Corpse in Waiting by Margaret Duffy

that in the Bath area with so many retired folk living there. And yet from what you say it seems she was often out of work.’
    â€˜Imelda could be a bit stroppy,’ Bennett said after consideration. ‘If she didn’t like someone she told them so. Perhaps it didn’t go down too well.’
    No doubt he had had first hand experience of that.
    â€˜You mean she was rude to the clients?’
    â€˜Oh, no. To the staff. If she thought they weren’t treating people right. They don’t you know, they drug ’em up if they get difficult and slap them around. She used to tell me about it.’
    â€˜What else did she tell you?’
    Bennett shrugged. ‘Well, I don’t know. I didn’t pay much attention, did I?’
    â€˜Think.’ The word dropped into the room like molten lead.
    â€˜Well – well, about her day really. She didn’t talk about her past, if that’s what you mean.’
    â€˜What, not about her childhood, parents, friends?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Didn’t you find that a bit strange?’
    â€˜I can’t say I was that interested.’
    â€˜Although this might have been at a time before such stringent checks were made on people who work with the vulnerable, do you think it’s remotely possible that she kept losing her job because they discovered she had a criminal record? I want you to think very carefully about that.’
    â€˜She did hate the cops. One cautioned her in Union Street once when she called him a bastard. No reason for her to do that really.’ He chuckled humourlessly. ‘Except that you are – all of you.’

SEVEN
    â€˜ H e could easily have killed her,’ I said later. ‘The man is a complete slob.’
    â€˜I agree, but whether he did or not is for James Carrick to find out,’ Michael Greenway said. ‘Thanks for coming, by the way.’
    Patrick said, ‘She and Irma could have been one and the same woman. She had a criminal record and moved to the West Country to start a new life, changing her first name. But I do have to ask myself why she didn’t change her surname as well.’
    â€˜We must be very careful here,’ the commander said to him. ‘There might be a sister. If not and it is the same person it doesn’t appear that Bennett’s aware of, or been involved with, her past life. But I still have to have the true state of affairs confirmed.’
    â€˜Are there no DNA samples of Irma in view of the fact that she has a record?’ Patrick wanted to know.
    â€˜No, it happened quite a while ago when she was in her late teens and before the technology really kicked off. Since then, other than having a dodgy boyfriend, she seems to have stayed out of trouble. There are fingerprints, yes. But we can’t compare those with the body as it was too badly decomposed.’
    â€˜Do I get the feeling you want me to go and find out if Irma still exists?’ Patrick queried.
    â€˜Yes, but don’t make a career out of it and leave no trace if you get into her last known address in Romford, Martino’s flat. I don’t want there to be any suspicion that it’s being watched. Is that clear?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    â€˜It’s a nice quiet little number for you while you’re still off main ops, but three days, no longer. I can’t throw any more money at it than that on the strength of snouts’ gossip.’ He gave us one of his big smiles, which suited him perfectly as he was a big man, around six foot five. ‘Take Ingrid. She can watch out for Capelli honchos for you.’ He chuckled.
    I was last out of the room and he called me back.
    â€˜Is that OK?’ he whispered a little anxiously.
    â€˜You have a woman’s intuition,’ I said, no louder.
    â€˜Coming from you I’ll take that as a compliment. What’s the problem?’
    â€˜A woman.’
    â€˜God, have I made things