Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“Who by?”

“Where?”

“Is she a local girl?”

Weeks flinched at the rapid flow of the questions the men fired at him. He lifted a hand to stave off yet more when the demands seemed endless, and quickly told them everything he knew.

“We will need to see the body,” Jasper declared suddenly.

“Of course, you may. I don’t know what you will find, though. It is clear the cause of death was strangulation. There were ligature marks around her neck. But we need a rough time of death and, of course, a certificate issuing.

“Why else do you know?” Justin asked curiously.

Weeks looked at the tall man with the fair hair and tanned complexion. He was, without doubt, the tallest there, and the most powerfully built. There was a ruthless no-nonsense air about him that warned Weeks he was the leader of this group of fighters. Because of that, Weeks wasted no time telling him everything he knew.

“Most of the villagers formed a search party and spent the night looking for the girl, Felicity her name is – was, so the streets are a lot quieter today than they usually would be. I made an announcement in the tavern once I had been to see the family. The family didn’t want us to withhold any information, you see, especially because the villagers were out looking for her. I think they wanted the village to be informed so they were left in peace, so they can try to come to terms with what has happened. They are devastated, as I am sure you will understand,” Weeks declared starkly, not least because he didn’t want the men turning up and unwittingly terrifying the Insons.

Jasper studied the man and read his underlying concern. “We are discrete,” he assured him.

The doubt on the lawman’s face told Jasper everything he needed to know in that Weeks clearly didn’t think the group could move quickly and quietly amongst the villagers in a place like Bicester. If he was honest, he didn’t think it was at all possible either, but he would never admit it to a man like Weeks.

There was something about the magistrate that while officious, was somewhat bumbling and a little uncertain. It was clear recent events had shaken him, and he had a personal involvement given the villagers, people he called neighbours, were being affected. Even so, there was not much in the way of professionalism about the man. In fact, he seemed somewhat vague, as if he was flummoxed to know how to handle the situation. Jasper suspected Justin felt the same because his colleague, who was usually a very good judge of character, was studying Weeks carefully, as though weighing up what to tell him.

“It’s what we do,” Angus assured him.

“We won’t tread on anybody’s toes but do need to get people to talk to us,” Callum warned darkly. “This is a murder investigation now.”

“But we are not sure the rest have been murdered,” Weeks protested.

He fell silent when he met the swarthy man’s dark eyes and read the dire warning hidden within. He knew instantly that this man – Callum - was someone who could be quite ruthless if he needed to be and suddenly didn’t want to do, or say, anything that might upset him. Nervously, he shifted his gaze to Justin, the apparent leader of the group, only to wince when he realised Justin was also looking at him. For some strange reason, Weeks wanted to tug at his collar and confess his sins, and he hadn’t done anything wrong.

I have no idea how they do it, but it is damned impressive, he thought ruefully.

“I think I had better assist you with some of the locals,” Weeks announced suddenly. “They are angry right now, and disturbed. There have been talks of a night watch being set up to walk the streets. While I don’t condone it because I don’t want the public taking matters into their own hands, if it helps to keep the peace and stops anybody else being murdered then I cannot see there being anything wrong with it. Of course, it is going to make your job harder if you wish to move about at night.”

Justin grinned. The sudden mirth on his handsome features together with the brief flash of his straight white teeth made Weeks blink.

“That won’t cause us any problems,” Justin snorted with smug confidence.

“We usually work undercover,” Phillip added. “It is what we excel at.”

“We can work around the watch, if they decide to set one up,” Angus declared. “It would help us tremendously if they did set up a night watch like that because we then don’t have to guard anybody ourselves. As long as nobody works alone, I cannot see there being any issues. We can then go about our business knowing the villagers will look after themselves.”

“In a place like this our biggest enemy is stopping the gossips from targeting any specific person,” Weeks sighed. “They would form a vigilante gang, I am sure of it.”

“Do you have any other new arrivals in the village? Do you have any clues as to who would do something like this to her?” Oliver asked quietly.

Weeks shook his head. “Her father said she had been happy. When she had left the house for the last time she told her parents she was going to see a friend over in the next village. She had promised she would be back before nightfall. She is – was – usually dependable. Felicity wasn’t a reckless girl. Immature maybe, but not foolish.”

Aaron lifted a hand. “She didn’t have a chaperone?”

Weeks frowned. “It isn’t really necessary in a small place like this. Everybody knows everybody else. I can assure you that we usually do a commendable job in keeping the streets safe. I wouldn’t have seen fit to call you in if it hadn’t been for Henry over in Derbyshire having received several reports of disappearances as well, and we realising they were all in the same area. We tried to look into this ourselves, but there is such a damned lack of evidence we are both stuck.”

“You don’t have anything?” Justin asked, his frown heavy.

“Not a damned thing,” Weeks sighed.

“How many have you had now?” Angus asked.