that. The affair with Ben had ended up common knowledge. No doubt, she had thought, rumours would do the rounds about the speed of her return being because she was now Glass’s lover. Let them. She could take it.
And if this new boss thought he had a chance with her as well… She could play her part, play along. Let him think he had a chance, even. See what she could get out of it. A tactical deployment of weapons.
‘So what have we got here?’ Rose said, snapping on her latex gloves.
‘Road accident,’ said Glass, looking down at where deep black tyre tracks had come to a sudden, unexpected halt, the back of the 4x4. ‘Woman ran out in front of that car over there,’ he said, pointing to a VW Passat stuck in the banked side of the road, ‘then this one came along, finished the job. Dead virtually on impact. Woman who was driving’s in a right state.’
‘I can imagine,’ said Rose, not doing so. ‘She over there?’ She pointed to the ambulance parked at the side of the road.
‘They both are.’
A blonde woman who looked like a dishevelled footballer’s wife was sitting in the back of the ambulance. Blanket draped over her shoulders, she was staring off into the middle distance, but her eyes appeared more inward-looking than they had probably ever been in her life.
Next to her was a middle-aged man, dressed in a business suit and looking equally dishevelled. Neither of them was looking at each other.
‘They been any help?’ asked Rose.
‘Both said the same thing. This woman came running down the bank out of the trees. Didn’t stop. Probably going too fast. First car, the man, couldn’t swerve out of the way, tried to stop but there wasn’t time so just ploughed into her. Up and over the bonnet. Four-by-four hit her when she landed. Finished the job.’
Rose looked down at the ground once more. It was dark from more than just tyre tracks. She swallowed hard, pleased there was no body to see. Tried not to let the sight of the blood that was there disturb her. Questions, she thought. Keep it at bay with questions.
‘Happened this morning, you said?’
Glass nodded.
‘What time?’
‘Early. Very early. About sunrise, not much after. Six-ish.’
‘And what were our drivers doing out at that time?’
A smile crossed Glass’s features. ‘Lovers. They’d spent the night together. At a motel. He was off to work, she was off to get the kids up for school. Told poor old hubby she’d been with a sick friend all night.’
Rose smiled too. ‘So, the victim. Do we know who she is yet?’
‘One of the uniforms found a Visa Electron card in the woods. Name of… ’ he checked his notebook, ‘Faith Luscombe.’
‘Faith Luscombe… ’ Rose took out her phone, turned to Glass. ‘You checked her out?’
‘First thing I did. She’s known to us. Got a record. Soliciting.’
‘Where?’
‘Colchester. New Town.’
‘Bit out of the way, up here.’
‘Not necessarily,’ he said. ‘She was naked when she met her death. Might have been working.’
‘Could be,’ said Rose. ‘Out here with a client, parked up in there somewhere, got a bit rough, she ran away… ’ She looked at the steep bank. ‘Down that slope, into this car. Then that one.’ She suppressed a shudder. ‘Makes sense. So we should be looking for a clearing up there, a car. A place where she was running from. Any other witnesses.’
Another touch of her shoulder. ‘That’s what you’re here for.’
‘Right,’ she said.
‘We know how she died,’ he said, taking his hand away. ‘What we need to find out is how she got here. Throw some light on the matter.’
‘We’ll need to get in the woods, have a comb through.’
‘Uniforms have done that already. That’s how the card turned up.’
‘I’ll need to get them in there again. See what else we can find.’
Glass pulled a slightly pained expression. ‘Well… that might be difficult. We’re down on numbers at the moment. Budget cuts for one thing. And we’re a bit stretched. What with all that activity down on East Hill.’
Rose nodded, kept her face straight. Felt anger welling up inside again. Phil bloody Brennan. Once more, he had taken priority. She tamped the anger down, forced a smile. She knew how to get her own way.
She moved close to Glass. Arched her back once more. ‘Oh come on, Brian, I’m sure you could get some extra bodies in to help here… ’
Glass looked at her, face flat, expressionless. ‘DS Martin, I would if I could. But it’s just not possible. If you want to look in the woods again, you’ll have to do it yourself. Personally, I would accept what the uniforms found for now and move on.’
Rose backed off. Angry with him, angry with herself. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘Fine. You got an address for her?’
He gave it to her. ‘And the name of the person she lives with. Donna Warren.’
‘Do we know her?’
‘Oh yes. Faith’s partner in crime.’
‘OK.’ She made a note.
Glass looked at his watch. ‘Better get a move on. I don’t think anyone’s going to be losing sleep over some prostitute who got herself killed, so let’s get this one wrapped up soon as, eh? Shouldn’t take you too long.’
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll just have a word with our couple over there, then get over to New Town.’
Glass stayed where he was. Rose thought something else was expected of her.
‘Thanks for this opportunity… ’ she almost called him Brian, ‘DCI Glass. I-’
He cut her off. ‘There’s something else.’ His face impassive.
Her heart skipped a beat. She waited.
‘I’m promoting you.’
She wasn’t sure she had heard him properly. ‘What?’
‘I’m promoting you. Provisionally, anyway.’
‘I… ’
‘You had applied for promotion before your… absence. I’d like to put it through.’
‘I don’t know what to say… ’
‘Thank you would be nice.’
She laughed, grinned. ‘Thank you.’
He didn’t. ‘You’re welcome. Right, DI Martin, this arrangement will become permanent once you’ve completed this assignment.’
‘Right.’
He looked straight at her, eyes boring into hers. ‘To my satisfaction. Understand?’
And suddenly she understood. Do what he wanted. That was what he meant. And she would. She wanted that promotion. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I won’t let you down.’
‘I know you won’t,’ he said, and turned away.
First day back on the job and she had been promoted. And because of that she didn’t care that Phil bloody bastard Brennan was taking precedence. She would show him. She would show all of them.
She walked over to the couple in the ambulance. Notepad at the ready.
She would show him. Show all of them.
16
The day fell away as Phil stepped carefully through the doorway of the run-down house.
The depressing ruin draped itself around him, sucking out the light. The floorboards creaked under his feet. He put his weight down slowly on each one, testing to see whether the wood had rotted, unsure if there was a cellar
