Page 148 of Slack Tide Kill

"But Bledd wasn't friends with Spate," Liam said. "With Rook. With any of them."

"No."

"So why would he… why would he tell them anything about his plans? What he was going to do?"

"I don't believe he would, officer," Meeks said. "I didn't believe it then and I don't now."

Sally's thoughts raced and crashed into the only possible conclusion. "But then, that would mean the whole thing was a setup. Bledd didn't come near–"

"Now we are done," Meeks said, finality echoing in his tone. "Get out. And know that I will never attest to any of this. Attempt to drag me into this filthy affair any further, and I will sue you and your entire force for harassment with every last penny I've got. Is that clear?"

Sally stood. Liam joined her.

"Out," Meeks spat, pointing.

She started back through the kitchen, feeling the world shift on all sides.

64 TARPAULIN

"What the hell does it mean?" Liam asked, as they stamped back through the driving rain to the car. "This whole Bledd seal thing was a setup by the Rooks?"

"I'm not sure." Sally's thoughts whirled a mile a minute. "Maybe by Reg Rook and Gerald Spate? To cover their tracks on the murder of Tom Richter?"

"So we're back to him witnessing something?" Liam's pace sped up.

"It seems that way."

"Whatever it is, that bastard Spate lied to us again!"

Sally hustled to keep up. "If Meeks is right, Spate's been lying for 30 years. They framed Bledd back then, but it didn't work, so now they're doing it again."

Liam stopped and turned to her. "Shit. You're right! If the Rooks blew up his boat, this is the second time they've framed him for murder."

Sally stopped too, already so soaked it made no difference. "The fifth Rook. Reg tried it with Richter, but DCI Stewart didn't take the bait. Bledd was never even considered; he's not in the case notes, not in the podcast."

"One more point of noise that threw the whole investigation off," Liam said darkly. "Rook and Spate must have been laughing their arses off. So much that they're trying it again now, 30 years later?"

"Except Rook's dead and Spate's a spent force."

"I'll spend his force," Liam said, hands tightening into fists. "I will boil that cocky bastard in his bloody hot tub."

"I'm with you. And he'll deserve it."

Liam broke into a jog and Sally followed. As they rounded the weeping willow, they saw a white van parked beside the squad car. Beside it stood Tania Brown beneath an umbrella, dabbing her cheeks with a foundation sponge.

A long beat passed as she stared at them and they stared at her.

"You've got to be fucking joking," Liam murmured, barely audible over the rain.

Then Brown snapped her fingers at her cameraman. The camera was up in seconds, the lens cap off, and the message was clear: all deals were off. "Officers Sally Rogers and Liam O'Connell. What are you doing here, at the house of Crawford Meeks?"

"Run," Sally hissed.

They ran. In moments they were in the squad car and Liam hit the gas, rocketing backward. Sally had a clear view of Brown and her team hustling back into their van.

"They're going to follow us," she said.

"They're not going to catch us," Liam answered, reversed back onto the road then shifted to first and pushed the gas pedal down. They picked up speed down the hill then hit the bottom with a thump, the chassis bouncing on its suspension, already doing 50 miles an hour.