all busy here last night. There was a large party in the restaurant, a birthday bash for an eighty-year-old. I was tidying away their glasses when I noticed Brenda looking ill.”
    Sally nodded. “Had she been ill long? I mean, at the beginning of her shift?”
    “I didn’t really notice.”
    Sally turned to Jack. “Maybe someone laced her drink with something.”
    “Poison?” Jack replied.
    “Who knows? Are your staff allowed to drink while serving customers, Greg?”
    “The odd one, only an orange juice or something similar. Definitely nothing alcoholic, that’s for sure. I’m telling you, none of my customers would poison her.”
    “It’s just a suspicion at this point, nothing concrete.”
    A man at the bar tapped his glass on the glossy wood, eager for service. Denise excused herself and ran back behind the bar to serve the impatient customer.
    “We’ll need to ask the other members of staff on duty last night if they saw this customer. It’s vital we get a description as soon as possible, if only to discount him from our enquiries.”
    “We run a skeleton staff during the day. Most of our trade takes place after seven in the evening, when you’ve finished for the day, I’m guessing,” Greg said.
    “Then we can either send uniformed police in to ask the staff to give us a statement, or you can give us everyone’s address and we’ll conduct our enquiries off the premises.”
    “That would suit me better. I’ll go to the office and sort out the details for you.” The manager left the table and slipped behind the bar again.
    “Is he legit?” Jack asked, “Or could he have committed the crime?”
    “What are you basing that assumption on, Jack?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. He seemed a bit off with us. That’s all.”
    Sally shook her head in frustration. “Going by your logic, seventy percent of the bloody country would be sat behind bars. Coppers are hardly on everyone’s Christmas card list, are we?”
    “Granted. Is there anything we can do while we wait?”
    Sally pondered his question for a second or two then snapped her fingers. “Get on to the station. Ask