Mike told her that Smiley would stand trial for that murder, along with the other four. He said that Smiley had been refused bail and was awaiting trial at Wandsworth Prison. The trial date was set for three months’ time, and they would now be preparing all the evidence ready for the prosecution case conferences and defense disclosure. The CPS had been quick to oversee the case files and appoint a top queen’s counsel to prosecute.
Anna got into the routine of coming in to the station at eight-thirty every morning and leaving at six. The team began to pack up the incident room in preparation for the forthcoming trial, boxing the statements and evidence. As soon as the trial took place, they could all be allocated to another murder inquiry. It was not a foregone conclusion that they would work together; they could be split up. Anna hoped that Langton would retain them all. It would be up to him to select who went where.
It had been almost three months since the death of Ken, and Anna was surprised to see Langton in Mike’s office when she came in for work. He had continued to make calls and check up on her, but over the past few weeks, these had gradually stopped, and in some way she was relieved.
When he came out of Mike’s office, he smiled and came to her desk. He set down an envelope. “I reckon this is about time. Open it.”
Langton had put her forward for promotion. She would have to go through all the promotional interviews and written reports that she had been subjected to previously. She smiled up at him and asked whether he would be on the board, as at her last attempt at promotion. He shook his head and said that as he had personally suggested she be one of the candidates, he would not be on the review team.
“You’d better not cock it up this time,” he joked, and she was touched that he was recommending her.
“Thank you.”
“Take your time, make sure all your written reports are up to scratch, and don’t get shirty with the psychologist.”
Anna gave a soft laugh. The previous time she had become angry with some of the questions she was asked, and believing that Langton had scuppered her promotion, she had walked out before the interview was completed.
“I’ll behave myself,” she said, putting the envelope in her briefcase.
“I think you are ready for it. You’ve done terrific work on the Smiley case, and you have shown that you have become a real team player, so now it’s up to you. Good luck.”
“I’ve never really thanked you for being there for me,” she said quietly. “It can’t have been easy, having to tell me about Ken.”
“It wasn’t, but you’ll have time with the trial on to do your grieving.” He gave her a long look and then leaned over her desk to kiss her cheek.
“I love you,” he said.
Then he walked out, and she realized that she had been able to say Ken’s name without that terrible rush of emotion. She knew, too, that it was time to write the letter to his parents, and to go and see Lizzie.
That weekend Anna finally sent the letter to Ken’s parents and called on Lizzie. It was a major step in coming to terms with her loss, but she found the meeting difficult, as it brought back so many memories. Lizzie made a toasted sandwich and a pot of tea. Anna was so tense that it was hard to swallow, but she forced herself to take a couple of bites.
“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want it,” Lizzie said, and Anna smiled gratefully as the other woman removed the plate and tipped the remains of the sandwich into the bin. She was standing with her back to Anna, looking out into the garden at the children’s swing and remembering the last time they had been together. She could almost hear Ken’s laughter as he played around with her boys, the way he had come into the kitchen with her youngest on his shoulders.
“Oh, God, it’s so unfair,” Lizzie said, and burst into tears.
Anna went and put her arms around her, refusing to break down herself. After a while she said that she would have to leave, as she was working toward the trial.
“Will you come round and see the boys again?”
Anna nodded, but she knew she wouldn’t keep in touch. She wanted the past behind her.
Lizzie walked her to the front door, and Anna thanked her for the tea, apologizing for not eating, then hurried out to her car. Lizzie felt that she was unemotional, almost aloof; she said to her husband that night that she had found Anna almost a different person. Lizzie hadn’t even been able to put her arms around Anna, as she had wanted.
Ken’s parents wrote a sad letter back and apologized for not wanting her to be at their son’s funeral. Anna presumed that it was Roy Hudson who had written the letter. He said they were coming to terms with the loss of Ken but found it very difficult, as he was such a wonderful son. She found herself having to force back tears when he added that he also would have made a good husband.
Anna folded the letter and then tore it to shreds. It was another chapter closed, and she would not contact them again.
The trial had front-page coverage, and the team held up well throughout. Anna took her hours of cross-questioning by Smiley’s defense team with a cool authority. She was never rattled but in total control in an impressive performance that did not go unnoticed. Smiley was found guilty and sentenced to whole-life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
As soon as the trial was completed, Anna went before the promotional board and this time had no emotional attachments to worry about, as the three high-ranking officers were none she had ever met. She was touched that one of them mentioned that Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton had recommended her highly. She also handled the lengthy interview with the psychologist far better than she had previously. She was confident that she could not have done better, but she would have to wait three months for the results.
The next case Anna was assigned to was the suspected murder of an elderly woman whose body was discovered mummified in her basement. It was a case that Mike Lewis was allocated to oversee, and they worked well together with a new team. Barolli was also up for promotion to detective inspector, but he wasn’t confident, as he felt he had done badly on the written tests. Anna didn’t like to say how confident she felt but kept busy with the case in hand, which turned out to be a sad situation rather than a brutal killing.
The elderly woman had been dependent on her son for twenty years due to a heart condition; he had waited on her lovingly, and when she had died, he couldn’t bear to part with her. He had wrapped her in the sheets and kept her in the basement for five years. He had somehow managed to keep her death a secret, talking about her health and neighbors, but also claiming her pension every month.
Anna had found the tragedy less affecting than Mike, who felt that the man shouldn’t be charged. Anna had surprised him with her detachment, saying that “filial love” had not stopped him from illegally claiming his mother’s pension and living off it. Mike noticed then how much she had changed; she was more brusque than she had ever been, always businesslike, and yet the team respected her as much as Mike, if not more so. She was in many ways unapproachable on any kind of social level, though her ambition had not diminished. On the contrary, at times he felt as if she were nudging him out of the inquiry.
No sooner had Anna closed the case of the mummified woman than she received confirmation that her promotion was accepted. Anna was now detective chief inspector. DCI Travis was one of the youngest women to gain that rank, and Mike was relieved that from now on, she would be handling her own inquiries. Poor Paul Barolli yet again failed his promotional exams, so it was possible he would work for Anna, but after the pressure she had put on him during the Smiley inquiry, he didn’t fancy being under her command.