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Chapter 119

‘Whatdo you want,Freddie?’ Poe said.

‘Ha ha, yes, very good, Sergeant Poe. But you sound tense?’

‘I asked, what do you want?’

‘I called to congratulate you.’

‘Me?’

‘All of you, Sergeant Poe, all of you. You’ve ended phase one slightly earlier than I anticipated. In the simulations I ran, you didn’t uncover my methodology until I’d killed six.’

Mathers mouthed, ‘Phase one?’

Poe shrugged. He doubted Beck had a phase two, but it wouldn’t take long to come up with something. He could stop giving warnings, or worse, start switching boxes of off-the-shelf medication in high-street chemists. If he bought a box of regular painkillers and took it home to switch blister packs, he could return the following week, or month, and put it back on the same shelf. A campaign like that would be impossible to stop.

Beck filled the brief silence.

‘By now I expect you’ve worked out my distribution method as well. And while I don’t expect you to take my word for it, I can assure you that Temple Express Pharmacy and I have parted ways.’

‘Good to know,’ Poe snapped. ‘Is that all?’

‘I imagine it was Professor Doyle who toppled the first domino? She really is quite brilliant. Unfortunately, that’s why she needed to be side-lined for a while. If you’re listening, Professor Doyle, I’m sorry about your father. It was necessary, but unpleasant. He was a good man and I took no pleasure from his death.’

Poe shook his head at Doyle. Warned her not to say anything.

‘I’ll pass that on, Freddie,’ he said. ‘Anything else? Only I haven’t eaten for a while.’

‘Always the joker, Sergeant Poe. But no, there’s nothing else. Just touching base.’

‘Goodbye, Freddie.’

Poe had almost put the phone down when Beck said, ‘Oh, and Sergeant Poe?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I can’t wait to meet you.’

Poe ended the call.

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