Read The History Suite (#9 - The Craig Modern Thriller Series) for Free Online Page B

know, there’s been a death on the E.M.U.”
    Taylor nodded vaguely, giving nothing away.
    “Then you know it was a member of staff?”
    Taylor squinted as if Craig had issued a challenge.
    “I heard something like that.”
    “You haven’t been on the unit?”
    Taylor hesitated for a moment then shook his head. “Not since Wednesday. I’ve been working on a paper for a conference next week.”
    It was too convenient. Eleanor Rudd had been murdered on Thursday and the Prof just happened to have been absent since the day before.
    “When you aren’t there, who leads the patients’ medical care?”
    Taylor opened a book on his desk and Ken stiffened. It was rude; more than that, it reminded him of his army boss, Major James. Perhaps they issued handbooks on rudeness once you reached a certain rank. If they did Craig hadn’t read his, but he had read the one about uncooperative witnesses. He lurched forward, shocking the professor into leaning back and abandoning his book.
    “I asked you a question, Professor.”
    Taylor reinstated his earlier posture and narrowed his eyes. “I heard you, Mr Craig. My deputy is a staff-grade doctor: Dr Patrick Hamilton. He was in charge when whoever it was died.”
    Whoever it was? The callousness took Craig’s breath away.
    “The deceased was Nurse Eleanor Rudd.”
    As Craig said it both men saw Taylor’s response before he could hide it. His eyes widened and his face grew pale; his hands froze mid-air above the book on his desk. He looked as if he was going to be sick or cry and Craig didn’t imagine that he often did either one.
    “Did you know her?”
    The answer was obvious, as was just how well Taylor had known her, but he lied anyway, dropping his eyes and waving a hand vaguely in the air.
    “I recall meeting her a few times. She covered when Sister Gormley was away.”
    Craig was undeterred. “Did you know her well ?”
    His emphasis left no room for ambiguity. Ken’s eyes widened; Craig was implying Taylor’s relationship with Rudd had been sexual.
    Tim Taylor glanced up defiantly, but his play-acting didn’t fool anyone.
    “No, I didn’t. I knew her in the way that I knew every nurse on the ward – to say hello. Nurses are there to care for the patients, not to socialise with.”
    In Craig’s experience that didn’t stop many men. He glanced at Taylor’s wedding ring, added ‘affair?’ to his query list and rose abruptly, surprising the other men.
    “Thank you, Professor. That will be all. We may need to speak again.”
    He left the room briskly, leaving Ken to catch up. When they reached the car park Craig finally spoke.
    “Sorry about the abrupt exit, but it had a point.”
    “You wanted him to know you didn’t believe him, but not to show your complete hand.”
    Craig nodded. “Exactly. You saw his reaction when I mentioned Eleanor Rudd?”
    Smith smiled. “He nearly threw up.”
    “Not the reaction of a casual acquaintance. Taylor knew her much better than he’s admitting, but in what context is the question. Sex is the obvious conclusion, but that doesn’t mean it’s correct. It’s lazy to go there before we rule out other reasons first.”
    They climbed into Craig’s ageing Audi and Ken shook his head. Craig smiled, pleased that he was disagreeing with him; he’d been far too deferential since he’d joined the team in July.
    “OK, then. Tell me what you think.”
    Smith made a face that said he was still working it out then he spoke.
    “OK. Taylor knew that a member of E.M.U. staff had been killed, but he didn’t care enough to find out which one. That tells us something about the good professor; basically that he doesn’t give a damn about his staff.”
    Craig nodded. “Agreed. The death had barely registered until we mentioned Rudd’s name. Carry on.”
    Smith pushed back his blond hair. Craig had noticed it was getting longer now that he was on civvy street and wondered when the earring pointed to by the hole in his earlobe would