A New Dawn Rising by Michael Joseph Page B

them loaded with suspicion. No, he couldn't explain why Mr Renshaw had failed to register him legally as an employee. Nor could he enlighten the detectives as to why Mr Renshaw had used such an unconventional method to recruit him. And he couldn't begin to hazard a guess as to why a level-headed, astute businessman would invite a near stranger, unchecked and without recommendation, into his inner sanctum. Yes, Sam agreed, it was all highly unorthodox, but he needed a regular income and Carl had been more than willing to provide it.
    Sam knew he had to tread carefully. He was being selective with the truth, and Mason was already sceptical of him. However, Sam wanted to keep the real reason for his employment to himself. Telling Mason about Carl's need for protection from environmental activists would only invite scorn and make the detective even more distrustful of him. Anyway, only Carl and himself knew the truth, and it looked highly unlikely Carl Renshaw was going to be telling anyone.
    When Mason finally got round to asking, albeit reluctantly, about anyone Sam might know with a valid reason for harming Carl, Sam was only too happy to reel of a lengthy list of potential suspects. He thought Mason was never going to ask.
    Hoskins was a busy man during the next few minutes, constantly making notes, trying to keep up with the endless information Sam was supplying. Mason sat unmoved throughout, displaying a fine poker face, asking few questions. Sam thought his lack of interest strange. Perhaps he just couldn't see past Sam as the guilty party.
    Sam explained how Carl had been involved in a number of heated telephone conversations over the last two days. How he had briefly mentioned to Sam that activists from a group called Red 71 were threatening him over environmental issues relating to his factory. Sam purposely kept this low-key as he told it. He was glad he did. It was the only time Mason reacted, a look of pure disdain on his face clearly showing Sam what he thought. Even Hoskins stopped scribbling and looked at Sam in bemusement.
    Sam also told an increasingly disinterested Mason about Carl's altercation with Colin Doyle, the furore at the factory and Carl's own admission that there were people in Bursleigh jealous of his success. When Mason asked exactly who might detest Carl enough to set fire to his property with him inside, Sam shrugged and let slip the Withdean estate had been mentioned.
    Finally, he described the run-in with the two men outside Carl's house and the car chase involving the Audi. When he finished, Mason shook his head scornfully.
    'Well, well, it's a miracle Carl Renshaw survived this long,' he said with a sneer. The sarcasm had returned to his voice once again. 'It sounds as though our Mr Renshaw is public enemy number one round here.'
    Sam refused to rise to it. He didn't care what Detective Inspector Mason thought anymore.
    When Sam was finally allowed to leave the station that night, Mason made it clear he wanted him to go straight home and stay there. Officers would be calling on him again in the morning. In the meantime, the latest news was the blaze had been deemed too dangerous to tackle, so the fire service were allowing it to burn itself out. The factory was lost, too badly decimated to be salvaged. With a glint in his eye, Mason told Sam forensics would be all over the site in the morning looking for the tiniest scrap of evidence. Anything that would reveal the truth.
    Sam told him he hoped they found something conclusive.
    After collecting his car from the compound, Sam gladly set off for home. However, he soon became aware of a pair of headlights behind him. They stayed a good distance back, tailing him along the dark country lanes leading back to his cottage. Was he being followed? Or were the police simply ensuring he returned home? Sam had no way of knowing.
    A couple of miles from home, he waited until he had taken the first of a series of tight bends, then killed his lights. This