No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2) by M A Comley Page B

murder and Julie’s attack. We should go and see Julie’s
parents next. Any news of tracking down an office for Hew?”
    “Not yet. As far as we know, he
works from home. I chased up Stuart, no good there.”
    “What about a contact number
for Hew?”
    “I’ll get on to Companies
House, see what information I can get out of them.”
    “Okay. The media are running
the story—or should I say stories—over the next few days. Prepare
the team for that, will you?”
    “On it now.”
    Jack left the office and
returned a few minutes later, looking smug and waving a sheet of
paper. “Got his phone number. Want me to give him a ring?”
    Sally winked at him and held
out her hand for the sheet. “I think this needs a woman’s
touch.”
    Jack left the room,
chortling.
    Sally cleared her throat and
thrust back her shoulders, ready for action. Using the landline,
she dialled Hew’s number. “Hello, is that Taylor Hew?”
    “It is, and you are?”
    “Sally Parker. I was talking to
a friend about going into property development, and someone
overheard me in the pub, and they mentioned your name.”
    “I see. Yes, it’s my line of
business. I’m always happy to share my experience with folks. What
is it you’d like to know?”
    “Any chance we can meet over a
coffee? My treat.”
    “Sure, I have some spare time
around two this afternoon.”
    “Wonderful. I live near
Attleborough. What about the coffee shop in the high street? I’ll
even stretch to a sticky bun.”
    Hew laughed. “Deal. I’ll be
there at two.”
    Sally punched the air as she
hung up. “Jack, in here a minute.”
    “Yes, boss.”
    “I have a coffee appointment at
two with Taylor Hew.”
    “Whoa, he agreed to meet you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you tell him you’re a copper?”
    Sally placed a finger to her
lips. “Oh gosh, I knew I should have mentioned something.”
    “Let’s hope the chief doesn’t
find out about this.”
    Sally pushed back her chair.
“He won’t. Now that’s sorted, we should head out to see Julie’s
next of kin, see what we can find out there before I meet up with
Hew.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    “You just caught me. I’m on my
way to the hospital to see my daughter.”
    “We’ll only take five minutes
of your time, Mrs. Smith. We’re truly sorry about what has happened
to Julie. Can I ask where she was last night?”
    The woman sat down on the black
suede sofa, her hands visibly shaking in her lap as she chewed on
her lip. “Julie went into town with her friend Roger. There’s
nothing going on between them; they’re just friends. I rang him
earlier to tell him that Julie is in hospital, and he’s beside
himself. I asked him why he’d left her. He told me that he’d run
into an old friend and that Julie insisted he should leave her and
go to a nightclub with his friend. I told him off for leaving her
alone. I know I shouldn’t have done that, but he should have stayed
with Julie, not deserted her.”
    “We’ll need to get a statement
from Roger, Mrs. Smith. Would you mind giving us his full name and
address?”
    She crossed the room and picked
up the address book sitting beside the telephone. Jack jotted down
the friend’s details, and Mrs. Smith returned to her seat.
    “I don’t suppose Roger
mentioned if Julie had a conversation with someone else during the
course of the evening? Or whether someone was watching her?” Sally
asked.
    “I did ask him if anything
strange had happened, but he said no. They had a good time and
parted quite early.”
    “Has Julie got a
boyfriend?”
    “No. Not since she dumped that
German fella, Hans.”
    “Hans? Does he live
nearby?”
    “No. He was on a
foreign-exchange scheme at her work. As soon as she found out he
had a regular girlfriend back in Germany, she dumped him. He left
England not long after, probably because of the shame.” She ran a
hand over her face. “Why would anyone hurt my sweet daughter? She
goes out of her way to help people. Never falls out