Buried Secrets
(The eleventh case from ‘The Freeman Files’ series)
By
Ted Tayler
Copyright © 2021 by Ted Tayler
This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please buy an additional copy for each recipient.
All rights are reserved. You may not reproduce this work, in part or its entirety, without the author's express written permission.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead is purely coincidental.
Cover design: - www.thecovercollection.com
A Harmsworth House publication 2021
Other books by Ted Tayler
We’d Like To Do A Number Now (2011)
The Final Straw (2013)
A Sting In The Tale (2013)
Unfinished Business (2014)
The Olympus Project (2014)
Gold, Silver, and Bombs (2015)
Conception (2015)
Nothing Is Ever Forever (2015)
In The Lap of The Gods (2016)
The Price of Treachery (2016)
A New Dawn (2017)
Something Wicked Draws Near (2017)
Evil Always Finds A Way (2017)
Revenge Comes in Many Colours (2017)
Three Weeks in September (2018)
A Frequent Peal Of Bells (2018)
Larcombe Manor (2018)
Fatal Decision (2019)
Last Orders (2020)
Pressure Point (2020)
Deadly Formula (2020)
Final Deal (2020)
Barking Mad (2020)
Creature Discomforts (2020)
Silent Terror (2020)
Night Train (2020)
All Things Bright (2021)
Where to find him
Website & Blog: – http://tedtayler.co.uk
Facebook Author Page: – https://facebook.com/AuthorTedTayler
Twitter: – https://twitter.com/ted_tayler
Instagram: - https://instagram.com/tedtayler1775
Ted Tayler’s Email Sign-up
Want to keep up to date with all the latest news?
Sign up here – http://tedtayler.co.uk
I promise never to share your email with anyone else.
I’ll only contact you when I have something new to share.
I never send more than twelve newsletters a year.
Table Of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About The Author
CHAPTER 1
Wednesday, 21st May 2008
Alan Duncan left his home in Cuttle Lane, Biddestone, at six-thirty in the evening. His partner, Madeleine Mills, known to those who knew her as Maddy, watched him walk to the gateway. She turned away as Alan eased into a steady jog and set off on his regular midweek run. She had their two-bedroomed semi-detached home to herself for ninety minutes.
The couple had met in Chippenham, four years ago, at a leaving party for one of her call centre colleagues, Anna Phillips. For eleven years, Anna and Maddy had shared a desk. That party had been the last place Maddy wanted to be, but Alan had arrived with Wayne, Anna’s husband.
Maddy suspected Anna and her husband had planned this so-called chance encounter for several weeks. As the evening progressed, however, she relaxed and enjoyed Alan’s company. He had joined the Royal Navy at eighteen, in his own words, to see the world. The magic had worn off after a dozen years. On his thirtieth birthday, he moved from the high seas to work for a Corsham firm as a draughtsman.
“What on earth attracted you to Corsham?” she had asked him.
“I was born there. My parents still live in the town, and my father, Bob, spotted an advert on the noticeboard in the work’s canteen. It was pure luck. I had many of the skills they were looking for, and the family connection didn’t hurt. Dad has worked there for over thirty years. His firm agreed to give me a shot. Wayne suggested I come with him tonight to celebrate. I heard this afternoon that my three-month trial was successful. I’m official as from Monday morning.”
When Alan kissed her goodnight at the end of the evening, he’d asked to see her again. They hadn’t spent more than a day apart in the past four years.
After Maddy finished her chores, she caught up on one of her favourite TV shows. She reminisced that any thoughts of avoiding a new relationship had disappeared within weeks of that leaving party. The couple had moved here to Biddestone together after four months. Village life, a handful of miles from the places they worked, suited both of them down to the ground.
Maddy’s friend, Anna, had had three enjoyable years with her new job in Swindon, but Joshua's arrival last December had put a temporary hold on her career. Maddy and Alan had agreed to be the boy’s godparents if Wayne and Anna ever got around to arranging a christening. Maddy had already driven to the Phillips’s home in Cepen Park, Chippenham, to babysit frequently. For Maddy and Alan, there was still time, but they were enjoying life as a couple. There was no pressure.
Maddy had now worked at the same company on the Bumpers Farm Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Chippenham for fifteen years. Alan was plodding along at his job in Corsham. It might have seemed an ordinary existence to many, but Maddy had learned from experience that wild fluctuations of highs and lows were overrated.
Alan had kept fit during his time in the Navy. As he told Maddy, he had little choice, and in the past four years, her partner had maintained a regular exercise regime. Alan loved to run around the village lanes but had never attempted to persuade Maddy to join him. She told him the housework she did while he ran kept her figure trim.
Wayne and Alan were still firm friends, and they shared a common interest. Well, it was more of a passion, in Anna and Maddy’s opinion. Their men were keen cyclists, with high-spec bikes, helmets, and the ubiquitous lycra clothing that accompanied it. On weekends, Wayne drove across from Cepen Park, with his bike on a frame attached to their car's boot. Then he and Alan disappeared for three hours.
Maddy and Anna reckoned the distances they said they covered were like the fisherman’s tale about the size of the one
