Read Broken Fall: A D.I. Harland novella for Free Online

restless in his seat and, sure enough, the large man took advantage of the pause to chime in.
    ‘My firm arranges staff provision for the medical sector,’ he said.
    ‘You have your own firm?’ Harland asked, raising an eyebrow as though the idea might impress him.
    ‘Established for fifteen years,’ Richard stated with some pride. ‘We specialise in senior nursing staff and healthcare middle management for local authorities.’
    ‘You built the business up yourself?’
    ‘That’s right.’ Richard sounded more comfortable talking now. ‘If you want something badly enough, you need to get off your behind and make it happen.’
    ‘And it’s all going well?’
    ‘Yes,’ the big man nodded. ‘Not as lucrative as it used to be, of course.
Wretched
austerity. Ten years ago you could skim as much profit as you liked from the NHS …’ He shook his head slightly, a tone of regret entering his voice. ‘… but the bastards are more careful with their money these days. Everyone’s had to adapt, I suppose.’
    Harland suppressed his rising dislike, changing tack now that they were talking more freely.
    ‘And what about your father?’ he asked. ‘What did he do before he retired?’
    ‘My father was a civil engineer,’ Richard told him. ‘He oversaw much of the harbour redevelopment, back in the eighties.’
    ‘Really?’ Harland sat up, genuinely interested this time. The various pieces of seafaring memorabilia in Albie’s house suddenly made more sense. ‘It must have been quite something to know him.’
    ‘Albert was a lovely man,’ Amanda said, leaning forward to pick up her wine glass.
    ‘He helped to make the city what it is today,’ Richard nodded.
    ‘Did he have many friends?’ Harland asked. ‘I imagine he was quite a character?’
    Amanda glanced at Richard.
They weren’t sure.
Clearly, Tracey hadn’t been exaggerating when she said they weren’t close.
    ‘There’s that woman, one of the neighbours, I think …’ Richard frowned.
    ‘And he has his carer, doesn’t he?’ Amanda added.
    ‘That’s right,’ Richard agreed. ‘So he has company every day.’
    Harland sat back in his chair and looked at them.
    ‘But there’s nobody else you can think of,’ he mused. ‘Nobody who might visit him late in the evening?’
    Richard shook his head, then his face darkened.
    ‘What are you driving at?’ he asked. ‘What are these questions all about?’
    ‘I’m just trying to establish whether anyone called round there last night.’
    ‘But why?’
    Harland reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
    ‘Well, it might help to explain why he was coming back downstairs,
after
he’d gone up to bed.’
    Richard stared at him.
    ‘Probably just forgot something,’ he muttered, irritably. ‘Or … maybe he wanted a glass of water.’
    ‘There’s a sink in his bedroom,’ Amanda reminded him.
    ‘Well, whatever, it could have been one of a hundred reasons,’ Richard grumbled. ‘He could have fallen on his way
up
to bed, getting off the stairlift, did you think of that?’
    Harland nodded patiently. Everything had been switched off downstairs, Albie was wearing his pyjamas and dressing gown, and his bed had been turned back. But Richard wouldn’t be aware of that. Or at least, he
shouldn’t
be aware of that.
    They spoke for another twenty minutes. Harland, satisfied that they had told him everything they were likely to, made his excuses to leave. As they all stood, and shuffled round the coffee table towards the door, Richard cleared his throat.
    ‘So is that it now?’ he asked.
    ‘I’m sorry …’ Harland paused, feigning ignorance. ‘Is that what?’
    Richard scowled.
    ‘Is that everything … you know,
finalised
?’ He broke off. ‘We’ve got funeral arrangements to think of, and the damned undertaker will want to know about getting the body released.’
    Harland gave him a long, steady look.
    ‘I understand,’ he said, thoughtfully. ‘You’ll be hearing from me very