Read Somebody Told Me for Free Online Page B

Jimmy’s?’ Bernie asked.
    I was prepared for that one. ‘I thought they’d been involved in that night club in Newport.’
    ‘Of course,’ Bernie said as though it had slipped her mind.
    ‘And I understand they were involved in a property development in Bridgend. The one involving Mr Oakley.’
    ‘Ah, yes, Mr Oakley,’ Bernie said as though he were a long lost friend instead of a dead adversary.
    ‘The original complaint states that Bevard and Jimmy had bullied and harassed Mr Oakley.’
    Bernie purred. ‘My Jimmy would never bully anyone.’
    I wanted to snort out loud. Jimmy probably thought that harassment and bullying should be included in the national curriculum and taught in schools.
    ‘Where were you on the night Felix Bevard was killed?’ I said.
    The atmosphere changed: silence invaded the space between us. Was she thinking how to respond? I half expected some righteous indignation. I guessed wrong.
    ‘I was with a crowd of girls that night. We went out to the cinema: and before you ask we watched
Fifty Shades of Grey
. Then we went out to that new French restaurant in the brewery quarter. It was after midnight when we left. Then we went to the nightclub near the Boulevard de Nantes. We stayed there until after three. I’d drunk far too much by then, and I got a taxi home.’
    ‘I’ll need the names of your friends and their contact details.’
    ‘Of course.’ She reached for her handbag and fished out her mobile.
    I turned to Kendall. ‘And—’
    ‘I played golf in the afternoon and then we all had a few drinks in the club.’
    Lydia jotted down the details in her notebook as he talked.
    ‘Once we’d finished – don’t ask me the time – we left and got a taxi into town where we started a pub crawl. We have this challenge, me and my mates in the golf club, to visit sixteen pubs in the middle of the city and have a pint in each one. And our last is in one of the clubs in the Bay.’
    He leant over the table. ‘So by the end of the night I was shit-faced.’ I could almost smell Brains best bitter on his breath.
    ‘We’ll need the names of all your friends, too.’
    ‘No problem,’ he grinned.
    ‘To eliminate you from the inquiry, of course.’
    He couldn’t hide the smirk on his face.
    Kendall made an exaggerated gesture of checking his mobile for the names and contact details of the men who were with him. Again Lydia jotted down the details.
    ‘Was there anything else, Inspector?’ Bernie said casually.
    ‘You must be looking forward to Jimmy’s release from prison?’
    ‘Of course.’ A broader smile this time.
    She pushed over a card with her name and title printed in large letters: ‘Bernie Walsh Director’ – below the name of a limited company.
    I stared at the business card for a good couple of seconds, imagining Bernie Walsh in a business meeting with her bank manager.
    So, Mrs Walsh, how is business?
    Good thanks, we’ve just killed a competitor who wanted to grass up my Jimmy.
    That’s grand. Tell me about the latest turnover figures.
    I clutched the card in my right hand and beamed at her and then at Kendall. ‘I’ll be in touch.’
    We drew the door closed behind us and I memorised the number plates of both cars as I passed the window.
    The woman in the café gave us a tired look as we walked out. I sat down in the passenger seat and thumped the dashboard.
    ‘Ever had the feeling that you’ve been set up and taken as a complete fool?’
    ‘Sorry, boss?’
    ‘They knew we were coming.’
    ‘I don’t—’
    ‘They had all their alibis ready and rehearsed.’
    Lydia scanned the names in her pocketbook.
    ‘They knew we were coming,’ I repeated. ‘And now we’ve got to spend hours and hours checking out all the details of their alibis and you know what, they’ll prove absolutely bullet proof.’
    Just then Kendall drove out of the car park in the Porsche. He looked over and I could have sworn he grinned. I yanked at the safety belt and clicked it into