The search of the house on the Edge had been most revealing. As Ted had suspected, not only did the Professor have the facilities to store bodies at low temperatures in his cellar rooms, there was also a room equipped much like his post-mortem suite at the hospital, where he could carry out whatever acts he chose without risk of disturbance.
His previously loyal staff, the Collinses, on hearing the word 'accessory', had each, individually, started to sing like a canary. Although the Jaguar was antiseptically immaculate, inside and out, the forensic team did find one single hair from Tina in the old estate car the staff used. Clearly, with the intervention of Christmas, and his boss away skiing, Mr Collins had not been quite as careful as usual with his valeting of the vehicle.
It seemed the Jag had been the pick-up vehicle of choice, but the estate car had clearly been more practical and less noticeable for disposing of the bodies.
'A good outcome in the end, Ted,' the DCI said, pouring himself a small Glenfiddich from a bottle in his desk, 'purely for medicinal purposes,' he told Ted with a sly wink. 'Such a tragic shame about young Tina, but I don't see how anyone could have seen that coming and prevented it.
'I still can't quite understand it all. If Hard G hated your lifestyle so much, why that business of dancing with Trev and, er, you know …' Jim was never comfortable talking about anything which alluded to Ted's sexuality.
'Fondling his bum and getting a stiffy?' Ted smiled. 'We'll know more in the lead-up to the trial, if we get a clue as to whether he is going to plead guilty meekly or launch some sort of defence.
'It's not my field of expertise at all but, with his background – prep school, public school – I suspect Hard G may well have encountered his fair share of shirt-lifters, as Mike Hallam once so eloquently put it. Either the experience disgusted him to a point beyond reason or, and this is just a guess, he found he enjoyed it more than he had been brought up to believe he should.
'That would explain his behaviour with Trev, and also his obsession with dominating the blonde jobs, playing the rough caveman all the time. The constant conflict may be what finally led him to crack up, or at least that would be my best guess.'
The DCI was by now squirming with discomfort with mental images he could clearly well do without.
His phone rang, interrupting them, and he picked it up, saying, 'DCI Baker.'
Immediately, big fat tears sprang to his eyes and started to roll down his cheeks. Ted felt as if he had just been kicked in the stomach.
With a shaking hand, the DCI reached out to put the call onto speaker-phone so Ted could hear. A familiar voice, breathless, full of emotion, racing through the words without a pause between them, was saying, 'Daddy? Is it true? I heard Mummy's gone? Can I come and see you? I want you to meet your grandson. And my husband.'
About the Author
L M Krier is the pen name of former journalist (court reporter) and freelance copywriter, Lesley Tither, who writes travel memoirs under the name Tottie Limejuice. Lesley also worked as a case tracker for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Baby's Got Blue Eyes is the first book in the DI Ted Darling series of crime novels. The next books in the series, Two Little Boys, When I'm Old and Grey and Shut Up and Drive, are now available. The next book in the series is scheduled for release later in 2016
Contact List
If you would like to get in touch, please do so at:
tottielimejuice@gmail.com
facebook.com/LMKrier
facebook.com/groups/1450797141836111/
twitter.com/tottielimejuice
http://tottielimejuice.com/
I would just like to thank the people who have helped me bring DI Ted Darling to life:
Jill Pennington – for reading the first few chapters and encouraging me to go on
Beta readers Emma Heath, Dave Ricketts and Mikki Ashe
Motorbike consultants – Em Faulkner and Dave Ricketts
Aviation consultants – David Willerton and Alex Potter
Additional internet research Peter J K Tither
Feline consultant – Sara Edlington
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
About the Author
Contact List
Acknowledgements