‘Good work.’
‘Thanks.’
She fell silent as the news ended and the landlord turned down the volume, and let the sounds of the pub wash over her.
In the far corner, a group of three office workers stood around a quiz machine, their loud cheers interspersed with good-natured teasing, while next to them two men played a game of pool, the familiar sound of wood on resin carrying across to where she sat.
She felt her shoulders relax as she listened to the good-natured banter between her colleagues.
‘So,’ said Carys. ‘Are we talking off the record while we’re here?’
‘Code of silence,’ said Barnes, and took a gulp of beer.
‘We can.’ Sharp swept imaginary dust from the table, and then rested his elbows on it. ‘What did you want to know?’
‘Did Harrison use that press conference to further the investigation, or his own career?’
Gavin sucked in his breath, before slapping Carys on the back. ‘It was nice working with you, Miles.’
‘She’s got a point,’ said Kay. ‘It does make you wonder what he was trying to achieve. He could have released a normal press release instead of holding a press conference. As it was, he didn’t allow a lot of time for questions.’
‘In all fairness, he was probably trying to ensure that the journalists had all the details in time to make the six o’clock news,’ said Sharp, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the now silent television. ‘And, there are more people that watch TV than read newspapers these days. I would imagine our media team will be uploading that to all our social media as we speak. So, I think he used it to further the investigation.’
Kay glanced across at Carys, and noticed the younger detective looked chastened.
‘However,’ said Sharp, the corner of his mouth twitching, ‘I’m sure it didn’t do his career any harm.’
They burst out laughing, and then fell into companionable silence once more.
‘I wonder what the Chief Super wanted to speak to him about afterwards?’ said Kay eventually.
Sharp shrugged. ‘It’s all politics over there. I’m sure Harrison’s going to use this case to his advantage somehow.’
‘You don’t mind? Him coming in and taking the lead?’
He shook his head. ‘I want to put Demiri away. That’s all that matters.’ He grimaced. ‘I’m not sure I’d want to be in Harrison’s shoes, anyway.’
‘Enough shop talk!’ said Barnes, and stood. ‘Next round’s on me. Same again?’
Two hours and a curry later, Kay leaned forward and tapped the taxi driver on the shoulder.
‘It’s the one on the right, just past the shop.’
‘Right you are.’
The vehicle slowed as it rounded the bend, in time for Kay to see a car pulling away from outside her house at speed.
Its brake lights flared at the end of the road, before it turned right and out of sight.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The taxi driver braked, and switched on the interior light.
‘That’s ten pounds fifty, love.’
‘Thanks.’
She paid the taxi driver and hurried towards her front door, her breath fogging in the cold autumn night.
As she approached the front door, the security lights flickered on, and she paced back and forth across the gravel, her eyes sweeping across the stony surface for any trace of who had been there.
Large footprints had sunk into the gravel, but she couldn’t work out if they belonged to Adam or her mysterious visitor.
She made her way back to the front door, and as she inserted her key into the lock, the two guinea pigs began their high-pitched squeaking.
She cursed under her breath, realising that they were probably starving after not being fed for nearly twelve hours, and stumbled into the hallway.
The sole of her foot slid across the doormat, and she glanced down and frowned, before picking up the business card that lay face down on the rough surface.
A short note had been scrawled across the plain white back of the card.
Call me, please. We need to talk.
She flipped it over, and swore again.
Jonathan Aspley, Kentish Times.
‘Bloody Harrison.’
Satisfied her night-time visitor posed no threat to her safety, only her temper, and cursing the DCI once more for his insistence on her presence at the press conference, she slammed the front door shut, slid the bolts across and stomped towards the kitchen, flicking on light switches as she went.
She dumped her handbag on the worktop and picked up the plastic box containing the guinea pig food, crouching down to their hutch.
‘Hey, you two. Sorry I’m late.’
Clyde made an irritated sound in his throat, then buried his face in the fresh food. Bonnie’s bright reproachful eyes stared up at Kay, before she too bustled over to the food bowl.
Kay refilled their water bottle, and then straightened and tucked her hair behind her ears before grabbing a glass and filling it from the kitchen tap.
She’d had two pints of beer at the pub before switching to sparkling water at the Indian restaurant, but she knew the spicy food would leave her thirsty. After the early start, she wanted a decent night’s sleep.
She padded over to the worktop and pulled out one of the bar stools before sinking onto it with a sigh.
As if on cue, her mobile phone began to ring.
She groaned, and reached out for her bag, a smile forming as she recognised Adam’s number.
‘I thought you were at work,’ she said by way of answering.
‘Late one?’
‘Not too bad. We went out for a curry afterwards.’
‘I’m jealous. The hotel food is terrible.’
‘How did your trip to the stables go?’
‘Fantastic, but bloody cold. He’s got some great ideas, and I think we’ll be able to work together.’
‘That’s great.’
‘It is, isn’t it? Listen – I’ll have to make it quick, because we’re in the middle of dinner and I’ve just nipped out to call you. My flight back might be delayed. Apparently, there’s a bad weather front heading this way, and we might get fogged in.’
Kay swallowed, but hid her disappointment from her voice.
‘That’s a pain. Do they know how long for?’
‘A day or so, maybe. I’ll let you know as soon as
