Nothing but Trouble Read Online Free Page B

BITCH,
and the second:
YOU killed Minnie Bright.
They’d been put together from words cut from a tabloid – the
Sun,
he guessed, although he couldn’t swear to it. In this world of high-tech communication there was a curiously dated feel to
     the messages, as if the perpetrator had seen something similar done on an old TV crime show and believed it was the obligatory
     way to send threats. Or maybe they just had an overly heightened sense of drama. ‘Very nice,’ he murmured.
    ‘Aren’t they just.’
    ‘But she has reported it?’
    Jess gave a nod. ‘Yes, but what can the cops do? They’ve put it all on record, but a few slashed tyres and a couple of poison-pen
     letters hardly make her a priority. Sam’s scared, and she’s not the type who scares easily. Someone wants to shut her up,
     and the question is why?’
    Harry gazed down at the sheets again. ‘It could just be a crank.’
    ‘But how did they even know that she was speaking to me? And why should they accuse her of killing Minnie? That’s what’s so
     weird. It’s freaking Sam out. She’s had a few odd phone calls too, the sort where the person leaves a long, unpleasant silence
     and then hangs up. The number was always unidentified.’
    ‘I’m still not sure what you want me to do about it.’
    Jess gave him one of her wide-eyed, pleading looks. ‘Just have a chat with her.
Please.
You can do that, can’t you? I don’t see why anyone should be this concerned about Sam talking unless they’re frightened of
     something incriminating coming out.’
    Harry pulled a face, aware that he could be treading on sensitive toes if this all led back to the original investigation.
     DCI Saul Redding, now Detective Superintendent Redding, had been the officer in charge of the case. Although Harry was convinced
     that Peck’s conviction had been a safe one, he also knew that even the cleanest of cops could get antsy when their judgement
     was called into question. ‘What about the other girl? You’ve mentioned Paige and Becky and Lynda, but there were five in all,
     weren’t there?’
    ‘Kirsten Cope,’ Jess said. ‘Or Kirsten Roberts as she was back then. She’s an actress in one of those minor TV soaps, lives
     out in Essex now. She refused point blank to see me.’
    ‘Maybe she didn’t fancy the publicity.’
    Jess gave a snort. ‘That would be a first. She spends most ofher time falling in and out of nightclubs trying to be noticed. Barely a week goes by when she isn’t in the gossip column
     of one magazine or another.’
    ‘Yeah, but there’s publicity and publicity. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be reminded of the Minnie Bright murder. What happened
     back then must have been pretty traumatic for all those girls.’
    ‘I guess,’ Jess said. ‘Maybe that’s why she changed her name. But there’s something more going on here, I’m sure of it.’
    ‘Anyone else know about this article you’re intending to write?’
    She shook her head. ‘If they do, it’s not come from me or Sam, but I’ve no idea who the others might have told. Look, I wouldn’t
     have come here unless I thought it was serious. I’m genuinely worried for Sam. I’ve got a bad feeling about all this.’
    Harry picked up a biro off the desk and tapped his teeth with it. He was silent for a while. Unlike Jess, he was more inclined
     towards the view that the threats against Sam Kendall were malicious rather than dangerous, but it wouldn’t do any harm to
     hear the girl out. ‘Okay. How about if I see her tomorrow?’
    Jess’s face lit up. ‘You mean it?’
    ‘But like I said earlier, no promises, right?’
    ‘No promises. I get it.’ She glanced at her watch, pushed back the chair and rose to her feet. ‘I’ve got to go, but thanks,
     Harry. I really appreciate it. Sam works late on Friday nights, but she could be here by … say, one o’clock?’
    ‘That’s fine.’
    Jess took a business card from her bag and put it on his desk. ‘We should get