‘DC Knight, I take it? Over here,’ he said in a nasally voice.
What does he think I am? A dog? Jennifer steadied her breathing as she strode to the corner of the room.
‘I’m DC Hardwick. I take it you’re here to cast your eyes over my case,’ the man said.
How precious, Jennifer thought, looking down her nose at the officer, now picking the remnants of his bacon baguette from between his teeth.
‘I’m here to liaise with you over the Felicity Baron case, and I’ve been told you’re happy to cooperate.’
He pulled over a swivel chair, his fingers leaving grease marks in their wake. ‘Why don’t you sit down? I’m always happy to help your little team,’ he said, spitting specks of bread. ‘So how is your sergeant, still as wibble as ever?’
A sharp intake of breath was heard as fingers froze on keyboards. Jennifer gave the officer a cramped smile. ‘She sends her love, wanted to know if you’re still as obnoxious as ever.’
Despite Claire’s warning, Jennifer had only been in the office for five minutes and already insulted the one person willing to work with her. But she couldn’t let him get away with calling her sergeant mad. A chorus of laughter ensued.
‘You deserved that, Hardwick,’ a middle-aged man said, his sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His loosened grey tie swung around his neck like a noose. ‘This officer has come here to help. It’ll be good to have another pair of eyes on the case.’ He turned to Jennifer with an apologetic smile. ‘If this reprobate gives you any more trouble you just let me know. I’m Sergeant Duncan, by the way.’
A firm handshake passed between them. Jennifer noted the camaraderie between the pair and decided to behave herself from thereon.
[#]
Armed with a copy of the case file, she returned to Haven to continue her investigations. Zoe’s clipped tones echoed through the room as she took a call from a very disgruntled father. Jennifer threw Zoe a sympathetic glance as she tried to deflect the complaint coming her way.
‘Mr Lynch, if you would let me speak … yes I know your daughter’s upset … but it’s very difficult for us to charge her partner if she refuses to provide us with a statement … if you would stop swearing at me and listen …’ A bright pink rash spread from Zoe’s pale chest up to her neck, reminding Jennifer of a kettle about to boil over.
‘Oh dear,’ Jennifer whispered as she sat beside Will, ‘has she been like that for long?’
Will shook his head. ‘About five minutes. How was the lion’s den?’
‘Full of testosterone. I was the only woman in briefing. Normally I wouldn’t notice, but it was like they were just humouring me, when they eventually let me speak.’
Will shook his head. ‘Yeah. I heard they were a bunch of dicks.’
‘Dicks or not, they’re flavour of the month with the command team,’ Jennifer said. ‘The tarot card reader that spoke to James Price matches the description of the one that forecast Felicity Baron’s death. I’ve given them the clipping and the feather that was sent to me, but they’re determined that Christian’s ex-wife is the suspect.’
‘Fill me in, I’d like to know a bit more in case I get roped in to help.’
‘We believe he uses the name Raven. He’s a person of interest, but their focus is on Christian’s ex-wife. She was unhappy about the divorce settlement apparently.’
‘A woman scorned,’ Will said.
‘Yeah, I know. As soon as the divorce came through, the younger model was announcing the wedding.’
‘That’s a kick in the gut. So what makes you think this Raven bloke has anything to do with it?’
‘Felicity’s friends said she lost her keys. They were in her bag in the pub, and after her reading, they were found near the car. They announced in briefing that tests show the car’s been tampered with. Somebody opened the boot, took out the wheel nut thingy, and loosened the tyres. Not enough to notice straight away. Ex-wife has no alibi, and tarot guy has no motivation. But it’s worth having a chat with him, don’t you think?’
‘Lug wrench,’ Will said, taking a green file from his in-tray and opening it.
‘What?’
‘The thing for loosening wheel nuts, it’s called a lug wrench. An obvious question but have they checked for fingerprints?’
Jennifer stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. ‘Yeah, they’ve been wiped clean. No forensics.’
Will shook his head as he flicked through the paperwork before him. ‘Y’know, I don’t get this filing system. Don’t you think it would be better if green meant important, yellow meant non-priority, and brown meant …’
‘I can guess what brown means, and I can’t see the DI going for it,’ Jennifer said.
‘All the same, I think it might be worthy of another entry into the suggestion box,’ Will grinned. ‘Is there any previous police history on Raven?’
Jennifer shrugged. ‘I can’t tell you that because we don’t know who he is. Raven could be his name or just a calling card. But if I’m proved right and Raven is Bertram Bishop, there’s nothing on the system apart from a life in and out of mental institutions.’
Will frowned as he speed-read the contents of his file, closed it, then swapped it for a different one. ‘At least you’ve got a quality job to get your teeth into. What’s your next plan of action?’
‘I’ve spoken to The Rivers mental health unit where Bert’s been an in-patient. They’ve reported him as missing because he’s no longer at the hostel. I’m not sure he ever stayed there. There’s a psychic fair on in the town hall tomorrow. I’m driving over there for a look.’
Will groaned. He had two bail backs and a statement to take that day. ‘I don’t like you going single-crewed, what if you bump into this guy?’
‘That’s the whole point, isn’t it?’ Jennifer laughed. ‘Don’t look so worried. What’s he going to do, batter me with his crystal ball?’
Will squeezed her hand, his brown eyes searching hers. ‘Don’t underestimate him. This sort of work is different than normal police work, nothing is what it seems.’
The warmth in his eyes followed by the sudden contact took Jennifer by surprise, and her face flushed in response.
‘Fancy coming around to mine some night for a meal?’ Will said. ‘It gets a bit boring, going home to an empty flat every night.’
‘I’m not sure if I’m brave enough. For the meal that is, I’ve seen your kitchen,’ Jennifer said. As soon as the words were out she wanted to kick herself.
Will harrumphed. ‘I’ve redecorated the flat, but if it’s not good enough for you …’
‘I’m joking. Why don’t I bring over a takeaway, save you having to cook. You can show me around.’
Will opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Ethan, as he walked into the office.
‘That’s what I like to see, a happy workforce,’ Ethan said.
Jennifer admired his new Hugo Boss suit, which was complemented by his steel grey tie. He oozed professionalism, from his polished leather shoes, to the clean lines of his haircut.
‘You’re looking very smart, boss, going somewhere?’
Ethan beamed a smile. ‘I have a meeting with the command team, to justify our existence. A government representative is attending, and we intend on putting them in their place.’
‘I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that,’ Jennifer said.
‘It should be interesting,’ Ethan said, a hint of a smile tugging his lips. ‘I hear you’ve been doing some good work with MIT on the Raven case.’
Jennifer made a face, which suggested that wasn’t strictly true. ‘It’s going OK, I’ve come away with some taskings from briefing.’