TO DIE FOR

DI SAM COBBS #1

M A COMLEY

A very special thank you to the wonderful Clive Rowlandson, my special Facebook friend, who has allowed me to use his stunning photos of the Lake District as covers for this series.

Wishing you many more fabulous adventures with Alpha in the future, Clive.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks as always go to @studioenp for their superb cover design expertise.

My heartfelt thanks go to my wonderful editor Emmy, my proofreaders Joseph, Barbara and Jacqueline for spotting all the lingering nits.

Thank you also to my amazing ARC group who help to keep me sane during this process.

Thank you to my good friends, Alex and Claire, for allowing me to use your names in this series.

To Mary, gone, but never forgotten. I hope you found the peace you were searching for my dear friend.

ALSO BY M A COMLEY

Blind Justice (Novella)

Cruel Justice (Book #1)

Mortal Justice (Novella)

Impeding Justice (Book #2)

Final Justice (Book #3)

Foul Justice (Book #4)

Guaranteed Justice (Book #5)

Ultimate Justice (Book #6)

Virtual Justice (Book #7)

Hostile Justice (Book #8)

Tortured Justice (Book #9)

Rough Justice (Book #10)

Dubious Justice (Book #11)

Calculated Justice (Book #12)

Twisted Justice (Book #13)

Justice at Christmas (Short Story)

Justice at Christmas 2 (novella)

Justice at Christmas 3 (novella)

Prime Justice (Book #14)

Heroic Justice (Book #15)

Shameful Justice (Book #16)

Immoral Justice (Book #17)

Toxic Justice (Book #18)

Overdue Justice (Book #19)

Unfair Justice (a 10,000 word short story)

Irrational Justice (a 10,000 word short story)

Seeking Justice (a 15,000 word novella)

Caring For Justice (a 24,000 word novella)

Savage Justice (a 17,000 word novella Featuring THE UNICORN)

Gone In Seconds (Justice Again series #1)

Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again series #2)

Shot of Silence (Justice Again #3)

Taste of Fury (Justice Again #4)

Crying Shame (Justice Again #5)

To Die For (DI Sam Cobbs #1) Coming Dec 2021

Clever Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

Tragic Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

Sinful Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)

Forever Watching You (DI Miranda Carr thriller)

Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #1)

No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #2)

Cold Case (DI Sally Parker thriller#3)

Deadly Encounter (DI Sally Parker thriller #4)

Lost Innocence (DI Sally Parker thriller #5)

Goodbye, My Precious Child (DI Sally Parker #6)

The Missing Wife (DI Sally Parker #7) Out Feb 2022)

Web of Deceit (DI Sally Parker Novella with Tara Lyons)

The Missing Children (DI Kayli Bright #1)

Killer On The Run (DI Kayli Bright #2)

Hidden Agenda (DI Kayli Bright #3)

Murderous Betrayal (Kayli Bright #4)

Dying Breath (Kayli Bright #5)

Taken (Kayli Bright #6 coming March 2020)

The Hostage Takers (DI Kayli Bright Novella)

No Right to Kill (DI Sara Ramsey #1)

Killer Blow (DI Sara Ramsey #2)

The Dead Can’t Speak (DI Sara Ramsey #3)

Deluded (DI Sara Ramsey #4)

The Murder Pact (DI Sara Ramsey #5)

Twisted Revenge (DI Sara Ramsey #6)

The Lies She Told (DI Sara Ramsey #7)

For The Love Of… (DI Sara Ramsey #8)

Run For Your Life (DI Sara Ramsey #9)

Cold Mercy (DI Sara Ramsey #10)

Sign of Evil (DI Sara Ramsey #11)

Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey #12)

Locked Away (DI Sara Ramsey #13)

I Can See You (DI Sara Ramsey #14)

I Know The Truth (A psychological thriller)

She’s Gone (A psychological thriller )

The Caller (co-written with Tara Lyons)

Evil In Disguise – a novel based on True events

Deadly Act (Hero series novella)

Torn Apart (Hero series #1)

End Result (Hero series #2)

In Plain Sight (Hero Series #3)

Double Jeopardy (Hero Series #4)

Criminal Actions (Hero Series #5)

Regrets Mean Nothing (Hero #6)

Prowlers (Hero #7)

Sole Intention (Intention series #1)

Grave Intention (Intention series #2)

Devious Intention (Intention #3)

Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins short story)

It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne Simpkins short story)

Cozy Mystery Series

Murder at the Wedding

Murder at the Hotel

Murder by the Sea

Death on the Coast

Death By Association

A Time To Heal (A Sweet Romance)

A Time For Change (A Sweet Romance)

High Spirits

The Temptation series (Romantic Suspense/New Adult Novellas)

Past Temptation

Lost Temptation

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Keep in touch with M A Comley

PROLOGUE

T  om Douglas was exhausted. He’d had a very productive couple of days, packing boxes, trying to get ahead of his big move. He couldn’t wait to begin the new chapter in his life. After almost fifty years running the farm, getting up before dawn and working long after dark most days, he was ready to take life easy. Whatever that entailed for someone who had only ever had a few weeks off in his lifetime. Work, and the routine of running a farm, were all he’d known.

He glanced around the dining room and saw box upon box of useless stuff, most of which was earmarked to go to the local charities. He’d made arrangements for them to collect everything at the end of the week, and he’d only managed to sort out two rooms so far. He found life, in general, overwhelming at present. Unexpected tears clouded his vision and a large lump clung to the inside of his throat. What has my life come to? Life without Audrey to share it with will be meaningless now, like it has been for the last five years since she left me.

Shaking out his arms, he gave himself a good talking-to. “Stop dwelling on the past and start looking forward. It’s time to begin living. I hear retirement is good, once you put your mind to it and give it a chance.”

Daisy, his loyal Border Collie, barked in response. Tom laughed and stroked the top of her head. “It’s going to be a new chapter for both of us, girl. What will you do with yourself all day, without chasing the cattle from field to field for me? Aye, you’ve been one of the best dogs I’ve ever worked with. I suppose we’ll find ways to fill our days soon enough, let’s not think about that for now, eh? Time to go for a pee and then we’ll get to bed. I’ll start packing up the rest of my belongings tomorrow. Horrendous job to do on your own, but it’s got to be done. How some people cope with moving house every few years, whenever the fancy takes them, I’ll never know.”

He went into the dimly lit hallway and opened the front door for Daisy to run out to the yard. He flicked on the outside light and peered up at the sky. It was cloudy, so the stars he often watched twinkling in the black sky were shielded tonight. Disappointment flooded through him; over the years, he’d taken comfort in seeing all the stars watching over him, at least, that’s how he’d perceived it. Reluctantly, he stepped back into the house. “Daisy, come now. It’s time for bed.”

Daisy instantly came, as she always did when he called her name. Carefully locking the door behind him, he secured it with the chain his wife had insisted he should install nearly ten years before, when there had been a spate of burglaries at several farms in the area.

Wandering into the kitchen, he half-filled a tumbler with the malt he had left over from Christmas. Daisy whimpered beside him. He patted her on the head. “Purely medicinal, pet. You know I have trouble sleeping most nights. Want some?”

Tom offered her the glass to sniff. She turned her head to one side and flopped a paw over her nose. He laughed and patted her again. She was a wonderful companion. Such an intelligent dog, she put most humans he had the pleasure of knowing to shame most days. “I hope you and I are going to be happy once we leave this place in a few weeks. I wish someone could wave a magic wand and do all the packing for me and just whisk us off to our new home. It’s not much, Lord knows how we’re going to adapt to our new beginnings living near town when we’ve had nothing but beautiful countryside on our doorstep for years. Still, needs must. Right, you, let’s get up them stairs to bed.”

His breathing was laboured by the time he reached the top step, holding on to the banisters with one hand and carrying his drink in the other, with Daisy patiently climbing the stairs behind him. “Oh, Lordy, that’s one thing I’m definitely not going to miss. It should be a bonus living on one level. Whoever invented two-storey or more living, needs to be shot. These old legs of mine only have a few days climbing ahead of them, thank goodness.”

He walked into the main bedroom which was cold and gloomy since his wife’s passing. Every home needed a woman’s touch to bring it to life. This one had been lacking in that department for several years. Tom shook the dreary thoughts from his mind, placed his glass on the bedside table and collected his pyjamas from the bed. After visiting the bathroom for his evening strip-down wash, he returned to his room, climbed into bed and patted the quilt beside him.

“Come on, girl. Let’s have a snuggle before we go to sleep.”

Daisy didn’t need telling twice. She jumped up beside him and laid her head on his lap.

“I wonder what lies ahead of us now, Daisy. You know that old adage, ‘life’s what you make it’? Well, I’m going to ensure we have the best life possible from now on. It’s you and me against the world, precious dog.”

Daisy whimpered. Understanding everything he said to her, she offered her paw for him to hold. Tom picked up the paper lying on the bedside table and sipped at his drink until his eyes drooped. “Okay, I think it’s time for me to go to sleep now, girl.” He switched off the bedside light and wriggled down under the covers. Daisy shifted beside him, getting closer to ward off the October night-time chill.

Tom, with the aid of his tipple, drifted off to sleep within minutes.

A  few hours later, he was woken up by Daisy growling beside him. He sat upright, aware that her behaviour wasn’t normal. He had a shotgun under his bed; he tried to reach for it and lost his balance, landing heavily on the floor. Daisy appeared at the edge of the bed, her head tilted as if asking if he was all right. Then she began growling, a deep guttural growl, and stared at the bedroom door. Tom hastily stretched out an arm for his gun. He had his back to the door, but the pain in his hip did a good job of hampering his movements. Daisy leapt off the bed and guarded the door while he twisted, wincing against the pain searing through his lower body.

“Bloody hell,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Training an ear to what was going on downstairs, he picked up on the sound of the creaking stairs and knew there was an intruder working their way up towards them. “Shit! Girl, get on the bed, get away from the door.”

Daisy, for once in her life, disobeyed his command and stood rigid in the spot she’d claimed, close to the door.

Tom did his best to swivel into position and tried to reach under the bed to locate his shotgun. His fingertips touched the cold metal, but nothing more than that. He closed his eyes, blocking out the pain and the noise coming from outside his room, in an attempt to make a concerted effort to get to the gun. He issued a silent prayer to his maker. God, give me the strength to get to my gun. Help me to protect myself and Daisy.

Finally, the weapon was within his grasp. He dragged it out and cocked it, aimed it at the door and then tugged on Daisy’s collar, warning her to get back. He reached for the box of cartridges, just in case he needed to reload. He had this. He was in complete control now. The second someone stepped through that door, he’d fire and they’d be history. His heart pounded violently against his ribs.

Aiming the barrel at the door, and with Daisy now tucked safely behind him, he waited patiently, his finger poised on the trigger, his breath exiting his body in short, sharp thrusts. His mind whirling with different scenarios, but there really would be only one outcome: he would fire first and ask questions later.

The pain in his hip intensified as the adrenaline pumped around his body, but he tried his hardest to block it from his mind and concentrate on the matter in hand. Another creak sounded directly outside his door. Daisy growled. He raised a finger to his lips to silence her, and it did the trick. She just had to trust him. He had the situation under control; at least, he hoped he did.

The doorknob turned. Tom sucked in a breath and prepared himself for the fight ahead.

The door eased open. Daisy shot forward, baring her teeth at the intruder who hadn’t been expecting the attack. The person lashed out and kicked Daisy, sending her flying across the room. She yelled out in pain. Tom was distracted for a split second until his anger bubbled to the surface. “You bastard, leave my dog alone.” He fired off a shot. The force of the discharge rippled through his body with the intensity of a tsunami and jarred his hip.

“You, fucking bastard,” the intruder shouted and pounced on Tom. He disarmed him swiftly, pointed the gun at Daisy, let off a shot, then aimed the gun at Tom.

Tears emerged and swiftly escaped as he saw the light fade in his beloved dog’s eyes. “Daisy!” he yelled in a strained voice.

The masked intruder jabbed Tom in the stomach a few times with the butt of the gun to get his attention. “Listen up, old man. Do as I tell you or the same thing will happen to you, got that?”

Everything was a blur. Tom’s gaze drifted from Daisy to the masked person who had ended his dog’s life. Anger erupted and charged to every nerve ending throughout his body. If he could have got to his feet, he would have given the intruder what for, but as things stood, his movements were restricted.

“Get up!” the man ordered.

“I can’t. I think my hip is broken.”

The intruder mumbled something indecipherable and kicked him in the leg.

Tom yelled out, the pain unbearable, far worse than anything he’d ever encountered in his life. “Please, you have to believe me.” He took a breath, unable to continue, the debilitating pain doing its utmost to prevent him from breathing properly. Shit! I’m going to die, if I don’t do as he tells me. “I can’t move, I tell you. You have to believe me, I’m not trying to trick you.”

His gaze remained on the man. He was struggling to keep it together now; looking over at Daisy would only devastate him further. I might as well be dead, now that she’s gone. “What do you want from me?”

“Your money and your medals.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have any money and the medals are tucked away in a secure place somewhere else.”

“Don’t give me that. Where are they, old man?”

“I swear it’s the truth, why would I lie?”

“All right, where?”

The nose of his gun jabbed him in the chest. Tom cried out. “Screw you! I’m not telling you. You’re going to have to kill me.”

The intruder aimed the gun at Tom’s head. “If that’s what you want, old man.”

Tom raised his hands, shielding himself. “No, please. I don’t want to die.”

“Make your mind up. A second ago you were prepared to die, what’s it to be? Are you going to tell me where your stash is or not?”

“No. Go out there and get a bloody job. Louts like you need to realise what it’s like to graft for the money you get, not go around breaking into people’s houses and holding them at gunpoint.”

“Shut the fuck up. You know nothing about my circumstances. What gives you the right to judge me?”

“Doh! You’re standing in my home, threatening to kill me for a start.” Tom shifted position, or tried to, but the pain quadrupled and he slumped, defeated, against the bed. “I’m too old to fight you. Take what you want and get out.”

“You’re not listening to me. Where do you keep them?”

“Hang on, how the hell do you know I have medals of value, anyway?”

The intruder paused to think before he responded. “It doesn’t matter. Hand them over or say goodbye to life as you know it.”

“Suits me. Go on, clear off out of here, you sodding waste of space. Go get a real job, like ninety per cent of the population in the UK, and yes, I plucked that figure out of thin air.”

The man laughed, grabbed the box of cartridges and quickly reloaded the gun before Tom had the chance to realise what was happening. “Talking shite again, old man. You do that a lot.”

Tom stared at him, and he focused on the eyes peering at him through the slit holes in the fabric, to see if he could recognise the intruder. He didn’t. The mask was doing its job, disguising his features. “Who are you?” You know how to load a gun!

“Stop asking dumb questions and tell me.”

“I refuse to.”

“Very well. Take your last breath, make it a good one.”

Tom raised his hands higher. “No, wait!”

But it was too late. The gun went off.

1

Detective Inspector Samantha Cobbs was running late for work that morning, mainly due to her husband choosing to pick a fight with her first thing, about something so trivial—she’d already forgotten what topic had initiated Chris’s outburst. She knew by the time they both got home from work that evening, he would have calmed down and the argument would be regarded as just one of those things.

Sam had a lot on her plate at present, too much, in fact. What with her parents going on holiday at the weekend and her brother, Mike, already making them regret booking their week-long escape to Barbados. Mike was a needy sibling; along with her sister, Crystal, they both managed to drive her parents to distraction, hence their need to throw caution to the wind after the pandemic restrictions had been lifted to travel and book a well-deserved break to a sunnier climate.

She drove through the country roads on the outskirts of Workington. As usual, the surrounding views of the hills and the brief glimpses of the sea over to the left had a calming influence over her. She regarded herself lucky, rarely getting rattled as such but, when she did, a drive out in the Cumbrian countryside did the job of repairing her equilibrium and putting her world back on its axis again.

Around fifteen minutes later, she pulled into the station car park and spotted her partner of five years, Bob Jones, getting out of his vehicle. She beeped her horn and drew up alongside him. He leaned over and peered through her window.

“I might need to go home and get a change of underwear before I start work, boss, you did a good job of scaring the crap out of me.”

Sam suppressed the giggle and bit down on her lip. “Oops, sorry, I forgot myself there for a second, but I was so pleased to see your bright, cheery face.”

Bob rolled his eyes. “And you talk a lot of bullshit at times, too.”

Sam exited the vehicle and punched his upper arm. “I do not. What’s up?”

He groaned and they walked towards the whitewashed building that was their second home for forty-plus hours a week, usually longer of late, due to the rise in crime in the area since the tourists had descended upon them, now that the restrictions had been lifted. “The usual,” he sighed. “Teenage angst on full alert, especially first thing. To tell you the truth, I was glad to get out of the house this morning. Abigail and Milly were at it from the second they laid eyes on each other.”

Sam didn’t respond. One person’s angst was another person’s regret. She and Chris had been trying to have kids for over ten years now. Five failed fertility attempts later, they’d finally agreed to put the subject to bed and get on with their lives, being known as one of the few childless couples in the village where they lived.

“Did you hear me?”

Sam turned to Bob and shook her head. “Sorry, I was in a world of my own there for a second. What were you saying?”

Bob waved a hand and opened the main entrance door for her. “It doesn’t matter, I get I was boring you rigid.”

“You weren’t. Ignore me, I’m sorry. I’m always here if you need to vent, you know that.”

“Clearly. It’s fine. Truthfully, I come to work to forget my troubles at home. We all do, right?”

“Some of us do.” She grinned and smiled at the desk sergeant as they passed through the reception area. “Morning, Nick. How’s things?”

“Fair to middling, ma’am.”

Bob followed her through the security door and muttered, “I’ll shut up then.”

“Why? I’ve told you before, if you need to get something off your chest, I’m always around to listen.”

“Except you’re not listening.”

“Sorry. I apologise for being distracted this morning. My head isn’t in the right place yet, I need a good dose of caffeine to get me going fully at this time of the day, you know that.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that one. I’ll get them in today, it’s my turn.”

Sam stopped walking halfway up the flight of stairs. “Bloody hell, I must be hearing things. I could’ve sworn you just said you were going to buy the coffees.” She whipped out her mobile and shook her head.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking my birthday hadn’t crept up on me without me realising it.”

“Ha-bloody-ha.” Bob continued to trudge up the stairs. “I don’t have to take this bullshit, you know.”

Sam caught him up. “You don’t?”

“I could easily put in for a transfer, that would wipe the smile off your face.”

“In an instant. Don’t even go there. You know how much I detest change around here.”

He pulled a face. “Exactly. So be kind to me.”

Sam sighed. “Your sense of humour is lacking today, partner.”

“Yeah, it has packed its bags and gone on holiday for the foreseeable.”

She stopped at the top of the stairs. “Being serious here now, are things really that bad at home, Bob?”

“Kind of.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I need to do some serious thinking over the next few days or weeks.”

Sam inclined her head. “Meaning what?”

He hitched up his shoulders again and stared ahead of him. “Whether or not I’m prepared to put up with the rowing for much longer.”

Her mouth dropped open and closed again. “You’re not joking, are you?” she asked, realising the significance in his expression.

Bob looked her in the eye and shuddered. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

She bit down hard on her tongue, her thoughts lying with Abigail for also having to put up with their teenage daughter’s moods and vile temper at times. His wife couldn’t up and leave, could she? Would she even want to? Sam had a soft spot for Bob, she wasn’t going to start to think badly about him just because he couldn’t handle the strain of his home life all of a sudden. However, she was slightly taken aback by the wayward thoughts apparently running through her mind, right now.

“Bob, I’m stunned. I had no idea things had got so bad between the three of you. This is the first indication you’ve given me that something major is wrong at home.”

“You know me, I tend to bottle things up, rather than moan about them all the time.”

“Maybe that’s your downfall, mate. Does Abigail know this is how you feel?”

“Not really. I’ve hinted, but she hasn’t picked up on the inference in my words. Hey, we’ll figure things out. I didn’t mean it to come out and land on your shoulders, forget I’ve said anything. I come to work to forget my personal problems.”

“Okay, I understand what you’re getting at. What I said still stands, though: my door is always open, don’t forget that, ever. If you feel yourself drowning, speak up for God’s sake.”

He wagged a finger at her. “Hey, I’m not about to do anything daft, like Morrison.”

“Good, I should hope not.” The copper he was referring to had hung himself from a beam at the local community centre where he helped out at the weekends, unable to live without the wife who had run off with one of his colleagues.

“You have my word. Now, can we get on with our day? I’m in desperate need of that drink.”

She smiled and nodded. “Go on, you’ve twisted my arm.”

They entered the incident room to find the rest of the team all hard at work. Sam loved the fact her colleagues never felt the need to sit around first thing, waiting for her to instruct them to get on with their day. Yes, she held a daily brief, of sorts, but they were the best in the business in her eyes. “Good morning, everyone. Hope you’re all well on this bright autumnal day?”

Claire Owen, who had been newly promoted to sergeant, smiled and raised her cup of coffee at Sam. “All good from where I’m sitting, boss.”

“Good. Has the promotion sunk in yet, Claire?”

“Not really. Still having to pinch myself periodically throughout the day.”

“You’ll get used to it, eventually.” She moved towards her office and caught the conversation going on between Liam, Oliver and Alex. The latter, aged forty-three, was offering dating advice to the two younger men.

Sam shook her head. “Don’t listen to him, guys. No, what I should have said was, listen to him if you want to spend most of your spare time either visiting the maternity unit or changing nappies for the rest of your lives.”

“Hey, that’s uncalled for, guv,” Alex declared, mortified by her suggestion.

“Is it? With eight kids to your name.”

He coloured up under her intense gaze. Liam and Oliver both chuckled and then Oliver pointed at Alex. “Yeah, I think I’ll give your advice a miss, man, if it’s all the same. That would tarnish my name as a playboy.”

“Playboy image my arse, just because you flit between girlfriends every few months. Now let me tell you, back in the day when I was starting out on the dating circuit—”

“Enough, already. Give the lads a break, old timer,” Sam interrupted and headed towards her office, aware of Alex staring after her, probably with his mouth hanging open in shock at the harsh way she had addressed him. She breezed past the last member of the team, Suzanna Witchell, and whispered, “Is he shooting daggers at me?”

Suzanna cleared her throat, doing her best to suppress the laugh desperate to escape. “Yep, and some.”

“He’s so easy to wind up.”

“You’re not wrong,” Suzanna admitted.

Sam entered her office, and her mood altered significantly when she saw what lay ahead of her—brown envelopes galore littered her desk. Instead of confronting the dreaded post, she paused briefly to obtain another dose of calming influence from the hills she could see from her office window. Without this magnificent view on offer every day, she pondered how dreary and mundane her role as an inspector would be.

The phone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She quickly removed it from the docking station and answered it. “Hello, DI Cobbs. How may I help?”

“Ah, I’m glad I caught you, Sam. Do me a favour and join me at a crime scene, will you? This one has your name written all over it.”

Sam smiled, recognising the local pathologist, Des Markham’s subtle timbre. “Hi, Des, I haven’t had the notification come through yet.” With that, her mobile rang.

He laughed. “Haven’t you?”

“Hang fire a sec, let me take the call.” She placed the phone on the desk and answered her mobile. Bob came into the office at the same time and put a cup of coffee in front of her that she knew was going to go cold. “Thanks, stay there, I don’t think we’ll be hanging around long.”

Bob eased himself into the chair, blew on his coffee then took a sip. “We’ve got time to finish this, I hope.”

“Not sure. Hang fire,” she mouthed. “Yes, I’ve got that. Thanks, my partner and I will attend ASAP.” She ended the call, raised a finger, telling Bob to wait a second, and picked up her main phone again. “Crikey, it’s all go at this end. Right, I’ve had the call. Des, Bob and I will be with you soon. We’ll even be forgoing our first cup of coffee in the process.”

“Whoa, I’d rather you didn’t, I know what you’re like without caffeine running through your system. Anyway, it’s not like this guy is going anywhere, for the time being.” Des snorted.

“Cheeky bugger. We’ll be with you shortly.”

“See you soon.”

Sam ended the call and reached for her coffee. After taking a sip of her tepid coffee, she said, “Suspicious death at a farm in Mosser.”

Her partner frowned and blew on his drink again. “Pretty rural, that is. Unusual to get any sort of crime in that area.”

“I was thinking the same. Can’t remember anything coming from that area before. I suppose there’s always a first time. Sup up. It’s what? Fifteen or twenty minutes from here?”

“Depends if we use the siren or not. We could always sit around, finish our coffee and then use the siren to make up for lost time.”

“You amaze me at times, Bob Jones.”

“Do I? Thanks, that’s good to know.”

Sam laughed. “I meant in a bad way.”

“Oh, I see.” He winked at her, downed the rest of his coffee and stood, ready to go.

Sam set her own drink to one side and followed him out of the office. There, she announced, “We’ve had the heads-up about a new case. Suspicious death, that’s all we have right now. Guys, I need you to finish up any lingering paperwork to do with the other cases we’ve solved recently so that we can put a combined effort into this one.” The team either nodded or gave her the thumbs-up. “We’ll be off then. As usual, Alex, you’re in charge. That doesn’t give you the go-ahead to dish out useless dating advice in my absence, got that?”

Alex stared at her, his eyes widening to the size of beach balls. “I’ll be as professional as I always am while you’re out of the office, guv.”

“Why does that statement considerably unnerve me?”

The rest of the team laughed. Sam and Bob left the station. “We’ll take my car, I’d like to get there in one piece, if it’s all the same to you.” Sam grinned.

“Blimey, you’re on one today, aren’t you? What with giving poor Alex a dressing down in front of the others and dissing my driving skills.”

“I did no such thing on either count. Are you forgetting the close shave we had last week when you almost rear-ended that bike?”

“No, he was in the wrong, pulling out of nowhere like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, if you say so. Get in the car.” She smirked at him over the roof of her Nissan Qashqai.

A whoosh of breath left his body and he slipped into the passenger seat. Sam passed him her notebook in which she’d jotted down the address and he entered the postcode into the satnav. She drove off and turned on the radio.

“Mind if we have Gold on rather than Smooth today?”

“The choice is yours.”

Bob found the station he was after and leaned his head back while she drove. At one stage, she thought she heard him snoring. She decided to let him rest and drove in silence to the crime scene.

Three vehicles were parked on the large drive at the farmhouse, all belonging to the forensic team. Sam dug her partner in the ribs. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, we’re here.”

Bob sat upright, stretched and yawned. “Sorry, didn’t realise I was so exhausted.”

“Hey, no problem. The next time you request a certain radio station, at least have the decency to stay awake and enjoy the damn music.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that already. Get on your phone, I want to know why there isn’t a patrol car here.” Sam left the vehicle and went to the boot of her car to retrieve a protective suit and shoe coverings.

Bob joined her moments later. “They’re on their way. The desk sergeant sent his apologies for not organising it sooner, short staffed or something.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that one. We’re all understaffed, we just need to knuckle down and get on with the task in hand. Suit up, I’ll sign the Crime Scene Log.”

“You’ll have a job, without an officer present,” he muttered.

She slammed her fists against her thighs. “See, the system is already bloody messed up. I’ll be having a word when I get back. I’ll check with Des, see if he’ll give us the all-clear to view the scene from a distance.”

“Good idea. I’ll be with you shortly.” He lost his balance, pulling on the suit and bashed his hip against the side of the car. “Shit! That hurt.”

“Diddums. Get a grip, man, and hurry up.”

Sam crossed the driveway and peered through the open door to the farmhouse. “Des, are you here?”

“I’m upstairs.”

“Okay, one problem, we haven’t got a Crime Scene Entry Log Sheet to hand.”

“There’s one just inside the door. Can you see the clipboard?”

“I’ve got it. I’ll be right up.” She filled in the relevant boxes and signed the form, then passed it behind her to Bob for him to do the same. “Glad to see someone is on the ball with regard to procedures.” Task completed, Sam made her way up the stairs, leaving Bob to fill out the form.

“At the end of the hallway, on your left,” Des called out.

Sam followed his voice, peering into the other rooms as she passed. Her perception of the farmhouse thus far was that it was slightly dated—tired wallpaper, tearing up at the edges in parts along with badly scuffed skirting, and that was just the hallway.

Pausing at the final room, Sam took in the scene, her eye immediately drawn to the black and white dog to one side of the room. She gasped. “You’re bloody kidding me. Who the hell would kill a ruddy dog?”

Des glanced up from his crouching position close to the body. “A sick bastard. My guess is she was probably trying to defend her master and was dealt with first before this guy was killed. Shocking either way, can’t say I’ve come across many scenes like this before, you know, where a pet is harmed, or should I say killed.”

“Bloody hell! All right to come in?” Sam asked.

Des nodded and gestured for her to join him. He was the best pathologist she’d ever worked with. Most of the others were usually so far up their own backside, and they also tended to baffle her with scientific facts and figures that generally went over her head. Des was different, he was open to any daft question either she or Bob flung at him. He had a wicked sense of humour as well, which definitely helped when dealing with some of the most gruesome crimes they’d had to deal with in the past four or five years, since he’d moved to this patch from Manchester.

Staring down at the victim, Sam shook her head, dismayed and disgusted that some fucker had deliberately chosen to take the old man’s life. “Am I right in thinking that you’re discounting suicide on this one?”

“Yes, that goes without saying.”

“What’s your take on how this went down, Des, or is it too difficult for you to give us that?”

A breathless Bob appeared in the doorway and let out a whistle. Sam turned to see him surveying the poor dog’s remains. “Jesus, never seen that before. Poor pup. Umm… poor victim too, but why bloody kill the dog at the same time?”

“Stop digging yourself into a hole,” Sam reprimanded her partner.

Bob came to stand beside her and muttered an apology. The room suddenly felt as though it was ten times smaller than its actual size, now that there were six of them packed into it. Three techs busied themselves with equipment on the other side of the room by the window. One of them had a camera in his hand, ready to get started once Des gave him the go-ahead. Sam continued to scan the room. She noticed most of the drawers and the wardrobe doors were open. “Looks like the murderer was possibly searching for something.”

“Could it have been a burglary gone wrong?” Bob replied, his gaze following hers.

“That would be my first assumption,” Des offered. He then pointed at the gun lying on the victim’s bloody chest. “We’re going to need to do the necessary on the weapon, see who it belonged to. My guess would be it’s the old man’s. He probably had it either beside his bed or under it and pulled it out, intending to use it on the intruder. Of course, they should be locked away at all times, but many people don’t.”

“But the intruder snatched it out of his hand before he got a chance to aim it, is that what you’re telling us?” Sam asked, glancing at the dog and then back at the victim.

“Possibly,” Des said. “Maybe the intruder shot the dog before it attacked him, then when the old man wouldn’t hand over what he was looking for, he finished off the victim with a couple of blasts. Either way, it was overkill to me, what harm could an old man do?”

“Plenty with a shotgun in his hand,” Bob chipped in.

“Granted. He would have needed to have reloaded the weapon too.” Des admitted.

Sam had remained quiet and was busy assessing the scene herself. “Not a burglary, as such. What if it was someone he knew and they came here intentionally looking for something? Who was a dab hand with a shotgun.”

“Again, another possibility we shouldn’t rule out,” Des replied. He stood and shook his legs out. “All right, Ken, do your thing. Cover every angle and yes, that includes the dog as well.”

The tech holding the camera took a few paces towards them. Sam dug her partner in the ribs and eased around the room, out of the tech’s way.

“Thanks,” Ken smiled and raised the camera. He fired off several shots before he changed position again and took another ten more shots.

Doing her best to avoid touching either of the bodies, Sam squeezed past Des and one of the technicians and peered into the wardrobe. The musty smell hit her, reminding her of the place she used to hide in when she was knee-high to a gnat at her grandparents’ house and her grandfather suggested playing hide and seek with her and her siblings. The wardrobe was always her choice and the first place her granddad checked. Game over, but it hadn’t mattered because then she was able to join in the fun, searching for her siblings, Mike and Crystal.

It was funny how certain smells transported you back to your past. Admittedly, it didn’t happen that often, but when it did…

“Are you all right? Something wrong?” Bob whispered, his brow knitted with concern.

“No, I’m fine. Just reliving old memories of when I was a kid, that’s all.”

“I’m surprised you can remember that far back.”

She slapped his forearm. “Do you mind, I’m thirty-one, not bloody sixty-one, arsehole.”

“Now, now children, this isn’t a playground,” Des shouted playfully from the other side of the room.

“Duly noted, thanks for the reminder,” Sam replied, glaring at Bob, warning him to behave.

He placed a flattened hand to his chest. “What did I do?”

“You breathed. That was enough to tick me off.”

His mouth opened and closed. She sensed he was grasping for some kind of witty retort. In the end, he settled for one word, “Charming!”

Sam got back to the task of searching through the wardrobe, her blue-gloved hands lifting several items out from the bottom shelf. They consisted of a couple of pairs of best shoes, that had been polished to within an inch of their lives, and a spare shoe box that was lying at an angle, its lid removed and what appeared to be its contents strewn across the bottom of the wardrobe. Clearly, someone was looking for something specific, or were they?

“What’s that?” Bob came up behind her and asked.

“Just a box, maybe there was something significant inside.”

“Perhaps, maybe we’ll never know. Not unless his family can tell us. Is it some kind of keepsake box?”

“Seems to be.” Sam rummaged some more, but found nothing of interest. With the smell now making her want to sneeze, she stood and turned to begin her search of the chest of drawers. She motioned for Bob to help her take out the heavy drawers—an old trick she’d been taught in police training college was to check inside and out of all furniture when searching for clues. That included old chests of drawers which sometimes had hidey-holes created in maybe a side section or in the bottom of one of the drawers. Together, they removed each of the drawers and Sam searched underneath.

“Bingo, this one has a false bottom.” She slid the outer piece of wood out of the way, and inside, she found a large envelope.

Des came to join them, his six-foot frame towering over her five feet five inches, five-eight in heels. “Interesting. What made you look there?”

She shrugged. “A mixture of training and instinct. I bet your guys would have got to it sooner or later.”

Des glanced at the techs in the room, then leaned in and whispered, “Maybe, but I have my doubts.”

Sam chuckled and opened the envelope. Inside was what she recognised as a Will, possibly the victim’s Last Will and Testament. “Interesting.”

“Could be handy for finding the next of kin, perhaps,” Des suggested.

“True enough. Let me have a quick look through it before I hand it over to you guys.”

Bob took out his notebook and his mobile phone. “Want me to snap off a few pics?”

“Excellent idea. Still note down the names I give you though, okay?”

He flipped his notebook open and jotted down the names Sam read out. “Jean Jones, his daughter; David Chatley, his friend; Grandson Ian, and that’s about it. Oh no, bless him, he mentioned Daisy, the dog, in here as well. He wanted her to be cared for by his daughter after his death.” That fact saddened her so much that a large lump appeared in her throat. She coughed to clear it.

“Are you okay?” Bob asked, sensing what was going on.

“Me being silly. Take the photos, Bob. Thanks.” She placed the document on the top of the chest of drawers and left her partner to it while she checked the other drawers and the cavity of the piece of furniture. She found nothing else. So she placed a call to the station. Claire Owen answered the call. “Ah, just the person I was after. We’re at the crime scene. The victim is a Tom Douglas, we’ve found his Will, hidden beneath a drawer. What we need to do is locate his next of kin. I’ve got a daughter called Jean Jones and a grandson called Ian, can you try and find an address for me?”

“Want to hang on the line or would you rather I ring you back?”

Sam could hear Claire pounding on the keyboard as she spoke.

“I’ll wait. I doubt it’s going to take you long anyway.”

“You know me too well.”

“I do.”

Within seconds, Claire handed over the information she needed. “You’re amazing, don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“I’ll be sure to pass that on to Scott; I think he needs reminding of that fact, now and again.”

“Most men do, love. Right, once we’ve finished up here, we’ll set off and break the news to the daughter. In the meantime, can you do some extra digging on the family and the usual, the vic’s finances et cetera?”

“On it now.”

“Thanks, Claire.” She ended the call and turned her attention to the victim once more. Des had finished his initial assessment and was standing back while the photographer finished off his task. “Is there anything else you can tell us? Time of death, for instance?”

“Can’t give a specific time as yet, not until I get him back to the lab and carry out further tests.”

“Roughly, a guesstimate will do.”

Des sighed, folded his arms and placed his index finger against his right cheek. “Well, if you were to push me for an answer, I’d say somewhere between twelve and four a.m., but don’t quote me on that, you hear me?”

“Gotcha, only the daughter is bound to ask. I’ve got her address, if you have nothing else for us, we’ll make a move then.”

“Very well. I’ll be in touch once I’ve carried out the PM.”

“When’s that likely to be?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

“Not a lot on my plate at the moment, should fit it in this afternoon, unless something else crops up in the meantime.”

“Good. Looking forward to hearing from you shortly, then.”

He smiled and Sam left the room. By the time she’d slipped off her suit at the front door and deposited it in the black sack, Bob had joined her.

“I took the pics, then handed the Will over to a tech guy to bag up as evidence.” He leaned against the wall and disrobed. Sam held the sack open for him and he dropped his suit and shoe covers inside.

“Great. Let’s go break the awful news to his family.”

“One question before we leave. Do we know who found him?”

“Shit, what is wrong with me today? I think seeing the dog upset me more than I cared to let on.”

“It’s okay. You get in the car, I’ll slip my suit back on and go back inside to ask Des.”

“No, don’t do that, just ring Des instead.”

Sam gave herself a good talking-to on the way back to her vehicle. Her partner joined her several minutes later. “Well?”

“Yes, thanks. Not so bad, how are you?”

“Get on with it, idiot. Who found him?”

“The postman. He said he thought it was unusual the dog didn’t bark when he pulled into the drive. He knocked on the door, got no answer, so went around the back and found the door open. He called out, got no response, went upstairs and found them both. Des said he was shaken up when he and the team arrived. I’ve got his address, he’s offered to give a statement later. Want me to call the station, organise uniform to take a trip out to see him, or do you think we should have a word with him first?”

“Leave it to uniform. We’ll make a note of his name and address in case we need it later to add to a suspect list.” She faced her partner when she saw him looking at her out of her peripheral vision. “Something wrong?”

“You think he would be likely to be the murderer? If he is, it’ll be a first.”

“Always a first time for everything. Who knows nowadays? Maybe he just started the round and… no, let’s leave it there for now before my wayward thoughts get the better of me.”

“Yeah, we should.”

2

Sam drew up outside a smart-looking detached house in a large cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Workington. They left the car and walked up the curved path to the front door. She admired the front garden, which appeared to have been designed professionally. In the centre was a wooden wishing well which was surrounded by hard landscaping and curved flower beds. She rang the bell, avoiding the thorns of the rose climbing up the arch framing the front door. The smell was heavenly and Sam spotted some jasmine intertwined with the rose.

A woman in her fifties opened the door. Her hair was a lilac colour and had obviously come out of a bottle. Sam and Bob flashed their warrant cards. “Hi, Jean Jones?”

The woman frowned and pulled the door closed behind her. “That’s right. It’s no good showing me those, I can’t see a damn thing without my glasses.”

“That’s okay, I’m Detective Inspector Sam Cobbs, and this is my partner, Bob Jones.”

“No relation, at least I don’t think there’s one,” Bob said quickly.

“Oh right. The police, what can I do for you?”

“Would it be possible to come inside and speak with you, Mrs Jones?”

“It’s Jean, don’t make me sound older than I feel, please. Inside? For what?”

Sam offered a warm smile. “Please, Jean, it would be better inside.”

Jean pushed the door open behind her and stepped back, allowing them into the hallway, and then she closed the door again. “You’d better come through to the lounge.”

Sam and Bob followed her into the mainly square lounge, apart from the bay window which had a pretty seat beneath it. The furnishings were up to date and there was a mixture of blinds and curtains covering the two windows.

“Take a seat, won’t you? Tell me what this is about.”

The three of them sat in opposite sofas. Sam cleared her throat. “It’s with great regret, I have to tell you that your father passed away last night.”

“Excuse me? No, you must be wrong. I only spoke to him last night and he seemed perfectly fine to me.”

“I’m sorry, but we believe your father died in suspicious circumstances at home.”

Jean’s right hand covered her face and she shook her head. “No. There must be some mistake, this can’t be true.”

“Can I get you a drink?” Bob asked, ever the thoughtful one.

“No. I don’t want a drink.” Her hand shot into her lap and she began to rock back and forth in her seat. “I want to know what you mean by suspicious. I don’t understand what you’re telling me.”

“Sadly, your father was murdered last night.”

“No! I don’t believe you. What the…? He can’t be dead. We’ve made arrangements for the weekend.”

“I’m sorry. We’ve yet to formally identify him, but we believe there is no mistake.”

“Oh, Christ! Murdered, you say? How?” Jean placed a hand on either side of her face.

Sam inhaled a breath. “I’d rather not disclose that at this time.”

“Why? Surely, I have a right to know how my father… died, don’t I?”

“All I can tell you at this stage is that he died of gunshot wounds.”

“What? Dad had a gun, you don’t think he could have killed himself?”

“It could be a possibility, however, the pathologist seems to believe your father was murdered.”

Jean tipped her head back and looked up at the ceiling. “What the…? Why? When did this happen?”

“We’re not sure of the exact time, the pathologist believes the incident took place sometime between twelve and four this morning. Can you tell me at what time you spoke to him last night?”

“Around ten, maybe five or ten past, I can’t recall the exact time. I usually ring, sorry, rang him around ten every night to ensure he’d locked the house up and was safe. He told me he’d taken Daisy for a quick walk at about quarter to ten, you know, to let her do her business before they went to bed.”

“Did he seem concerned at all when you spoke to him?”

“No. He was the same as usual. Oh, God, he’s dead!” She shook her head slowly and tears formed in her grey eyes. “Who the hell would kill him? Dad wouldn’t hurt a damn fly and that’s the bloody truth.”

Sam sat on the edge of the sofa. “So he hadn’t fallen out with anyone lately?”

“Not as far as I’m aware, no. He got along with everyone, well, most of the time. Bugger, I’m going to miss him so much. Now they’re both gone. Mum died around five years ago of dementia. Dad has struggled up at the farm since her death.” She sighed heavily and swiped away at the tears as they fell. “Why now, now that he was on the move?”

Sam snuck a look at her partner and then asked, “Can I ask what you mean by that, Jean?”

“Oh, sorry, I should have said. I’m not thinking straight. He was packing up to leave the farm. He’s moving closer to us, or he was, so I could keep an eye on him, you know, as he was getting older. He’s really been struggling healthwise since Mum died and his angina was diagnosed.”

“He was in ill-health, is that what you’re telling us?”

“Yes, at the start of the year he was in hospital for around ten days. I pleaded with him back then to give up the farm, it’s not like it was making any money, anyway. But you know how stubborn men can be; if the decision had to be made, it would need to come from him. I’ve been working on him for months, without him realising it, and finally, he threw in the towel back in June, told me to get things organised. It has been hell for me ever since.” She raised a hand and clarified her point, “Not that I felt he wasn’t worth all the aggro, he was. It was just frustrating that it took him so long to comprehend that it was impossible to cope with the farm at his age, especially as he was ill.”

“How many people knew he was about to move?” Sam asked.

“Sorry?”

“Was it common knowledge that he was leaving the farm?”

“Oh, I see. Yes, every man and his dog. Oh, talking of which, I’d better go round there and pick up Daisy unless you’ve placed her in kennels for the night, that is?”

Sam ran a hand over her face. “I have some other bad news I need to share with you.”

“What can be worse than hearing my father has been killed?”

“Daisy was also killed during the attack.”

“What? Oh no. I bet she was trying to protect him, devoted to him she was, they were inseparable.”

“Maybe, they were both found in the bedroom.”

“Yes, she had the freedom of the house. She was a good girl. She didn’t deserve to go out like that, and no, I’d prefer not to know the ins and outs of how she died. The only saving grace is that they went out together. Maybe they’ll cross the rainbow bridge together as well.”

“Possibly. We’ll never know,” Sam said, not really one for believing in the afterlife. The belief she held was that there was something out there, but she hadn’t been convinced what that ‘something’ was. “Has your father mentioned if any strangers had been working up at the farm lately or if he saw anyone hanging around up there in recent weeks?”

“No, I don’t believe so. Wait, he mentioned some foreign men knocked on his door a few weeks ago, looking for cash-in-hand jobs. He sent them off with a flea in their ears. Couldn’t stand anything as underhand as that going on at his farm. If he had to pay his taxes, then others should do the same, that was his motto. I always agreed with him, too.”

“I don’t suppose you can tell us anything else about these strangers? How many there were, if they had a vehicle, what type it was, that sort of thing.”

“Oh my, no, I can’t answer any of those questions.” She glanced down at her clenched hands in her lap as if ashamed. “I’m letting him down, aren’t I?”

“No, don’t think of it like that. If you don’t know, then there’s nothing more to be said.”

“I didn’t ask. I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t interested when Dad told me, and now, he’s dead; I feel guilty about that. What if those people are to blame for his death? What if I could have prevented him from losing his life?”

“You really mustn’t think along those lines. At least, not until we’re aware of the facts. I have to ask, although I didn’t see any sign of that at the farm when we were there earlier, did your father have any form of cameras up there?”

“Cameras? Oh, you’re talking about CCTV, that sort of thing?” Jean shook her head. “No, I tried to persuade him years ago to install some kind of security, but he didn’t see the need for that, said he was at home most of the time, either in the house or in the barns, tending to the animals. The likelihood of anyone being up to mischief at the farm was too remote to be bothered about having cameras and the like.”

“That’s a shame. Farmers can be very stubborn in general, I’m led to believe.”

A slight smile appeared. “You have no idea how true that statement is.”

“I can appreciate that. Do you have any other family members who might have been told about these foreigners?”

“No, not really. I’m an only child. I have a son and a daughter, but no siblings.”

“What about your father, did he have any brothers or sisters?”

“He had a brother, two years younger, but he died a few years ago from a heart attack. That’s why Dad had been forced to take his heart problems seriously this year. To consider retirement, while he was still relatively fit to do so. Now he’s gone! It still hasn’t really sunk in. Why would anyone kill an old man like him? A man who has always strived to help others in the community?”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to answer your concerns soon enough. We will get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”

“I hope so. I hear too many bad things about the police these days. No offence.”

“None taken. I can assure you my team and I will strive to get the answers we need to solve this case. Before we leave, to begin the investigation, is there anything else you believe we should know? Anything you feel that could point us in the right direction?”

Jean fell silent while she contemplated. In the end, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. Dad really wasn’t much of a talker, he didn’t tend to confide in me that much, not really. I wish I could be more helpful, the truth is, I can’t, sadly.”

Sam and Bob rose to their feet. “It doesn’t matter. I think we have enough to go on, for now.”

Jean also stood and led the way back to the front door. She opened it and moved aside to let them pass. “When will I be able to see him?”

“I’ll get in touch with the pathologist to let him know what your wishes are. He’ll be in touch within the next few days, after he’s carried out the post-mortem.”

Jean shuddered from head to toe. “Does he have to go through one of those things?”

“I’m sorry, but yes, any suspicious death is treated the same. If it’s any consolation, the evidence they provide can sometimes lead us directly to the killer.”

“Oh, I never thought about it like that. Forget I asked. Please do your best for me and my family.”

“You have my word. Here’s my card, if you think of anything after we’ve left, don’t hesitate to ring me.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you.” She waited a few seconds and then gently closed the door.

Sam and Bob walked back to the car in silence. Once inside, Sam blew out a breath. “Hate it! Telling a family member about the death of a loved one… it’s not good for the soul.”

“I know. You handled it well, though. Damn, that sounds condescending, I didn’t mean it to come out that way.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s fine. Right, let’s get back to the station and run through what we have with the others, then we’ll decide what to do next.”

“Not that we’ve got much to go on,” Bob grumbled.

“Don’t even go there. Let’s hope the forensic team come up with something because, as it stands, we don’t have much at all.”

Sam drove back to the station, lost in thought throughout the journey. “Maybe I should have called a member of her family or a friend to be with her.”

“I was surprised you didn’t, but then figured that you didn’t think she seemed that upset.”

“Hmm… possibly. I thought she seemed cut up at first. Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking things. Perhaps I’m conscious of the way my mother would react if I broke the same sort of news to her.”

“Yeah, I suppose everyone is different, right? Depending on how close a family is at the time of a loved one’s passing. Anyway, what’s your take on things? A burglary gone wrong, still?”

Suddenly, the radio cut out as she turned a corner in the narrow lane, and the automated voice announced, “Mum calling.” Sam cringed. “Sorry, mate.”

Bob snorted. “For what? You don’t know what she’s going to make you apologise for yet.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Hi, Mum. Just to let you know, I’m in the car with Bob.”

“Hello, sweetheart. Ooo… and how is the delightful Bob these days? We haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Sam motioned for Bob to answer her mother. “Hello, Mrs Byron, I’m doing good, thanks for asking.”

“And how are those lovely wife and daughter of yours getting along, dear?”

Sam quickly faced her partner and mouthed, “Pretend.”

Bob took the hint, knowing what Sam’s mother was like when she latched on to uncertainty. “They’re both fine. How are you and your husband doing? I hear you’re going on holiday soon.”

“That’s right, in fact, that’s why I’m ringing. Sam, would you pop in and look after the plants and feed the fish in the pond for us while we’re away? I know it’s asking a lot, but we’re not that far away and you’re out and about every day, aren’t you?”

Sam groaned internally. “Yes, Mum, that’ll be fine. And for your information, the reason I’m ‘out and about every day’ is because I’m a very busy person on the trail of criminals.”

“Oh yes, of course you are. I didn’t mean anything by my remark. Now I’ve upset you. I’m so sorry.”

“You haven’t upset me, Mum. Can I give you a call back later? I’m on the road, heading back to the station.”

“Oh, where have you been?”

“Out.”

“Ah, okay, in other words, mind your own business.”

“You’ve got it, Mum. Love you, I’ll ring later this evening. You can give me my instructions then.”

“Very well. In that case, I’ll leave you to get on with your busy day.”

Her mother’s tone was spiky and Sam cringed as her mother ended the call.

“Oops, tut tut sounds like you upset her,” Bob suggested.

“She’ll get over it. She’s tougher than you think.”

“Okay, I’ll have to take your word for it. All I know is that if I’d spoken to my mother like that, she’d be down the station within ten minutes, giving me a thick ear.”

Sam gasped and drew to a halt at the traffic lights. “What are you saying? That you think I disrespected my mother?”

“Sort of, yeah.”

“Bollocks! It’s how we speak to each other, there was nothing disrespectful about my tone. You’re the one at fault for misreading things.” The lights changed back, giving her the go-ahead to begin her journey.

“Whatever, if you insist.”

Sam chuckled. “You’re so easy to wind up, loosen up, man.”

He heaved out a large sigh. “Maybe it’s all the shit I’m dealing with at home. Sorry, if I sound a bit… oh I don’t know, I’m struggling to find the right word.”

“Morose, would be suitable.”

“Get lost. I know, I was going to say judgemental, so you got that wrong.”

She laughed. “It’s a good job I know you inside and out, Bob Jones.”

“Yeah, it is. Anyway, where are your folks going?”

“They’re flying out to Barbados, lucky sods. What I wouldn’t do to be going with them.”

“Geez, it’s all right for some. I bet the most we’ll be able to afford next year is a trip to Bognor. We haven’t had a holiday away in years.”

“That’s a shame. Maybe it’s what you all need to put things right between you. A few days away from all this gloomy weather.”

“Possibly. The problem is that we overstretched ourselves when we bought the house and funds are extremely tight. Abigail keeps going on at me about wanting a new kitchen, you know how much one of those costs these days. She wants us to consider getting a loan to fund it. I refuse to go along with that idea. Why should we get into more debt just so she’s got a kitchen to match her friends’?”

“I’m with you on that one. You know how much we’ve spent on getting our cottage up to a modern-day standard. The central heating alone cost over ten grand to put in, and we haven’t even started on the kitchen or bathrooms yet.”

“If you don’t mind me saying, I thought it was a bit silly of you taking on a vast project like that, what with you both working full-time.”

Sam sighed, her partner was right. “Thinking about it now, you’re right, we were foolish, but we fell in love with the place the second we stepped over the threshold, and that was it. Once a house draws you in, there’s no turning back. Chris does his best in the evenings and at the weekends, but the renos are taking far longer than either of us anticipated.”

“He has more patience than me. I get home after a long day at work and all I want to do is veg out in front of the TV with a couple of cans of beer.”

“Really? No wonder Abigail is always pulling her hair out.”

Bob tutted and shook his head. “Cheeky, I do my share around the house. More than most blokes I know. I put the bins out and wash the cars every week.”

“Wow, is that the extent of your chores around the house?”

“What else is there to do? Oh, wait, I sometimes clean the garage out when it resembles a tip.”

“Seriously? Ever tried your hand at any form of housework, you know, like hoovering, dusting, cleaning the bathroom and the loo? Cooking the dinner, doing the washing up, actually shopping for the food that’s put on the table for you every night?”

“Umm… no, that’s—”

“Stop! Don’t you dare utter the words I sense you’re about to say.”

“All right, I won’t say it’s women’s work, then.” He smirked, chancing his luck.

Sam made a fist and thumped his thigh. “How dare you? That’s the caveman in you talking. I hope you’re at least pulling my leg?”

“I’m not. Abigail works part-time so she takes up the slack with the chores at home.”

“Christ, and you wonder why your marriage is in the toilet.”

“I didn’t say anything of the sort. Anyway, our problems centre around our wayward teenager, not whether I help out around the house or not.”

She raised her eyebrow. “And you don’t think there’s a possible link?”

“No, do you?”

Sensing the anger rising within, she inhaled and exhaled a few deep breaths. “I think we’re better off discussing another topic before we end up falling out.”

“If you like.”

They kept the conversation going with far less emotive topics until they reached the station. They climbed the stairs to find DCI Armstrong about to enter the incident room. “Ah, there you are, Inspector Cobbs. Any possibility of a quick chat?”

“Of course, sir. Go ahead, Bob, I shouldn’t be too long.”

Bob excused himself and left them to it.

DCI Armstrong took a step back away from the stairs and Sam followed him. “Here will do, it’s nothing formal. I wanted to know how you were getting on. Has a new case come your way yet?”

“As it happens, yes. We got the call about a suspicious death at a farm this morning.”

“Tell me more.” Alan Armstrong crossed his arms, leaned back against the wall and listened intently as she recapped the murder scene and her subsequent trip to break the news to the victim’s daughter.

“We’re just about to sink our teeth into the investigation now. I gave instructions for the team to delve into the backgrounds and financials while we were at the scene.”

“Good, sounds like you have it all in hand. Bravo for going the extra mile as usual, Sam.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll keep you informed as the investigation progresses, if that’s what you want?”

“It is. I’ve also had it on good authority from HQ that certain forms which they requested haven’t been returned by you and your team. Can you chase those up for me and get the issue addressed ASAP?”

“I’ll do my best, sir, but surely the investigation should be our priority now.”

He cocked an eyebrow and said in a stern tone, “It should. You’re going to need to delegate a member of your team to fill out the forms requested. I don’t want HQ being on my back about this again, am I making myself clear?”

“Of course, sir. I’ll get things organised right away.”

“Good. Have a productive day.” He turned on his heel and marched up the corridor to his office at the end.

Sam shook her head and entered the incident room. “First of all, I’m going to need a volunteer to fill in the forms HQ sent last week, anyone?”

Suzanna raised her hand. “I’ll do it, if no one else wants to, boss.”

“Thanks, Suzanna. I’ll fish them out for you shortly. Has Bob brought everyone up to date?”

Bob looked over the rim of his cup. “I take it that’s a no then. Get me a coffee, you selfish pig.”

“Charming.”

He brushed past her as she made her way across the room to bring the whiteboard up to date. A member of the team had written the victim’s name on the board, his DOB and the location, and that was about it. “Right, has anyone managed to find out anything in our absence?”

Claire was the first to speak. “I’m in the process of going through his bank accounts now. I’ve not found anything untoward so far. No substantial amounts going in or out. Just the usual monthly bills and regular withdrawals of around two hundred in cash every month. I’m presuming that’s for food and other essentials.”

“Thanks, Claire, sounds plausible; the older generation don’t tend to like using their cards as much as us. When we arrived at the farm, it was to a bloody mess in the main bedroom. The victim had been shot in the chest and his dog had also been killed. She probably tried to assert her authority with the intruder and suffered an horrendous outcome.”

“That’s terrible,” Claire said. She was a dog lover, just like Sam.

“There were no witnesses. The postman found the body. He gained access through the back door which was open. There are no cameras on the farm, so that’s of no use to us. After we left the murder scene, we called round to see the daughter; she was shocked to hear of her father’s passing. She informed us that her father was due to leave the farm soon. She confirmed it was common knowledge in the community, which doesn’t really help us. What I think we need to do is organise house-to-house enquiries in the area; saying that, we only passed a few farms on the way to the victim’s residence.”

“Yep, they’re scattered few and far between over that way,” Alex suggested. “My old Dad used to have a small farm out there.”

“Is he still alive?”

“No, he popped his clogs several years ago, the dreaded drink finally took its toll on his body.”

“Sorry to hear that. Getting back to the case in hand, the daughter also mentioned a group of foreigners showed up at the farm looking for work a few weeks ago. The victim said he had nothing available. Is it possible they returned to rob the place and kill him in the process? The house was ransacked, as though someone was looking for something specific. That leads me to two questions: who and why?”

“Easy. If we find the answers to those two important questions, we’ve solved the case,” Bob suggested. He grinned and took another sip of his coffee.

Sam reached for the cup he’d placed on the nearby desk and nodded. “You’re a very wise man, Bob Jones, you’re wasted on this department.”

He raised his cup at her. “I agree.”

“Anyway, as I was saying, in order to find the answers to those important questions, we’re going to have to do some legwork on this one. I suggest we team up, I’ll leave you to do that. Sorry, Claire, I’m going to need you to remain here, I know you prefer doing all the digging.”

Claire waved her apology away. “I’m fine. It’s my forte, boss.”

“Good. Anyone have any suggestions about what to do next? No? Right. I know it’s very early doors. So… we’ll head over there again and see what we can find out.”

Sam picked up her cup and went into her office. She sipped her drink at the window, mesmerised by the view. Hills off to the right and the sea over to the left, she had the best of both worlds in this location. How anyone could consider taking another person’s life in this beautiful setting is far beyond me.

She recalled a dream she had not long ago, about a group of hillwalkers marching people up to the top of Arthur’s Pike, which she had visited more times than she cared to remember, and leaving them there to perish in the harshest of winters. She shuddered at the image. Why did people have to be so heartless in such a stunning environment? Rural crimes of this magnitude were few and far between throughout the country, but definitely on the rise, a statistic she and her team were keen to address.

Moving on to tackle the post, she whizzed through it while she finished her coffee and then left her desk again to join the team. There was nothing in the brown envelopes that needed her immediate attention, thank goodness. “All right, have you all teamed up?”

“We have. I’m going with Liam,” Suzanna announced. “And Oliver and Alex are making up the other team. I’ve made a note of the farms and other houses in the immediate area, well, within three miles. There aren’t many.”

“Great stuff, can you divide the addresses into three so we get going? Wait, what about the forms for HQ Suzanna?”

Suzanna tore the large sheet of paper into three parts and handed one section to Sam and the other to Alex. “All done. I just need your signature on a few.”

Sam smiled. “You’re amazing. That’ll keep them happy for a few months.” She signed the papers and then the six of them left the incident room together. “Let’s hope something comes of this little excursion,” Sam shouted to the team as they got into their respective cars.

The cars set off in a convoy until they neared the farmhouse where the murder took place, then they split up. Sam and Bob called at the neighbouring farm and introduced themselves to the farmer and his wife.

“We’re David and Brenda Chatley. We’ve only just heard the news. Can’t quite believe it,” Mr Chatley said after he and his wife had invited Sam and Bob into their living room. “Take a seat. Can we get you a drink?”

Sam scanned the room quickly; it was full of family photos and the odd knick-knack. “No, it’s fine, thank you. It’s shocking news, I appreciate what a difficult time this must be for both of you. Will you be all right to answer a few questions?”

“Of course, if we can. We’re very keen to help the police. Nothing like this has ever happened around here, and to think someone killed our best friend… well, it’s simply appalling and extremely hard to understand,” David replied.

“It’s hard for us to get our heads around. May I ask how well you knew Tom Douglas? You said you were best friends, for how long?”

“Crikey, how long is a blasted piece of string? I can’t remember, Brenda, can you?”

“Must be around fifty years or more. His wife, God rest her soul, and I met at secretarial college, then we bumped into the boys on a night out. After that, we started hanging around as a foursome. Our lives changed when the boys took on the farms next to each other. We’ve been neighbours ever since. They were family, far more than just friends, you see,” Brenda said, tears sparkling in her eyes.

“I see. So you’re likely to know if there was anything troubling Tom lately.”

“Possibly,” Mrs Chatley replied. “You’re aware he was moving home, aren’t you?”

“Yes, his daughter told us as much. He was moving closer to his family, that’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Not that—” Mrs Chatley began before her husband silenced her.

“Hush now. Don’t go starting all that nonsense up again.”

“They should know, David. It’s up to them to decide, not us.”

Sam inclined her head. “If there’s something going on with the family, we should definitely know.”

“There’s not,” David hissed and glared at his wife.

Her head dropped and she stared at the floor. Something didn’t sit well with Sam. She sighed and said quietly, “You can trust us. We won’t go in there all guns blazing, you know. If you think there’s something we should know, please, it would be best to tell us.”

“There’s not!” David repeated adamantly, issuing another stark glare at his wife.

Sam was determined to get the information out of the couple. She smiled and nodded in the right places throughout the rest of the interview, but constantly referred back to what was bugging her. There was something serious the couple weren’t telling her, and in order for the investigation to be successful, she needed to find out exactly what they were covering up.

“Look, it’s clear you’re determined to keep whatever was going on a secret. Why, I don’t know, especially when your friend has passed away; keeping quiet is doing him an injustice.”

The couple stared at each other for the longest of moments and then Mrs Chatley said, “We have to tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Sam asked swiftly. David squirmed in his seat and shook his head adamantly at his wife. Sam watched as Mrs Chatley sighed and appeared to deflate before her eyes. “Please, if you have something to tell us—”

“We haven’t,” David snapped.

“We have,” his wife countered adamantly.

Sam sensed she was about to get a breakthrough. She smiled again at Mrs Chatley.

“We had some of Tom’s belongings here.”

Inclining her head, Sam asked, “What type of belongings?”

“Valuable ones. His medals and a large sum of cash.”

“Brenda, for goodness’ sake, what did you say that for?” David was seething, the colour in his cheeks rising.

“I had to. She has a right to know.”

“Please, don’t fall out about this,” Sam interjected quickly. “Yes, your wife is correct, we do have a right to know. May I ask why he trusted you with the medals and the cash for that matter, instead of leaving them with a family member?”

They both stared at each other and remained silent.

Sam pushed them for an answer. “Is there something we should know regarding the family?” When neither of them responded, she pushed harder. “Because if there is, then we’ll have no hesitation in dragging them all down to the station.”

Horrified, Brenda cried out, “No, you can’t do that.”

“See, now look what you’ve gone and done, woman. I’m always warning you that big mouth of yours will get us into bother one day,” David complained.

His wife burst into tears, and there were sobs and snot aplenty within seconds.

“Please, be kind to each other. All this has been a shock to both of you, you’re going to be relying on each other for extra support over the coming weeks. If you argue between yourselves now, it will only make things a lot harder in the long run. You need to confide in us if there is something going on that doesn’t sit comfortably with you.”

Brenda blew her nose on a tissue. “He never told us. Out of the blue, around six months ago, he asked us to do him a huge favour and look after his medals and the cash. He knew he could trust us.”

“It’s lovely that he thought so much of you both. Do you think there were problems within the family?”

Brenda shrugged and a helpless expression descended. “Honestly, he didn’t tell us. He was quite a secretive person and we didn’t like to intrude. He knew he could trust us. We put the medals and cash away and they have remained in their hiding place, untouched, ever since.”

“What now?” David asked. “Do we hand the items over or keep hold of them? That’s our concern—what to do for the best.”

“Did he mention what his intentions were with the medals and the cash?”

“No. He asked us to hide them, but never really gave us a reason as to why and we didn’t push him for an answer. We’re not inquisitive people by nature, we only agreed to do it to help out a friend.”

Sam and Bob shared a look. “Well, I’m not sure what to do with the items just yet. If they’re in a secure place, I would suggest leaving them there for now. And you are the only ones who know of their existence?”

“Not sure about that,” David muttered. “Once they were hidden, we never really discussed the matter again. I think the medals are fairly valuable, not that it mattered any to Tom, he kept them for sentimental reasons. They belonged to his father and his uncle. They obtained them after the First World War. He showed them to me before we hid them; he kept them immaculate, polished them every few months.”

“I see. Keep them safe for now, I’ll have to have a word with my superior about how to proceed, it’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with in the past. Maybe Tom mentioned them in his Will. I’ll double check when I get back to the station.”

Sam saw Bob remove his mobile from his pocket and scroll through it. It suddenly dawned on her that he had the photos of the document in question on his phone. She waited for him to say something. He glanced up and shook his head.

Strange, I would have thought something so valuable would have been mentioned. Oh, well, Tom must have had his reasons. Maybe he was considering selling them after all. Perhaps he was waiting for the right auction to come up first. Lockdown would have scuppered that idea until recently.

“Okay, we’ll leave it there for now. In case you can think of anything else you feel we should know, I’ll leave you my card. One last question before we go, have either of you seen anyone suspicious hanging around the area lately?”

They both shook their heads. “Strangers tend to stick out more when you live out in the sticks like we do. We get the odd person, you know, holidaymakers who have taken the wrong turn, but that’s it, nothing lately though, not from what I can remember,” David said.

“No, I can’t think of anyone either. Mind you, the memory isn’t what it used to be, for either of us.” Brenda ran a hand around her face.

“If I mentioned a group of foreigners, would that ring a bell with you?”

Again, the couple looked at each other. This time they both frowned and shook their heads until David clicked his fingers. “Yes, there was that group around here a few weeks ago. You remember, love? Tom sent them packing and then rang us, advising us to do the same.”

“Good Lord, so he did. I’d forgotten all about that. Yes, they came to us the next day, but we told them politely that money was tight and we didn’t have enough to buy our own food, let alone employ them. They seemed okay, didn’t become aggressive or anything like that. Which I was grateful for.”

Sam smiled. “In your opinion, then, they didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge or cause mischief?”

David shook his head. “Not really, but who can tell these days? The whole world has gone nuts. Who would have thought we’d be sitting here today, discussing our best friend being murdered? Not me. Shocking situation, it is. Hard to get my head around, that’s for sure. Totally unnecessary to kill someone of our age, and that poor dog of his. She was a good girl, a real beauty.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of what went on soon enough. Thank you for speaking with us today. Sorry it was regarding such a harrowing subject. We’ll leave you to it now and get on with our investigation. You’ve got my card, don’t hesitate to call me, day or night.”

“Thank you, dear. I’ll show you out,” Brenda said, already on her feet and heading for the door. “I know you’ll do your very best for us. That man and his dog need justice to be served.”

“We’ll do our best. Thank you again for being so open with us. I’ll get back to you regarding the medals and money.”

“I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you find the person who took our friend away from us, soon.”

Sam smiled and walked towards the car with Bob. “I take it there was nothing in the Will then?”

“No. I thought that was strange. Why wouldn’t he mention them? Unless he was about to sell them.”

“That thought crossed my mind as well. I’m leaning towards these foreigners, aren’t you?”

“Hard to say at this time. We’ve still got a lot of digging to do. Maybe Claire will come up with something positive in the background searches.”

“I hope so. If the foreigners are to blame, then it’s going to be like searching for the proverbial needle. I can’t hack that sort of thing. I need some form of clue to go after.”

“Something will come our way soon enough. Where to next?” Bob peered back at the farmhouse.

They both got in the car. “The other neighbours. Remind me what their names are?”

He removed the slip of paper from his jacket pocket. “Eric and Mary Paulson. We want Greenacres Farm. I think we passed the sign down the road, on our way here.”

“Good, saves us putting the info into the satnav. I wonder how the others are getting on.”

“Want me to give them a quick ring to find out?”

“Yes, you do that, I’ll get the car turned around.”

Bob made two calls by the time Sam pulled up outside the next farmhouse. “Nothing yet from either of them.”

“Sod it! That doesn’t bode well. Let’s push the negativity aside for now and see what this couple has to say about things.”

They exited the vehicle, and a barking black and white collie came hurtling towards them from one of the barns. An elderly man resting on a shepherd’s crook shouted at the dog, and it dropped to the ground. “Sorry, bit of a guard dog he is. Can I help you?”

Sam produced her ID and offered it up to the man who was on the other side of the courtyard. “DI Sam Cobbs and DS Bob Jones. Are you Mr Paulson?”

“Police, you say? What do you want?”

A woman came out of the farmhouse and crossed the yard to stand alongside the man. “What is it, Eric?”

“I’m waiting to find out, love,” Mr Paulson told her.

“It would be better if we spoke to you both inside,” Sam replied, not taking her eyes off the dog who, in turn was eyeing her up.

“Jax, come away, lad.” The dog retreated to stand next to his master. “There’s a good boy.”

“Come inside. I’ve just got some scones out of the oven, I’m sure I can tempt you with a cup of tea and one of those, can’t I?” Mrs Paulson offered kindly.

Sam’s stomach instantly gurgled its pleasure. “Sounds fabulous, you’re too kind.”

She and Bob followed the couple into the hallway, which was dark and dingy, through to a small homely kitchen at the rear. The room was hot and stuffy, an Aga at full pelt on one side of the room and a table with four chairs on the other.

“Take a seat. I’ll get everything organised. Can I get you a sandwich as well?”

Sam gave the woman a warm smile. “Please, don’t go to any bother on our account.”

“I’m not. How does homemade cheese and tomato sound?”

“Wonderful. Thank you.”

Sam, Bob and Eric took their seats at the table. Sam felt guilty leaving the woman to tend to the snack, but she needed to get on with the interview ASAP.

“We’re here regarding a neighbour of yours, Tom Douglas,” Sam began.

“Terrible thing to happen,” Mrs Paulson muttered while she buttered some bread.

“How did you hear?” Sam enquired.

“David rang us, told us you had just dropped in. We didn’t have a clue until a few minutes ago,” Eric told them. He shook his head and placed his crook on the floor under the table. “Never thought I’d see the day one of our own got killed, not around here. Totally shocked us when we heard, didn’t it, love?”

“Appalling. I shook from head to foot. Nonsensical thing to do in my opinion. What harm can a seventy-six-year-old man do? As for killing Daisy as well, she was the sweetest dog, most loyal thing I’ve ever met. She would have given the killer a run for their money, no doubt. Always with him, no matter where he was. True one-owner dog, that one. Poor thing. Do you have any idea who did it, or why?”

“Not at the moment, no. We’re conducting house-to-house enquiries in the area this morning, to see if we can get any insight into what might have gone on in Tom’s life in recent months. Can you share anything with us?”

“Stubborn old fool, he was,” Eric replied, his eyes watering. “Nice with it, though. We never fell out, did we, love?”

His wife smiled and sighed. “No, we didn’t. He was a strange man. Maybe strange is the wrong word to use. Perhaps strong-willed would be a better way to describe him.”

Sam’s gaze flitted between the husband and wife who were clearly devoted to each other and spoke to one another fondly, unlike some married couples Sam had interviewed over the years. “Strong-willed? Was that in his personal life or in his working life as well?”

“Both. To strangers, he would have come across as rude or ignorant maybe, but deep down, he had a heart of gold. Would have done anything for anyone, if they reached out to him,” Eric said.

“Such a shame, to happen now when he had so much to look forward to,” his wife chipped in. “Retirement, a well-earned one at that, just around the corner. He was so looking forward to not getting up at four in the morning to tend to the cows. They were all sold in readiness of his big move. Brenda and I said we’d give him a hand packing up the boxes; he declined at first, insisted he wasn’t an invalid, but we talked him around. We were due to go over there this weekend to make a start. It’s what we used to do for each other. Help out where we could, to ease the stress.”

“I see. Didn’t his family help out when necessary?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything derisory by that. His family all work long hours, it’s to be expected that they should stay away and get on with their own lives. He accepted that. Never really complained about it at all,” Mary clarified. She arrived at the table with a tray laden with scrumptious scones and a pot of home-made jam plus a pot of tea, cups and saucers. After setting the tray down, she returned to collect a platter of sandwiches, side plates and napkins.

“Now don’t be shy, I don’t want to see any leftovers, I can’t stand waste. Tuck in, but leave room for your scone.”

“You really are very kind. We don’t get this sort of welcome everywhere we go.” Sam ran a hand around her waistband. “Thank goodness,” she added. Crikey, I doubt if I’ll be able to eat for the rest of the week once I’ve consumed this lot. I’ll be avoiding the scales for at least a week or two.

Mary tutted and wagged a finger, then she poured the tea. “Nonsense, there’s not an ounce of fat on you.”

Sam chuckled. “I would ask you if you’d visited the opticians lately, but you might take that as me being rude. This is fabulous, thank you once again.”

“It’s what we do for our guests, especially if they’re trying to help us get to the bottom of what happened to a dear friend of ours. My way of showing our appreciation. I still can’t believe he’s gone. What a terrible thought, to think we’ll never share another meal with him or a drink down the pub.” Mary let out a shuddering breath and her husband placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“It’s all right, love. I’m sure the officers are going to do their best for us, for old Tom.”

“We’re certainly going to try.” Sam nibbled on her doorstep of a sandwich and moaned with pleasure. “This cheese is scrummy.”

Mary sat upright, instantly brightening at the compliment. “It’s a family recipe. My gran used to be a farmer’s wife, she was thrilled when we took on the farm after skipping a generation. My father wasn’t interested in working with animals at all.”

“Do you sell the cheese?” Sam savoured the creamy product which exploded in her mouth.

“Oh yes. We sell it mainly to the local shops in the area. We don’t make as much as we used to, not nowadays. I’ll give you some when you leave.”

“I’ll buy it off you. I’ve never tasted cheese like it, it’s exceptional quality.”

Mary beamed with delight. “Thank you. It was one of Tom’s favourites, loved it, he did. He was a regular buyer, bought it for his daughter occasionally when he went for a visit. I’m going to miss him. It’s definitely not going to be the same around here, without his quirky mannerisms and sharp wit.”

A silence fell over the table as they all contemplated his passing while they ate their lunch. Sam was desperate to know more about Tom and his family; however, she really didn’t think the time was right to start grilling the couple who had laid on such a lovely spread for them. She ate a quarter of her scrummy sandwich and then asked, “How did Tom cope after his wife passed away?”

Mary placed her sandwich on her plate and wiped her mouth on a paper napkin. “I suppose he was up and down. Caring for her while she was going through the dementia definitely took a major toll on his life. We saw him age overnight with the pressure and the stress of looking after her every need.”

“Such a shame. The family helped out along the way, though, I should imagine, yes?”

“Occasionally, not as often as he would have liked them to. The situation used to cause some friction, if I recall rightly. Saying that, Eric and I, along with the Chatleys, we did our best to ease the burden on his shoulders. Gave him a break now and again when he needed it. How he managed the farm at the same time, I will never know. Now he’s gone as well—such a shame, just when he was about to start enjoying his freedom. Life really does deal us shitty cards now and again, doesn’t it? Excuse my language, but our dear friend has passed and it’s still far too upsetting to comprehend.” She pushed her half-eaten sandwich to the centre of the table.

Sam nodded, feeling sympathetic towards the woman and her husband. “I’m sorry you’re so upset. It is heartbreaking to think he cared for his wife all those years, but when it came to enjoying his retirement, it’s been pulled tragically from beneath him. So unfair.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself.” Eric nodded and continued munching on his lunch.

They continued to eat. Questions entered Sam’s mind, but she quickly pushed them away again. Seeing Mary tearful and staring at the wall, rejecting her food, had upset her more than she cared to admit. It was so tough being in someone’s home, them showing you kindness, only for you to start interrogating them about a murder victim who was their best friend. Sam reflected and thought they had enough to go on when they left the house. Now was not the time to further intrude on the couple’s grieving process.

Ten minutes later, Mary had recovered enough to finish her meal off with a tasty scone and jam. She then proceeded to clear the plates. Sam insisted on helping her, grateful for the meal she had supplied for her and her partner. “Hush now, I’m used to running around, clearing up after people. I can manage, dear.”

Sam rose from the chair, adamant she wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “I’m helping, that’s the end of it.”

Mary’s face broke into a smile. “If you insist.”

Sam ferried the contents of the table back to the worktop near the sink while Mary ran a bowl of hot water. Together, they washed and dried the dishes. Sam struck up the conversation once more. “We will get the person responsible, I promise you.”

“I have faith in you. You seem a very genuine young lady, or should I say inspector.”

The heat warmed Sam’s cheeks. “I do my best by the public I’m paid to serve. It’s my job after all.”

“Ah, but does every copper really think that way?”

In her experience, most of them did, although she’d met a few dubious colleagues over the years as well. They hadn’t lasted long, she’d seen to that. She was above board in all she did in the force. Maybe slipped up on minor indiscretions once in a while, but she had a stringent DCI who pounced regularly, ensuring she and her team stuck to the rules daily. “In the main, I believe so. I suppose, in every walk of life, there will always be others who are keen to flout the rules. I can’t really say I’ve stumbled across many, not up here.”

“That’s reassuring. Must be because we live in such a rural area, could that be it?”

“Possibly. Although we also cover a few major towns in the area, too.”

“I suppose. Thank you for being here today. After sharing a meal with you, I believe Tom’s case is safe in your hands. I don’t have to ask you to do your best for him, because I believe you’ll do just that.”

“Thank you, that means a lot to me. I’ll try not to let you down.”

“You won’t. I see it in your eyes and in your demeanour, you’re one of life’s go-getters.”

Sam chortled. “Gosh, I wouldn’t say that. If I was one of those, I’d be off living the high-life, out on Lake Windermere every day on my own pleasure cruiser, living the life of Riley, without a care in the world.”

Mary tutted. “You’d also be bored rigid within a week or two.”

She laughed again. “You’re very intuitive, Mary. I would suggest you size people up well, would I be right in thinking that?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve always been a very good judge of character in my time on this earth. Tom was a very good person. There’s no way he should have been killed. If good people like that are taken out, what hope is there for those of us left behind?”

“Life can be so cruel.”

“I know, it’s hard to fathom. My old gran used to say only the good die young; all right, Tom was seventy-six, but he was extremely young at heart, in spite of what he’s had to contend with, you know, caring for Audrey in her last years. It’s so hard for me to wrap my head around his passing. Such a cruel and meaningless act to rob someone of their life. What gives anyone the right to do such a thing?” She wiped her eyes on the tea towel she was holding. “Here I go again. It’s just so wrong.”

“Try not to get upset. I know how hard that is going to be, especially as you were so close to him.”

“We’ll never be the same again. We’ll be constantly looking over our shoulders now, I can tell you.”

“Which is natural; however, please try and live your lives as normal. You have the reassurance that there will be a police presence in the immediate area for a few more days yet, at least.”

“Thank you. That’s reassured me a little.”

“And I’m a dab hand with the shotgun,” Eric shouted.

“So was Tom and look where that got him,” his wife retorted bluntly.

Sam rubbed her arm. “We’ll bring the perpetrator to justice.” Watching the raw feelings on Mary’s face, Sam felt she owed it to the couple to do her best to assure them.

“I know you will,” Mary sniffled and smiled through her tears.

“Will you be all right if we leave now? I mean, I hate to eat your food and run, but—”

Mary halted her with a raised hand. “Go, the sooner you get out there, the quicker you’ll be able to bring the bastard down. Oh my, I don’t think I’ve ever sworn so much in my whole life. It must be the shock.”

Her husband coughed and muttered, “Yes, dear.”

Sam smiled. “You’ll be fine in a day or two. I’m going to leave you my card, don’t hesitate to ring me day or night if you need me.” She took a card from her jacket pocket and placed it on the worktop beside her.

The couple walked them to the front door and waved them off.

“Nice couple. Thought you got attached to the wife more than normal, though,” Bob said, once they’d left the farmyard.

“I suppose you’re right. I felt sorry for her. You could see how distraught she was. It didn’t stop her from caring about her guests, though. Damn, I forgot to pick up some of that lovely cheese.”

He grunted. “I sense another trip back there in our near future, in that case.”

“Definitely. Why are you so grouchy?”

“Admittedly, the food was good, what I didn’t like was the hanging around. I’m used to being with you where you ask the questions and skedaddle after a few minutes.”

“Well, there are some people who need the extra care and attention, I felt Mary was one such person.”

“Whatever. What next? They’re the last on our list.”

“Let’s drive around, try and find the others, they’re in the vicinity somewhere. See what they’ve come up with, if anything.”

Bob held up his mobile. “Or I could save your petrol and ring them?”

Sam pulled a face. “And what if they’re in the middle of interviewing someone and you disturb them?”

“That’s the risk I’m willing to take, are you?”

“Go on then, smart alec.”

3

A  few days later, with her frustration at an all-time high, Sam drove into work, fighting the rush-hour traffic en route. She hated arriving late; it was becoming a habit lately, one that she wasn’t proud of. This morning’s delay had consisted of caring for Sonny, their crazy Cockapoo, who had her up all night with an upset tummy. At around three, she’d finally succumbed and taken the spare quilt downstairs and slept on the couch, next to her poorly pooch. However, unbeknown to her, Sonny had crept up onto the sofa during the night and had a bowel movement which had meant she woke up to the vile smell and discovered the quilt had been ruined by her four-legged companion.

“Oh, Sonny. What are we going to do with you?”

Sonny had whimpered, giving her one of his hey-look-I’m-the-one-you-class-as-your-child looks and her heart had instantly melted. It had taken her five minutes to gather up the quilt and dispose of it in the bin, then she’d shot around the house spraying air freshener to disguise the lingering smell before Chris had appeared.

She sniggered, reflecting on the way he’d looked at her when he came down for breakfast. She had rubbed her tummy and told him the curry they’d had the previous night had played havoc with her stomach.

He’d cringed and shook his head. “Too much information. Keep the rest of it to yourself. Are you going to be okay going into work today?”

“I’ll be fine. I doubt if there’s anything else left.”

“Excuse me? I said too much information already, don’t tell me anything else.”

She just hoped he didn’t go near the wheelie bin before collection day, otherwise there was no telling how much she’d go down in his estimation. All because she felt the need to protect her beloved pooch.

Pulling into her parking space, she spotted her partner sitting in his car. Sam tapped on his window, startling him. He lowered it. “Everything all right?”

He shrugged and stared ahead of him. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Sounds ominous. We’re running late.”

“In other words, get your arse into gear and get to work.”

She frowned at his unusually harsh tone. “Uncalled for, matey.”

“Sorry. Just ignore me.” He withdrew his key from the ignition and opened the car door. Sam took a couple of steps back to avoid getting struck.

“Hard to do when you have a face like thunder. Come on, let’s have it.”

“Can we leave it a while? I’m not sure I’ve managed to process what’s going on myself, just yet.”

“Of course, as long as it doesn’t affect your work.”

“Charming, that is, as if I’d ever let you down.”

Sam regretted having a go at him. “Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee on the proviso that you confide in me when you see fit to do so, right?”

He nodded and locked his car. They headed into the main reception area and up the stairs to the incident room in an awkward silence. Sam mentioned the weather, like Brits typically tend to do most days, and his response had been an unwelcome grunt.

She held the morning meeting but, like the previous day’s get-together, there were no fresh clues for them to sink their teeth into at this early stage. The house-to-house enquiries the team had conducted a few days earlier had proved pointless. The background checks on the family and the victim himself had also come back negative, nothing stood out that was worthy of further investigation. Hence Sam’s frustration kicking in. “So, where does that leave us?”

“With the bunch of foreigners, I guess,” Bob replied.

“Yeah, and what’s the likelihood of us finding these people? We’ve got no real clues to go on—no vehicle, Christ, we don’t even know how many there were.” She paused, heaving out a breath. “I don’t mind admitting, guys, I’m tearing my hair out with this one. We’ve covered all the usual bases and got nothing tangible to sink our teeth into.”

“Time to chase up the forensic team?” Bob suggested.

“Yep, that was next up on my agenda, it’s not like we’ve got anything else to go on in the meantime, is it? I’ll be in my office if you need me. Keep digging. Tell you what, why don’t you swap the information around between you, see if anyone has likely missed anything? I’m not saying you have, but it’s got to be worth a try.”

Sam left the team to it, their groans of disappointment following her into her office. She hadn’t been sat at her desk long when she heard footsteps. She looked up to find Bob leaning against the doorframe. “Want a word now, I take it?”

“I’m ready, if you are?”

“Come in and shut the door.” He was carrying two cups of coffee and set one down in front of her. “Thanks for this, am I going to need it?”

He threw himself into the chair opposite. “We both are.”

“This isn’t like you, Bob, what’s up?”

“I suppose I can’t be the life and soul around here, not all the time.”

“I know. Everyone gets an off day now and again. Come on, share what’s going on, let’s see if I can help you out at all.”

“I doubt it. I think it’s past that, not sure anyone is going to be able to right this bugger.”

“Talking in riddles isn’t sharing what’s going on, is it? Come on, spit it out, partner.”

He sighed and scratched the side of his face. It was then she noticed he hadn’t shaved that morning, which was totally unheard of for him. He was one of these guys who prided himself on his clean appearance. She dreaded to think how many times he’d commented on his fellow officers not taking the care to show up in decent shape for work over the years. “She walked out last night.”

Sam fell back against her chair. “What? Who are we talking about? Abigail?”

“Who else?”

“Sorry for being dense, you might have meant Milly, hence my reason to clarify things.”

“No. Abigail. We had a barney and she packed a bag and left the house at around nine.”

Shocked, she probed for more. “Did she say where she was going?”

“I presumed to her mother’s. Grace tolerates me, shall we say. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no way back from this.”

Sam sprang forward and placed her flattened hands on the desk. “What? Are you telling me you’re not even going to try and get her back?”

He ran a hand through his hair and avoided eye contact with her. “What’s the point? Do you have any idea how many police officers’ marriages go to the wall?”

She clenched her fist and hit her desk. “Bollocks. You don’t have to be one of those statistics. This isn’t like you to give up at the first hurdle. What’s really going on, Bob?”

He shrugged. “I wish I bloody knew. We’ve been at each other’s throat for about a year now. I guess she couldn’t take it any more.”

“What about Milly? Is she still at home?”

“Yes, she’s lumbered me with the diva. Sorry, I shouldn’t have called her that. I’m not sure who is to blame for our failed marriage, but it’s hardly fair to lay this at Milly’s door. We’re the adults, not her. She has a hell of a lot of growing up to do.”

“I know you’re striking out. I’d be the same in your shoes. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this crap. I’m going to ask you one thing, don’t snap my head off.”

“Go on. I think I know what’s coming next.”

“Is there anyone else?”

He shook his head and placed a palm across his chest. “Not for me. Who knows what’s going on with her?”

“Have you come right out and asked her?”

“Yes, she denied it, but she couldn’t look me in the eye when she said it, you know as well as I do what that means.”

“Shit! That’s rough. Hey, why don’t you forget you’re a copper for now? Don’t go reading into things that might not be there.”

“I keep telling myself that, but it’s so hard, especially when she’s packed a bag and left the marital home. Jesus, I’ve been sorely tempted to do the same over the years, just never had the guts to follow through and do it. Now she’s done exactly the same bloody thing, leaving me to deal with a teenager from hell, who has out of control hormones to boot.”

Sam sighed and sipped her coffee. “I feel for you. This is all you need. Can your own mother help out with caring for Milly?”

“I can’t put that onus on her. She and Dad have great plans for travelling, now their retirement has arrived.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind putting that on hold for a while, that’s what families are for, love.”

“You don’t know my mum, she’ll cluck and cluck and drive Milly to distraction, making the whole situation a thousand trillion times worse, and no, that’s not an exaggeration. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to deal with the outcome.”

Sam thought back to a barbecue Bob had held a few months before, where she’d had the privilege of meeting his mother. She could only be described as having an indomitable spirit at best. The woman was a whirlwind of emotions. No wonder Bob was at a loss to know how to deal with her. “Shite! You are in a bloody pickle, mate. Is there anything I can do? Bearing in mind I don’t have kids of my own, so I’d be useless offering you any form of advice in that department.”

“I’ll work it out, sooner or later. Not sure if I’ve got it in me now to begin the process, though. Saying that, my hands are tied and I might be forced into doing it, without Abigail around.”

She smiled, trying to reassure him. “I have faith in you to overcome the hurdles that lie ahead of you.”

He heaved out a sigh. “I’m glad you have. Not sure in which direction I should turn next.”

The phone on Sam’s desk rang. “Hold that thought, we’ll return to this conversation after I’ve answered the call.” She picked up the phone. “DI Cobbs, how can I help?”

“Hello, ma’am, it’s Nick at reception. I have a lady on the phone, specifically asking for you. She seems a tad upset.”

“Did she tell you what her name was, Nick?” Sam rolled her eyes at her partner.

“It’s Mrs Chatley, Brenda Chatley.”

“Gosh, okay, put her through. Thanks.”

“Doing it now. You’re through to DI Cobbs, madam.”

“Hello, hello, where is she? Please, come on, this is a grave emergency.”

Sam put the phone on speaker so Bob could hear. “Brenda, is that you? What’s wrong?”

“He’s gone. You’ve got to come and help me find him. He’s gone.” Brenda’s voice was a high-pitched trill.

“Wait, can you calm down and tell me who you’re talking about?”

“Who do you ruddy well think? David, he’s gone.”

Sam pushed back her chair and stood. “Where? Do you know? What happened?”

“I don’t know. One minute he was there, then this car arrived and he was gone. How many more times do I have to tell you that?”

“All right. We’re on our way out to you, are you at home?”

“Yes, yes, where else would I be? He’s not here. Someone drove off with him, I’m telling you. Goodness me, what in God’s name is going on? Who took him, and why? I don’t really care, all I want is my husband back.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. Can you tell me anything about the car?”

Brenda growled. “No. Apart from the fact it had four wheels, a back and a front end and went like the bloody clappers, with my husband on board.”

“All right. Try to remain calm. Would you feel safer going to a neighbour’s house?”

“I don’t know, I don’t drive, so how would I get there? It doesn’t matter, we’re wasting time, talking nonsense. Just get over here and find him.”

“I’m going to put out an alert now. See you soon. Can you lock yourself in the house?”

“I have. I won’t open the door until I see you pull into the yard.”

“Good. Bye for now.” Sam slammed the phone down and urged Bob to get a move on. “Jesus, it’s going to take us a good fifteen, possibly twenty minutes to get out there; by that time, whoever has abducted her husband will be long gone.” Sam raced out of the office and quickly addressed the rest of the team. “Looks like one of the victim’s neighbours has been abducted. We’re going out there now. Oliver, Alex, I want you to come with us. We’ll ask around, see if anyone in the village saw a likely suspect hanging around.”

Alex and Oliver jumped to their feet and slipped their jackets off the back of their chairs. The four of them left the incident room and bolted down the stairs and out to their relevant cars.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this one,” Sam muttered, engaging the siren as she began the journey back out to Mosser.

“Funny that, I was about to say the same.”

Sam concentrated on her driving and weaved expertly through the traffic, with Alex close behind her.

It wasn’t long before she reached the country roads and was able to put her foot down. Sam pulled up outside the farmhouse. She deliberately kept the siren going for a few seconds to alert Brenda that she was safe to open the door to them.

Sam climbed out of the car and issued further instructions to her two colleagues in the trailing car. “Just do a circuit of the village first, that shouldn’t take you too long. See if anything shows up, if not, start knocking on a few doors. Come back here once you’ve exhausted every other avenue out there. We’ll stay here with Brenda for a while.”

“We’ll ring you if anything comes to light,” Alex replied in his Scottish twang.

Sam turned towards her car, and Bob followed her to the farmhouse. Brenda was standing on the doorstep, visibly shaking from head to toe.

“Please, please, help me. I don’t know what to do. I’m a blubbering idiot without him around to keep me steady. He truly is my life. I know a lot of women say that about their husbands, but in my case, it happens to be true.”

Sam gently ushered the woman back into the house and through to the lounge. “Bob, can you make Brenda a cup of tea, please?”

“I don’t want a drink. All I want is my husband back,” the distraught woman shouted.

Bob left the room anyway.

Sam sat down beside Brenda and rested a hand on her forearm. “It’s okay. I have a team out there looking for him now with more on the way. I need you to tell me exactly what happened, Brenda, are you up to that?”

Brenda fiddled with a torn tissue in her lap and sighed. “I can’t tell you anything other than what I told you over the phone. He’s out there with a killer for all I know. How the heck do you think that makes me feel, knowing that?”

“I appreciate how difficult this must be for you; in truth, we don’t know who has taken your husband, do we? It might be a pure coincidence and not related to what happened to Tom.”

Brenda shook her head and groaned. “You seriously expect me to believe that dross? I’m not that naïve, Inspector. You need to be out there… before it’s too late. My husband will be scared shitless, knowing him. He doesn’t do well in stressful situations, you’re going to have to take my word for that. Please, we’re wasting time discussing this. I’ll be fine. I’ll secure the house, I have a gun I can use if I need to. You should go, organise the search for him.”

“We will. What I need you to do is try and tell me as much about the car as you can. Did it have any distinguishing features, perhaps?”

“No, I didn’t get a good enough look. I told you. I saw the tail end of the car tearing out of the drive. One minute David was here, the next… he was gone.” She sobbed, overwhelmed.

Sam flung an arm around her shoulders. Bob entered the room with a mug of tea a few seconds later. He set it down on the small table closest to Brenda.

“I made it nice and sweet.” He smiled at Sam and shifted his position, looking uncomfortable.

“Thank you,” Brenda murmured her appreciation.

“Bob, get on to the station. I want a uniformed officer out here to sit with Brenda.”

He left the room again to make the call and returned a few seconds later. “All organised, be about twenty minutes.”

“Good. Thank you. Brenda, is there anyone else we can call for you? Family or friends maybe?”

“No. I don’t want to worry them at this stage. All I want is David back home, in one piece. Why do you think he’s been taken? That’s what I can’t get my head around. Why kill Tom and then abduct David? None of this makes any sense to me.”

“It does seem strange. There has to be more to this than what we first thought, if we’re dealing with the same perpetrator here. There’s a possibility we could be talking about someone completely different, of course.”

The older woman shook her head. “I don’t think so. I just want him back, unharmed. Can you guarantee that will happen?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have no knowledge of who they are or what their motive is. Until we discover that, our hands are tied.”

“In the meantime, David is in a situation where his life is possibly hanging by a thread, is that what you’re thinking?”

Sam sighed. “In truth, I’d rather not think negatively about this. It’s not going to help us if we go down that route. It’s always better to remain positive where we can.”

“But what good will positive thinking do me? Someone has kidnapped my husband. Logic makes me wonder what good can come from a situation such as this. Believe me, I’m trying not to think about it, but it’s impossible not to have such wayward thoughts, given the circumstances. What are the chances of getting David back unharmed?”

Sam stared blankly at Brenda. “To be open and honest with you, I can’t even begin to know what this person’s agenda is. The clues were virtually non-existent at Tom’s place. In all, we have very little to go on.”

Brenda’s head dipped and her shoulders shook. Tears dripped onto her cheeks and she did nothing to wipe them away. “I just want him back, is that too much to ask?”

Bob and Sam looked at each other, desperate to help, neither of them able to summon up the words of sympathy needed to put the woman’s mind at ease. Instead, Sam let Brenda’s crying increase until she was spent.

By that time, a female officer, PC Waters, had appeared. Bob let her in and Sam issued instructions.

“Stay with her, Waters. If she needs to go upstairs to rest, then fair enough, wait at the bottom of the stairs. Don’t be tempted to leave the house, no matter what noise you hear outside, got that?”

“Yes, ma’am. She’ll be safe with me. If anyone comes near us, I’m a black belt in karate.”

Sam smiled. “That’s reassuring.” She returned to the lounge to explain the situation to Brenda, who by now was a total mess. Sam had never seen such a strong woman crumble the way she had in the past few minutes. It was gut-wrenching to feel so hopeless. “Brenda, PC Waters is here now. She’ll stay with you until we get back.”

“Back from where?” Brenda asked, seemingly dazed all of a sudden.

“We need to get out there, to search for your husband,” Sam said, slowly, in case the woman had trouble comprehending.

“Ah, yes. Yes, you must. I’ll come with you.” Brenda attempted to rise to her feet, but Bob placed a hand on her shoulder, anchoring her to her seat.

“There’s no need. You stay here. We’ll be in touch soon.”

Brenda broke down again. Sam nipped into the hallway and brought the constable up to date on what had happened. “Don’t let her out of the house, you hear me? I don’t think she’s thinking straight at the moment.”

The constable gave her a knowing smile. “I’ll take care of her, ma’am. Maybe I can have a contact number for you, just in case?”

“Of course. Here’s my card, don’t hesitate to call me if you’re at all concerned. Hopefully, we won’t be too long.”

“I understand. The lady will be fine with me.”

“Her name is Brenda Chatley.”

“I was about to ask. Thank you.”

Sam nodded and went back into the lounge. Bob glanced her way. She nodded, letting him know it was time to go. “We’ll be back shortly, Brenda.”

“Very well, do your best for him. He’s all I have.”

“You have my word.”

Bob joined her in the hallway while PC Waters passed them and went into the lounge. Sam heard the PC introduce herself and then she and Bob left the house.

“What about getting the chopper airborne?” Bob suggested.

Sam snapped her seatbelt into place and thought over his suggestion for a few seconds. “Possibly, although we haven’t got much to go on, have we? A car pulled up, no make, no colour, where does that leave us?”

“Yeah, I never thought about that. Forget I said anything.”

“It’s forgotten.” Sam laughed, setting the pressure of the situation aside for a moment or two. “This is going to be another tough case if we discover his body lying in a ditch on our travels. That poor woman is beside herself as it is, I hope to Christ we don’t find him dead somewhere. Shit! What in the hell is going on here? Why abduct him, in broad daylight, under his wife’s nose like that?”

Bob looked thoughtful for a second. “To make a point? I don’t know, I’m just throwing it out there.”

“About what?”

“I can’t answer that until we have an inkling what all this is about. Why pick on two defenceless old men for a start?”

Sam started the car and pulled away from the farm. She took a right at the gate and slowly drove past the other sparsely spread-out houses and farms in the area as her mind worked up a storm. After several minutes of deliberation, she answered her partner, “Why indeed. Is it personal? Does, or did, the perp know the two men? If so, what’s his objective, his motive for killing one of them and abducting the other?”

“I sense we’re going to be asking that a lot in the days ahead, if nothing else comes our way soon.”

She lashed out at the steering wheel. “I didn’t get around to chasing up the forensic team or the pathologist earlier.”

Bob gulped. “Sorry, that was my fault.”

“Hush now, it was not. Can you do it while I drive?”

“Why don’t I take over and you handle the calls? You’ll only be shouting out instructions if I ring them.”

She sniggered and pulled over to the side of the road. “Okay, you win.”

They swapped seats, and Sam removed her phone from her pocket to make the call. “Hi, Des, I was hoping to catch you. It’s Sam Cobbs.”

“Ah, Inspector. I was just about to ring you.”

“You were? With good news I hope.”

“Sadly not. I’ve completed the PM on the victim. I can categorically say the damage caused to the chest was from the weapon found at the scene. I did a little digging on that, and the gun is registered to the victim. That’s where the clues begin and end, I’m afraid.”

“Great! That’s all we’ve got to go on? Jesus, as if our job wasn’t hard enough already. I was relying on you to come up with a trail for us to follow at least.”

“Sorry to disappoint. I could always make something up, if it’ll make you feel any better?”

“It wouldn’t, but thanks all the same. What about forensics? Any joy there? How did the perp gain access to the building?”

“We know the back door was used. I can certainly chase that line of enquiry up for you and get back to you, if that will help?”

“Would you? It’ll sound so much better coming from you.”

“Let me call you back in a jiffy.”

He hung up before she could answer. Sam expelled a long sigh. “What are we missing here?”

“Something major, that’s what my gut is telling me.”

“Yeah, for a change, I think my gut is in line with yours. I want to do our best for David, he’s a sweet old man who doesn’t deserve what I envisage is going to happen to him. Hard to think positively about this, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what is running through my head. Why kidnap him? Do you reckon the perp is biding his time before he starts calling Brenda for some kind of ransom?” Bob suggested, taking a corner faster than Sam would have.

She clung on to her seat. “What are you saying, the perp might think all of them are well off and sitting on a nest egg of sorts?”

“Perhaps. I can’t contemplate anything else being a possibility, can you?”

“Okay, even if we take your suggestion and run with it, why abduct him?” She squeezed the top of her nose as she thought. “Why not hold him hostage until he hands over his life’s savings?”

“Hmm… hadn’t thought about that. Maybe the abductor tried that before he took him and got a mouthful from David in response, forcing the perp to change tack.”

“Possibly, so by that you reckon the perp will try to make contact with Brenda in the near future?”

“I haven’t got a scooby doo, I was just throwing another scenario into the mix that I think we should consider. It’s not like we have a lot of options to play with, is it?”

Sam’s mobile rang. She quickly jabbed the Answer key. “DI Cobbs.”

“It’s me again,” Des jumped in quickly.

“Oh, hi. What have you got for us, anything?”

“No, not really. Actually, that’s not quite true. We might have a possible print at the back door; however, adding a cautionary edge to the news, don’t forget the postman entered that way. I’m about to ring him, ask him to come in to the lab so we can take a mould of his shoe, if only to exonerate him. How’s the investigation going at your end?”

“It’s not, not really. Everything has come to a standstill, until today.”

“Are you going to leave me dangling or tell me what you mean by that?” Des pushed.

Sam sighed. “We received a call about an hour ago from the wife of one of Tom’s neighbours.”

“I’m listening, intrigued to know where this is leading,” Des interrupted again.

“If you’ll let me finish, I’ll tell you.”

“Sorry, my bad. Go on, I’m dying to know what’s going on.”

“The lady’s husband has been abducted from their farm. We’re out looking for the perp now. I fear it’s going to be a waste of our time.”

“Whoa! Are you thinking it’s the same perp? The incidents are linked?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence to think otherwise, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps. Well, I’d better let you get on. Call me if you need my help.”

“I will. Thanks, Des.”

She ended the call and placed the phone in her lap.

“Need his help? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that; after all, he only tends to get involved when the victim is a stiff,” Bob muttered.

Sam kept her eyes on the road ahead, her thoughts shooting off in different directions. “I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that. David seemed such a genuinely nice man.” Sam pointed up ahead and reached over to blast her horn. “It’s Alex and Oliver.”

“I can see that. You scared the shit out of me.”

She murmured a hushed apology. Bob drew the car to a halt behind Alex’s and the four of them got out of the vehicles. “Anything yet?”

Alex shrugged and then shook his head. “Hard to know when we have very little to go on, boss.”

“Don’t I know it? Have you spotted any vehicles out here at all?” she asked, more out of hope than expectation.

“Nothing at all,” Alex replied. “You really think the perp would hang around this area?”

Sam scanned the road, first one way and then the other. “Logic says no, but we can’t take it for granted. If we did that, we’d be letting down not only David but his wife as well. We need to stick with it until something else comes our way.”

“For how long?” Alex asked, his expression nonplussed.

“Who knows? Come on guys, let’s stick with it. Don’t get downhearted, we’re doing our best with the cards we’ve been dealt. Why don’t we go in opposite directions and meet up in the middle in about an hour’s time? If we still haven’t uncovered anything by then, we’ll call it a day.”

“Really? How is that going to help the wife?” Bob asked.

A simple question, one that Sam didn’t have an answer to. “It doesn’t. I never said this was going to be easy, partner. We’re doing our best with limited information at hand. I’m open to suggestions if you feel it’s the wrong direction to take.”

Bob shook his head. “Ignore me, it’s just my frustration raising its ugly head.”

“I know. What else can we do but keep searching for the damn car and keeping our spirits up? We’re bound to stumble across something soon enough.”

The four of them jumped back into their cars. Bob carried out a three-point turn in the narrow lane, much to Sam’s disgust, after he scratched his way along the thorny hedge in the final part of the manoeuvre. “Know a good paint-sprayer, do you?”

He swore under his breath and then grinned. “Ouch! Sorry, I forgot I was driving your car for a second there.”

“No shit! Lunch is on you today, maybe that will make you be more careful next time.”

“I doubt there’s going to be a next time after you see the damage.”

“Thanks, that’s going to really piss me off now.”

“You’re welcome.”

He drove to the other end of the village. Sam kept an eye open for anything out of the ordinary during the journey, but there was nothing. “What if the perp is using one of these barns?”

“Let’s face it, he could be holed up anywhere with Chatley.”

“You’re not wrong. Something has got to come our way soon, surely?”

Bob drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe we should be considering what we’re going to do if nothing comes our way. Not that I want to come across as being a defeatist.”

“You could have fooled me.” Sam sniggered and then got serious again. “I’d rather not think that way for now. We need to throw all our weight behind finding David Chatley and returning him home to his dutiful wife.”

“And what if he’s already dead?”

“I refuse to consider that until we discover a body.”

4

T  he rest of the day was spent with Sam on the verge of pulling all her hair out and biting her fingernails down to the quick. They returned to the station, none the wiser. She had the sensation of failure draped around her aching shoulders by the time she got home at six-thirty that evening. Inserting her key in the lock, she heard a strange noise coming from inside the house. Sam entered the hallway and found Sonny lying on his soft, furry bed. He didn’t leap up to greet her, which was strange for him. A loud bang caused the cottage to shudder. She flew into the kitchen to find Chris flat on his back on the floor, with a kitchen cupboard on his chest and a cloud of plaster dust filling the air.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Sorry, I was hoping to surprise you.”

“You’ve done that all right. Are you okay? Do you need a hand?” She glanced down at the smart suit she was wearing and decided to stay where she was for the time being.

Chris heaved the unit off his chest and cast it aside. He tentatively got to his feet and brushed the dust and the splintered wood off his clothes. “There, see, nothing’s broken.”

“That’s a relief. What in God’s name are you doing?”

He continued to brush the debris off his T-shirt and out of his hair. “I had a brainwave this afternoon. I found myself with a few spare hours on my hands, so I came home, took Sonny for a walk by the river and then decided to make a start on ripping out the kitchen.”

“Why? We haven’t even looked at any designs yet. Isn’t there a process you need to go through first before you tackle the destructive part?”

“Hey, look at it this way: now we’re more likely to choose something together quickly rather than hang around debating whether we’re doing the right thing or not.” He leaned forward, searching for a kiss.

Sam pulled her head away. “No way, buster, not until you’ve cleaned up a little. I can’t believe you went ahead and did this without us discussing it first.”

“Babe, don’t be angry. I seized the opportunity while it was open to me, that’s all.”

“Where’s all the stuff gone out of the cupboards?”

“In the dining room.”

She went next door and gasped when she saw the mess. Piled high on her beautiful mahogany dining table were the contents of the cupboards he’d pulled down. He hadn’t even bothered to put a protective covering down. Shit! What the fuck was he thinking? I can’t cope with this, not today, not this week. But I’m stuck with it, what’s the alternative?

He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. She flinched, not expecting any form of affection from him. She wasn’t in the mood for it either, not after him destroying their home without consulting her first. The anger mounted, seared her veins. Sam took a step forward, out of reach. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Chris, I’m livid about this.” Facing him, she shook her head, emphasising her point.

His head dipped. At least he had the decency to look sheepish. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d be thrilled with the prospect of having a new kitchen.”

“What? You’re totally missing the point here. Changing a room, especially a kitchen, requires a major discussion, on both our parts. This is not about me being a little put out by a bit of mess.” She swept a hand in front of her, gesturing to the items sitting on, and no doubt scratching the hell out of her antique table. “This place is a tip. Have you any idea how long we’re going to have to live with a mess like this, without preparation?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think, all right. I admit it. Not everyone is as smart as you. A meticulous thinker and planner.”

“There’s a reason for being like that, Chris, we both work full time. Are you telling me you’re going to be able to devote the next few days to completing the job, or at least getting halfway through it?”

He shuffled his feet and his gaze drifted to the mess on the table. “I never thought.”

“That much is obvious.” Sam let out a guttural growl, squeezed past him and removed Sonny’s lead from the coat rack in the hallway. “Come on, boy, I suddenly need a bout of fresh air.”

“What about the mess? I was hoping you’d help me clear it up.”

His words were the final nail in his coffin. She stormed out of the house, with Sonny striding alongside her, and slammed the door without responding.

Jesus! What bloody planet is he on at times?

Her speed increased. Sonny whimpered when he stopped to cock his leg and she almost pulled him over. She bent down to stroke him. “I’m sorry, mate. Let’s go to the park, I’ll try and calm down in a second or two, I promise. Bloody men! What are they like, eh? Why do they never stop to think?” Poor Sonny was looking up at her, cocking his head to the side. She smiled and ruffled his head. “What would I do without you around to ease my woes, eh?”

They continued their walk and arrived at the park in Harrington a few minutes later. After checking there weren’t any aggressive-looking dogs around, she let him off the lead. He ran over to the huge oak tree and watered the base of it. Then he had a mad fit. He ran and ran, darting in and out of the trees, then returning to be by her side before he scampered off again. They continued to walk until they reached the small stream at the end. Sonny loved nothing more than messing about in the water in all kinds of weather. Usually, she tried to keep him from getting too soaked, especially during the week when she was working. Her evenings generally consisted of putting her feet up in a warm, cosy environment.

Well, those plans were out of the window for the foreseeable future now.

“Go for it, Sonny.” Another dog, a golden Labrador, joined him in frolicking in the couple of inches of water, and they both ended up soaked within minutes. “Dogs will be dogs,” she said to the Labrador’s owner. He was dressed in a suit and her enquiring mind wondered what job he did for a living.

“Ain’t that the truth? He couldn’t even wait until I got changed tonight, was barking at the door as soon as I got in. Guilt for leaving him for longer than usual got the better of me and here we are.” He glanced down at his light-grey suit. “I fear my suit and water aren’t going to be a good combination in a few minutes.”

Sam laughed. “You read my mind. I was thinking the same about my get-up, too. Why do we do it?”

“Because we love our dogs, I guess. I’m Rhys, by the way.” He extended his hand for her to shake.

“Sam, sorry, Samantha, I rarely use my full name, can’t stand it.”

“I love it. It suits you. What do you do?”

Glancing over at the two dogs still frolicking in the water, she muttered, “I’m a copper, for my sins.”

A smile lit up his handsome face and cute dimples appeared. “You are? How cool. Why the glum face? Or is that me being too nosey?”

“Bad day at the office and an even worse one when I got home. Hence coming down here in my work clothes and not bothering to get changed into my dog-walking gear.”

“Sorry to hear that. I’m a good listener, if you want to bend my ear.”

She flicked her hand, dismissing the suggestion. “I’ll be fine. What career warrants you wearing a snazzy suit like that?”

“I’m a psychiatrist. Just moved to the area.” His piercing blue eyes twinkled.

“Interesting. Where are you based?”

“In Carlisle at present, but I’m hoping to open up an office in the Workington area soon, hence me moving here.”

“That’s brilliant news. In that case, we’ll probably be bumping into each other a lot.”

He smiled and nodded enthusiastically, and her cheeks warmed under his intense gaze. “That would be wonderful.”

Shit! Does he think I’m coming on to him? Bugger, how do I get out of this one? “Well, I’d better get home, make sure my husband hasn’t totally wrecked the house in my absence. Come on, Sonny, time to go, pup.”

He grinned, his gaze piercing hers. “Wrecked the house?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it one day.”

“I’ll look forward to hearing the tale. Nice meeting you, Sam, and Sonny of course.”

“See you soon, we’re down here all the time.”

“Before you shoot off, are there any other good places to take the dogs to have some fun around here?”

“Lots. And if you don’t mind driving a few miles, try Ennerdale Lake, there’s a fabulous pub on the doorstep up there, the Fox and Hounds. They serve ginormous meals though, so make sure you’re truly hungry before ordering.”

“Sounds like a wonderful day out. Maybe we could go together one day.”

Well, that’s a bit forward of you. She might have thought it, but it did little to prevent something igniting inside that she hadn’t felt in years.

“That would be lovely, I’m sure the dogs would be up for that as well.” Her cheeks flushed even more as her mouth inexplicably ran away from her. What the fuck am I playing at? Too late now, I can’t unsay the words. Bugger. She attached Sonny’s lead. “Bye then.” She scampered away, feeling like a naughty teenager.

“Nice meeting you,” he shouted after her.

“You too,” she replied, consciously staring ahead of her, refusing to look over her shoulder, sensing he was watching her.

Oh, shite! What have I just done?

Nothing.

I haven’t done anything but speak to a bloody stranger, it’s no good reprimanding myself when I haven’t done anything wrong.

Shut up! Stop talking to yourself and, furthermore, answering yourself at the same time. I’m a bloody mess, that’s what I am.

To crown it all, she hadn’t been paying attention to what Sonny had been up to and felt water dripping down her bare legs. “Gee, thanks buster. Talk about shitting your thanks. Let’s get you home and dried off.” Before leaving the park, she plucked up enough courage to discreetly peer over her shoulder. Disappointment struck when she saw Rhys was no longer in sight. Where the hell did he go?

To her knowledge, there was only one entrance to the park. Maybe she was mistaken about that. It didn’t matter. He was off-limits, she reminded herself.

Sonny shook off the remains of the stream left in his coat and looked up at her. “You, cheeky bugger. I’ll pay you back for that when you’re least expecting it, buster.”

She continued the journey home, and throughout the walk, her mind kept drifting back to her brief encounter with the handsome stranger called Rhys. She came back to earth with a bump, hearing the commotion going on in the kitchen as soon as she opened the front door. Jesus, here goes, ready for round two.

She dried Sonny on a dog towel she kept by the front door, settled him in his bed and ran upstairs to get changed. Dressed in her scruffiest jeans and an old T-shirt, she rejoined Chris in the demolition zone.

“All right. Now you’ve forced my hand, let’s get the units ripped out and the kitchen back into some semblance of order. What am I saying? How can that be when we’re tearing the place apart?”

Chris planted a slobbery kiss on her cheek. She wiped it away and shook her head at him. “This does not mean you’re back in my good books, let that be a warning to you.”

“Okay. But will a genuine apology help?”

“Not this time. We’ll discuss where we go from here after we’ve finished.”

“I’ll treat you to a takeaway later.”

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. “Did you have to mention food?”

He smiled and pointed at her to grab the other end of the worktop he was about to move. “We’ll put it straight out in the garden, if we can manage.”

“Sod that for a lark, it’s going to weigh a ton. What are you going to do with it?”

“It’s no good to anyone, not with the amount of chips in it.”

Sam searched the floor and spotted a hammer. “This should do the trick. We need to break it up; that way, we’ll be conserving our strength for what lies ahead instead of moving it in one piece, putting extra strain on our backs and legs.”

“I knew there was a good reason I married you, you’re so practical.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ya think? If you truly believe that, why on earth did you start demolishing the damn kitchen by yourself with no form of plan in place?”

“Pass. Ask me another.”

She couldn’t stay angry at him for long. She picked up a small piece of wood that had disintegrated once it had hit the floor and threw it at his head. “You’re impossible at times.”

“I know, but you still love me, right?”

“Luckily for you, yes, I do. Although I have to ask myself why most days.”

He gasped. “You don’t mean that, do you?”

“No. I don’t mean it. Can we get on, please? It’s been a long day already.”

Together, they got down to the strenuous work of breaking up the worktop and then ferrying it outside to the back garden. Great, now this is going to be a mess for months as well as the damn kitchen.

At around nine, they were both totally knackered and in need of sustenance. Sam had instructed Chris to order their food well ahead of time, ensuring they finished at a reasonable hour. The last thing she either needed or wanted was to be still knee-deep in broken kitchen units without any sign of the food arriving at ten o’clock. She went upstairs to fetch an old blanket out of the spare room and covered the sofa before either of them sat down. They ate the fish and chips they’d decided to order in the wrapper, saving on the washing up; let’s face it, it wasn’t as if they had a sink left in the kitchen, anyway.

“Okay, now our dinner is out of the way, we need to have a frank and honest discussion about what we’re going to do next,” Sam insisted.

“As in, putting things back together again?”

“That and actually picking out a bloody kitchen in the first place. What possessed you to do this, Chris? To turn our lives upside down without us even talking about it?”

“I just thought I’d do it and suffer the consequences later. I thought you needed a pick-me-up, you’ve been working flat out for months.”

Her mouth gaped open for a few seconds. “Are you bloody serious? So you rip out the kitchen and serve up a takeaway at nine o’clock, after we’ve cream-crackered ourselves for a few hours, and expect me to be thankful for you looking out for my best interests?”

“Well, if you put it like that… maybe I was a bit off the mark. Hey, it’ll be worth it in the end, I guarantee it.”

“I’ll make sure it’s damn well worth it, matey. And here’s another thing… where exactly is the money coming from to fund this damn project?”

“We didn’t go on holiday last year because of the pandemic, I thought we could use what we have saved from that and add a little extra to it if we’re short.”

She sat upright and glared at him. “Oh, you did, did you? For your information, both cars had to have major work carried out recently. Where the heck do you think the money came from to pay for the repairs?”

“Shit, shit, shit, I forgot all about that.”

“And that, dear husband, is why I control our joint bank account, because you’re hopeless with money.”

“All right, there’s no need to be nasty. How much is there in the account anyway?”

Sam hunted for her phone and opened her banking app. After gaining access to the account, she shook her head and angled the phone his way to see the result. “Not enough for a new kitchen, there’s barely four grand left in the pot. Have you any idea how much a new kitchen costs nowadays?”

“We could go to Wrens, their adverts are good, the kitchens seem cheap enough to me.”

“It’s all the added extras we need to take into consideration. If we’re going to do it, I want to do it properly, future-proof it.”

“Meaning?” He tilted his head.

“I don’t want to be changing it in five years’ time. There’s lots to consider, which is why you shouldn’t have pulled the old one out yet. Not only that, what if we can’t get an off-the-shelf kitchen? What if we have to wait five or six weeks before we can get it fitted? And who’s going to fit it when it comes? Have you any idea how much a kitchen-fitter costs these days? Do you have the know-how, or the time, to fit it yourself? Bearing in mind, you’ve just signed up to that new contract for the next six months.”

“Blast! I’ve really screwed up this time, haven’t I?” His head sank low onto his chest.

She logged out of their account and placed her phone on the coffee table. “You could say that. Come here.”

They hugged each other tightly. Chris let out a large sigh. “You have every reason to hate me right now and yet here we are, cuddling, you consoling me for messing up our lives for the next three months or so.”

“What’s done is done, there’s no point arguing the toss about things. What we need to do is keep working hard to try and find solutions. What’s your workload like over the next few days?”

“Fairly light compared to the past few weeks.”

“All right. I would try and wangle a couple of days off, but the likelihood of that happening is zilch with a new murder case on my hands, let alone having an abduction case on top. Can you delegate? Get some manual labour in to cover the job?”

“Not really, it’s a regular, if I start messing Mr Johnson around, he’s likely to go elsewhere. What were you thinking?”

“We’re going to need to rig up some form of cooking and washing-up facilities in the dining room for a start. Can you do that?”

“Yes, leave it with me. I’ll have a word with Roger the plumber, see if he can lend a hand after work tomorrow.”

“Good. All we need to do now is choose a kitchen and get it on order.” Her laptop was sitting on the shelf of the coffee table. She pulled it out and opened it up. Wren Kitchens was the first site she tried. “Five years interest-free credit, that’s an option we could go down, if we get stuck.”

Chris screwed his nose up. “Goes against the grain, something we’ve always said we wouldn’t do.”

“I know, maybe we can pay it off earlier as the funds become available.”

He beamed as her solution sank in. “Okay. You’ve twisted my arm.”

They spent the next hour looking through the site, getting online quotes for a number of designs which took their fancy. “I’ll give them a ring tomorrow, to sound them out, if I get the chance.”

“We should go and see them in person, shouldn’t we?” Chris said.

“We haven’t got time, you’ve seen to that.”

“Ouch! I asked for that. Sorry, love. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Let’s not dwell on the negatives. Promise me you’ll never do anything as foolish as this in the future.”

His expression was kind of sheepish and he averted his gaze rather than answer her. Sam didn’t have it in her heart to cause an argument. She gathered up the wrappers from their dinner and threw them in the bin. Then she let Sonny out into the back garden to do his business and locked the back door. Chris had turned the TV on, and he looked up when she entered the room. “Want to watch a film?”

“No, thanks. It’s been a tiring day, I’m off to get some sleep. Goodnight.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll see you in the morning. Can you keep the volume down?”

He reached for the control and the volume instantly lowered. “Anything else I can do to make amends?”

“Nope, although I’m sure I’ll think of plenty of things over the coming weeks as my irritation grows because of living in a mess.”

Chris ignored her dig and turned his attention to the TV. Sam left him to it, cursing under her breath as she climbed the stairs with Sonny as her bed companion instead of her husband. The mood she was in suited her fine.

With her nightly ritual out of the way, she quickly checked in with her mother as promised and then laid down for a cuddle with Sonny, only to find psychiatrist Rhys drifting into her mind. She tried hard to push him aside but failed. He ended up invading her dreams when she finally drifted off half an hour later.

5

T  he birds’ dawn chorus woke Sam at five-thirty the next morning. She eased out of the bed, doing her best not to wake Chris, and took Sonny downstairs to let him out into the garden. She gave him a treat, topped up his water bowl and decided to have a shower in the main bathroom rather than disturb her husband. She had days when she found it impossible to go back to sleep, knew better than to try and fight it, so decided to make an early start on her day. Coming downstairs and seeing the house in a state had been a shocker at first; she’d totally forgotten all that had gone on the previous evening until she stepped on a stray piece of chipboard from one of the cupboards they had stripped from the wall.

Welcome to my dreaded world for the next few weeks. How on earth am I going to cope? Should we move out until the work has been completed? Nope, not an option, not on a tight budget. Maybe we could stay at Mum and Dad’s for the next two weeks, while they’re away.

She’d need to run that idea past her parents first before discussing it with Chris. Sam fed Sonny and left the house, didn’t even bother saying goodbye to Chris. It was unusual for her to leave the house without either consuming toast or at least a cup of coffee. She’d stop off at the local café on her way to work.

It was still only six forty-five, she had plenty of time before her shift started.

During her breakfast, thirty minutes later, which consisted of two pieces of toast with honey and a cup of strong coffee, she reflected on how painfully slow the case was going. Did they change tack, start investigating a different angle? Were the two crimes connected? Or was David’s disappearance purely a coincidence? Did David have a murky past they should be delving into? She sighed, there were just too many questions for her to try and figure out the answers to, alone.

With her stomach now topped up again, she set off for the station to start her day in earnest. She pulled into the car park, surprised to find Bob’s car sitting in his usual parking spot. An ominous feeling shrouded her, and she made her way inside the main entrance and up the stairs to the incident room. He was sitting at his desk, his computer switched on, already working.

“Bloody hell. Am I imagining things or are you hard at it before eight o’clock?”

“You missed your vocation, you should have been on the stage as a comedian.”

“I would probably die several times over during a performance if the crowd were as tough as you. Everything all right at home?”

“Same as always, except Abigail is still at her mother’s, no sign of her coming back. Milly began playing her music loudly at six-thirty this morning. She refused to listen to me when I shouted at her to turn the racket off, so I left her to it.”

“Umm… your parenting skills need a little brushing up there, Bob.”

“Tell me about it.” He shrugged and sipped at his cup of coffee. “I’m out of touch, I realise that now. I’ve been guilty of leaving everything to Abigail for far too long and now it’s coming back to bite me in the arse. Anyway, enough about me, why are you here so early? Oh, if you don’t mind me saying, you’ve got some dust on the bottom of your skirt, just there.”

Sam swiped the offending reminder off her skirt and walked over to the vending machine to fetch a coffee. “Want another one?”

“Nope, I’m fine for now. Are you avoiding the issue?”

“Not guilty, just preparing myself before I tell you.” She settled down in the chair next to his and ran through the debacle the previous evening had turned out to be.

He listened, shaking his head constantly throughout. At the end, he let out a loud whistle that almost split her eardrums open. “Fuck! What a daft idiot. Fancy ripping it out when you haven’t even placed an order for a replacement.”

“Hooray! I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks he was in the wrong doing it arse about face, then. I don’t know how I managed to remain so calm last night.”

“Not sure I would have been able to in the same situation. No wonder you’re all dusty, I bet it’s a right mess.”

“Yep. The good thing is, we think we’ve sorted out a new kitchen, it’s whether they can deliver it within a reasonable amount of time or not.”

“That’s the burning question. Is Chris going to install it?”

“I’m hoping so.”

“The likelihood of getting a kitchen-fitter to fit it is pretty non-existent right now, due to the pandemic.”

“Never thought about that. We’re looking at a Wren kitchen, they have installers on site, so we should be covered there.”

“Still a risky strategy for your old man to take.”

“Yep, I agree, we had a discussion last night along those lines, too.”

Bob pulled a face. “Ouch, I bet that didn’t end well.”

“Better than anticipated. The minute I stepped through the front door and saw the mess, I could have quite easily crucified him and done ten to fifteen years for it, but then I thought, shit, we can’t turn back the clock. So we both rolled up our sleeves and completed the job within a few hours.”

“You’re amazing! A lot of women would have ranted and raved for days.”

“Hey, it’s early days yet.” She winked and smiled while making her way into her office. “I’ll be doing my usual—be chained to my desk for the next hour or so. As soon as the team arrive, let me know and we’ll get our proper day underway.”

“I will. I’ll get on with what I was doing then.”

She cringed, stopped walking and turned on the spot. “Sorry, so caught up with non-work stuff, I should have asked what you were up to at this hour of the day.”

“I forgot to do it the other day. I thought I’d better check into the medals, see how valuable they are, for a start.”

“Shit! I forgot all about those myself, until now. What if the perp was after the medals and David refused to hand them over? What if he’s being tortured right now, to gain the information?”

“Tell me there’s still a uniformed copper at the farm, watching over Brenda.”

“There is. I’ll give the desk sergeant a ring to make sure.”

“Want me to do it?”

Sam smiled. “I’ll do it. I also need to ask the DCI what we should do about the medals, too, if it’s not too late.”

She continued on her journey and sat behind her desk, ignoring the pile of post in front of her, for now. She picked up the phone and rang the front desk. “Hi, Nick, it’s DI Cobbs. Just a quickie, is the PC still out at the Chatley farm?”

“She is, ma’am. I’m about to send someone out there to relieve her, let her get some rest for a few hours.”

“Good, glad you’re looking after your staff properly.”

“There would soon be ructions if I wasn’t. Anything else, ma’am?”

“No, I can’t think of anything. I’ll ring you if I do.”

“I have no doubts about that.”

Sam ended the call and immediately rang the chief’s office. His secretary, Kathryn Cooper, answered. “Hi, Kathryn, it’s Sam Cobbs, I don’t suppose the chief is in yet, is he?”

“No, it’s too early for him, and me normally. I had a lot of paperwork I need to catch up on, hence my early arrival. Can I help at all?”

“No, not this time. I’ll ring back at about nine. If you can tell him I need an urgent chat with him about the investigation, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Thanks.”

Sam replaced the phone in its docking station and then attacked the post with vigour, knowing the quicker she dealt with the dross, the more time she would have on her hands to concentrate on the two cases they were dealing with. Forty-five minutes later, she finally dealt with the last envelope, yet another alteration to a procedure that was changed only a few months before. She glanced at her watch—it was still only eight forty-five. Caught in limbo, she decided to rejoin Bob. “Any luck?”

“So-so. I’ve made a list of all the pawn shops in the area, also the local people selling medals and war memorabilia.”

“Okay, what’s your line of thinking?”

“I know the Chatleys have the medals tucked away safely, or Brenda has, should I say, but I thought I’d give the people in the business a call, just to see if anyone has broached the subject with them in the past few weeks.”

“You mean so the perp can sell the items once he’s located the goods, paving the way, rather than sit on them in case he’s caught red-handed with the stolen goods?”

He winked and pointed at her. “Exactly.”

“Good thinking. Outside of the box is always a great path to go down. Well done, you.”

Alex and Oliver walked into the room. They were sharing a joke about something and stopped laughing once they spotted Sam looking sternly at them. “Good morning, gents, see you’re both in fine form this morning, let’s hope it lasts.”

Suzanna barged through the door next. “God, damn car only just got me here before it decided to die on me this morning. Thought I was going to be late. Sorry, boss, you don’t want to hear my problems. Would it be all right if I ring my local garage first thing?”

“Go for it. Sorry you’re having to deal with such shit.”

“It’s been coming for a few weeks, the signs were there and I chose to ignore them, so I only have myself to blame really.”

“Women and cars, not a good mix,” Alex chipped in, earning a glare from both Sam and Suzanna.

“Don’t start, Alex. For your information, statistics tell us that it’s the women who take more care of their cars than men.” Sam couldn’t help putting him in his place.

“Oh, right, who am I to argue with statistics?” He grinned and made his way towards the vending machine.

“Just for that, you can buy us both a drink. Coffee, white with one for me. Suzanna?”

“The same for me. That’ll teach you to keep your mouth shut, won’t it?” Suzanna offered her colleague a cheesy grin.

Alex returned with two cups in hand. “I might as well shout everyone a cup, what do you want?”

Oliver and Bob put their orders in. Liam was the last to arrive. He smiled and his cheeks turned crimson when everyone watched him enter the room.

“Morning, Liam,” Sam shouted. “Tell Alex what you want to drink, he’s feeling unusually generous today, so we’re all taking advantage of the fact.”

“I’m also a dab hand with a gun, but I never hear you touting that around, boss,” Alex chuntered from the other side of the room.

“I bet you do your own ironing, too,” Sam countered, enjoying the banter with the ex-military man.

“I have to. Always done my own ironing when I was married, that’s hardly going to change now.”

Sam chuckled. “I’ll send round mine to do on Sunday, if you enjoy it that much.”

“Sorry, busy on Sunday. I’ve got a date.” He closed his eyes and bit down on his lip, realising what he’d just revealed.

“Don’t stop there,” Bob urged.

“Nah, I’ve said too much already. I’ll let you know, if and when, anything worthwhile happens; at the moment, we’re just going out for a pub lunch.”

“Wishing you well with that, mate,” Sam called over, genuinely pleased for him. He was a good man, despite being a rough diamond around the edges.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, seemingly embarrassed by being in the limelight about his love life.

The phone in Sam’s office rang. She left her coffee and ran to answer it. “DI Cobbs, how may I help?”

“DCI Armstrong, you wanted to speak to me, Inspector?”

“I did. Thank you for getting back to me so soon, sir. I have a dilemma and I’m not sure what I need to do about it.”

“I’m listening; if I can help, I will.”

“It’s come to our notice that the victim left some of his possessions with a neighbour, securely hidden. I haven’t come across anything like this before, and I’m wondering if I should collect the items and lock them up as evidence.”

“Are they relevant to the crime?”

“Possibly. We’re going along the lines that the murderer was after some medals and a large sum of money which the deceased possessed.”

“And why are the neighbours looking after the items?”

“We’ve yet to establish a suitable explanation for that, sir. You’re aware that the neighbour, the husband, in possession of the items, was abducted yesterday, aren’t you?”

“I heard something on the grapevine about a kidnapping. I’m disappointed you didn’t come and tell me yourself.”

“I would have, if I hadn’t decided to head out to the farm and carry out a detailed search of the area.”

“I’m sure you had your reasons. As for the items, yes, I would pick them up and safely store them in the evidence room until the victim’s Last Will and Testament has been read. I think it’s the safest bet, if you believe the items are behind the murder and the disappearance of the neighbour.”

“I’ll get that actioned ASAP, sir. Thank you for your guidance.”

“That’s what I’m here for, don’t forget it, Inspector.”

“I won’t. Thank you, sir.”

Sam hung up and her cheeks inflated as a large puff of air left her body. “Now all I have to do is trek out there and gather the items.”

“Talking to yourself again, should I be concerned?”

She glanced up to see Bob leaning against the doorframe.

“Not just yet, I hope. Only time will tell. We’ve got to go and pick up the medals and money, hold it as evidence until the Will has been read.”

“Makes sense. Also ensures that Brenda isn’t at risk, if that’s the perp’s main objective.”

“There is that. Okay, let me finish my drink and we’ll set off.”

Bob nodded and went back to his desk.

A few minutes later, Sam left her office and joined the others. She held a short morning briefing, going over old ground of what needed to be carried out during the day, then she and Bob got on the road.

They arrived at the farmhouse around twenty minutes later. She didn’t feel the need to ring ahead, just assumed that Brenda would be at home, along with the officer watching over her.

“Hello, Brenda, how are you holding up?” Sam asked, once the officer showed them through to the lounge.

The woman looked distraught, large bags under her eyes suggesting she hadn’t managed to get much sleep. “Not well. I want my husband back.”

“I take it there has been no form of contact from the person who took him?”

“No. No one has rung me except my daughter. What’s happened to him? Why hasn’t this person made any demands yet? David doesn’t deserve to be treated like this, he’s never done any kind of harm to anyone throughout his life. He’s the kindest, most inoffensive man I know.”

“I’m sure we’ll hear some news soon. In the meantime, I’ve had a word with my superior officer and he’s told me to take the medals and the cash in for safekeeping, at least until Tom’s Last Will and Testament has been read. Would that be okay with you?”

Brenda shrugged. “I suppose so. Do you want me to go and get them?”

“If you wouldn’t mind. Do you need a hand?”

“No, I don’t think so. Oh, wait, yes, okay, I might have trouble bringing them downstairs.”

“That’s okay. In that case, would it be all right if we come up with you?”

“Yes, you’ll have to excuse the mess; I’m usually very house-proud, but I didn’t have it in me to tidy up yet today. I feel so numb without David here. Not sure how I’m going to cope if anything goes wrong and he doesn’t return home.”

“Let’s keep thinking positively and please don’t concern yourself, we’re not here to judge you on your housekeeping skills.”

She smiled and led them upstairs, along the hallway to the main bedroom where she opened the wardrobe door and fiddled inside for a few seconds. Eventually, she released whatever she was after and stepped back. “In there. Help yourselves.”

Sam removed her blue plastic gloves from her jacket pocket and took a few steps closer to the wardrobe. She rooted around inside, and thanks to Bob shining a torch to guide her quest, found the opening she was after. Bob was also prepared and had his gloves in place. She handed the medals back to him, one at a time as they were loose inside the cavity. Then Sam spotted a bag wedged inside. She tugged it free from its confines and peered into the bag. Her eyes widened at the sum of cash it held.

“That was all Tom had of value. We haven’t touched a thing, I promise,” Brenda told them, her voice trembling with emotion.

“I’m sure it was in good hands with you and David. Tom knew that as well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked you to have hidden it for him.”

Brenda visibly shook and without replying, she turned to walk back downstairs.

“Poor woman. She’s so distraught.”

Bob nodded. “As we would be, if the tables were turned. I can’t imagine what’s going on in that head of hers at present.”

“Let’s get these back to the station and see if we can help her out by finding her husband before anything bad happens to him.”

“What about using the media in some way, to get the word out about us having the medals? Maybe the perp will have a rethink and set David free once he feels he’s wasting his time holding him.”

Sam pondered the possibility. “You might be on to something there. Let’s make a move and I’ll ring Jackie Penrose, see what she can come up with at short notice.” Jackie was the station’s press officer, who dealt with all forms of media on the Force’s behalf.

Bob carried the items downstairs and tucked them safely away in the boot of the car. Sam dipped back into the lounge to make sure Brenda was okay. “We’re going to leave now, Brenda. Is there anything you need before I leave?”

“Apart from hearing that you’re doing your best to get my husband back, you mean?”

“We are, I promise you. Even though Bob and I are here, the rest of my team are doing their very best to gather information for us back at the station.”

“I believe you. This is all so hard to take. I barely slept a wink last night; every time I closed my eyes, I saw David tied up somewhere, either getting struck by this wicked person or in desperate need of food or drink. It’s hard to shift those types of images from your mind when you don’t have a clue what your darling husband is going through.”

“I’m sure. My motto has always been no news is good news in cases like this. The kidnapper hasn’t made any form of demands from either you or the police; in that respect, we have to look on that as a positive.”

She shook her head. “You know best. I can’t see it as that. No contact at all, how can I take that as a good thing?” She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. “It doesn’t matter what I tell myself, I have this daft notion that I’ll never lay eyes on my husband again.”

Sam took a step forward to comfort her. Sensing what she was about to do, Brenda raised a hand to stop her.

“Please, don’t be kind to me, it’ll only make matters worse. My soul is lost without him. We’ve spent almost fifty years together and… well, I’d rather not finish off that sentence if it’s all the same to you.”

“Of course. I understand totally what you mean. I hate to leave you in such a state, are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”

“No, there’s nothing. Just find him, Inspector, before it’s too late.”

Sam rubbed her hand up and down Brenda’s arm. “Hopefully, we’ll do just that.”

“Oh, yes, there is something.” Brenda peered over her shoulder, towards the front door. “Now that you have the medals and money, I’d rather be alone, so take the female officer with you.”

Her suggestion went against the grain with Sam. “I’d rather she remained here for a day or two.”

“Well, I’d rather be alone with my thoughts. I can’t think straight with someone else in the house, watching my every move. I’m sorry, that was a bit harsh. It’s how I feel, though, as if I don’t have any freedom in my own house.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, it wasn’t my intention for you to feel suppressed or suffocated. I would rather the officer stayed put for a few more days, or at least until we’ve located your husband.”

Brenda shook her head. “I don’t want it. Please remove her at once.”

Sam was horrified by the suggestion, but was aware she couldn’t force the woman into having the officer remain at the farm. She offered up a compromise. “What if the officer stayed outside in her car? Would that make a difference?”

“No, not in the slightest.”

“Okay, I’ll order her back to the station then, on one proviso.”

Brenda frowned and tilted her head. “And what might that be?”

“That you lock all the doors and windows and you contact me regularly.”

“What? You want to hold me prisoner in my own home and expect me to check in with you? It’s no better than what I’m going through now. I feel suffocated.”

“I can’t emphasise this enough, Brenda, these measures have been put in place to protect you.”

“I’m not stupid, Inspector, I understand why the officer is here.” She paused and sighed, then sank into the sofa behind her. “Do what you want, I’m exhausted. All I want is my husband back and for us to get on with our lives.”

“I appreciate how you must be feeling. I’ll remove the officer, if you’re a hundred per cent sure that’s what you want.”

Brenda looked up and visibly brightened before her eyes. “It is.”

“Very well. I’ll be in touch if anything should crop up. In the meantime, stay safe, Brenda.”

“Thank you for your understanding, and your best wishes, Inspector.”

A feeling of rejection descended and Sam left the farmhouse and stopped to give fresh instructions to the officer at the door. “You can go back to the station now, it’s nothing personal, the lady of the house needs to be alone.”

“Are you sure, ma’am?”

“Positive. I can’t force her into doing something she doesn’t want to do. Thanks for your help.”

“Only doing my job.”

“I know.”

Sam walked back to her car and flopped into her seat. Bob pointed at the officer getting into her vehicle. “Where’s she going?”

“She’s been dismissed, through no fault of her own.”

Confusion clouded his features. “Do you like talking in riddles?”

“Not really. Brenda wanted her gone. She feels suffocated.” Sam started the engine and pulled out of the drive after the officer left the farmyard.

“That’s too bizarre for words. I can’t get my head around why she wouldn’t want protecting if her husband is in danger.”

“Our duty isn’t to ask why, it’s to seek results. People react in different ways when stress kicks in. I can’t force her to cooperate.”

“Take her in and bang her up in a cell then, she needs protecting.”

“Forget about it, Bob, there’s nothing I can say or do to make the woman reconsider. I’ve tried to reason with her. She’s sticking to her guns.”

“Bloody hell, so you’re just going to leave her to it?”

“Read my lips… I can’t force her to do something against her will.”

Bob muttered a bunch of expletives.

Sam chuckled. “Hacked off, are we?”

“And some. What is wrong with people?”

“Forget about it, let’s concentrate on bringing her husband home to her.”

“Makes you wonder why we frigging bother at times, doesn’t it? At a time, some people are taking potshots at us for not caring enough about what happens in the community, and then you’ve got the likes of Brenda. My brain hurts just thinking about it.”

“Then don’t.”

The drive back took place in silence apart from the radio on in the background. They were on the outskirts of Workington, three miles from the station, when Sam’s phone rang. She answered it via the Bluetooth facility. “DI Sam Cobbs, how can I help?”

“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am, it’s Nick on the reception desk.”

“Hi, Nick, is this about the officer I sent back to you?”

“It’s not, ma’am, she explained the situation upon her return. Umm… a member of the public has just reported seeing a dead body. I thought you should know right away.”

She slapped her hand on the steering wheel. “Damn, is it a body of a man?”

“Yes, an elderly gentleman. I immediately thought about your investigation, hence the call.”

“Shit! Not what I wanted to hear. Where and when?”

“About an hour ago at Ullswater. He was fished out of the lake there.”

“Jesus. Okay, we’ll head over that way now.”

“I thought you might.”

Sam ended the call and bashed her head against the headrest a few times. “Shit, shit, shit!”

6

Sam felt numb, although her stomach was tied into knots by the time they arrived at the scene. Des Markham and his team were hard at work, erecting a marquee because of the amount of prying eyes at the location. “Shit, we need to get these people back; better still, tell them to fucking do one, will you, Bob?”

“Leave it with me. Bloody rubberneckers, they boil my bloody piss, gawping as though we’re putting on a show for them.”

“Agreed. What if it was one of their family on show in that state? They’d soon be kicking up a stink, wouldn’t they? Trouble is we’re on the tail end of the holiday season, people with nothing better to do than stick their bloody nose in where it’s not wanted.”

They exited the car. “I’ll deal with them, with pleasure.”

Sam cautiously approached the pebbled area close to the shoreline. This was such a stunning location, the lake surrounded by the hills in different shades of greens, turning into subtle browns on either side. Sailboats milling about on the still water, a steamboat ferrying passengers the length of the large body of water, and then this… a dead body spoiling the peace and tranquillity.

“Hello again, Sam.”

She smiled at Des, but kept her distance. “Have you got a spare suit? My stocks are running low.”

“Take a few from the back of my van.”

Sam trotted over to his vehicle, slipped into the protective clothing and then returned to stand alongside Des. “What have we got?” The victim was lying face down on the stones, so it was impossible to tell if it was David Chatley or not.

“A man in a boat saw something in the water, realised it was a body, reported it and then pulled it ashore.”

“Did he do the right thing?”

Des nodded. “He did, you can’t disrupt a crime scene if it’s in the water. Do you think it might be the man who was abducted?”

“David Chatley? I’m not sure. Can we turn him over and have a look?”

“Past experience tells me it won’t be pretty. Of course, that depends how long he’s been in the water.”

“Have the fish taken chunks out of him? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Possibly. Just prepare yourself.” He approached the body, Sam followed, and they both crouched down. “Here goes.” Des turned the victim over and Sam had to swallow down the bile which surfaced in her throat.

“Shit! What a mess. I think it’s him. No, I’m certain it is. Well, as certain as I can be.” Sam stood and Bob joined them, wearing the obligatory proper clothing.

“Is it him?” Bob asked. He peered over Sam’s shoulder.

Sam sighed and nodded. “It seems to be. Don’t take a closer look, it’s not very pleasant.”

“That’s not good. Jesus, why dump his body here? Miles away from where he was abducted?”

“Both valid questions, we’ll ask the perp when we find him.”

“If we ever find him,” Bob corrected her.

“PMA, we have to hang on to that, partner. It’s not like we have anything else at our disposal for now.”

“I’ll get him shifted to the mortuary and conduct the post-mortem this afternoon. Do you want to attend?”

“If we must,” Sam replied, glancing in her partner’s direction.

Bob pulled a face, his dissatisfaction clear. “Do we have to?”

“It’s been a while since you attended one, if I recall rightly,” Des countered with his eyebrows raised.

“Okay, that’s settled. Can you give me a call later, let me know at what time you intend to start?” Sam searched the immediate area. “I’m going to need to chat to the person who discovered the body, are they still here?”

“I’ll send a text.” Des scanned the crowd and then pointed to a young man at the edge, just behind the crime scene tape. “I asked him to hang around, presuming you’d want a word.”

“Thanks. We’ll get the interview over with and report back before we leave,” Sam replied.

She and Bob headed towards the man. “You didn’t do very well shifting the crowd back, Bob.”

“I did my best, unless you want me to tell them they’ll all be arrested if they don’t shift their arses?”

Sam sniggered. “It might come to that, if they continue to piss me off. Try again, be more resolute this time.”

Bob grumbled his discontent and set off. Sam stopped a few feet in front of the man she was after and beckoned him. “Would you like to duck under the tape and come with me, sir?”

He didn’t need telling twice. He joined her, and Sam led them over to a picnic bench off to the right. She took out her notebook and introduced herself. “I’m the Senior Investigating Officer on this and another ongoing case, and you are?”

“Phil Jackson. I’m an accountant, although today is my half-day off. I thought I’d come down here for a bit of relaxing and sailing. Look where that got me, never thought I’d be pulling out a dead body from the lake.”

“Sorry you had to deal with this imposition, Mr Jackson.”

“Call me Phil. It’s no bother, well, saying that, I think I’m going to have a few nightmares after turning him over to check his pulse. Wish I hadn’t bothered, have you seen him?”

“Yes, not very pleasant, I have to admit. Can you tell me at what time you found the body?”

“I got down here at about ten, I suppose. Took the boat out into the middle of the lake, to get away from the ones who were learning to sail, and that’s when I saw him, floating in the water, face down. I thought it was a piece of rag to begin with; you can imagine my bloody surprise when I drew up next to him. Shocking, I never expected to see that, not in a million years. Was it intentional? Did he commit suicide or do you suspect foul play?”

“That’s impossible for us to say at present. It depends what the pathologist’s findings are. A post-mortem will reveal the true extent of his injuries and we’ll go from there. Do you come down here regularly?”

“About two, maybe three times a week. It really depends on my workload during the week. Like I said, I had half a day off today. If my client hadn’t cancelled, then I probably wouldn’t have come down here.”

“I see. So, there’s no point in me asking you if you visited the area yesterday.”

“No. It’s been a couple of days since I went out in the boat.”

She jotted the information down. “And while you were here, did you see anyone hanging around?”

He shrugged and motioned to the crowd behind the tape. “Like them?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Point taken. This is a popular beauty spot which, I’m guessing, attracts a lot of visitors.”

“And some. It depends what time of year it is. The locals tend to stay away during the height of the season, they’ll resume their own leisure activities once the holidaymakers have stopped coming. That’s the only downside to living in a beautiful area like this, having to put up with the hoards descending upon us.”

“Yes, I agree, it’s not pleasant at holiday times, but it balances out by the amount they spend in the area, which keeps the businesses running throughout the winter months.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard all the arguments for and against on that one over the years. It’s nice to get our treasured idyllic spots back once they leave.”

“Indeed. Is there anyone else down here who is local?” She thumbed behind her at the crowd.

His gaze shifted. “The woman with her hair tied back, Sonia, she runs the café over there. Might be worth you having a quick word with her.”

“I’ll do that. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to do a statement for me, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course. Now?”

“No, I’ll send a uniformed officer around to see you shortly, within the next day or so. Can I have your address?”

“Of course.”

He gave her his details and then she dismissed him and went in search of Sonia. “Hi, is it, Sonia?” The young woman seemed horrified to be singled out of the crowd.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Phil suggested I have a word with you, is that all right?”

Sam held the tape up and Sonia ducked underneath it, following Sam back to the picnic bench where she introduced herself. “I won’t keep you long. I know this is going to seem a daft question in light of those around us, but have you seen any strangers hanging around, I mean acting suspiciously, in the last day or two?”

Sonia tucked a few stray hairs behind her left ear and pondered the question for a few long moments; eventually, she sighed and whispered, “I don’t think so. The café might be facing the lake, but I’m generally out the back in either the kitchen or the prep areas. The only time I’m out front is when I’m serving the customers, and even then, the till is on an angle to the lake. Isn’t it dreadful? This type of thing—finding a dead body here—could tarnish the lake’s reputation and have a massive impact on my business. Just what I could do without, after going through lockdown the last eighteen months or so.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. All the woman seemed concerned about was the fact her trade would be affected. Sam had trouble restraining herself when she spoke again. “I can imagine. Although, saying that, I bet the family is going to be mega-distraught after finding out a loved one has died, or worse still, been murdered.”

The young woman gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth for a second. “Hush my big mouth. I’m so sorry. I truly didn’t mean to be so insensitive. Whatever must you think of me?”

Sam smiled, not willing to express the truth; instead, she glanced along the shoreline. Ahead was a small kiosk, a boat hire place. She pointed. “Do you know who runs the boat hire business?”

“Yes, of course, that would be Kirk Withenstall.” Sonia peered over her shoulder. “He’s back there. He was ordered to lock up and join the rest of us, away from the crime scene. Want me to go and get him for you? There’s really nothing more I can tell you.”

“Okay, yes, if you could.”

Sam shuffled her feet, sorting through the larger pebbles until a man in his mid-thirties plonked himself on the seat beside her.

“Hi, I’m Kirk.” He nodded at the kiosk off to their right. “That’s my gaff. Any idea how long all this is going to take? Some of us are trying to make a living, as you’ll appreciate the last year’s takings were shite and we’re all playing catch-up, or trying to.”

Jesus! What the fuck is wrong with people? Their main priority caring for their business, not giving two hoots that there is a dead body lying not twenty feet away. Why? Because the victim is old? Would they be thinking differently if the victim had been someone more around their age or younger?

Sam bit back the venomous retort on the tip of her tongue. “It’ll take however long the pathologist deems necessary. In my experience, that can be anything from one hour to ten.”

“What the fuc…? Sorry, excuse the language.” He leaned over and lowered his voice. “Can’t you have a word with him? Hurry him along a bit? Look at this crowd, I’ve got dozens of prospective customers milling around and my bloody hands are tied because someone chose to die here.”

The anger bubbled inside. Sam was no longer prepared to hold back. “Kirk, I see you don’t have a compassionate bone in your body, I’m wondering if you know more about this incident than you’re letting on, do you?”

His face was an absolute picture. “What? Are you for real? You think I have something to do with this?” he blustered, appearing offended by her insinuation.

Sam shrugged, not willing to bow out just yet. “You have the means to get out to the centre of the lake, you know, where the victim was found.”

“Bloody hell. I can’t believe what you’re saying. I’m not the only mug with boats for hire around here, you know. Anyway, loads of people haul their own boats down here on the back of a trailer, so don’t go pointing the finger at me unless you have more to go on than just assumption. It ain’t gonna wash with me, lady.”

“Everything all right here?” Bob arrived and stood behind Sam.

“Yes, I think so, DS Jones. Kirk and I were just having a discussion about whether one of his boats might have been used in the crime, that’s all.”

“Ah, right. It’s a possibility, then?”

Kirk swept a hand through his blond spiky hair. “No, it friggin’ ain’t a possibility. I’ve heard about coppers like you, stitching up innocent people like me when clues are thin on the ground during an investigation. Do you want me to get a solicitor? Because I will if I have to, and you know what? My guess is they’d wipe the floor with you.”

Sam smiled weakly. “That won’t be necessary. As you can appreciate, we need to question all these people who are based in the area. Now, if you’ve calmed down, perhaps you can tell me if you’ve hired a boat out to anyone suspicious lately?”

“Blimey, you really think someone would hire out a boat and dump a body at the same place? Is that what they teach you at police college, is it?”

Sam ground her teeth, annoyed that he had a snide mouth on him.

“You’ve got a smart mouth, Kirk. The inspector asked a simple question, why don’t you have the civility to answer her without showing how rude you can be?” Bob chastised him.

Kirk flung an arm in the air and let it drop again. “Sorry. I guess I’m still antsy about the money I lost last year during the pandemic. Just when I was getting back on my feet, you know, having money coming in for a change, this happens. Yes, I’m sorry for the victim, but bloody hell, if I don’t start paying off the huge loan I took out to see me through, I ain’t gonna have a business left.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Sam was quick to respond before Bob laid into the bloke for being selfish. “None of us like dealing with a dead body at the best of times, but we’re here to investigate a crime; all we want in return is for the members of the public to help us with our enquiries, if they can.”

“I understand that.” He rose to his feet. “I can’t help, therefore I’m going to go now. I know my rights.” He walked away from them before either of them could prevent him.

“Ignorant fucking shit! Want me to slap some cuffs on him and make a show of him by putting him in the back of the car to cool down for a while?”

“Nope, I’d love to bring him down a peg or two, but he just isn’t worth it, Bob. Blame it on the pandemic. It’s left most business owners I know angry, which I suppose is understandable.”

“Rudeness shouldn’t need to be tolerated, not by us. Our job is tough enough as it is, without dicks like that pissing us off. What now?”

“We get uniform to take down some statements while we head off.”

He cringed. “Meaning we have to break the news to Brenda, right?”

“Sadly, yes. I want to have another quick word with Des before we leave. See if he has anything else for us to go on.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one, if I were you.”

They walked back to the shoreline. Des was at his equipment case, behind the temporary screen the SOCO technicians had erected to shield the scene from the crowd.

“Hi, is there any point in me asking if you have anything else for us?” Sam asked.

“Nope. I’m still carrying out the regular tests I conduct at the crime scene, only got a few more and then we’ll be out of here. Can your guys make sure we’ve got a free path back to the vehicle? I’d bring it down here, but the terrain is too rough, my vehicle is likely to get stuck.”

“Leave it with me, I’ll get that sorted for you. We’re going to make a move. We have to inform the next of kin before it winds up on the news.”

“Go for it. Good luck. I’ll be doing the PM this afternoon, I’ll get him cleaned up. Tell the wife she can visit him in a couple of days.”

“I’ll text you her details later.”

“Thanks, and I’ll have my report to you ASAP.”

“Appreciate that, Des. Speak soon.”

Sam and Bob stripped off their protective suits and deposited them in the black bag at the edge of the crime scene. Sam let Bob deal with the uniforms on site, ensuring that they paved the way for Des and his team to gain access to their vehicles without any major issues.

Sam went back to the car and rang the station. She spoke to Claire and brought her up to date on what was going on. “Anything happened there yet, Claire?”

“No, nothing worth mentioning, boss. All going rather slowly on this one, which is uber frustrating for all of us.”

“You’re not wrong there. Okay, we’ve got a long trek back to see Brenda, we’ll break the news, then head back to base.”

“Good luck. You’ve got a tough job ahead of you.”

Sam exhaled a long, slow breath. “Yep, I have no idea how I’m going to tell the poor woman her husband won’t be coming home again.”

She ended the call.

Bob joined her a few seconds later and they got on the road. It wasn’t long before they passed over the newly opened Pooley Bridge which had collapsed back in 2015 during Storm Desmond.

“I’m not looking forward to this,” Bob declared, halfway through the journey.

“Hey, it’s all right for you, the onus usually sits heavily on my bloody shoulders, in case you hadn’t noticed, partner.”

He groaned. “Yeah, I noticed. I was speaking up for you, if you must know. She’s going to be distraught.”

“You reckon?”

“Your sarcasm can be a pain in the arse at times, just saying.”

“Sorry. I was mentally preparing myself for the onerous task ahead, now that’s all gone to pot.”

“Why? Because of me opening my mouth?”

“Yep!”

“Charming. As far as I can recall, being a mind reader isn’t in my job description.”

Sam pulled a face at him. “Shut up and let me think.”

Bob did just that, well, after he’d grumbled something indecipherable first. Then he added, “Hey, at least it gets us out of attending the PM.”

“I suppose so.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Sam indicated into the farm and nudged the car out of gear so it coasted to a standstill outside the farmhouse. A twitch of the curtain caught her eye. “She’s aware we’re here.”

Bob turned to look at the lounge window. “I can see her reflection in the mirror at the back of the room, she’s going into the hallway.”

“Okay, let’s get out. I hope your tea-making skills are up to scratch?”

“They are. Be gentle with her.”

Sam’s eyes widened and she glared at him.

The front door opened and a worried-looking Brenda appeared on the doorstep. Sam stepped out of the car and reluctantly approached the farmhouse on heavy, unwilling legs. “Hello, Brenda. Can we go inside?”

The car door slammed behind Sam, making her heart skip a beat. Bob eased into position beside her.

“Why are you back so soon? Have you found him?”

“It would be better if we went inside, Brenda,” Sam insisted.

Brenda stumbled, and Bob hurriedly rushed forward to break her fall as she slammed into the wall. “He’s gone, hasn’t he?”

“I’m so sorry. This isn’t easy for us to tell you. Are you all right?”

Bob helped Brenda to her feet, but her legs gave way a second time. “I can’t do this. I want to die, leave me alone. I just want to curl up and die. Life won’t be worth living, not without David around.”

Acid burnt Sam’s throat and her heart lay heavy against her ribs. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

Brenda wrenched her arm free from Bob. “I don’t want any help. All I want is David back. Bring him home safe and well, why can’t you do that?”

The woman’s confusion was written across her face. Sam and Bob both took an arm and hauled Brenda to her feet. Sam slipped Brenda’s arm around her neck and gripped her around the waist, holding her upright. “Easy does it. We’ll soon get you settled. Can Bob make you a cup of tea?”

“Yes, that would be nice,” Brenda whispered.

Bob went in one direction and Sam steered Brenda through to the lounge. She helped Brenda into the easy chair by the gas fire, knelt down on the floor beside her and grasped her hands in her own. “I know this wasn’t the news you were hoping for, Brenda. Is there someone you’d like me to call?”

Tears bulged and dropped onto her cheeks. “My daughter. I don’t think I have it in me to ring her myself. My heart hurts as well as my head. I can’t imagine a life without him. To think he died all alone.”

“Do you have her details?”

“Yes, there’s an address book sitting on the side over there, I had it out the other day and forgot to put it away again. Look under M for Michelle.”

“Will do.” Sam patted Brenda’s hand and got to her feet. She collected the book and flipped through it. Finding the number, she withdrew her phone from her pocket and dialled it.

A woman answered the call on the first ring. “Hello, Michelle speaking.”

“Hello, Michelle. I’m DI Sam Cobbs. I’m at the farmhouse with your mother.”

“Oh gosh! Is Mum okay?”

“Yes, your mother is fine. Umm… she could do with you being with her at present. Is that possible?”

“I’m a couple of hours away, I live in Manchester. Please, tell me what’s going on. Are you the police officer dealing with my father’s disappearance?”

“I am. I didn’t really want to tell you this over the phone, but your father’s body has been found.”

Brenda screamed behind her. Startled, Sam nearly dropped the phone. She heard the clattering of china and saw Bob had entered the room, cursing the fact he’d spilt the tea in the saucer.

“Mum, is mum okay?” Michelle shouted tearfully down the line.

“We’re here with her. Can you come?”

“Yes, oh God. I’m in such a tizz. Dad, poor Dad, I can’t believe he’s gone. Are you sure it’s him?”

“Yes, I’m so sorry for your loss. Please, if you’re going to drive up here, drive safely.”

“I will. I’ll throw a few things in a bag and set off shortly. I work from home, so it’s not a problem. Give mum a hug from me. Tell her I love her.”

“I will. See you soon. We’ll stay with your mother until you arrive.”

“You’d do that for us? I can’t thank you enough. That will be a load off my mind. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Take care.”

Sam hit the End Call button and returned to Brenda’s side. “Michelle is just packing a bag and then she’ll start her journey. We’ll be here for you until she arrives. Is there anything I can get you, Brenda?”

“No. Just the cup of tea.” She leaned forward and picked up her cup, shaking her head while she sipped at the hot drink. “Why? How?” she finally asked after replacing her cup and saucer on the tray.

“He was found in the middle of Ullswater Lake.”

“But… that’s miles away from here. How did he get there?”

“The person who abducted him must have taken him there.”

“But why? I can’t get my head around this. David is gone, murdered for what? Why would anyone choose to kidnap him and then ki… take his life? None of this makes any sense to me. What the hell am I going to do now, without him? Who is going to run the farm? I can’t do it, not alone, not at my time of life. I’ve been tired for years now. The burden on me is going to be immense. I won’t be able to cope.” She broke down again.

Sam knelt beside her once more and gathered Brenda’s hands in her own. “Won’t your family be able to help?”

She stopped sobbing enough to look up at Sam and ask, “What family? There’s only my daughter and she’s got her own life to lead. I wouldn’t expect her to give up her successful career on a whim and move up here to run this place. No, there’s no other option I can think of, I’m going to have to sell the farm, and quickly.”

“That would be a shame, after putting over fifty years into it, but I think it’s the right decision. No one could blame you for wanting to put your feet up after all this time, Brenda.”

“Yes, that’s what I’ll do. I deserve this, now that my future looks bleak without David to share it with.”

Sam nodded, and her heart split in two for the poor woman. She and Bob did their very best to comfort Brenda for the next couple of hours until a car drew up in the drive. Brenda craned her neck to see who it was and she physically brightened. “It’s Michelle.”

Bob rushed to open the front door. Michelle almost knocked him off his feet in her urgency to get to her mother. “Oh, Mum, I’m so sorry. This is just awful for you, for us. How are you?”

Sam stepped back, giving them room to get reacquainted. Brenda hugged her daughter tightly for a few minutes, neither of them saying another word until she finally released Michelle. “I’m better than I thought I would be, love. Thank you for driving all the way up here to be with me.”

“There was never any doubt I would come, Mum. I just had to.”

“I know, sweetheart. Let me introduce you to Inspector Cobbs and Sergeant Jones, I think it is.”

Smiling, Sam extended a hand to shake. “Pleased to meet you, Michelle. Sorry it’s under such sad circumstances.”

“Did you find him? How did he die?” Michelle asked, her breath appearing to catch in her throat.

Sam’s gaze drifted between the mother and daughter, and she sighed. “It was a suspicious death. We haven’t got an accurate picture as to how he died as yet, not until after the post-mortem has been performed this afternoon. But your father was found in Ullswater Lake.”

Michelle covered her face and wept. It was Brenda’s turn to be a source of comfort. “There, there, love. He’s gone now, no amount of tears we shed is going to bring him back. Hush now.”

Sam and Bob left the room for a few minutes to allow them to grieve in peace. “We’re going to have to make our excuses soon, we have two cases to solve,” she murmured.

“You’re not wrong. They’ll be all right now, won’t they?”

She glanced at her watch and was staggered to see what time it was. “Jesus, it’s nearly five o’clock. Not that I’m clock-watching or anything. But that’s a whole day gone and what have we got to show for it?”

“You read my mind, yet again.”

“Okay, you go wait in the car, I’ll be two minutes behind you, I promise.” She handed him her keys, and Bob left the house. Tentatively, she knocked on the door to the living room and eased it open. “Are you going to be okay? We’re going to have to leave now, if that’s all right with you?”

“Thank you for hanging around to be with me. Yes, you go, Michelle is here now.”

Sam smiled at them. “You’ve got my card; if you need anything, don’t be afraid to give me a shout. The pathologist will be in touch with you within the next day or two.”

“For what?” Michelle asked, looking first at her mother and then Sam.

“To see your father, sweetheart.” Brenda took her daughter’s hand in her own.

Michelle gasped. “Oh, God, I never thought of that. Do we have to? I’m not sure I can bring myself to see him when he’s dead. I’d prefer to remember him the way he was, full of life, always larking around.”

Brenda squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “You don’t have to see him, but I will want to say farewell to him.”

“Of course. I’ll take you,” Michelle agreed.

“Thank you.” Brenda glanced up at Sam. “Please, don’t worry about us. I can’t thank you enough for staying with me today. I know I took you away from the investigation, I feel bad about that.”

“A few hours won’t hurt. My team are still hard at it, working behind the scenes. I’ll be in touch as the investigation progresses. I’m so sorry for your loss. For not finding David before he was killed.”

“Thank you, Inspector. We’ll speak soon. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be okay, won’t we, love?”

“Yes, I’ll be here at least a week,” Michelle added.

Sam gave them a final wave and left the house. Her emotions were in turmoil. She couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that she was deserting them when they needed her the most; however, she couldn’t catch the killer, not without being back at the station, sifting through the evidence the team had gathered in her absence. She got in the car, ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair and sighed. “Back to the station then.”

“Are you okay? Would you rather I drove back?”

“Nope. I’ll be fine. I’m just sad for Brenda and Michelle. I can’t help feeling that we’ve let them down.”

“That’s nonsense. We had no leads to go on. We have no idea who the perp is, or what his motive is.”

“I know I’m being too hard on myself. It’s been a long day, let’s see what the team has to say and then go home.”

“I’m up for that. Bloody knackered, I detest hanging around, twiddling my thumbs for a couple of hours.”

“That’s it, heap the blame on me, why don’t you?”

“I wasn’t aware that I was.”

Sam sniggered and started the engine and drove back to the station. Once there, she made the rounds, asking each member of staff what they had found, and she received the same response from everyone—nothing. Absolutely fuck all. Where the fuck do we turn next?

It was a question she didn’t have an answer to. As far as she knew, there was no evidence, DNA or clues found at the lake. Without something to go on, their hands were tied tightly behind their backs.

She dismissed the team, thanking them for all their hard work. Morale was low with all of them. Members of the public didn’t have a clue how these kinds of cases affected the police on a daily basis. They had the impression that coppers were just doing their job, when the opposite was true. Being a copper was a vocation, not simply a career, to most coppers she knew, anyway.

Bob grumbled a goodnight to her; he was the last to leave. She switched off the lights to the incident room and closed the door behind her. DCI Armstrong was descending the stairs ahead of her. He heard her footsteps behind him, stopped and turned halfway down.

“Ah, Inspector. Calling it a day as well, I see.”

“Yes, sir. It’s been a bugger of a day.”

“How so?”

“Another victim showed up dead, the man who had been abducted.”

He shook his head and his eyes bore into hers. “Did you do your best to find him?”

Sam was taken aback by his question. “Of course we did.”

“Then your conscience should be clear.”

“Oh, it is, sir, perfectly clear. It’s still upsetting to think that another person has lost their life. His wife and daughter are distraught. We had to spend two hours with his wife while the daughter drove up from Manchester to be with her.”

“You have gone above and beyond, as I’m sure you’ll continue to do during the rest of the investigation. Do you have anyone in mind for a suspect yet?”

“No. My team are digging daily and coming up with blanks by the end of the day.”

“They need to dig harder, then, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Perhaps. I want to assure you, we’re all doing our very best.”

“Yes, yes. I don’t doubt that. I must fly, Mrs Armstrong and I are having guests for dinner this evening. She’s already rung me half a dozen times during the course of the day. I’ve got instructions to pick up a list of urgent groceries on the way home.”

“Enjoy your evening, sir.”

“I’m sure we will, once Kathy has stopped stressing. The kids are staying with my mother-in-law for the night.”

“It’s good to have some adult time with your wife now and again.”

“It is. Have a good evening, Inspector, try to find the time to relax yourself this evening, if you can.”

Sam smiled and nodded, watched him shoot down the remaining stairs ahead of her and then let out a guttural moan when she realised what hell she was going home to. She was in dire need of a long soak in a relaxing bath, but the likelihood of getting one was tantamount to her jetting off on holiday to Barbados while Chris finished off the renovations all by himself. I can dream!

7

Sam’s exhaustion had reached another level by the time she arrived at work the next morning. Her evening had been spent clearing up the further mess Chris had made at the cottage and then trawling the internet again for the second night on the trot, trying to choose a kitchen they both liked. She had her heart set on an oak shaker style whereas Chris was determined to go for a more contemporary look. The evening had ended in an almighty argument. She marched up to bed at ten, leaving him drowning his sorrows with a four-pack of lager he’d picked up on his way home. She hated him drinking. It happened far too often for her liking. Having an evening drink had become the norm, rather than a luxury a few nights a week.

She wasn’t much of a drinker, she had always been able to go months without a drop touching her lips; that’s why she struggled to make sense of people setting off on a weekend to purposely get bladdered. If that was all they had to look forward to in life, she pitied them.

“I said good morning, boss.” Bob nudged her.

“Jesus, sorry, I was deep in thought there. Didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“Is everything all right?”

She exhaled a shuddering breath and nodded. “Hey, I’m fine. I should be asking you that. How’s things?”

“I asked first,” her partner insisted.

“Ignore me, I’m tired, that’s all.”

“You look as though you only got a few hours’ sleep last night.”

“That would be on the generous side. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Now, are you going to answer my question?”

He shrugged and looked away. She thought she spotted a little glint in his eye before he turned his head. “Go on, spill the beans.”

“Abigail came home last night. We took your advice and sorted things out like adults over a nice meal at our local pub.”

She smiled, genuinely pleased for him. “That’s great news. I’m delighted things are working out for you.”

“It’s early days yet. We’ve both agreed there are two parents in the house, not one. I’ve promised her I’ll have more input in the way things are run in the future.”

“Oh shit, I sense Abigail is going to regret putting such an agreement in place. What about Milly? How do things stand with the ‘devil teenager’? Your words, not mine, I recall.”

“We’re going to sit down this evening with Milly and try to work things out as a family. Neither of us wants to have slanging matches with our daughter and I’m sure all the arguing leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, too.”

“I’m sure you’ll all work out what’s best for the three of you going forward.”

He held his crossed fingers up. “So, now that’s out of the way, are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you?”

“The usual. I go home expecting to put my feet up for a rest and end up getting stuck into the renovations. I’m bored already and we’ve only been at it a couple of days.”

“I still can’t believe Chris didn’t run it past you first before he started ripping things out.”

“I know. Maybe he has a death wish.”

Bob chuckled. “Seriously though, how have you managed to keep your cool?”

She shrugged. “Not sure I have. We had a massive row last night. He turned to drink and ended up sleeping in the spare room.”

“Shit, sorry to hear that.”

“We’ll be fine. It’s not the first time and I doubt it’s going to be the last. Anyway, that isn’t the reason I didn’t sleep well.”

“Oh, why then?” Bob perched on the desk behind him and sipped his cup of coffee.

“I had the investigation going round and round in my head. Brenda having to deal with the loss of her husband has really got to me. I know we’re told to distance ourselves from the victims and their families for our own good, but sometimes, just sometimes, that’s so difficult to do.”

“I know. It was running through my mind on the drive home last night. Admittedly, once I got home and found Abigail there, my attention was on other things.”

“And so it should have been. I was fine all evening, preoccupied with the renos and sourcing a kitchen-…” She raised a hand when he opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t ask, nothing is sorted on what style we’re going for yet. We’re coming from different angles on that bloody issue.”

“You’ll get there. Abigail and I were at odds when we changed our bathroom. We went with her decision come the end and we love how it turned out.”

“Can you have a word with Chris for me? Tell him we women know what’s best, design-wise.”

“I’d rather not get involved if you two are having a domestic.”

“Gee, thanks for your support.”

The final member of the team, Oliver, arrived, so Sam and Bob put their conversation to rest for now.

“Okay, now we’re all here, let’s tackle what needs to be done today.” She had already brought the whiteboard up to date a few minutes earlier. “I realise the mood is going to be grim around here, none of us like losing someone who has been abducted. I need you all to keep digging for clues. We have two families now seeking justice. Not a position we like to be in, I know. Keep swapping the tasks around between you, if necessary, we’ve got to be missing something major.”

Bob sighed and crossed his arms. “We’ve looked at every angle. Maybe we should go back and speak to the families again. Perhaps they’re being lax with the information they’ve given us.”

Sam contemplated his suggestion for a moment. “Possibly, because of grief, is that what you’re referring to?”

He hitched up his shoulders. “Who knows? It’s not like we have anything else to go on, is it?”

“I agree. Okay, let me get the post out of the way first. Bob, organise the teams and we’ll hit the first victim’s family again; let’s face it, we’ve spent enough time with Brenda to know she has nothing to do with this. The same thing can’t be said about the Douglas family.” She left the team and stepped into her office, the scenery from her window distracting her for a second or two. After ten minutes of letter opening, she was losing the will to live.

Bob poked his head around the door and smiled. “How are you doing?”

“My mind is well and truly numb now.” The phone rang on her desk. She clamped a hand over her chest. “Nearly had a damn heart attack then.” She answered the call. “DI Cobbs, how—?”

“Sorry to interrupt you, ma’am, it’s Nick at reception. I’ve just received a call I think you should know about.”

“What’s up, Nick? It sounds serious.” She put the phone on speaker so her partner could hear.

“You could say that, ma’am. The postman out at Mosser has rung in, telling us that he’s found two women dead at the Chatley residence.”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Her heart raced and tears pricked her eyes. She dug deep to keep it professional. “Is the pathologist on his way out there?”

“It’s been actioned, ma’am.”

“Okay, Bob and I will get over there right away. Thanks, Nick.” Sam was already on her feet, ready for the off. She glanced at Bob and noticed the colour had drained from his face. “Are you okay?”

“Not really. Did I hear right?”

“I feel sick, too, Bob, but it’s important for us to hold it together. Come on, let’s get our skates on.”

They raced through the incident room. Sam shouted out the unwelcome news en route. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we hear any further details. Get digging, folks. Four people have lost their lives now and we’re sitting on our arses, not finding anything of value. Let’s put a halt to that.” Her tone was one of urgency and the team knew better than to answer back with wishy-washy excuses.

Outside, the rain was lashing down, adding to their sour mood. Sam opened the car doors and immediately pulled away. Bob switched on the siren to aid them. Weaving through the traffic, some of the cars hampered their progress as they panic-stopped. Eventually, she made her way out of town and drove hard and fast towards Mosser.

“Why are you rushing?” Bob clung on to his seat, his knuckles turning white.

“My need to get there quickly would account for that, do you have a problem?”

“No, I only asked. There was no need to snap my head off.”

Sam punched the steering wheel. “Sorry, admittedly, that was uncalled for. I’m pissed off with this. Why didn’t I keep someone on duty to watch over them?”

“You did your best. If Brenda was adamant she didn’t want babysitting, there was very little you could have done to change her mind. Old folks can be stubborn, dig their heels in when they think they’re being coerced into doing something against their will.”

“I know you’re right, but it still doesn’t sit comfortably with me. I let Brenda down, badly.”

“No, you didn’t. You do talk a lot of shit at times.”

Sam smirked, despite feeling like her chest was being crushed by a herd of elephants. “I’m glad you’re my partner.”

“Good. Sorry for swearing at you, it was for your own good.”

“I believe you.”

They made it out to the farm in record time; strange, considering there was no need to rush, what with the victims both being dead. Harsh, but true. Sam felt she needed to get there urgently, though.

By the look of things, Des Markham and his team had only just arrived. He was busy issuing instructions while the techs got suited and booted. Over in the corner of the yard, Sam spotted a red postal van. “Shit! The witness is still here. We’d better get his statement down and send him on his way.”

She and Bob exited the car and crossed the farmyard. A young man in his twenties was staring ahead of him, apparently in some kind of daze. Sam tapped on the window, and he jumped and placed a hand on his chest as if to steady his heart. He lowered the window. “Hi, lost in a world of my own, sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, concerned by his ashen colour and his jumpy demeanour.

He nodded briefly and then shook his head. “Yes, I mean no, I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again. They were lying there…” His voice drifted off and he gulped noisily.

“Are you up to telling us what you found? I don’t want to push you if you’d rather leave it for now. Saying that, the sooner we get to hear the details, the quicker we can get on with our investigation.”

“I get that. I’ll try. I still feel sick. I have a confession to make.”

Sam tilted her head. “What’s that?”

He pointed at the front of the house. “Over there, by the window, I puked. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I never expected to find them, not in that state. I only went in there because I saw the door open.”

“The front door?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“It’s AJ, Alan Jobbs, they call me AJ for short.”

“Good to meet you, AJ. Please, we can do this in your own time, there’s no need to rush, okay?”

AJ nodded. “The door was open, I called out, worried about Brenda, you know, after her husband went missing.” He ran a hand over his face and around the back of his neck. “I never thought I’d ever stumble across a dead body, let alone two of them. It was grotesque. Those poor women. They didn’t deserve to die that way.”

“We’ve yet to get in the house. We’re going to need to wait to get the go-ahead on that one from the SOCO team. If it’s not too traumatic for you, can you tell us what you saw?”

“I saw Brenda and a younger woman. They were lying on the floor in the lounge, blood everywhere. I paused and couldn’t stop staring at them. I don’t think I’ll ever rid myself of that image, ever.”

“Sorry to push you, but what kind of injuries did they sustain? Could you tell?”

AJ looked up at her, his eyes watering, and he said in a whisper, “They both had their throats cut.”

Sam closed her eyes for an instant and let out the breath she’d been holding in. “Jesus. I’m so sorry you had to see that. It must have been very distressing for you.”

“It was. But those two women have lost their lives, so in the grand scheme of things, what I’m feeling is insignificant.”

“It’s still disturbing to stumble across a murder scene, if that’s what it is.”

“What are you saying? That you think they committed suicide?”

“I’m not prepared to rule anything out at this stage, we can’t do that until the pathologist has given us his thoughts on how the victims died.” She scanned the area and then asked, “What time did you enter the house?”

“It was coming up to nine-fifteen, sometime around then.”

“And did you see anyone around here? Or did you perhaps drive past anyone on the road approaching the farm around that time?”

“No, only the usual tractor here and there, as the farmers tend to their animals in the fields. You think this happened this morning?”

Sam shrugged. “Again, we won’t know that until the pathologist has had a look at the victims. Are you the regular postman on this round?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was given this route about three years ago.”

“Am I right in thinking you were the one who discovered Tom Douglas’s body a few days ago?”

“Yes, that’s right. I wish I hadn’t. Now this. Not been my week, has it?” His head dipped onto his chest. “I’ve never had to deal with this kind of thing before. I’d only just got over finding Tom’s body and now Brenda has been killed as well. Who would do such a thing and why haven’t you found the person yet? Sorry to fling an accusation at you. But… bloody hell! That’s three dead bodies I’ve found in less than a week. More than I’ve ever discovered in my twenty-eight years on this bloody earth. Hard to take, as you can imagine.”

“As I’ve said already, all this must have been very traumatic for you. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this. We’re going to need another statement from you, when you’re up to giving us one.”

“I can do that this evening, will you send a copper around to see me, like last time? Or do you want me to come to the station?”

“No, the last thing we want to do is put you out. What about six-thirty this evening, how does that sound?”

“Yes, I’ll have eaten my dinner by then. Can I go now?”

She nodded and raised a finger. “Of course. A word of caution, if I may.”

“Sure, what’s that?”

“Please don’t discuss what you’ve seen here today with your colleagues, obviously your superior will need to know.”

“You have my word on that. I wouldn’t put anyone through what I’ve just witnessed.”

“And one last thing, try to put the images out of your mind, at least while you’re driving.”

“I’ll try. It’s going to be difficult though.”

“I know. Thanks for speaking with us. We’ve got your address back at the station. I’ll tell them to slot you in for this evening. I just want to add my thanks to you for assisting us with our enquiries.”

“I’d say it was my pleasure, but I’d be lying. Can you answer me one thing before I leave?”

“If I can, yes.” Sam smiled at him.

“Any news on Brenda’s husband yet? David, he’s a lovely man, always very chatty and welcoming whenever I pull into the drive.”

Sam cleared her throat. “It’s not common knowledge yet, but sadly, David Chatley’s body was discovered yesterday. We came to inform Brenda yesterday afternoon. She called for her daughter to be here with her, and now it would seem, they’ve both lost their lives as well.”

AJ gasped and shook his head. “Fuck! Why?”

“We’ve yet to establish those facts. Can I ask you to keep your eyes peeled for anything going on in the area? Anyone hanging around, a strange vehicle, a car parked where it shouldn’t be. That sort of thing.” Sam fished a card out of her pocket and gave it to him. “Ring me straight away if you see anything you deem worthy of my attention.”

“I’ll definitely keep my eyes and ears open, if only for my benefit; I don’t want to get caught up in the type of shit that’s going on out here. It’s obvious something is going on, isn’t it?”

“You’re a very wise man. Remain alert at all times and you should be fine. Ring me if you have any concerns, okay?”

“I’ll definitely do that. I have to ask, do you have any thoughts yet on who the person you’re looking for is yet?”

“We have a few leads,” Sam said, telling him an untruth.

“Good to know. Is it all right if I go now?”

“Of course. Thanks for doing the right thing and calling us.”

He smiled, nodding, and started up his engine.

They watched him leave the farmyard. “Poor bloke. I bet he has a few nightmares to tackle this week.”

“Yep, I bet. Right, let’s see if Des is ready for us yet.”

They went back to Des and his team. “How did it go?” he asked.

“It went. He was a little shaken up, that’s three victims he’s discovered this week, bless him.”

Des clicked his fingers and tutted. “Of course it is, I forgot about the first victim. They say things happen in threes.”

Sam stared at him in disbelief. “What the fuck? Did you just utter those words?”

Des cringed. “Aye, I did. Am I forgiven?”

“It depends on whether you get the reports to me quickly or not.”

“I’ll do my best, as always. Okay, enough of this triviality, do you want to walk the scene with me?”

“I take it you haven’t been inside yet?”

“That’s a negative. You and Bob will need to get suited up. I’m nearly ready, just need to organise my assistant, make sure she’s got the right equipment to hand.”

“Be gentle with her. I’ve heard how you speak to Vanessa sometimes.”

He slapped a gloved hand to his chest. “What are you insinuating? That I’m a grouch with my team?”

She grinned, baring her polished white teeth at him. “If the cap fits, maybe it’s just the women on your team you have a hot temper with.”

His head craned forward. “Do you realise how sexist that remark was, Inspector Cobbs?”

“About as sexist as your attitude to your female colleagues, I would say.”

He grumbled something under his breath and retrieved two suits from the back of his van. Flinging them at Sam and Bob, he shook his head and muttered, “Never in my wildest dreams would I ever treat a female colleague differently. I’m gutted, nay, mortified that the thought should even enter your head.”

“I was joking, winding you up. Sort of. I have witnessed your harsh tone when in conversation with Vanessa, though. Maybe something you should be aware of going forward.”

“Only because I lose patience with her some days.”

“There, see, you’ve come right out and admitted it.”

Des pulled a face at her. “Has your lecture finished now? Only we really should be getting on.”

The banter she used with Des at a scene helped them deal with the atrocious crimes they had to contend with. If coppers didn’t have that relief some days, their nerves would be on edge twenty-four-seven.

Throwing on the suit, Sam glared at Des who folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. “We’re almost there.”

Bob chuckled and she dug him in the ribs. “Don’t you start. I’ve got enough dealing with his smart mouth and snarky looks at present, without you getting in on the action.”

Her partner smirked and took a step back. “Keep me out of it.”

“Right, let’s get back to work. Game faces on, peeps, we’re going in.” Des strutted ahead of them. Sam was the next to enter the house and Bob brought up the rear.

The door to the lounge was open, and Des’s frame did an excellent job of blocking the view until he stepped to one side. Sam’s gaze was drawn to the two women positioned on the floor. One of them sat upright, leaning against the sofa, and the other, Brenda, was lying across the younger woman’s legs. “What the fuck? The killer has staged them?” Sam took in the state of the room, surrounding the women. It looked like a tornado had swept through and left its mark.

“So it would appear. Bloody hell!” Des took a step closer to the bodies, to study each of them properly.

“It’s abhorrent. If there’s only one perpetrator, it means that they killed one and forced the other to watch,” Sam surmised with a shudder of discontent.

“Don’t say that,” Bob replied. He shifted around the room to have a more close-up view of the victims and from another angle.

“I fear you’re correct, Sam. Although it grieves me to say it. Either way, both women suffered a great deal before they died,” Des confirmed.

Sam inched forward and noticed the other wounds on the women’s faces and hands, rather than just the gaping hole in their necks. “Defence wounds on each of them. Possible DNA?”

Des shuffled into a crouch next to the victims and picked up each of their hands to examine. “I should think there is a fair chance of that. Let’s hope so.”

Something struck Sam. “Do you mind if I go upstairs, take a look around up there?”

Des stood and inclined his head. “Searching for anything in particular?”

“I just need to satisfy a hunch I’ve got.”

Des motioned for her to go ahead and she tore out of the room and up the stairs to the main bedroom. The room was in a mess, just like the lounge. The quilt had been turned back, as if someone had folded it back to take a look under the bed and left it there. However, the thing that really caught her eye was the wardrobe door. It was open. Sensing what she might find, she approached the old-fashioned wardrobe and peered inside. As suspected, the secret compartment was open. “Shit!”

“What’s up?” Bob startled her from the doorway.

“My guess is, whoever killed them was after what we took in as evidence.”

“No, don’t tell me that. Fuck! And you’re standing here doubting yourself? Whether you did the right thing or not?”

She turned on the spot to face him and snapped, “Yes. Aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. You did everything by the book. Look at it this way, if the money and medals hadn’t been taken in by us, they would now be missing, right? And you think those two ladies down there would have still been alive to tell the tale?”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Bob was right. No matter how she assessed it, it was a no-win situation. Which annoyed the hell out of her. “Our mission needs to be to find out what those medals are worth.”

“It shouldn’t be too difficult. Want me to get the ball rolling? Ring Alex, get him on the case?”

“Yes, you do that.” Sam walked past her partner and back down the stairs.

“By the look of devastation on your face, I’m taking it you found something up there, did you?”

“Yes. The secret compartment in the wardrobe was empty. We came here yesterday to gather Tom Douglas’s belongings, some World War One medals and a bundle of cash. Brenda showed us where she kept them for safekeeping, in a compartment inside the wardrobe. The perp must have lost patience after killing David and not finding out where the items were kept.” Her brow furrowed and she pointed at Des. “Unless, he gave up the information before he was killed and the perp came here, knowing the medals and cash were here. Maybe they tortured the women to get the truth out of them. Possibly tortured the daughter first to force Brenda into telling them. He got frustrated when Brenda eventually broke down and told them where the hiding place was and found it empty, the perp came back down here and killed them, their anger building to a crescendo.”

Des’s expression changed throughout her possible account of the crime, from thoughtful to sad, to shaking his head in disbelief. “Possibly. Either way, the women suffered an horrendous death.”

They both stared down at the two victims. Sam’s heart sank into her stomach. What if the chief hadn’t told me to take the items in as evidence? Would Brenda and her daughter still be alive today?

Who is the killer? Did they know Tom, David and Brenda? Or are they a chancer? I find that hard to believe.

Des tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Lots. Too much. At the moment, I have far too many questions floating around than answers. How many more people are going to lose their lives? I feel guilty for not putting a team here, to protect Brenda; I had an officer here while her husband was missing, but she ordered me to tell her to leave. Foolish woman. I can’t help thinking that had an officer remained on site, maybe the two women would still be alive to tell us what happened here.”

“Stop it! You can’t, no, you mustn’t go blaming yourself for something that was way out of your control, Sam. What use is that going to do you in the end?”

She shrugged and tears bulged. Sam swiped them away before Bob saw her tears as weakness. She stared at Des, unsure what to say in response; nothing was going to make her feel better about the situation which could possibly have been averted, if she was on her game. This whole investigation had been a stressful one which had culminated in four deaths now, and still, they were nowhere near finding out the truth about the perp. She forced a smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’m one of life’s survivors.”

“I have no doubt that’s true; however, blaming yourself for something that was totally out of your hands is only going to destroy your spirit, I assure you.”

“I know. I’m going to try not to burden myself further with that, I promise. Have you had time to assess their injuries? I see you’ve placed bags over their hands.”

“Yes, if there is any DNA to be had, my team will find it. I’m hopeful on that count.”

Sam nodded and smiled, suddenly feeling more hopeful about the situation. “That’s great news. Maybe the perp took one life too many and just led us to his front door.”

Des held up a warning finger. “Only if his DNA is registered on our system, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true enough. However, if in the meantime we discover who the perp might be, we’ll have his DNA to put a nail in his coffin.”

“You will. Right, is there anything else you need to discuss for now?”

“Nope, I don’t think so. Bob and I will head back to the station. I think it’ll be a waste of time hanging around here, questioning the neighbours. I’ll get uniform on that when I return to base.”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me. The killer would be long gone by now and has probably significantly covered his tracks. Maybe they arrived via the fields rather than drove here.”

Sam nodded. “There’s a road on the other side of the Chatleys’ land, perhaps the killer left their vehicle there and came here by foot.” She glanced down at the carpet to see if there was any evidence to back up her claims. She failed to notice any.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get SOCO to thoroughly check the entrances and windows.”

“Thanks. I’m going to shoot off then. Crap, I need to see if I can find another next of kin for the pair of them.”

Des pointed at the bureau along the far wall. “I spotted an address book over there. Might be a good place to start.”

“Thanks. I’ll take it in as evidence, get a member of the team to do some digging. Let me know your findings ASAP on this one, will you, Des?”

“I surely will. I want this perp caught as much as you do.”

“Good. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?”

He smiled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now scram.”

Sam nodded and left the house. She found Bob outside, and he jabbed at his phone, ending the call he was making. “Everything okay?”

“Yep, Alex is on the case. What are we going to do now? Want to knock on a few doors?”

“Nope. Let’s get back to the station.” She held up the address book she had placed in a clear evidence bag. “We have yet another next of kin to find. I’m also going to ask the desk sergeant to arrange a team to conduct the door-to-door enquiries. My take is the killer has their wits about them.”

“Maybe. Saying that, didn’t Des mention he might have left DNA at the scene?”

“Yep. At least we might have some possible evidence in our favour, at last.”

8

Sam insisted they stop off at the baker’s on their way back; she had a feeling they were in for a long day. Once they arrived at the station, she told Bob to go on ahead while she hung around to speak to the desk sergeant. “Do you have anyone free, Nick?”

“I can always find someone to help you out, Inspector. What do you need?”

“A team of officers, actually. They need to go out to the Chatley farm in Mosser, more to the point, the surrounding area. Knock on the neighbours’ doors, see if they saw any suspicious vehicles in the area in the last few days.”

“I can instigate that for you. Leave it with me.”

“Good, thanks, Nick. Let me know if they come up with anything. I won’t be holding my breath. I think we have a crafty killer in our midst.”

Nick tilted his head and winked. “They all slip up sooner or later, you know that as well as I do.”

“How true.” She smiled, turned and tapped the number on the security keypad which released the door. Wearily, she made her way up the stairs to the incident room. She paused, wondering whether she should take a detour to the chief’s office, to keep him up to date. Her stomach rumbled which helped to make up her mind. The chief could wait.

The incident room was buzzing, but it quietened down as soon as she entered the room. “Don’t let me stop you. Let’s get lunch underway and chuck around a few ideas while we eat, yes?”

Bags rustled and Bob joined Sam at the vending machine. He put his hand in his pocket, for a change, to buy the drinks. She touched his forehead. “Are you feeling all right?”

He tutted. “Bugger off. I thought I’d better show willing, considering you bought the sandwiches.”

“Thanks, it’s appreciated. I’m sure the rest of the team will agree.”

Between them they handed around the drinks. In between bites and sips, Sam ran through what they had discovered up at the farmhouse. Crap, I wish I’d finished my lunch first. Her stomach objected and she placed half of her sandwich aside, to maybe go back to later. “That’s what we have, ladies and gents. Any suggestions?”

Claire raised a hand, lettuce poking out from the corner of her mouth. She finished what she was chewing on and wiped her lips with a serviette. “Sorry about that, boss. Messy eater, I know, Scott’s always saying the same. Going back to the case, do you want me to delve into their backgrounds, the three who knew each other? Would that help?”

“Anything we can find out about the three of them is going to help, Claire, so go for it. They’ve been friends for over fifty years, I seem to recall, so they might have a few skeletons in the cupboard to uncover.” Claire set her sandwich aside and pounded the keys of her computer. “Hey, finish your lunch first, that’s an order. I know if there’s dirt to be found, you’ll find it, but you’re going to need sustenance to do it. Anyone else got any ideas?”

Bob raised a finger. “I know I keep coming back to the medals and the money, maybe I’ll trawl through the database, see if there have been any burglaries where medals have been snatched in the last couple of years.”

“Makes sense to me. Suzanna, I’m going to task you with finding a next of kin for me.” She left her seat and handed the constable the address book. “I think that’s everything covered for now. I’ll be in my office, carrying out the daily grind I didn’t have the chance to complete this morning. Give me a shout if anything shows up.”

She ate the last mouthful of her sandwich just as her mobile rang. Looking at the caller ID, Sam expelled a deep breath. Bugger, what the heck does he want? He only gets in touch when something goes belly up. She prepared herself for another nightmare confrontation with her brother. That’s all they seem to have lately. “Hi, Mike, how are you?”

“Sis, I need twenty grand.”

She fell back in her chair. “What? Wait, that’s the first thing you say to me? No, hi, Sam, how are things with you? Sorry I haven’t been around much lately? You know, things are a little hectic at this end, you understand, don’t you?”

“Bollocks, Sam. You know how much I hate chatting on the damn phone. Give me a break for fuck’s sake.”

Anger seared her veins. Her pulse rate escalated at the speed of light. “You truly are a piece of work, Mike. You’ve gone too far this time.”

“What? What have I said?”

“Oh, let me see, oh yeah, you just fucking asked me for twenty grand of my hard-earned money. No way, buster. Get off your arse and get out into the real world, earn it like the rest of us.”

“Here goes, another fucking lecture coming my way.”

“Too frigging right there is. Why should I give you money? What do you need it for?”

“You know very well what I need it for, drugs. I’m an addict, you know that.”

She shook her head and puffed out her cheeks, trying hard to suppress her temper from flaring out of control. “You know my answer to that one. This has been going on for five years or more, bro. It’s time you sought help with your addiction.”

“What the fuck do you think I’m trying to do?”

“Not in the form of a handout, idiot. You need to seek medical help. Admit to the doctor you have an addiction, they can assist you getting the proper help and advice you need to get clean.”

“I’m in the process of doing just that. In the meantime, I need twenty grand.”

“You’ll have to find it elsewhere.”

“Go on, you can afford it. I hear inspectors get paid really well these days.”

She let out an ironic laugh. “Ha, you reckon? Even if we did, you know we need the money to do up our house.”

“At least you’ve got a house. I’m stuck in the same bedsit I’ve been in for years.”

She closed her eyes and imagined the snarky look on his face, the one that always seemed to be present as a kid when he spoke to her. “Whoa! Don’t go blaming me for the crappy situation you’ve found yourself in. When was the last time you held down a job for longer than a few months?”

“Fuck off! And back off. I need the money. I have to be desperate to come to you cap in hand in the first place.”

“Meaning what?”

“You’re the copper, figure it out for yourself.”

“Jesus, Mike. Listen to yourself. You call me expecting a huge handout, which I know damn well I will never see again, and you start slinging shit my way in the form of insults. Get a fucking life, man. Grow some frigging balls for once in your life. Get off that numb arse of yours and get out there, like the rest of us, and earn the money you need to survive. Gone are the days I hand over any more money to you.”

“Wind you up and let you go, that should be your frigging mantra. Thanks for listening.”

He slammed down the phone to end the call. Sam tossed her mobile to one side and got back to work, except she found it hard to concentrate. She picked up her mobile and called her brother back. He answered after the fourth ring.

“Yeah, what do you want now?”

“What a welcome that is, and you wonder why I don’t bow to the pressure and offer you the money. Get a life, Mike.”

“I’m trying. But someone is standing in my way.”

“Fuck off. I rang back to make sure you don’t go hounding Mum and Dad, playing the guilt card on them.”

“I wouldn’t. The bitch won’t accept my calls, anyway.”

“The bitch? Is that any way to talk about your own mother?”

“She stopped being a mother to me a few years ago.”

“Ah, yes, I recall the scene well. We were all at a family barbecue, you turned up, stoned out of your tiny mind. You made a show of us all that day, not just our long-suffering parents.”

“Did I fuck?”

“You took Mum to one side and asked her to lend you, what was it? Five hundred quid, something like that. She refused, so you decided to deck her. Your own frigging mother, for fuck’s sake. And not once since then have you shown any kind of remorse. And here you are, showing up like an unexpected vile smell, asking for yet another handout.” Her brother remained silent. “Mum had to have two teeth removed after your last contretemps with her. That cost her over five hundred quid.”

“Ha, it would have been better if she’d handed the money over to me in the first place, at least she’d be five hundred quid light, with less pain to deal with.”

“You’re a piece of work you are. What the fuck did we do to deserve to be lumbered with a fucking shit like you?”

“Bloody charming, that is. Screw you, Sam. This is me saying goodbye, you’re not likely to see me again in the future. If I can’t pay off my debts, they’re going to kill me. Thanks for listening.”

He ended the call a second time. Sam sat upright and considered what he had said. The trouble was… Mike was a born liar. Every time he opened his mouth, another belter tumbled out. She decided not to call him back again. She had more important things to deal with, like four murders and no possible suspect. Mike could go screw himself. He’d been on drugs most of his life and expected handouts to fund his disgusting habit, instead of working for a living. Enough was enough. Even if she had the money, she wouldn’t give it to him. What was the point? Addicts always sank to another level with money in their pockets. She didn’t want to be held responsible for him ending up in the mortuary.

She shook out her arms, ridding herself of the added stress he’d put on her shoulders. You prick, you need a frigging rocket or something even larger up your arse. What a disgrace he is to our family. No wonder Mum and Dad no longer want anything more to do with him. I haven’t been so cruel as to cut him off, but if he carries on the route he is travelling, it would only be a matter of time before I do just that.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she resisted the temptation to call and discuss her brother’s plight with Chris. It would only make him more stressed than he already was, what with the kitchen renovations going on. If there was time later, she’d make him aware of what had gone on.

As if I don’t have enough on my plate without my brother surfacing from under whichever rock he’s been hiding lately. Why did life have to be so full on at times? I could do with going home tonight to put my feet up. Like that’s going to happen.

Shrugging off her personal problems for now, she decided to throw herself into her work. It took another hour to trawl through the mind-numbing chore of dealing with the post, and by that time, she was in dire need of more caffeine.

She left her office to join the rest of the team. She was pleased to see them all with their heads down, beavering away at their computers. Feeling generous again, she bought them all a coffee and distributed the cups. One by one, she asked her colleagues if they’d managed to find out anything in her absence.

The search into the three neighbours turned out to be the most disappointing. Claire went through a few minor incidents, mainly to do with sheep rustling and another couple of incidents to do with the farms, but in Sam’s mind they were nothing which waved a red flag.

She paused at the whiteboard and brought it up to date with the last two deaths. There has to be a connection, what the hell is it?

“I might have something.” Bob startled her by sneaking up behind her.

She turned to face him. “I hope so. We’re truly struggling with this one.”

“It’s to do with the medals. I’ve been working with Alex on this one. Until we actually know what type of medals they are, we’re not going to get very far. Would it be all right to go to the evidence room and take a closer look at them?”

“Go for it. It will be interesting to get some indication as to how much they’re worth.”

Bob collected Alex on his way out of the room. Sam perched on the desk behind her and read the information on the whiteboard over and over until her vision blurred. She rubbed her temple, doing her best to ease the headache she could feel coming on.

“Are you all right, boss?” Claire asked.

“I’m fine. I’ll be better once we’ve located the bloody killer. Until then, we plod on, right?”

“Not the easiest of cases we’ve had to deal with lately.”

“I know. Let’s do our best to get the victims the justice they deserve. The feeling of helplessness is exceptionally high on this one, more than any other case I’ve dealt with over the years. Lack of clues and evidence.” Saying the words out loud jolted Sam. “Wait, we do have something. I need to make a call.”

She rushed back into her office and rang the mortuary. Des answered the phone within a couple of rings. “Hi, I know you’re going to consider me a bloody nuisance, but I was wondering if you’d actioned the DNA samples yet.”

“Hi, Sam, yep, I knew you were up against it, so I actioned them upon my return. We should have something for you ASAP, I’ve told them to prioritise the samples.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that, Des. I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to carry out the PMs yet, have you?”

“I’m just about to start the first one now. Want to join me?”

“Not particularly. Do you mind?”

“Nope, although I would rather you were here, it’s always good to have the SIO present.”

She sighed. “I could be there in forty-five minutes, if you’re prepared to hang on.”

“I’m not one to twist an officer’s arm into doing their duty.” He sniggered.

“All right. I’m on my way.” She groaned and hung up.

It was already four o’clock, the traffic would be starting to build on the A595. She kicked herself for getting into such a hole. If I hadn’t bloody rung him, I’d be going home in a couple of hours.

On her way out to the car, Sam dropped by the evidence room.

“Are you checking up on us?” Bob teased. He frowned when she rolled her eyes and didn’t smile. “Something wrong?”

“I’ve been summoned to attend the PMs. Just on my way to Carlisle now.”

“Shit! This late in the day? Want me to tag along?”

“No. You keep things ticking over here. Any luck yet?”

“We’ve taken several photos. Some of the medals are known to us, but it’s the others that have us intrigued. We’re going to compare them to what we find on the internet.”

“Okay, sounds promising. I’ll let you know how I get on later.”

“I was going to suggest the same. Drive safely.”

“Yes, Dad.” She grinned and shook her head. “See you tomorrow.”

9

Sam was flustered by the time she arrived at the hospital. She had rung ahead, warned Des that she was running late due to the heavy traffic in town. He was standing at the entrance, awaiting her arrival. From there, he hurried her through to the changing room, supplied her with the right size protective greens, or thereabouts, and whisked her into the examination suite before she had a chance to fully draw a breath.

“Talk about working in a whirlwind. Blimey, a hello, how are you, would you like a cup of coffee, would have been a nicer greeting. Just saying.”

Des laughed and pointed at the victim, Brenda Chatley, positioned on the stainless-steel table, Des’s tools of the trade sitting alongside her on a trolley. “She’s my priority, not you. Actually, she and her daughter are. Anyway, thanks for joining me here today. Shall we begin?”

Sam rubbed her hands together and smiled broadly so her eyes wrinkled. “Ooo, let’s. What are you waiting for?”

He shook his head. “Although I find your enthusiasm endearing, I have a feeling that will diminish once I create the Y-incision.”

Sam didn’t respond. She took up her position on the other side of the corpse and prepared herself for what was to come.

“The Vicks is on the trolley, should you need it.”

Sam ignored his comment, choosing not to use a barrier to combat the smell that usually followed once a body was opened up.

“I’ll carry on then. Are you ready?”

She nodded and gulped as the first incision was made. PMs were an unwelcome part of the job at the best of times, but to be standing here, watching a woman she had come to know over the past few days being opened up, made her stomach lurch.

Des recorded every move he made after the first incision. “The hyoid bone has a large nick in it, meaning that I believe the perpetrator carried out the attack with force.”

Sam shuddered. Des glanced her way. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just the thought of Brenda, sorry, the victim, going through such an ordeal before her death… well, it doesn’t sit well with me. Callous, cruel and undeserved to treat an elderly woman in such a way, in my opinion.”

“I agree. May I continue?”

Sam’s cheeks heated up under his gaze and he smirked. “Please, do carry on.”

“Thank you.” He went on to describe several other injuries Brenda had across her upper body, which included several areas of bruising plus entry wounds from a blade. Several minutes later, Des changed position and moved to the lower part of the body. Here, there were further nicks to the skin, and although the marks were on the surface, they hadn’t reached any of the major organs. “My conclusion is that the victim died from having her throat cut, although she clearly suffered other injuries beforehand.”

“You’re telling me in a roundabout way that you believe she was tortured.”

“That’s correct. I’m going to take samples of her organs now before I sew her up. Do you wish to leave the room while I do it, perhaps take a break? There’s a coffee machine outside.”

“Thanks. I’ll do that. Can I get you one?”

“Not for me. I’ll have a bottle of water in a while. I shouldn’t be long.”

Sam left the suite and went in search of the vending machine that was situated halfway up the corridor. After selecting a white coffee, she placed the cup on a nearby table and rang her partner. It was ten minutes past six. He replied instantly. “Hi, Bob, I’m still here. One down, one to go. How are things there? I take it you’re still at work?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m going to send the rest of the team home soon, if that’s all right?”

“Of course it is. They’ve all worked exceptionally hard today. What about you?”

“Alex and I have agreed to stay behind, we’re having trouble sourcing some of the medals. We’re determined to trace all of them before we go home.”

“You’re troopers, thanks for putting in the extra effort. What have you come up with so far?”

“They range in value from two hundred quid up to three thousand five hundred.”

Sam groaned. “Are you pulling my leg?”

He chuckled. “I’m not touching you. Why?”

“Idiot! What the hell? I thought we’d be talking about tens of thousands, not a measly few hundred quid.”

“I agree, it does seem to be a high price to pay, to take four people’s lives, if that’s indeed what the murderer was after.”

“Seems bloody ridiculous. What about the money?” Sam paced the hallway while she spoke.

“What about it?”

“Have you counted it yet?”

“I have. There’s just under ten grand there.”

Sam shook her head in disgust. “Fuck. Okay, we’ll delve into this more in the morning. Do your best to obtain valuations for all the medals. There might be a hidden gem in there for all we know that could be worth several thousand.”

“I doubt it. We’ll keep searching, though. I hope Des doesn’t have you hanging around too long over there.”

“Me too. See you in the morning.”

She ended the call and picked up her cup. She paced the area while she sipped her drink, reflecting on what Bob had told her. None of this makes sense. Had the medals been worth a lot of money, then yes, that could be deemed an important motive. What the hell is going on here? Are we barking up the wrong tree?

More questions seeped into her mind until her headache worsened. “Damn, I forgot to take a tablet before I left the office.”

“Talking to yourself, Inspector Cobbs?”

“Sometimes it’s the only way for me to obtain a sensible answer. I have a headache if you must know, it came on back at the station. I stupidly forgot to take a painkiller and now it’s getting progressively worse.”

“If I had a devious mind, which I haven’t, I would take that as you searching for an excuse to get out of attending another PM.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Then you, dear doctor, would be way off the bloody mark because I’m doing no such thing.”

“Do you want me to get you a tablet?”

“Are you allowed to dish them out like sweeties?”

“No, not really. It’s your call.”

“I’ll struggle on. I have a packet in the car. Are you ready for me yet?”

“Yes, walk this way, into my inner sanctum and we’ll slice up another victim.” He let out a sinister laugh that Christopher Lee would have been proud of.

“Poor taste of humour… just saying.”

He snorted and let out another sinister laugh to rival the first one.

“You’re sick, do you know that?”

“Paula tells me every so often, I presume she does it to keep my feet on the ground.”

She laughed, despite trying to keep a straight face. They entered the examination suite to find Michelle Chatley lying on the table. Sam sighed, her heart sinking a little. The woman had only been doing her mother a favour, travelling all that way to be with Brenda, and had mistakenly got caught up in the violence that had ensued. An innocent victim. They all were, in her opinion.

Michelle’s PM took the same route as her mother’s and resulted in a similar outcome. Both women’s deaths were attributed to the slits they received to their throats. Michelle also encountered several puncture wounds, just like her mother. “You reckon the killer tortured both of them to begin with and then, when they didn’t offer up the information he was after, he killed one in front of the other?”

“That’s my take on it, yes. Maybe the daughter was killed first, if he suspected Brenda knew where the medals and money were kept.”

Sam placed a finger on her cheek. “That would make sense. To kill the daughter in order to obtain the items. It wouldn’t have worked the other way around, if the items were hidden in a secret compartment that possibly the daughter was oblivious to. Either way, we’re dealing with a heartless individual lacking in morals. Bastard.”

“I totally agree with your assumption. Do you want to hang around, have a chat after I’ve sewn her up?”

“Will it be worth it?” Sam glanced at her watch. It was coming up to half past seven, and she had a long drive ahead of her.

“Go, I can see you’re itching to get home.”

“Sorry to run out on you, it’s been a long, arduous day and—”

He raised his hands to stop her mid-flow. “No excuses necessary. I’ll be going home myself soon enough. I’ll be in touch with the reports in the next day or two.”

“Thanks for understanding. Umm… if you can keep hounding the tech guys for the DNA results, that would be a massive help.”

“Of course. Your wish is my command. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Sam.”

“You too, Des.”

She left the suite and went back to the changing room. After disrobing, she walked briskly back to her car. Before she set off, Sam swallowed a couple of paracetamols and washed them down with a swig of water from the bottle she kept in the side pocket of her door. Then she turned on a Celine Dion disc to accompany her back home.

It was still light, the sunset was off to her right, out to sea. The drive home was less mentally exerting than her drive up to Carlisle had been.

At close to half past eight, she pulled into her drive. Exiting the car, she expected to hear the clatter of work taking place on the inside; instead, all was quiet. Too quiet. Enough to put her worry gene on alert. Sam decided to go through the back gate. The same mess was still in situ, cluttering up the path to the back door. She did her best to squeeze past the units that had been ripped out and cursed when she snagged her jacket on a splintered edge jutting out from the path. “Damn, another bloody suit knackered. Chris, are you there?”

There was no response from her husband. Her nerves were on edge by this point.

“Chris,” she called out again.

Still no reply.

The back door was ajar, and she covered her hand with her jacket and pushed it open. There, lying on the floor was Chris; he had an open wound on his forehead.

“Sam, help me.” His plea sounded pitiful.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Tears emerged and trickled down her heated cheeks. “Chris, are you okay?”

“I’ll be all right. I just need a minute. My head is swimming.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened? Did you fall?”

“If only that were true.”

“Then what? Tell me.”

“I was upstairs, you know, going to the loo; when I came down, there was someone in the house.”

She gasped. “Shit! Did you see who it was? Where was Sonny?”

“No. Everything happened so fast. Whoever it was came at me, bashed me over the head with that damn vase we got for a wedding present and ran out of the house. Sonny was in the lounge.”

“Bugger. So you didn’t get a proper look at them?”

“No, I just told you that. Anyway, they were wearing one of those ski masks.”

“Did they take anything?”

“Help me to my feet. I don’t know. I’ll need to look around before I can answer that.”

She placed a hand under his elbow and eased him to his feet. He swayed and banged his hip against the wall. “Are you okay? Do you need me to call the doctor or take you to the hospital?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine. My head’s clearing a little.” He tried to stand upright, but his legs buckled and he slammed against the wall again.

Sam searched the immediate area, looking for a seat. There weren’t any, they’d all been shifted next door into the dining room. “Stay there. I’ll get a chair.”

“No, don’t leave me. Help me into the other room.”

She flung an arm around his waist and placed his arm over her shoulder. “You’re going to have to help me. You’re a dead weight, I can’t shift you alone, love.”

“I’m doing my best. My head isn’t helping. My vision is blurred.”

“Look, if you lost consciousness, then we need to get you to the hospital, you might have concussion.”

“You know how much I hate those places.”

“No one likes them, but it’s a necessity to get you checked over, Chris. Please don’t fight me on this one.” It was then she smelt alcohol on his breath. “Have you been drinking?”

“One or two. Don’t start, Sam.”

“I’m not starting, I asked a simple question. Do you want to go to hospital or not? If you do, the alcohol you’ve consumed might hinder what they’re prepared to do for you.”

“No. I’m staying here. Get me into the dining room, I’ll be better once I’m sitting down.”

Together they exerted themselves, trying to get him moved around twenty feet. She lowered him into the padded chair and stood back to assess his wound. “I’ll get a bowl of water and some TCP, that should do the trick.”

“Will it hurt?” he called after her, ever the wuss.

“It shouldn’t do, we’ll soon find out. I’m going to have to ring it in if you think it was a burglary. Make the other residences in the area aware of what went on here tonight.”

“Do you have to?”

After looking through several boxes in the kitchen, she finally found a glass bowl, which she filled with tepid water. Then she tore upstairs, searched high and low for the TCP, but couldn’t find it, so used Dettol instead. He wouldn’t know the difference and it had the same healing properties TCP had, so she didn’t see a problem making the switch. Sam went back downstairs and returned to the dining room where she bathed his wound.

“Ouch, that hurts,” Chris whimpered, his bottom lip quivering.

“It’s cotton wool and a diluted mixture, how can it possibly hurt?” she asked, her impatience getting the better of her.

“Can’t you be more gentle?”

“Er, no.” She held the cotton wool out to him. “Do you want to do it yourself?”

He crossed one arm over the other and pulled a face. “Glad you chose to be a copper and not a nurse, your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”

Sam snorted. “Moaning bloody Minnie. Stop whinging.”

“Hard to do that when you’re jabbing at my wound.”

She’d had enough. The wound was now clean of blood. She took a step back and said, “It’s a minor cut, not sure what the bloody fuss was about, Chris.”

“Who was making a fuss? Not me!”

She shook her head and wagged a finger. “Don’t push it. I’ve had a day from hell.”

“And you think mine has been a bed of roses? I’ve been at it for hours on that damn kitchen and then I got bumped on the bloody head by a no-mark after money.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Like I said, I was in the loo and had just come downstairs, someone must have followed me in, come through the back gate without me noticing them, and they whacked me over the head.”

“Were you out cold?”

“Yes, for a while. I kind of heard what was going on, but I couldn’t raise my head, it was too heavy. I was befuddled, my head didn’t feel like it belonged to me.”

“All right, I get your drift. Did the person say anything? Like what they were after? Speak to you at all?”

“Jesus, stop being a copper for a moment, will you? I just told you I was confused. I’m trying to cast my mind back.”

“I’m going to ring the station. How long ago did it happen?”

“Not long, I suppose about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Shit! My head’s throbbing, I don’t know, it could have been thirty to forty minutes, I just don’t know for sure.” Chris was starting to get agitated. He was prone to doing that, if things didn’t go his way.

“All right. Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, you know how much that bloody infuriates me.”

Sam turned her back on him and rolled her eyes. If he’d seen her do that, he would have kicked off again. She rang the station and spoke to a constable manning the front desk. “I need you to be aware that my husband was attacked at home, we’re presuming it was a burglary.” Sam gave the constable her address. “He doesn’t wish to make a complaint at this point. I thought it best to call it in, just in case anyone else lodges a complaint tonight.”

“I’ll note it down, ma’am and make sure the desk sergeant is told upon his return.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She ended the call and spun around to face Chris again.

“Is that it?” he screeched.

A frown pulled at her temple. “What?”

“Aren’t they going to do anything about it? You know, get a bunch of cars out here and do a thorough search of the neighbourhood?”

“You said you didn’t want to make a fuss. It was a courtesy call, that’s all.”

He shook his head and gave her a frustrated look for putting him straight. “Oh right, yes, of course. What now?”

“Now I need to get something to eat, I only had a sandwich at lunchtime. I suppose it’s takeaway again on the menu tonight, is it?”

He shrugged. “You know damn well it is, so why bother bloody asking?”

“Why indeed,” she grumbled. “I fancy something light, maybe just a burger, what about you?”

“Yeah, burger and chips will do. Do you want to ring up, get a delivery?”

“No, I’m not prepared to wait. I’ll go to Burger King.”

“Crummy burgers there.”

She tutted and desperately tried to hold on to what patience she possessed, which wasn’t much. “Where then? Bearing in mind I left the bloody house over twelve hours ago.”

“I don’t know. You choose.”

Sighing, she left and closed the front door behind her.

There was a pizza place down the road, maybe they had burgers on the menu as well. She took a chance and decided to hop in the car, in spite of it only being a five-minute walk from the house. There were two customers in front of her. She placed her order and took a seat at a table until the guy behind the counter called her when it was ready.

During her drive back, she went over what Chris had told her and wondered if the attack or burglary was connected to the investigation she was working on. Is that possible? Could the killer know where I live? What could they possibly be after? Was this a warning of some kind? Telling me to back off? Ensuring I know that the killer can hurt Chris if needed?

Too many questions streamed through her head, but she dared not tell Chris what she thought; he’d be panic-stricken and angry and probably accuse her of bringing her work home with her, even though she had nothing to do with the incident. A sudden thought also crossed her mind: she hadn’t secured the back door before leaving home. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What if the intruder is still hanging around? Sam put her foot down and quickly exited the car once she parked.

“Chris, Chris,” she called out, the second she opened the front door.

Her husband appeared in the doorway of the dining room, looking puzzled. “Are you okay?”

“Thank God. I foolishly left the back door open and suddenly realised my mistake on the way back.”

Chris waved the problem away. “I locked the door after you left. I’ve got some plates out ready. Where did you go in the end?”

“I’ll tell you where afterwards, just in case it puts you off eating it.”

10

Several nightmares had meant Sam spent most of the night awake and downstairs on the sofa, rather than disturb Chris’s rest. She took him up a cup of coffee at seven-thirty and jumped in the shower. He complained his head was still sore and told her he was going to take the day off work, ring a guy he sometimes used to stand in for him.

As much as Sam hated leaving him alone when he wasn’t feeling well, she also knew they would grate on each other’s nerves if she hung around the house all day to be with him, especially when the kitchen looked like a scene from the blitz.

Nick greeted her with apprehension when she stepped into the reception area. “Morning, ma’am. I got the message about the suspected burglary. I was surprised you didn’t want to register it with us. Everything all right?”

“Yes, hubby took a whack to the head. I tended to his wounds, it didn’t warrant a trip to A&E.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I wanted you guys to be aware, just in case another call came in during the evening from another resident in the area.”

“Nothing came to our attention. I’ll keep a close eye on the calls we receive during the day and let you know if anything comes up.”

“What’s this?” Bob asked, overhearing the end of their conversation.

“I’ll tell you upstairs. Come on, I sense we’ve got a long day ahead of us. Thanks, Nick.”

“No problem, ma’am, always happy to oblige.”

Sam and Bob went through the security door and bounded up the stairs. She filled him in en route.

“Shit! Is Chris all right?”

“He seemed fine last night. I slept on the couch, blame the nightmares I had for that. When I went to check on him this morning, he told me he felt a little groggy, so I left him in bed.”

Bob stopped halfway up the stairs. “What? You left him in that state? With a possible concussion?”

“No. He seemed fine to me, just tired. I reckon that was more from demolishing the kitchen than any side effects of the attack.”

“Ah, right. I thought it was strange you leaving him. I hope he feels better soon.”

“Thanks, I’ll pass on your best wishes when I speak to him later.” They continued on their journey and entered the incident room. Bob switched on the lights and the equipment while Sam headed for the vending machine. She joined Bob at his desk and handed him his drink. “Something occurred to me last night. Hear me out, I might be talking out of my arse, though, so bear with me.”

“Go on. Is this to do with the investigation?”

“Possibly. What if the killer showed up at my house and decided to send a message by roughing up Chris?”

Bob sat in the chair, placed his hands behind his head and looked up at one of the spotlights in the ceiling. “It’s a distinct possibility. Like giving you a warning to back off, that type of thing?”

“Yeah. Like I said, it might be me overthinking things.”

“Did Chris get a good look at the person?”

Sam perched on the desk next to her partner’s. “Nope, they wore a ski mask, according to Chris.”

“Hmm… the plot thickens. Want me to check if there have been any other burglaries in your area in the last few months?”

“Would you? Can you do it first thing, well, after the morning meeting?”

He dropped his hands and sprang forward in his chair. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll start now. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

“Thanks, Bob. I’ll be in the office, tending to the dross, as usual.”

He laughed. “Roger that. I think I’ve got the better deal.”

She left the door to her office open and heard the rest of the team filter in one by one. The post was heavier than normal this morning and she’d only managed to get halfway through it when Bob poked his head into the room. “All present and correct, awaiting instructions, boss.”

“I’ll be right out. Do me a favour and get me a coffee, will you? I need more stimulation to get my brain cells working.”

“Consider it done. What you need is a good fry-up, that would really set you up for the day.”

She heaved. “Did you have to mention one of those? Bearing in mind I have enough grease clogging up my arteries to sink a battleship at the moment.”

“Sorry, forgot you were in takeaway hell right now.”

Sam left her office and they discussed the cases they were working on without anything really rearing its head. “I just don’t know where to turn to next on this one. I’ll chase up the desk sergeant, see if he’s got any news from the house-to-house enquiries.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Bob mumbled.

“Yep, I was thinking the same. All right, people, let’s dig even deeper, see if we can find something buried that will shake a few trees.” Calling an end to the meeting she returned to her desk to complete her morning duties.

Around an hour later, an excited Bob bounced into the room. “What’s up?” Sam gestured for him to take a seat.

He threw himself into it. “Right, first things first. I haven’t managed to find any burglaries listed for your area in the past few months.”

“Okay, thanks for looking. So what are you so excited about then?”

“You know a few days ago I rang round the local pawn brokers and antique shops regarding the medals.”

“Yes. Don’t tell me something has come of it.”

“All right, I won’t, but I’d be lying. One of the pawn brokers just rang, told me someone was enquiring about pawning some medals the other day. He lost my number and found it on his desk this morning. I told him we’d drop by and see him.”

Sam was out of her chair and ready to go before he’d finished his sentence. “This could be the lead we’ve been waiting for.”

He followed her out of the office. They rushed through the building and out to the car. “Do you know where the pawn shop is?”

“I’ve got a rough idea. Head for Lady’s Walk, I believe it’s in that area.”

Uncertain of the direction, she prompted, “Postcode to go by?”

He groaned and looked the shop up on his phone and entered the information himself.

Sam put her foot down hard on the accelerator when he’d finished. He wasn’t prepared for the jolt and his head slammed against the headrest.

She burst into laughter.

“Ha-bloody-ha. I’ll get you back for that.”

“We’ll see.”

The shop was in the middle of the precinct; lots of footfall traffic since the threat of Covid had passed. There was the odd person in the crowd still wearing their protective mask. They entered the shop, which was set up more like a post office or a bank with a thick Perspex screen across the counter. There were no customers in the shop.

“Hello, Mr Mellor. DI Cobbs and DS Jones,” Sam introduced them. “You spoke to my partner earlier, over the phone.”

“Ah yes. I’ve been expecting you. Can you flip the sign round and drop the catch on the front door for me?”

“Of course.” Bob did the honours and returned to stand alongside Sam once he’d finished.

“Can you recap what you know?” Sam enquired.

“Yes, well, this young man came in here asking what some World War One medals would likely fetch at auction. I told him it would be impossible to tell without seeing what condition they were in. Many people come here, expecting them to be worth a lot, but they’re mostly not worth anything more than scrap metal price at best, not really. A few thousand is the most I’ve ever paid out; luckily, the person was only expecting me to part with a couple of hundred. They were pleased enough. I’m going around the houses, sorry, forgive me, my wife is always nudging me, telling me to get to the bloody point.”

Sam smiled and said nothing, just let the old fella chunter on for a few seconds until she’d eventually had enough. “So, can you fill in the blanks for us?”

“I can do better than that. After I chatted with the sergeant here, he mentioned something about using the CCTV footage to try and trace the fella. So I scrolled through it, you know, found the day in question, when the youngster came in to ask, and guess what?”

“You’ve got an image of this person?” Sam asked, her hope rising.

“I have. Do you want to come through? I’ll show you what I discovered on the screen.”

He opened the door at the end of the screened off area and they followed him out through to the office. There were two monitors on a high shelf above his desk. He fiddled with some keys on the keyboard and the screens came to life. “I’m going to do a copy for you, I know you’ll request one after I’ve shown you what’s on it.”

“Thanks, we’re watching, in your own time.”

“I’m getting there, all in good time.” He ran the disc and then pointed at the screen showing a tall man entering the shop, brandishing a fake gun.

“Why pull a gun on you?” Sam murmured, confused by what she was seeing.

“I said the same, you know, to call his bluff. I could tell it was a fake one, any idiot could.”

“What was his response?” Sam asked.

Mr Mellor continued to stare at the screen. “You’ll see in a second.”

Sam’s attention was drawn back to the monitor, and she looked on in astonishment as the man lowered his gun and placed it on the counter. “Impressive.”

“I do my best. I like to think of myself as a good negotiator.”

“A gold star for effort. Shame there isn’t sound on the camera, I’m intrigued to know what the man said.”

“After he dropped the gun on the counter, I asked him what I could do for him. He said if he got his hands on some World War One medals, would I be interested in taking them off his hands. I said I would, but then I also pointed out that he could get more money if he took them to an auction or an antique shop. He told me he knew all that, he wanted to come to me instead. Then asked what he could get for them. I told him I would have to see the quality of the items first before I handed out ridiculous quotes.” He paused to take a breath and then ploughed on, “Anyway, he said he would be back soon and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since.”

“Did he mention where the medals were? How he was going to get his hands on them?”

“No. That was all. Sorry, I can’t be any more help. What’s he done wrong?” Mr Mellor pressed a key and the disc shot out of the equipment sitting under the monitor. He popped it in a plastic case and handed it to Bob.

“I’m afraid we can’t really tell you that. Will you ring us if he comes back?”

“Of course I will. No, wait, there’s more. Not sure what’s wrong with my bloody memory these days, it’s shocking at times.”

Sam’s interest was truly piqued. It didn’t matter what trivial thing he was about to mention next, it would be a darn sight more than they had already. “What’s that, Mr Mellor?”

“After he left, I locked up the shop, it was time for my lunch and I was looking forward to my ploughman’s, you see.”

Sam smiled and willed the man to hurry up. “Did you see something, Mr Mellor?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to get to. I saw the bloke with the hood getting into a white van.”

Sam’s head snapped around so fast to look at her partner that her neck cricked. She rubbed at it and asked, “Did this van have a logo on the side? Or is that me pushing my luck?”

Mr Mellor folded his arms and placed the forefinger of his right hand against his cheek as he thought. “Now then, give me a moment to think about this. It was an electrical business, I seem to recall. Smithall’s, or Smithson’s Electricians, something like that. Sorry I can’t think of the correct name.”

Bob had his phone out and was tapping at the keypad with his thumbs. “I’ve got a Smithson’s Electricals. Does that sound familiar, sir?”

“Yes, yes, I told you it was something like that. There you go, he set off in the van. If I hadn’t gone to shut up the shop, well, I’d be none the wiser, so it was lucky for you, wasn’t it?”

“It could be, if it helps us nail the man. Thank you so much for all your help, Mr Mellor.” Sam smiled and turned to leave the shop.

“Glad I was some help in the end. Not that you’ve told me what this is about.”

“We can’t at present, sir. I’ll leave you my card, can you ring me if the man comes back?”

“I will. Answer me this, if you will? Is he dangerous? No, that was a dumb question, of course he is; he tried to pull a gun on me, a fake one at that, but his intentions were clear. I hope you find the bugger soon.”

“Yes, we believe him to be very dangerous. That’s why we’re keen to track him down. The information you’ve provided us with today should help us immensely to achieve our aim. Goodbye, Mr Mellor.”

“Oh my, good luck.”

He unlocked the front door and let them out.

“What’s the address of the firm, Bob?”

“Eleven High Street, Workington. It’s just up the road.”

“I know where it is, I think. Isn’t there a small trading estate at the end?”

Bob nodded. “There is, you’re right, as usual.”

They rushed to the car and got in. “I’m not going to use the siren, but I’ll put the lights on, see how effective they are.”

“Want me to call it in?”

“Not as such. Ring the incident room, just to let our team know for now, but tell them to stay put. We’ll sound things out and get back to them if we sense we’re in imminent danger.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. I have a macho man of a partner to aid me. Should I get into bother, what more do I need?”

He looked her way and she chuckled. “I never know when you’re bloody joking or not.”

“After all this time? Shame on you, Sergeant. Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Whatever.” Bob buckled up and sighed.

T  en minutes later, with the traffic working in their favour for a change, Sam pulled into the yard where the electrical business was situated. There were a number of vans parked up, at least six. “Great, I wonder how many they have out there on jobs at the moment.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“You’re right, for a change. Come on, let’s dive in, see what fish we can attract.”

They crossed the gravelled car park to the sales office. A woman in her mid-twenties was behind the counter at her desk. She smiled and came towards them. “Hello there, how can I help?”

Sam and Bob produced their warrant cards. “DI Cobbs and DS Jones, is your boss around?”

“Oh, I see. Yes, Mr Chapman is in his office. I’ll go and fetch him. He’s bound to ask what this is about, what shall I tell him?”

“Just mention we’d like a word, thanks,” Sam replied, keeping her answer evasive.

“Won’t be long. Take a seat.” The receptionist pointed at the couple of plastic chairs behind them.

“Thanks.”

“Damn,” Sam muttered. “We should have got a still of the bloke from the CCTV.”

Bob grinned and extracted his phone. “I did.”

“Why didn’t I see you take that?”

“Because sometimes, just sometimes, I’m capable of not only doing things off my own bat, but I can also be discreet as well.”

Sam chortled. “Top marks for effort.”

The young woman returned, along with a tall slim man in a white shirt and black trousers. He seemed flustered or annoyed, Sam had trouble determining which.

“You wanted to see me? I’m Ben Chapman, I’m the manager of the firm.”

“Good to meet you, sir. Maybe we’d be better off discussing what we have to say in private, if that’s okay with you?” Sam replied, her gaze drifting over to the receptionist and then back to Chapman.

“Very well.” He raised the hatch in the counter and stepped aside to let them through. “Come this way.”

Once they were in his small stuffy office, he removed a couple of chairs from a stack in the corner and placed them in front of his desk. “Take a seat. Can I get either of you a drink?”

Sam held up her hand. “We’re fine. Thank you.”

He sat down and intertwined his fingers. “Perhaps you’d care to tell me why you’re here?”

“With pleasure. It has come to our attention that a member of your staff used a fake weapon, a gun, at a shop in town a few days ago.”

His head jutted forward and his eyes widened. “What? Is this some kind of joke?”

“Do I look like I’m joking, sir? This is a very serious enquiry.”

“Of course it is. Sorry.”

Sam pressed on. “How many staff do you employ?”

“Ten men, myself, a deputy manager—it’s his day off—and the receptionist, Jill.”

“And the men you employ, are they all electricians?”

“Yes, that’s right. Wait, apart from the one lad, Nathan, who is an apprentice.”

“We’re going to need their personal information, sir.”

“I have no objection to that, but you’re going to have to give me more. Like how do you know this person works for me?”

“He was seen leaving the shop and getting into one of your vans.”

“Shit! Okay, there’s no getting away from that then.”

“I’m glad we agree on that front. Sergeant Jones, can you show Mr Chapman the picture we obtained of the member of staff in question?”

Bob scrolled through his phone and then held it up in front of Chapman.

“What am I supposed to say to that? It could be a few of them. Do you want me to give you all my staff’s details or just the ones I think the picture could relate to?”

“Let’s go with all of them and then you can point out the ones you think might match the photo. We appreciate your help,” Sam added with a grateful smile.

He left his desk and went to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room. He plucked out a handful of green folders and returned to his seat. As he went through the folders, Bob jotted down the information he began dishing out. From what Sam could tell, nearly all the men lived and worked in Workington, which was a bonus.

“Right, that’s all of them. Can you show me the picture again?”

Bob obliged and Chapman withdrew four files from the stack and placed them to the side. “There you are, these four match the grainy photo; well… to my eyes, they do.”

“That’s good enough for me. And their names are?”

“Thomas Daley, Bryan Calder, Steve Ridings and Wayne Gillan.”

“You’ve been super helpful. I don’t suppose any of the men are on site at the moment, are they?”

He paused to think, as if running through a rota in his mind. “I believe two of them are here, they’re in the process of loading up their vans for a couple of big jobs they’re about to tackle tomorrow. I suppose you’re going to tell me you want a word with them now, aren’t you?”

She smiled. “We promise not to keep them long.”

He rose from his seat. “Can you question them in the stockroom?”

“Of course we can.”

“Follow me.”

Sam and Bob joined Chapman at the door and walked through the building with him to where two men were larking about, while they picked out different electrical equipment and placed it in the back of the two vans parked in the bay. She was impressed by the amount of stock there appeared to be on site. Must be an extremely busy firm, might need to keep them in mind for the renovations.

“Tom, Bryan, have you got a minute?” Chapman called over to the men who instantly stopped what they were doing and came towards their boss. “These are Inspector Cobbs and Sergeant Jones, they’d like a quick word with you.”

“About what, boss?” The younger of the two men asked.

“I’ll leave it to them to tell you that. All right if I go back to my office?”

Sam nodded. “Thanks, we’ll come back and see you once we’ve finished here.” She noticed Bob looking at his phone discreetly and then studying the men to make the comparison.

Mr Chapman left the area.

“We’d like to see you gents separately, why don’t we start with you? Your name is?” she asked the younger man.

“Bryan Calder. What’s this about?”

“All in good time, Mr Calder. If you’d like to wait over there, Tom, is it?”

“That’s right, Thomas Daley.”

“We shouldn’t keep you too long.” Sam smiled at the man, then quickly glanced at Bob and raised an eyebrow. Disappointingly, he shook his head. If neither of the two men matched the photo, this was going to be the shortest couple of interviews in her entire career.

Thomas scuffed his feet as he walked off to the side, out of earshot.

“Thanks for speaking with us. We won’t keep you longer than necessary. I’m going to ask you to look at a CCTV photo we have and I need you to try and identify the person you see.”

Bryan shrugged his shoulders. “Go for it.”

Bob raised his phone up and positioned it ten inches in front of the man. “Do you recognise this man?” Bob asked.

Bryan squinted and peered at the phone. “Bit of a crappy photo, if you ask me.”

“Any luck?” Sam urged.

After exhaling a breath, Bryan suggested a name. “I can’t be a hundred per cent certain, but you’re forcing me to give you a name, so here goes. I think it’s Wayne Gillan. It definitely looks like his features to me. He’s got a hooter similar to that. We’re always ribbing him about it being the size of Dumbo’s. Harsh, I know. But he always takes it in good spirit.”

“Excellent. And he’s at work today?”

“I believe so. You’ll need to ask the boss. Sometimes we go directly to a job, don’t bother showing up for work as we take the vans home with us, if we’ve got an early callout.”

“Interesting. Thanks for the information.” Sam smiled. “How well do you know him?”

“Well enough. What’s he been up to, robbed a bank, has he?” Bryan laughed, but stopped when neither Sam nor Bob joined in. “Jesus, he has, hasn’t he? I was only joking.”

“No,” Sam reassured him. “Not as far as we know. How has he been lately at work? By that I mean, has his demeanour altered recently?”

“I suppose he’s been a bit distant with the rest of us for a few months now. He told us he had personal stuff going on. I prefer not to get involved in that sort of shit, so I left well alone.”

“Did he mention what type of personal stuff?”

“Nope. I would have switched off if he had. Got enough grief of my own to deal with, my wife’s pregnancy isn’t going to plan.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s life, ain’t it? The scan results are telling us that our boy is going to have some form of disability when he finally comes into the world. I hope they’re wrong, for all our sakes.”

The news shocked Sam. “That’s tough. Maybe the scan will be wrong. Thanks so much for speaking with us today. Good luck with the baby.”

“Thanks, we’re going to need it, by all accounts.” He scuffed his feet and his shoulders dipped as he walked away. He returned to Tom who made his way towards Sam and Bob.

“My turn to be grilled, is it?”

“Hardly. I’m going to show you a photo of someone, I’d like you to name the person in the picture, if you would?”

“I’ll do my best. Am I supposed to know this person?”

“We believe so.”

Bob showed him the photo. Tom instantly nodded. “Wayne Gillan, I’d recognise that snout anywhere.”

“Okay. Thanks. How well do you know him?”

“Well enough. What’s he done?”

“We’re trying to find him to help us with our enquiries. Have you seen him today?”

“Not today. He had a job down near Seascale, I believe. He took the van home with him and set off from there. We do that occasionally if it’s a long trek to our first job of the morning.”

“Great, okay. How has he been at work lately?”

“Hit and miss. I think he’s under a lot of stress right now.”

“Stress? Can you tell me more?” Sam scratched her head, keen to hear what the man had to say.

“He’s getting married soon and his missus, or future missus, is giving him hell for not contributing to the wedding financially.”

“Ah, I see. So he’s short of cash and in need of trying to obtain more, is that what you’re telling us?”

“Kind of. I have no idea what money he’s keen to find, I know it’s a hefty sum though. His missus is intent on pushing the boat out on their big day.”

“Okay, that’s a great help. Thank you. Has he tried to borrow money from you or any of his colleagues?”

“Yes, I’m sure he did the rounds. I don’t think he got very far. Everyone is trying to hang on to the funds they have, you know, after the pandemic screwed up our finances. I know I’m trying to save more, set a certain amount aside. My wife and I really struggled to cover our bills. What the government handed out wasn’t nearly enough for us to survive on. We vowed never to get into that situation again. So started frantically saving. Let’s face it, things could take another turn for the worse anytime soon. Who knows what’s around the corner for any of us, right?”

Sam smiled with her agreement. “After what we’ve been through the last year, never a truer word has been spoken. The job Wayne is on, should it be completed today or not?”

“Ah, I don’t have a clue. You’d better speak to the boss, he’ll be able to tell you.”

“Thanks, we will. Appreciate your help.” Sam and Bob traced their way back to the manager’s office.

He looked up from the mass of paperwork he was dealing with and sat back in his chair. “Any good?”

“We showed the photo to the two men separately and they both recognised the person as Wayne Gillan. We’d like to have a chat with him, today would be preferable. Can you tell us when he’s likely to finish the job he’s on?”

“He’s due back at the end of his shift, at around five-thirty. Do you want me to call him, ask him to hang around and speak to you?”

Sam clicked her tongue. “No, what I need you to do is keep quiet. We’ve got his address, we’ll drop by and see him this evening.”

“If that’s what you want. Are you going to tell me what he’s done wrong? Should I be concerned?”

She sighed. “I truly can’t say. My suggestion would be to try and act naturally, as if we haven’t been here today, that would be better all round.”

Chapman bounced upright again. “Sounds bloody gloomy to me.”

“Thanks for your time and the information you’ve given us today. Try not to be concerned just yet.” Sometimes Sam wished she’d kept her mouth shut, and now was one of those dreaded times. She suspected Bob was going to give her a telling off when they left, too.

“Hard not to be, given that you’ve shown up here and what you’ve just told me,” Chapman said.

“Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Is there any way you can contact him and perhaps tell him to go straight home rather than drop the van off tonight?”

“I was thinking along the same lines. Yes, I’ll do that. It won’t look suspicious, sometimes that’s the way we work around here.”

“Good luck. Thanks again. We’ll be off now.”

Sam marched out of the office and towards the car at top speed before Bob could give her an earful.

It wasn’t until they were settled in the car that Bob cleared his throat and said, “I don’t have to say anything, do I?”

“No, that’s right, you don’t, but I bet you’re going to have a go, all the same.”

“Why? You shouldn’t have told Chapman anything. You know there are some people who can’t keep their mouths shut.”

“Yeah, I know. I thought I was very restrained in what I said. What else was I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know. Make up any excuse rather than tell him the truth.”

“What are you saying? You think I’ve put his life in danger?”

Bob flung his arms in the air, and they came crashing down on his muscular thighs. “I don’t know. You don’t know. That’s the problem here, what do we really know about Wayne Gillan?”

“That’s got to be our next job, to find out what we can about him before we confront him.” She sought her mobile and rang the station. “Hi, Claire, just the person I was hoping to speak to.”

“It’s nice to feel wanted. What do you need, boss?”

“Do me a favour and run this name, Wayne Gillan, through the system. See what comes up on a basic check, if anything.”

“Two seconds. Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

The pause was excruciating for Sam. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and chewed her lip until it bled. “Damn.” She faced Bob and jutted her injured lip out to him, seeking sympathy.

She didn’t get it. Instead, he issued a couple of tuts and said, “You’re nuts. Fancy doing that to yourself.”

Still holding the phone, she replied, “You’re an unsympathetic man, Bob Jones.”

“I can be.” He grinned and looked ahead of him, at the building they had just left.

“I might have something, boss,” Claire said after a few minutes of silence.

“Excellent. What have you found, Claire?” Sam put the phone on speaker so her partner could hear.

“He was caught stealing from an electrical company where he used to work, around five years ago. Apparently, when his boss confronted him, he lashed out; his boss sacked him on the spot and reported the incident to the police. An ABH charge was created, but Gillan’s former boss withdrew the complaint after a few days.”

“Interesting. I wonder if he got to his former boss, threatened him in some way, forcing him to withdraw the complaint.”

“Maybe. Do you want me to do some more digging? Do you think he was arrested for the assault charge?”

“Possibly, try and find out, it should mean we have fingerprints for him at the very least. Can you get on to forensics? They’re dealing with the DNA et cetera from the crime scenes, see if they’re a match.”

“I’m on it now. I’ll get back to you once it’s confirmed or not.”

“Great job. Thanks, Claire.”

She ended the call and turned to Bob. “Very interesting. So he has form.”

He shrugged. “It didn’t lead anywhere, though. Whether he made a nuisance of himself with the guy or not, the outcome was the same, the charge didn’t stick.”

“No flies on you, are there? Right, let’s get over to his place.”

“And what? Confront him or are you talking about setting up a surveillance job on him?”

“I’ll decide that when I get there. I’m erring on the side of watching his movements for a while.”

“Why? What good will that do?”

“Do you have to be so negative? We’re working with what we have to hand on the bloke, Bob, that has to be enough for now. Who knows? Maybe by the time we get ourselves in position, Claire will have got back to us with the forensic results.”

He leaned forward and peered up at the sky. “Looks like rain, oh and there’s a pig up there wearing a tutu, as well.”

“Bugger off, wise arse.”

11

Bob huffed and puffed every couple of minutes while they waited outside the house for Gillan to appear.

“It’s gone six now, he should be home soon, surely,” Sam suggested, tired of waiting herself.

Her mobile rang. “DI Cobbs.”

“Ah, Inspector, how are you?” Des’s soothing voice filtered down the line and nestled in her ear.

“Tired, bored shitless, hoping against hope that you have something important to tell me. Why else would you be calling, am I right?”

“Ever the perceptive detective. You’re correct on that count.”

“Great. Don’t let me hold you up.”

“One of your team members gave us a heads-up earlier with a fingerprint report on a possible suspect.”

“That’s right. And?”

“And, you’ll be pleased to hear it’s a match.”

Sam punched the air in triumph. “Bloody hell, at last. Okay, thanks for letting me know. Bob and I are parked up outside the suspect’s residence now.”

“Good, good. Before you ring off, I have some other intriguing news for you.”

“Brilliant, this day is getting better and better by the second. What news?”

“Something came my way which should have been brought to my attention sooner.”

“Sounds concerning, has someone missed something important? Don’t tell me three other victims lost their lives unnecessarily.”

“I have no way of knowing if that statement is true or not.”

Sam sighed. “Just tell me. I’ll decide for myself.”

“Whilst the SOCO team were at Tom Douglas’s farmhouse, they gathered several items and placed them as evidence.”

“Why are you going around the houses here?”

“I’m not, not really. Okay, here’s the rub, one of the pieces they came away with was a Last Will and Testament of the deceased.”

Sam and Bob faced each other and frowned. “But we have that in hand already,” Sam went on to tell him.

“I’m aware of that. This is an older version. Dated two thousand and five.”

Sam’s brain computed the information and something sparked in her mind. “Ah, I understand where you’re going with this now. You think we should make a comparison and see if anything is highlighted in the details that we can ultimately use to our advantage, right?”

“In a word, yes. I can scan it and send it to your email, if that’s what you want?”

“Too right I do. I mean, yes, if you wouldn’t mind. We can look it over while we wait for the prime suspect to come home from work.”

“Let me get that sorted for you and send it through. I can only offer my apologies for us being so lax at this end.”

“I’m prepared to forgive your team this time around, it’s only been a few days. Saying that, three other people have lost their lives in the meantime.”

“Yes, that fact sticks in my throat, too. I’ve banged a few heads together, I assure you.”

“That’s good enough for me. Ah, here’s the email now. Leave it with me, I’ll see what shows up. Thanks, Des.”

“You’re welcome. I hope it proves to be useful.”

“So do I. I’ll be in touch soon.” She jabbed the End Call button and opened up the document.

Bob had already done the same on his phone with the new Will he’d photographed. They put their phones side by side, and together, cast their eyes over both copies. It wasn’t until Sam got near the end that she stumbled across something that jarred with her. “Wait, have you spotted it?”

“Not yet, give me a chance.”

Her interest had been sparked by a specific section of the Will and, whilst she waited for Bob to also reach that part, she re-read it a few more times.

Aghast, Bob blasted, “Holy crap! What the fuck?”

“Exactly.” Sam rang the incident room and spoke to Claire again. “Claire, it’s me. I need you to ask Alex and Oliver to come over to Wayne Gillan’s address, to sit outside, he’s due home any minute. I just want them to sit here, put him under surveillance for now. We have to leave here as something important has come our way in the last few minutes.”

“Sounds intriguing.”

“It is. I don’t have time to go through it now.”

“No problem. I’m sure you’ll fill us in later. I’ll issue your orders. Good luck.”

Sam dropped her phone into the centre console and pulled away.

“Shouldn’t we wait until reinforcements arrive first?” Bob queried.

“No, I can’t wait. The need to see what’s going on with the Wills is driving me nuts.”

“At least wait five minutes, give the guys a chance to leave the station and get to their cars.”

Reluctantly, Sam had to agree that her partner was right. They hung around for another ten minutes, to give their colleagues time to get on the road, then Sam gunned the accelerator and headed to their next location.

J ean Jones, Tom Douglas’s daughter was tending to her front garden when Sam parked outside the house. She and Bob approached the woman who glanced up with terror filling her eyes.

“Hello, Jean. Would it be okay if we spoke to you inside?”

“Wh-what about?”

“We’ll reveal all inside. It shouldn’t take too long.” Sam slotted a smile into place.

Jean got off her knees, brushed the dirt from her trousers and dropped the hoe on top of the black bag she’d been filling with bedding plants that were past their best. She led them inside the house, her expression now one of confusion as well as terror.

“Have you got something to tell me? Do you know who was responsible for my father’s death?” She stepped into the house.

Neither Sam nor Bob responded to her question until the front door was shut behind them. “Let’s get comfortable first, shall we?” Sam requested.

“If you insist.” Jean slipped off her working shoes and padded barefoot into the lounge. She motioned for Sam and Bob to take a seat on the sofa opposite her chair. “You’re scaring me with your silence. I’m not sure what to think about your visit.”

“Sorry, we thought it best not to tell you what we have to say on your doorstep, that’s all. I’m sure you wouldn’t want your neighbours overhearing.”

“Overhearing what? Is something wrong? I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“Let me explain, it was never my intention to leave you in the dark.”

Jean visibly relaxed before them. “Okay, what’s on your mind?”

“First of all, I’d like to run a name past you, see if you recognise it.”

“Okay. Is this the person you think killed my father?”

“Let’s just say we’d like him to help us with our enquiries, for now. Wayne Gillan, do you know him?”

Jean frowned, gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. Finally, after a few tense seconds, she dropped her hand into her lap and stared at Sam. “Yes, I know him. What do you want with him?” Jean asked, her voice low and husky, almost breathless.

“How do you know him, Jean? It’s important.”

“He’s my daughter’s fiancé, they’re getting married soon. Why?”

Sam swept a few strands of hair behind her ear and extracted her phone from her pocket. She motioned for Bob to get his out, too. “Are you aware of the contents of your father’s Last Will and Testament?”

“Not really, no. Dad always kept that sort of stuff from me. What are you getting at? You’re confusing me with all these questions, I don’t have a clue what you’re going on about. My head hurts. I need you to be clearer.”

“Sorry, that wasn’t my intention. We appreciate you must still be going through the grieving process after your father’s passing.”

“You don’t know the half of it. I’ve had to contend with sorting out the funeral arrangements this week, even though the pathologist is refusing to let my father’s body go at present. He’s told me he’s still carrying out certain tests, hard to believe, but I don’t profess to know what goes on when someone dies.”

“Yes, it can be a lengthy process in certain cases; I think your father’s suspicious death must be one such case.”

“I see. Thank you for explaining that to me. I’ve also had to deal with the farm issues. Registering his death with the authorities et cetera. The whole thing has been a bloody nightmare for me to sort out, I haven’t even had time to begin to grieve for him, not really. And now you’re here, asking about Wayne.” She shook her head and her frown deepened into a thick line.

“I’m sorry you’re going through all this turmoil at such a sad time. I fear I’m about to add to your burden.” Her heart went out to the poor woman, knowing the dreadful news she was about to share, adding to her load.

“What? I can’t take any more, not now. I was out there tending to my garden, I find it eases my stress. It was working, too, right up until you showed up.”

“That’s a shame. We don’t mean to add to your stress levels, but what we have to say is extremely important, I assure you.”

Jean inclined her head. “Go on. You’ve got my attention.”

“How long have you known Wayne?”

“Off the top of my head, a couple of years, three at the most.”

“Do you know much about his past?”

“No, what’s he bloody done?”

“His former employer lodged an assault complaint with us, but later dropped it. Did you know about the incident?”

“No. That’s appalling. Is he likely to tell me about such a thing?” Jean frowned.

“I’m not sure. I suppose any decent person would. Maybe he’s told your daughter.”

“Well, Shelley hasn’t mentioned it to me if he has told her. I’m sorry for being dense here, but how does this affect me?”

“We believe Wayne is our chief suspect in your father’s death.” Sam stopped there, allowing the news to sink in.

Jean shook her head several times and growled. “I hope for his bloody sake you’re wrong about that. If you’re not, you’re gonna need to keep him out of my sight. I’m liable to throttle the bastard. What makes you think it’s him?”

“You’re aware that your father had some medals in his possession, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Okay, bear with me on this one. Whilst we were at your father’s farm the other day, we found his Last Will and Testament, which seemed okay to us. We set it aside as evidence, not giving it a second thought because, as far as we were concerned, we were dealing with a possible burglary gone wrong. That’s where the clues were heading to begin with.”

“Okay, yes, I remember you telling me that. Shocking as it was, I believed you were right in your assumption. I haven’t given my father’s death another thought, not in that respect.”

“Here’s where things get interesting. Before coming here, I received a call from the pathologist dealing with your father’s case. He told me that the Scene of Crime Officers at the farmhouse discovered a second Will.”

Jean nodded and her frown deepened. “That’s feasible. Dad was always mentioning he’d need to adjust certain clauses in his Will, I let him get on with it. I wasn’t interested in his money, I used to tell him that all the time.”

“Can we show you what we’ve found?”

“Please do.”

Sam took Bob’s phone, and along with her own, she placed them on the arm of the chair Jean was sitting in. “You can read them both and tell me what you think is different.”

“Wait, I’m going to need to put my glasses on, my eyesight is atrocious for close-up work.” Jean left her seat and collected her glasses from the sideboard along the far wall. She returned and held up both phones, her gaze constantly drifting between the pair of them. “Wait, what’s this? Why on earth would he do that?”

“Which part are you referring to, Jean?” Sam asked, her pulse racing.

“The part concerning Shelley. Why has dad got her in this one, but left her out of this one?”

“That’s the part that has us flummoxed. I take it you can’t shed any light on it?”

“No, I can’t. I want to find out, as much as you do. I’m going to ring my daughter and find out what the hell is going on.”

Alarm bells rang for Sam. The last thing she needed was for her daughter to be aware there was something wrong without getting the chance to question her first. “No, please don’t do that.”

“What? Why not?”

Sam inhaled a steadying breath and let it seep out between her lips. “For all we know, she and Wayne might both be involved in your father’s death.”

Jean jumped out of her seat. “No way. That’s a ridiculous idea. I refuse to entertain it, shame on you for considering it. I’m going to give her a call, you can’t stop me.”

“Please, Jean, listen to me. We need to keep the proof under wraps for now. By all means, give her a call and invite her over, but please don’t tackle her over the phone about this issue. It’s liable to set the investigation back considerably if you do.”

“I’ll make the call. I’m going to ring my son, Ian, as well, he needs to be with us to hear this. He’s not likely to believe me otherwise. Jesus, what a dreadful situation to be involved in. My own daughter!”

“Keep it conversational over the phone, if you will, the last thing we want to do is spook her.”

Jean made the call to her two children. They both agreed to come over under the pretence that Jean needed to go through the funeral arrangements with them before she signed off on them.

Shelley was hesitant to agree at first, but Jean managed to talk her around. Whereas Ian told his mother he’d be at the house within five minutes. She ended the calls and reached for a packet of cigarettes. “Do you mind? I need something to steady my damn nerves.”

“Of course not. Go ahead. Can I get you a drink?” Sam’s heart went out to the woman whose whole world was in a chaotic shamble.

“Do you want one? Is that what you’re asking?” Jean asked.

Sam smiled. “No, we’re fine. I’ll make you one, if you want one.”

“I don’t. I’d rather have a fag. Ian should be here soon. They both live a few streets away, but when Ian says he’s going to do something, he generally does it. My head’s a bloody mess. I hope I don’t screw this up. Dad would never forgive me, I’m aware he’s probably looking down on me now, expecting me to do the right thing. I’ve dreamt about him a lot this week. Nothing sinister, mostly reliving my childhood, days at the beach, enjoying a picnic in the middle of a field, surrounded by cattle. He used to think that was the perfect day out, being with his cows. Silly bugger.”

The door slammed and a male voice called out, “Mum, where are you?”

“In here, son.”

A man in his late twenties, in jeans and a T-shirt, entered the room and stopped. “Oh, sorry, you didn’t mention you had company.”

“Come in, Ian. This is DI Cobbs and DS Jones, they’re the detectives trying to find out what happened to your grandfather.”

“Oh, right. Any news on that front? Shocking for granddad to die in those circumstances. We’re all still really cut up about it.”

Sam offered him a brief smile. “We’ve had a few leads we’re keen to chase up, hence the reason why we’ve come to see your mother today.”

His brow furrowed. “You never said over the phone, Mum. What’s going on?”

Just then, the front door slammed and Shelley entered the room.

“All will be revealed soon enough. Hush now,” Jean whispered to her son, adding to his confusion.

“Hi, Mu…” Shelley entered the room and took a step back when she saw everyone. “Oh, I thought it would just be me and Ian here, what’s going on?”

“Come in, dear. This is DI Cobbs and DS Jones. You remember, I told you about them, the detectives in charge of your grandfather’s case, don’t you?”

“Ah yes. Is something wrong? Have you got good news for us concerning gramp’s death?”

Jean held her hand out, and Shelley approached her mother and slipped her hand into hers. “Come here, we want to talk to you, darling.”

“Okay. About?” Shelley’s gaze flitted between everyone present in the room.

Sam cleared her throat. She’d been studying the daughter since her arrival and had to admit, she had trouble deciphering her expressions as they frequently changed. “Something has come to our attention during the investigation that we need clarifying. It involves you, Shelley.”

“Me?” Shelley tilted her head. “What have I done?”

Sam collected the phones from Jean’s chair, brought the screens to life and proceeded to show Shelley. “You’re aware that your grandfather made out a Will before his death?”

“I am. Yes. He promised me his medals.”

Sam smiled. “Yes, so it says here. Are you also aware that your grandfather altered his Will a few months ago?”

A horrified expression emerged on Shelley’s face. “No, I didn’t know that.”

Her eyes drifted off to the left. Sam knew then that the young woman was lying. It was a well-known fact that when questioning suspects under caution, liars always averted their gaze in that direction. “Is that right?”

“Yes, what are you insinuating? I don’t care for your tone.” Shelley turned to her mother for assistance. “What’s she getting at, Mum?”

Jean simply stared at her daughter. “We know, love. It’s best if you come right out and tell us the truth.”

“What are you going on about? What truth? What am I being accused of here?” Tears emerged and Shelley dabbed at her eyes with the cuff of her jacket.

“The Will says it all. In the latter version, the one which we have to class as the legal Will, you’ve been omitted from it. Care to tell us why, Shelley?” Sam watched the young woman’s reaction carefully. She seemed genuine enough.

Shelley faced Sam again and shrugged. “I don’t know. Gramps never discussed his personal life with me.”

“Did you fall out with your grandfather before his death?”

Her chin dropped onto her chest and she remained quiet.

“Shelley, for God’s sake, answer the inspector,” Jean ordered.

Shelley’s lip quivered. “Yes.” Her voice wobbled and she swallowed several times before she spoke again. “Granddad told me he was going to leave me out of his Will, actually he threatened me that he would do it… if I didn’t dump Wayne.”

“What? Why on earth would he say such a thing?” Jean jumped in and asked, not giving Sam the chance to speak.

Shelley hesitated and then told them, “Because he hated him.”

“Why? I didn’t realise he had that much to do with Wayne. Dad never said anything to me, why wouldn’t he have discussed the issue with me? What in God’s name did Wayne do to him? I demand to know, Shelley.” Jean took a few steps towards her daughter.

Sam did the same, as if sensing Jean was about to clobber Shelley. She’d step in if anything disastrous developed between them.

“We’ve been struggling to make ends meet for a while and Wayne asked me to bend granddad’s ear about lending us some money to tide us over. Granddad twigged that it wasn’t me doing the asking, but Wayne. He said he would lend us the money if we both showed up at the farm when he handed over the cash.” She paused and dabbed at the fresh tears falling.

“Stop with the dramatics and get on with telling us what happened,” Jean insisted.

“Mum, give her a chance,” Ian intervened. “Can’t you see how upset she is?”

“Yes, I’m not blind, son. But at least she’s still here to tell the tale, unlike my father. So don’t tell me to back off. She’s going to tell me or I’ll sodding well thrash the truth out of her.”

Sam stood between the warring mother and daughter. “Jean, we’ll have less of that talk. Let’s all calm down and listen to what Shelley has to say, okay?”

Jean stared at Sam, an angry twitch developing at the corner of her eye. “I will not calm down. I know my own daughter. I can tell when she’s trying to cover something up. Stand back, let me get the truth out of her.”

Sam wagged her finger. “It’s not going to happen.” She glanced over her shoulder at the trembling Shelley and asked, “Are you up to finishing your story?”

“Yes, I need to get it off my chest. I’ve been burdened with it for months now. Wayne and I were summoned by granddad on a Sunday morning back in February. At first, he was all over Wayne, tried to get information out of him, even patted him on the back several times. Then he pulled out his medals and handed them to Wayne.”

“He did what?” Jean asked, perplexed. “Why?”

“He then proceeded to give Wayne a lecture, telling him that his uncle had earned the medals when he was a mere teenager in the war. Explained how he had put his life on hold to serve in the army from the age of fifteen. Wayne angered granddad by saying, ‘so what’. Incensed, granddad lashed out, tried to thump Wayne. He missed and ended up flat on his face on the floor. I rushed to help him get to his feet, but granddad shook me off, assured me he could manage. But when he tried to get up, he stumbled and cracked his forehead on the cabinet in the lounge.”

Jean gasped. “I remember that injury, he told me he walked into a barn door, tripped over Daisy, he said, and all the while it was your bloody boyfriend at fault. You wait until I get my hands on him.”

“He didn’t do anything, Mum, and he’s my fiancé, not just my boyfriend. It was granddad’s fault, no one else’s. Wayne ticked him off and he overreacted. Granddad was acting the big I am, insinuating that Wayne wasn’t good for anything, except trying to scrounge money off an old man.”

“Right, we get the picture now, what happened next?” Sam probed.

“We left soon after, but for the next few days, it was like Wayne was obsessed with those damn medals. He kept asking me how much they were worth. I told him I didn’t know. The more I told Wayne to forget about the damn things, the more he wanted to talk about them. I ended up asking granddad what their value was. He went ballistic, threw me out of the farmhouse, told me in no uncertain terms what he thought of me and Wayne and shouted that he was changing his Will and leaving me out of it.” Shelley stared at her mother. “That was the last time I saw him.”

Jean’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “You should have told me. I kept asking you why you hadn’t been to see him. You had every opportunity and yet you failed to tell me.”

“Wayne ordered me not to tell you we’d fallen out with him. When I asked why, he said he had something up his sleeve, but it might take months to put into place.”

“Meaning he was going to kill him, is that it?” Sam suggested.

Shelley’s hands covered her face and she sobbed. Ian moved around the room, slung an arm around his sister’s shoulders and murmured, “You knew and didn’t say anything, why, Shelley?”

She shuddered and dropped her hands. “Because I love him. We’re soulmates. We belong together. He’s the only man who has ever treated me right.”

“You’re crazy!” Jean spat at her daughter. She was seething, even a blind person could see that. “How could you possibly love a man you knew was going to harm a member of your family? Your own grandfather, for Christ’s sake?”

“Mum, calm down,” Ian warned.

Shelley glared at her mother, an intense glare that told Sam this young woman was showing a side to her nature that Jean never knew existed. “Didn’t you hear me? He was intent on cutting me out of his Will. I have rights, a right to keep hold of what belonged to me.”

Jean flew at her daughter, caught hold of her hair and thumped her in the face. Shelley retaliated and lashed out at her mother.

“Bob, get Jean away,” Sam ordered. She jumped in amidst the flying fists, getting struck a few times herself in the process.

Once the women were parted, Sam stood to one side and wagged a finger at both of them. “Fighting like alley cats isn’t going to help. Shelley, were you there when your grandfather was killed?”

The young woman’s head dipped in shame. “No. I wasn’t.”

“Were you at the other crime scenes?”

Shelley’s head shot up again and she scratched the side of her forehead. “What are you talking about? What other crime scenes?”

Sam thought Shelley seemed genuinely surprised by the question.

“What are you talking about?” Jean demanded, equally bewildered by the question.

“We’ve been that busy the last few days, we haven’t had a chance to bring you up to date, Jean, I apologise for the indiscretion. Three of your father’s friends, or should I say neighbours, have also been killed this week. In fact, two neighbours, David and Brenda Chatley and their daughter, Michelle, who I called to be with her mother.”

Shelley shook her head. “I didn’t know. Don’t go thinking this is to do with Wayne, because it’s not.”

“How do you know?” Sam was keen to determine.

“Why do you think it’s him? How did they die?” Shelley snapped back.

Sam inhaled and exhaled a few deep breaths, trying to remain calm. “David Chatley was abducted and later murdered. His wife and daughter had their throats cut at the farmhouse. Four people, friends in the community, I’m not prepared to put that down to pure coincidence, are you?”

Shelley flapped her hands around. “Why not? Why does everything have to be cut and dried all the time in your job?”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “We believe there’s a connection.”

“Are you going to tell us what it is?” Shelley replied with a challenging tone. Her tears had dried up long ago.

Crocodile tears, perhaps. “We believe the killer was searching for something in particular.”

“Such as?” Shelley glared at Sam.

“The bloody medals,” Jean filled in the blanks for her daughter, shaking her head at the same time.

“Who asked your opinion?” Shelley shouted at her mother.

“She’s right, Shelley. The killer was looking for the medals which the Chatleys had stored in a secret compartment at their farmhouse. We believe the killer tortured the three victims to obtain the information about their whereabouts. The trouble is, we’d taken them in as evidence once we knew of their existence.”

Shelley’s mouth gaped open. She stared at her mother and brother and then shook her head. “I had nothing to do with this, you have to believe me.”

“Do we?” her mother replied. “After what you’ve said here today, I don’t know you at all.”

“Mum, I’m sorry,” Shelley pleaded. “I can’t say more than that.”

“You disgust me. You’re only saying sorry in front of the officers because you’ve been found out. I want nothing more to do with you. You’re no child of mine.”

“Stop it, Mum, this isn’t helping,” Ian said, obviously the peacemaker in the family.

“Isn’t it? Four murders in one week, your own grandfather included in the body count, and you think I’m overreacting? If you believe that, Ian, then you can leave as well, and don’t come back. I thought I raised you two better than this. How dare you both look daggers at me as though I’m in the bloody wrong? How fucking dare you? Get out. The lot of you. Let me mourn my father in peace.” Jean slumped into the sofa behind her and buried her head in her hands.

“Bob, escort Shelley out to the car. Cuff her first.”

Her partner latched on to Shelley’s arm; she tried her best to resist, but Bob held firm. He made sure the cuffs hit her wrist, the way they always did when a suspect didn’t go willingly.

“What are you doing? I didn’t do it. You can’t arrest me,” Shelley cried indignantly.

“Heard the term ‘accessory to murder’, have you?” Sam asked.

“That’s not me.”

“You knew a crime was going to be committed and did nothing to prevent it, that’s being an accessory in the eyes of the law. Get her out of here, Bob, I’ve heard enough.”

He struggled to get the wriggling woman out into the hallway, but eventually managed it. The room fell quiet. Sam’s gaze drifted between the mother and son. “Jean, I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

She wiped her eyes on a tissue and then blew her nose. “I’m not, she’s an evil bitch, she needs punishing. You have my blessing.”

“Jesus, Mum, will you listen to yourself? She’s your daughter, for fuck’s sake.”

“If you’re siding with a criminal, Ian, you’re better off leaving before I say something I really regret. Go home and think about what you’ve just seen and heard, and then come back and apologise to me, because, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the one in the wrong here, she is.”

He huffed out a breath and left the room.

Sam watched him go and then knelt on the floor beside the distraught woman. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea this was how things would pan out today.”

“You have nothing to apologise for.” She sniffled and wiped her nose again. “I’m grateful to you for discovering the truth. Who knows where it would have led if you hadn’t? Would they have come after me next?”

Sam shrugged. “I really can’t answer that question.” With that, Sam’s mobile rang and Alex’s name filled the screen. “Sorry, I need to take this call.”

“Go, don’t let me stop you. I’ll be fine once I get the anger and pent-up feelings out with a good cry.”

Sam patted Jean’s hand and stood. “Alex, what have you got?”

“He’s home, boss. Do you want us to arrest him?”

“Thank God. No, wait until Bob and I get there.”

“As you wish. Do you want us to stop him if he tries to leave the house again?”

“Yes, keep him there. We’re on our way.”

Jean stared up at her and Sam smiled as she disconnected the call. “We’ve got him, or near enough. I’m going to make tracks now to arrest him. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes, you go. If you get the chance, give him a thump from me.”

Sam smiled and left the room to find Ian in the hallway, his head down, looking depressed. “Hey, go home. I wouldn’t go in there right now, not until she’s calmed down.”

“All I was trying to do was keep the line of communication open for them.”

Sam rubbed his arm. “I know. I could see that. You were in an impossible situation. Let things lie for now. Come back tomorrow to see how she is, that would be my advice.”

They left the house together. He approached the car and held his palm up to the window. His sister did the same from the back seat and mouthed ‘I love you’ to him.

“Tell them everything, all right?” Ian instructed his sister.

“I have,” Shelley shouted back.

“Sorry, we have to go now,” Sam insisted. She got in the passenger seat of the car with Bob already in the driver’s seat. “Back to the house. Something has come up.”

He nodded his understanding and drew away from the kerb.

12

Bob parked the car behind his colleague’s. Alex got out of the vehicle and approached them. “He’s still inside. Oliver is guarding the back door just in case he tries to leg it.” He peered into the back seat and frowned.

“She’s the girlfriend, or fiancée, should I say. We’re charging her with accessory to murder; she knew about the first murder, the victim was her grandfather.”

Alex glared at the woman, but said nothing. “What do you want me to do, boss?”

“Sit in the back. Keep her company while Bob and I go make the arrest.”

“Are you sure?” Bob queried. “Wouldn’t it be better if Alex and I went instead?”

Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “What are you saying? Or not saying as the case may be?”

“Nothing. Forget I spoke,” Bob grumbled.

Alex opened the back door and settled in beside Shelley. Sam and Bob left the car and crossed the road to Wayne’s house. Sam had her Taser to hand. “Hopefully, I won’t be needing this.”

“Good to have, just in case things don’t go according to plan. This one could go either way.”

“We’ll soon find out. Are you ready for this?”

Bob grinned broadly. “Bring it on.”

Sam rang the bell, removed her warrant card from her pocket and raised it up. The door opened and the man in the photo stood there, eyeing them with hatred filling his eyes.

“Yeah, what do you want?” He was chomping on a sandwich, and he had the remains of it in his right hand.

“Wayne Gillan?”

“Yeah, who wants to know?” He finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed it down.

“DI Cobbs and DS Jones. Mind if we come in?”

He flung his sandwich to the ground and darted down the side alley.

“Stop or I’ll Taser you. Stand still,” Sam shouted after him. He continued to run. “I will fire, stop now!”

Oliver emerged in front of Gillan, but the suspect ploughed straight through him. Sam was in hot pursuit of Gillan. She called out one last time, “Stop or I’ll Taser you.”

Wayne’s speed increased. Sam had no alternative, she feared he would get away if she didn’t react soon. She pulled the trigger and discharged the wires, which embedded themselves in the man’s back. He dropped to the ground. Fifty thousand volts surged through his body, and he writhed around and pleaded with her to stop.

For a moment, Sam forgot to take her finger off the trigger. Bob came to a standstill behind her and nudged her. “You can stop now, boss.”

“Oops, I got caught up in the moment, silly me.”

They both sniggered and advanced on the suspect who was crying out in pain. Oliver had dusted himself off and joined them. Then he and Bob got Wayne up on his feet. Oliver slapped the cuffs on him and, together, the two men marched the escapee back towards the house. Sam secured the front door and the four of them made their way towards the cars.

Wayne spotted Shelley in the back of Sam’s car. He tried to kick out at the vehicle, but Bob was on the ball and dragged the suspect back before he could do any damage. “Bitch! You opened your fucking mouth, didn’t you? You’ll be sorry you did that.”

Shelley burst into tears. Alex left the back seat of Sam’s car and joined them.

“You take him back, we’ll join you at the station,” Sam ordered.

“With pleasure.” Alex grabbed Wayne’s arm and steered him in the opposite direction.

“How do you feel?” Bob asked Sam as they gathered their breath and watched their colleagues put the suspect in their car.

“Relieved it’s all over. That reminds me, I need to get on to the lab and tell them we have a suspect in custody. They could compare the DNA found at the murder scenes.”

“Good idea. Want me to drive while you make the call?”

“Would you? Then I think I’m going to leave them both in a cell overnight and question them in the morning.”

“Another excellent idea. We could both do with a nice relaxing evening.”

“I doubt if I’ll get one, but I’m happy for you, matey.”

Sam entered the reception area with her three colleagues and the two suspects, several feet apart. There was a commotion going on in the reception area.

“What the hell is going on here?” she asked Nick.

“This chap reckons he knows you, ma’am.”

Sam turned around and came face to face with her brother. “What the…? Mike, what are you doing here?”

He stopped struggling against his restraints and bowed his head. Sam peered over her shoulder at the desk sergeant, searching for an answer. He gestured for her to join him in one of the rooms off to the side. Once inside, he said, “He was arrested after someone found him in their house; he was robbing the place.”

“What? Are you pulling my leg?”

“Nope, I’m being deadly serious, ma’am. It was a few roads from your house.”

Alarm bells went off in her head. “Fuck! No way. I wonder if he attacked my husband.”

“Seems likely. I hesitated to suggest it myself, but I thought the same as soon as he came in. I didn’t realise he was your brother then. He started spouting his mouth off, saying we couldn’t touch him because he was related to you.”

“Oh, did he now? The bastard. Do me a favour and throw the damn book at him. Jesus, what a frigging moron. Forget all about him being my bloody brother. He deserves what he has coming to him.”

Nick smiled and nodded. “If that’s the way you want it, ma’am.”

“I most certainly do.”

They left the room. Sam ignored her brother and instructed her team to join her. She pressed the numbers into the security pad and the door swung open.

“Sam, Sam, don’t desert me when I need you the most,” her brother shouted behind her.

Fuck off, Mike. You’re a disgrace to me, to our family! Christ knows what mum and dad are going to say if they find out. I won’t tell them, not until they come back from their holiday.

The custody sergeant booked Wayne Gillan in first. The charges were four cases of premeditated murder. Sam stood to one side with Shelley who broke down and sobbed when Wayne passed her by and spat on her. Sam shrugged the display of hatred off, unable to show Shelley any kind of sympathy. You reap what you sow!

After dealing with the suspects, ensuring they were at opposite ends of the block of cells, Sam and her team made their way back up to the incident room.

“Time for us to celebrate this one, boss,” Alex was the first to suggest.

Sam knew she should go home and be with Chris, but the thought of dealing with another night of renovations irked her. “Indeed, just a quick one. Come on, everyone, the first round is on me, then I’m going to bugger off home and leave you to it.”

The team didn’t need telling twice. En masse, they switched off the equipment and left the incident room. The second she set foot in the Red Lion across the road, Sam felt guilty.

Bob leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I know that look. Relax, it’s only one drink. He won’t know, not unless you tell him.”

“You’re right. I was actually contemplating whether I should tell him about my brother or not.”

Bob sighed. “You’re going to have to, especially if it goes to court, which it will do.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll have the one, then drive home and face the music.”

“I don’t envy you. Did you mention you were dipping your hand in your pocket to buy the first round?”

“Cheeky shit! Yes, here you go, here’s forty, that should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“Possibly. I’ll add the rest.”

“Blimey, no wonder I don’t go out drinking much these days, if it costs this much.”

Bob chuckled and put the order in at the bar.

Sam’s mind drifted back to her brother. He had sunk to an all-time low attacking Chris like that. Would she ever be able to forgive him?

That was the burning question that rattled her mind all the way home that evening.

EPILOGUE

T  he next couple of weeks were some of the hardest, emotionally and physically, Sam had ever had to encounter. While her parents were away on holiday, Chris and Sam had moved into their house, mainly to get away from the renovation mess but also because they were both sick to death of having constant takeaways; the novelty had well and truly worn off quickly on that one.

A week later, the kitchen arrived and the manufacturers managed to slot them into a cancelled installation spot, which meant Chris had to be on hand to ensure everything ran smoothly while Sam continued to work. She was in the process of wrapping up four murder cases. The paperwork was piling up around her ears most days and then she had to go home and clear up, even decorate the kitchen at the end of the week.

Halfway through the kitchen being fitted, she caught Chris in one of his rare good moods and sat him down for a chat. It was then that she revealed her brother had been arrested for several burglaries in the area. At first, he was shocked by the revelation. It wasn’t until Sam pointed out that it had been confirmed that Mike was the one who had attacked him that it truly sank in. Chris went ballistic at her, as if she had something to do with what was going on in her brother’s head.

Sam let him rant for a few hours before finally taking Sonny out for a walk to calm her nerves and to give her ears a break from all the names under the sun Chris was bombarding her with.

She took the ‘boy wonder’ down to the park and was watching him merrily chase the squirrels from one tree to another. She jumped when a voice said behind her, “Hello, again. I was wondering if I would bump into you again.”

Sam swivelled on the spot to find Rhys, the psychiatrist, behind her. She blushed. “Oh, hi, fancy seeing you here. How are you?”

He beamed. “All the better for seeing you. I’ve been thinking about you. Don’t tell me that’s wrong of me.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Her cheeks warmed up even more under his intense gaze.

“Do you want to go for a walk, perhaps grab something to eat?”

Hesitantly, she shook her head and a sudden lump rose in her throat. “I’m sorry, it’s out of the question tonight. I’ve got some clearing up to do at home.”

He tilted his head. “Clearing up?”

“We’ve just had a new kitchen fitted and… well, you don’t want to know the ins and outs of my dramas. Have you settled in at work now?” she asked, struggling to disguise the emotions raging within with a fake smile before her head dipped.

“Yes, I found an office to rent in Workington, so I’m all good to start next week. Are you all right, Sam?” He placed a hand under her chin and raised her head up so their gazes met.

Tears misted her eyes. She blinked them away and one managed to slip onto her cheek. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Easier said than done.” Rhys rubbed his thumb across her cheek to wipe away the fat tear. “I hate seeing you so upset. I have a reputation for being a good listener. You can have the first session for free.” He sniggered.

Sam smiled despite her heart feeling as though it was splitting in two. What the fuck is going on here? “I’m sorry to run out on you like this, but I have to get back home. I only popped out to clear my head.”

“We all need to grab a breather now and again. I hope it helped. See you again soon.”

She blushed again and called Sonny to heel. They left the park moments later. Did it clear my head? I don’t think so. I think meeting Rhys has only confused me even more. Shit!

THE END

M aybe you’d also like to try one of my edge-of-your-seat thriller series. Grab the first book in the bestselling Justice here, Cruel Justice

Or the first book in the spin-off Justice Again series, Gone in Seconds.

P erhaps you’d prefer to try one of my other police procedural series, the DI Kayli Bright series here, The Missing Children.

O r maybe you’d enjoy the DI Sally Parker series set in Norfolk, UK. WRONG PLACE.

A lso, why not try my super successful, police procedural series set in Hereford. Find the first book in the DI Sara Ramsey series here. No Right To Kill.

T  he first book in the gritty HERO series can be found here. TORN APART

O r why not try my first psychological thriller here. I Know The Truth

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Also by M A Comley

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Keep in touch with M A Comley