Merely Players Read Online Free Page B

get thi arse tanned. Delectable though it undoubtedly is,’ he reassured her, dropping his Lancashire dialect for the purpose. Unlike most newly married men, Percy found his recently acquired mother-in-law a pearl amongst women.
    Lucy thought it wisest to divert his thoughts to the subject of work. ‘I’ve got to go into the Muslim community again today. We’re still following up the associates of this terrorist suspect they arrested in London last week.’
    Lucy had been Percy’s detective sergeant until their marriage, learning much from his maverick style and his aggressive interviewing techniques. But police practice demands that couples with a close relationship do not work closely together. Only the fact that the head of CID, Chief Superintendent Tucker, was completely out of touch with the staff whom he nominally controlled had permitted them to work together for so long. Everyone else in the station except the man in control of CID had known for the last three years that Percy Peach and Lucy Blake were an item. But even Tucker could not miss marriage. DS Lucy Blake was now employed in different detective teams and on cases which were not the concern of her new husband.
    Percy missed her presence at his side more than he cared to admit, even to himself. She had counterbalanced his direct, confrontational style, often gaining cooperation from witnesses he would have challenged head-on, bringing a different sort of insight from his own to complex cases. ‘Have you found anything significant about this Akmal bloke?’
    â€˜He was militant Muslim all right. And he was planning some sort of attack. But we knew that when we started. We need to find out who his associates were and how far the cell extended. They’ve got to be plotting more mischief. Probably suicide bombings, which we all know are such a sod to detect and prevent. I need to know more of the Muslim culture – more about how they think and feel. Most of the Asians we speak to are only too anxious to help us – they realize that the reputation of their whole community is in danger of being wrecked by this lunatic fringe.’
    â€˜Then what’s the problem?’
    â€˜They don’t really trust us, because we’re police. We need more Asian officers. We’ve got just three in Brunton, and two of them are new constables still wet behind the ears. None of them are women, of course. The only one with any service is a DS who’s working beside me. We’re supposed to be getting a couple of Asian DCs on temporary assignment from Manchester, but there’s a national shortage of Asian officers. The people I interview tell me just as much as they want to. I’m not able to sense if they’re holding anything back. I felt I could do that when I was working with you and dealing with people of a similar background to myself.’
    Percy had downed his fry-up and two slices of toast with amazing speed and was already washing the dishes. Lucy decided she must have been talking too much. She realized that she didn’t want to hear that he was getting on famously without her. Nevertheless, she downed her mug of tea and said dutifully, ‘How’s it going with you?’
    â€˜Very dull, at the moment. All shop robberies and petty violence. We could do with a good juicy murder.’
    Adam Cassidy wasn’t required in the studio until two o’clock. They were filming some of the small takes with extras during the morning and the director had taken care to inform him of that. He didn’t want a star kicking his heels around the place; idle stars tended to make trouble, and no one wished to risk a confrontation.
    Adam allowed himself the luxury of a lie-in. He couldn’t sleep late, of course. The excited noises of young children preparing for a school day ensured that. But he lay contentedly, listening to the high-pitched tones of Damon and Kate and the responses of mother and nanny.