Read The Eyes of the Accused: A dark disturbing mystery thriller (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 2) for Free Online Page B

to open up.’
    Ben’s heart missed a beat. ‘What do you mean, “close”?’
    ‘Get friendly with him. Make him think she’s interested in him. Andy said he drinks in The Three Horseshoes.’
    ‘What’s Maddie supposed to do? Buy him a drink and ask him what he’s done with Hannah?’
    Maddie cut Ben an impatient glance and then looked back at Geoff. ‘Do you really that would work?’
    ‘It’s worth a try, love. I reckon he’ll start blabbing.’
    Ben didn’t like the sound of this at all. ‘Like one of those honey-trap things?’
    Geoff nodded. ‘Sort of.’
    ‘But you can’t get evidence that way. It’s illegal. Look what happened when the cops tried that with that bloke on Wimbledon Common.’
    ‘Colin Stagg?’
    Ben didn’t remember the name. ‘That stuff won’t stand up in court. Even if Crowley’s guilty, the court will throw it out. Any half-decent lawyer will say Maddie was leading the witness. You should know that better than anyone.’
    Geoff took a deep breath and sighed. ‘We’re not trying to make it stand up in court. We’re trying to find out if he’s done anything to Hannah. Anyway, the Wimbledon Common case was already a murder enquiry. This isn’t.’
    ‘What’s the difference? It’s still obtaining information under false pretences.’
    ‘I don’t give a tuppenny tit what words you dress it up in. If Crowley’s holding Hannah somewhere, we need to find out where. And quick. Who know what that sick bastard might be doing to her.’
    Ben turned to Maddie. ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.’
    ‘She does if she wants to continue working for me,’ Geoff said. ‘This isn’t a game of pick and choose.’
    Maddie tilted her head up. ‘It’s all right. I want to do it.’
    Geoff grinned. ‘Good. It’s nice to see enthusiasm for once.’
    ‘What if Crowley twigs?’ Ben said. ‘What if he attacks Maddie? What do we do, then? Tell Pastor Tom we let his daughter get intimate with a madman?’
    ‘We’ll put a wire on her. That way we can get everything recorded and keep tabs on what’s happening at the same time. The R27’s got a good range.’
    Ben didn’t feel any more confident. ‘It sounds too risky to me.’
    ‘You’d find something amiss in a lottery win, boy. Stop faffing and fussing. You sound like your mother.’
    I’d rather sound like my mother than like you , Ben thought. ‘And if Crowley finds the wire?’
    ‘The R27’s no bigger than a five pence piece. Unless Crowley’s trained in surveillance, he won’t find it. As long as you stay within five miles of Maddie, you’ll be on hand if anything goes wrong.’
    ‘I suppose everyone’s forgotten about what happened at Penghilly’s Farm?’ Ben said. ‘What happens when you mess around with crazy people?’
    ‘We’re all still here,’ Maddie reminded him. ‘I’ll be fine.’
    Ben’s heart spoke up. ‘I’m just looking out for you.’
    ‘I know. And it’s really sweet, Ben. But I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.’
    ‘We’ll discuss it in more detail later,’ Geoff said. ‘First things first, go and speak to the boyfriend. See if you can’t drill down further into Hannah’s state of mind. Then I want you to drop Maddie off at the Paddocks while you go to Sunnyside and interview the care manager.’
    ‘Why do I have to drop Maddie at the Paddocks?’
    ‘To check along the grass verges for clues. When you’re finished at Sunnyside, you can walk back towards Feelham and meet up in the middle.’
    ‘What are we looking for?’ Ben said. ‘An incriminating thistle?’
    ‘Don’t be flippant. If she’s been forced into a car, something might be left behind at the roadside.’
    ‘Wouldn’t the police have checked all that?’ Maddie said.
    ‘In a murder investigation, yes. But this is a missing-persons case. There isn’t even any evidence of foul play. Like I told you before, they won’t have the manpower or the resources to do that level of search