THE LONDON DRUG WARS Read Online Free Page A

say that sir, people will start to talk.
The case is dragging on, they haven’t called me yet.”
    He lifted his glass and swallowed the
remaining contents. “OK, I’m off. Don’t want to cramp your style. Goodnight
ladies.”
    Walking back to the bar, he deposited
his glass on the counter and said his goodbyes after offering to buy Briggs a
drink, which offer he politely refused. On his way to the door he nodded his
goodbyes to the other detectives. He knew that, whilst his detectives welcomed
his presence, they would relax once he’d gone; they were naturally a little
inhibited with him looking over their shoulders. There was a fine balance that
he walked between work and play with his team and he was careful not to step
over it.
    On
his way home he stopped at his local kebab shop and ordered a ‘Donner’ that he
would eat at home. He loved the lamb even though he knew this was probably not
the healthiest way to eat it. As usual he would dine alone.

Chapter 3
The Tutor
     
     
    “ If you prick us do we not bleed?
    If you tickle us do we not laugh?
    If you poison us do we not die?
    If you wrong us will we not revenge? ”
    – William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice
     
    Brookes arrived at his office early
the next morning and, after checking his messages and answering those that were
urgent, he made another attack on his correspondence. It was only later in the
morning that he was able to return to his investigation. Next on his list was
Amanda’s tutor, Dr Liza Rushmore. He found her in her office on the second
floor of the science building on the university campus. At first glance she
appeared to be a severe woman of around forty who wore no make-up and a
no-nonsense expression on her face.
    She invited him to sit in the chair
the other side of her desk, putting a solid barrier between them, and offered
no refreshments. From her gruff greeting Brookes guessed he was in for a
difficult time. He decided to take the initiative away from her and go straight
onto the attack. “How many of your students die of heroin overdoses Doctor
Rushmore?”
    She opened her mouth then closed it
again. After a long moment she said, “This is the first?”
    “How many of them commit suicide?”
    “Again this is the first one; why are
you asking these questions?”
    Ignoring her, Brookes continued the
offensive. “She was not an addict was she?”
    “As far as I know, no, she wasn’t.”
    “Don’t you think it’s a strange way
for her to have killed herself under the circumstances?”
    Rushmore did not answer immediately.
After a long moment her facial expression softened into a smile. “I see what
you’re doing Superintendent; you are being intentionally provocative. Now would
you like to try a different strategy?”
    He returned her smile. “The question
remains, don’t you think the manner of her suicide was unusual?”
    “Under the circumstances, yes, I do.
She was certainly not an addict, I would have read the signs. In fact I doubt
very much she even took drugs. You know I was her tutor and we had tutorials
once a month. I take my tutorship seriously, especially in the student’s first
year as, in most cases, this is their first extended period away from home. I
think I knew her well enough to have noticed any serious depression or drug
dependency.”
    “How did she perform, as a student I
mean; was she up to scratch?”
    Rushmore smiled again. “Scratching is
not part of the curriculum Superintendent. But if you mean was she keeping up
with the course work the answer is yes. She was not brilliant but she was an
above average student.”
    Brookes unaccountably found himself
warming to this woman. What he had first seen as a plain face was in fact an
attractive one when animated, and he had succeeded in bringing it to life. “I’d
be interested in your theory as to why she did what she did, Doctor Rushmore.”
    “Might it not be more appropriate to
ask if she actually did what everyone seems to think