He pressed call.
‘Amelia?’ Brady said.
Before she had a chance to say anything Brady quickly cut in. ‘Where are you?’
‘I’m heading to the cafeteria for lunch,’ answered Amelia, surprised by his directness.
‘Good, I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.’
He hung up before she had a chance to object.
‘I’m going to grab some lunch from the basement. Do you want anything?’ Brady asked as Conrad caught up.
Conrad’s expression was enough to let Brady know he was still feeling queasy from the autopsy.
‘Thanks, but I’m fine, sir,’ answered Conrad.
‘Alright, you check with Harvey and Kodovesky exactly what they have on this missing girl.’
Brady didn’t wait for an answer as he walked in through the double doors of the station. Neither did he give Turner, the desk sergeant, a chance to ask what had happened to his face. He’d leave the damage limitation to Conrad.
Brady kept his head down, avoiding the quizzical looks as he made his way through the lunchtime crowd towards Amelia. The last thing he wanted was questions about his beaten-up face. Then again, he accepted, he’d be surprised if news hadn’t already got around.
He headed for the cracked, red laminated, sixties-style table under the wrought iron barred window where Amelia was sitting with her back to him and the rest of the cafeteria. She was easy to spot with her black razor-cut bob. That, and the fact she was the only one sitting alone.
‘I take it you heard,’ she greeted him coolly, not looking up from her phone.
There was an edge to her voice. Exasperation … irritability? Brady wasn’t sure. He accepted that maybe it was both.
He pulled out a chair and sat down next to her, waiting until she’d finished whatever message she was sending.
‘Oh my God, Jack? What happened to you?’ she said, her voice betraying her as she looked up and saw his face.
‘It’s nothing,’ Brady answered lamely.
‘Have you had that cut above your eye checked out?’ she asked, frowning. ‘It looks really nasty …’
‘It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it,’ replied Brady, embarrassed by her concern.
He looked away, pretending to be distracted by the noise around him, unable to hold her questioning gaze.
To Brady’s relief her phone suddenly buzzed, diverting her attention from him.
Amelia picked it up and read the message.
He watched, surprised, as she chewed the corner of her red lips while she contemplated the content. He wondered whether the text was from some boyfriend and was surprised by the pang of jealousy he felt at the thought.
‘Sorry about that,’ Amelia said, as she turned the phone onto silent without replying.
‘Go ahead, answer it,’ offered Brady.
‘No. It’s not important,’ she lied.
He looked at her. He didn’t know what it was about Amelia that made him feel so nervous when he was around her.
‘You were asking if I’d heard?’ Brady reminded, wanting to break whatever it was that was going on between them. ‘Heard what?’
A flicker of disappointment registered on Amelia’s face.
She nodded, suddenly resuming a detached and professional air.
‘Gates is furious with you,’ she pointedly stated.
‘Tell me something new,’ replied Brady laconically.
‘This isn’t funny, Jack,’ Amelia snapped, clearly frustrated by his response. ‘Adamson went straight to him and lodged a complaint about you – to add to the one from Frank Henderson.’
‘I take it Frank Henderson has been talking to Adamson then?’
‘You could say that,’ answered Amelia.
Brady didn’t say anything.
‘Jack, why didn’t you just stay away? Why go looking for trouble?’
‘What if I was to say that I think the murder investigation I’m working on is connected with Simone Henderson’s attack?’
‘How?’ questioned Amelia, intrigued.
‘That’s what I’m trying to figure out. And that’s why I needed to talk to you.’
‘I’m listening …’ she said as she sat back, folded her arms and waited.
Brady bent forward and lowered his voice, not wanting anyone around to overhear.
‘I haven’t got time now because I’ve got to be somewhere. But I promise I’ll fill you in later. In the meantime, I need you to do something for me. If I had any other choice, believe me I wouldn’t ask …’
‘Go on,’ she instructed with an edge of cynicism.
‘What I need is the surveillance footage for this morning’s shift covering the main reception area at Rake Lane,’ Brady explained. ‘And … I need your help to get it.’
‘Why me?’ she asked, frowning.
‘Because I can’t and you can. You’re part of the investigation into Simone Henderson’s attack which ultimately gives you the authority I don’t have to request it.’
Amelia reached for her cappuccino and slowly took a sip as she thought it over.
She placed the cup back in the saucer and looked him in the eye. ‘Tell me why I should do that for you?’
‘We’ve got one headless girl in the morgue who was gang-raped and sodomised before being murdered. Then we have one of our own coppers in ICU. What connects them is the fact they’ve both been branded.’
Amelia gaped at him. ‘Run that by me again?’ she asked quietly, trying to hide her surprise.
Brady edged forward in his seat towards her.
‘Both victims have been branded. Simone has the letter “N” burnt onto her breast and the girl in the morgue has the letters “MD” with a scorpion above branded at the base of her spine.’
‘If you think there’s a connection—’ began Amelia, starting to shake her head.
‘I know there’s a connection. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know.’
‘What? A hunch? Is that it?’ questioned Amelia with an edge of scepticism.
‘It’s enough to worry me,’ Brady replied, sighing heavily.
She didn’t reply. From the troubled look on her face Brady could see that she was weighing up the enormity of what he was asking her to do.
He nervously dragged his hand back through his hair as he waited for her to respond.
Eventually she looked him in the eye.
‘You’ve got to take this to Adamson. If you don’t then you’ll be seen as withholding evidence. If Gates finds out he’ll crucify you.’
‘Like you said, it’s just a hunch. For the time being I want to keep this between you and me. Get me that surveillance footage and I’ll have a clearer idea as to whether or not I actually have something concrete.’
She remained unmoved.
‘Please, Amelia. Believe me, if I had any other choice …’ Brady’s voice trailed off. He didn’t know what else to say to convince her. She didn’t owe him anything. And he was acutely aware of that fact. Until today they hadn’t seen each other in over six months and then only in a professional capacity. She had hinted that she wanted more, but he had backed away, unable to move on after Claudia.
‘You know what you’re asking me to do, don’t you?’ asked Amelia, raising her head.
‘I’m desperate …’
She lightly sighed. ‘Alright, I’ll do it. Only because I’d hate to see you do something that will mean you end up
