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She took out her card and held it up to him.
His colleagues who had been laughing suddenly silenced.
‘You can arrest me any time, darlin’,’ he said to groans in the background.
She beckoned for him to come down. Before he got there, the door opened to reveal a man in jeans and a sweatshirt. His hair was sandy blonde and contained a pair of glasses that had been pushed up onto his head.
‘Mr Blake?’
‘Indeed,’ he answered.
She held up the ID that was still in her hand.
‘Ah, excuse me one minute,’ she said as the builder appeared, wearing an apologetic, cheeky grin. ‘Yeah, that might work on your mother or your girlfriend, but not on me, fella. Put your hands out. Bryant, cuff him.’
‘What are you doing?’ the builder asked, panicking.
‘Fulfilling your dreams, buddy,’ she said as Bryant produced the handcuffs.
Her colleague stepped forward as Richard Blake watched with amusement.
‘Of course, there is one way to get yourself out of this predicament,’ she said, before the cuffs touched his skin.
‘Like what?’ he asked eagerly.
‘You can make sure that by the time I leave here, the skip is cordoned off and made safe before you go throwing anything else out of bedroom windows.’
‘Okay, will do,’ he said, rushing past Richard Blake and back into the house.
‘DI Stone and DS Bryant – may we take a minute of your time?’
‘Normally not without a phone call, but after that performance, how can I possibly refuse?’ He stepped aside. ‘Please mind the mess.’
They followed him through to the rear of the cottage past dust-sheet-covered furniture and stacked boxes.
A small round table was his current working space, where he had a stack of books, a notepad and a laptop.
‘I’d offer you a drink but I let the guys have the kettle during the day. Small price to pay for not having them in and out my office every five minutes.’
The space was chaotic and filled with displaced items.
A loud crash sounded overhead followed by feet thundering down the stairs.
‘We’re fine. You’ve got enough on your plate,’ Kim said.
‘We’re turning the smallest room into an en suite, and in the process they found a good infestation of termites. The wife has gone to stay with her sister in Lyme Regis, but I stayed put for brownie points and eternal martyrdom.’
Kim smiled at his expression, but quite frankly she was on the side of his wife.
‘You’re working through this?’ she asked, nodding towards the table.
‘Trying to. Publisher deadlines don’t care too much about home improvements or termites; but please, satisfy my curiosity and tell me why you’re here. Actually, is there any chance of me being locked up in a quiet police cell?’
‘No.’
‘Pity. How can I help?’
‘May we?’ she asked, pointing to the chairs around the table.
