‘A big fat waste of your time if you want the—Ooh, hang on a sec,’ she said, frowning.
As ever, he watched in awe as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
She turned her computer screen.
He looked at the emblem on the screen and back at his pad before holding the paper back up to the light.
The black line was a scroll.
The letters were capital initials.
The pictures were a gavel and scales.
The jewellery was a crown.
‘Pass it every day on the bus in Dudley Town,’ Stacey said.
It was a firm of high-priced solicitors, and the long line of text at the top said the subject of the letter was:Last Will and Testament.
What exactly had the Dayneses been trying to change?
THIRTY-NINE
Despite the vast, almost empty space of the warehouse on Bromley Lane in Lye, Kim could still smell the rich earthy aroma of timber as she approached the entrance. She heard Leanne’s tut of annoyance that she’d walked from the car at speed. She didn’t have the time to wait for the woman to carry out a full visual appraisal of everywhere they went. Bryant was used to catching up with her when the speed of her thoughts became directly linked to the speed of her feet.
Leanne had covered the ground well and was right behind her when a guy in his early sixties, wearing a high-visibility vest, jumped off a stacker truck and headed her way.
He started speaking before she’d even opened her mouth. ‘I’ve been waiting for you and no, I didn’t mean it.’
Kim still produced her ID, which he barely looked at.
‘Roy Burston?’ she clarified.
‘That’s me,’ he said, rubbing a meaty hand over his bald head.
‘You made a threat to William Daynes?’
‘I did. I was angry, and I know exactly who pointed you my way.’
A second male approached, a younger version of the man they’d already met.
‘My son, Davey.’
Davey nodded and put his hands in his pockets.
‘Can you tell me what you said?’ Kim asked.
‘I can’t remember, but I was pretty pissed off. It’s been a busy few months,’ he added sarcastically.
‘Apparently you were going to make him pay and that he should be prepared to lose everything.’
He thought for a moment and then nodded. ‘Sounds about right, and if that’s what his little weasel said then I’m sure it’s true.’
‘Dad,’ Davey warned.
‘I ain’t lying to coppers, son. I said what I said and that’s it. It was an empty threat, but I still said it.’
‘Empty?’