Chase Investigations Boxset 1 Page 21
‘Yes. Yes, certainly. Good idea.’ Kroft nodded firmly and took a deep breath. ‘Ooh, I hate things like this, it’s just so uncomfortable.’
He hurried off and Molly quickly checked the room, but found nothing amiss. She locked up and stood in the hallway for a few moments, thinking. She wondered what Mike was doing here and where he had gone. Given the time frame, it had to be one of the rooms on this floor for Kroft not to have seen him.
Molly cocked an ear to listen, and wandered quietly down the hall from end to end, but aside from a radio in one room, heard nothing. She ignored the lift and took the stairs back down to the lobby. She saw Kroft ushering Carrie into the back office, a dark haired young woman holding the door for them. She glanced over and saw Molly waving to get Kroft’s attention.
He glanced around, looking flustered, and she used her hand to mimic a phone and gestured to him that she would call him. He lifted a hand in acknowledgement and the younger woman closed the office door behind him. Molly guessed that was Lena. She didn’t smile much.
Molly went out the front doors, past the doorman who was chatting to a cabbie, and dug out her car keys.
The traffic was heavy already, and she groaned at the thought of the drive home from the central city to Ellerslie. She made her way to the side street which went round the back of the hotel and led to the multi storey car park where she’d parked for an exorbitant hourly rate.
Cars lined the street in both directions, both parked at the kerb and waiting in line to get out onto the main road. Molly tuned out to the noise around her and headed for the car park building. She became aware of a pimped out Nissan coupe of some sort in a loading bay just ahead of her, tucked in at the back of the hotel, but took no notice until it started to move as she got nearer.
It backed up and stopped sharply. The passenger door opened and somebody got out, then the car turned across the footpath in front of her, blocking her passage. Molly looked down into the face of the driver, frowning irritably at his ignorance.
He was a skinny no-chest Asian guy in his thirties, in a snappy pinstripe blazer over jeans and a T shirt. He looked back at her flatly, dismissively, then started to push his way out into the traffic.
Molly walked round the back of his car, bumping into the passenger who had got out.
‘Watch out!’ the other woman snarled, and Molly glared at her.
It was the Asian girl, now sporting a livid red mark across her left cheek. Molly knew a slap mark when she saw it and couldn’t help but stare.
The girl’s eyes narrowed as she recognised her foil of just a few minutes ago. She swore viciously again and stalked off in the opposite direction, heels clip-clopping on the pavement like a donkey pulling a trap. Or a two-bit hooker having been dismissed by her pimp.
Molly hitched her bag on her shoulder and made for the multi storey, shaking her head in amazement at the state of the world. It really was going to the dogs...
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Angus McLean
About the Author
Angus McLean is a South Auckland Police officer.
His experience as a cop and a private investigator gives his writing a touch of realism. He believes reading should be escapist entertainment and is inspired by the TV shows he watched as a youngster.
His real identity remains a secret.
www.writerangusmclean.com
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Chase Investigations series:
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Honey Trap
Sleeping Dogs
Tangled Webs
Dirty Deeds
Red Mist
Fallen Angel
The Division series:
Smoke and Mirrors
Call to Arms
The Shadow Dancers
The Berlin Conspiracy
The Service series:
The Service: Warlock
Nicki Cooper Mystery Series:
The Country Club Caper