‘Okay.’
‘I’ve got to go. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
Kay ended the call, then pushed the phone across the worktop and made her way out to the panel next to the front door.
In her haste to feed the guinea pigs, she’d forgotten to set the security alarm.
It might’ve only been a journalist at her door earlier that evening, but she wasn’t prepared to take her chances.
Not now that Demiri would know she was an active part of the investigation to bring him to justice once and for all.
Chapter Forty-One
Kay was grateful the incident room was quiet when she arrived at work the next morning.
Despite her plans to get a decent night’s sleep, she’d spent the early hours tossing and turning, rehearsing in her mind what she was going to say to Harrison about the reporter finding out where she lived.
Barnes and Piper were nowhere to be seen, and Carys had her phone to her ear as Kay dumped her bag under her desk and stalked towards Sharp’s office door.
She rapped her knuckles against it twice, and fought down her anger.
It wouldn’t do to take out her frustration on her senior officer, but she did want to make it clear that her personal life was off limits.
‘Come in.’
Sharp’s voice resonated through the wooden surface, and she twisted the handle.
To her surprise, DCI Harrison was already present, twisting in one of the visitor chairs to face her.
‘Morning, Hunter.’
‘Good morning. Can I have a word, please?’
‘Of course,’ said Sharp, and waved her to the spare seat.
Kay noted Harrison had learned his lesson and had taken the more comfortable one.
He was a fast learner, she had to give him credit for that.
‘What seems to be the problem?’
‘This.’
She held up the journalist’s card. ‘When I got home last night, this man’s car was leaving my driveway. He left this card behind. I’d like to know how he found out where I live.’
‘What’s his name?’ said Sharp.
‘Jonathan Aspley.’
A sneer curled Harrison’s top lip.
‘The man’s a pain in the backside,’ he said. ‘I’d advise you don’t contact him. I’ll tell the media team to get in touch with him and answer any questions he’s got. I need my officers working this case, not dealing with reporters.’
‘Kay’s got a point though,’ said Sharp. ‘We need to ascertain how he found out where she lives. I don’t mind my officers helping out with a press conference to raise awareness of our investigation, but I draw the line at them being contacted directly.’
Harrison leaned forward and clicked his fingers, and when Kay didn’t react he plucked the card from her grasp and glanced at the note on the back. ‘Ignore him. If he contacts you again, let me know and I’ll have words.’
Kay could sense the dismissal in his voice, and decided not to push her luck.
‘Thanks, guv.’
She left Sharp’s office, closing the door behind her and crossed the incident room to her desk.
Leafing through a pile of paperwork that had been left in her tray, she tucked her desk phone between her ear and shoulder and began to work through the voicemail messages that had been left.
Two were from the DS she’d passed on her existing caseload to, and by the time she’d phoned him back and they’d chatted about two of the burglary cases he was managing on her behalf, it was mid-morning.
A loud voice from the corridor preceded Barnes entering the incident room, closely followed by Gavin whose face was grey.
Kay bit her lip. The young detective constable had been handpicked by Sharp to attend the post mortem of the three victims discovered at the smallholding with Barnes, and it had clearly taken its toll.
‘What’s Lucas’s preliminary findings?’ she said as Barnes dropped into the seat at his desk.
‘Asphyxiation of two of them, and a broken neck for the third, as we suspected,’ he said, his voice weary.
Kay pushed away her paperwork and leaned back with a sigh.
‘He also reckons they were beaten before being killed,’ said Barnes. ‘The oldest victim – the one that’s been there the longest I mean – had a broken shin bone and wrist. The other two had broken fingers. There’s evidence of them being raped multiple times, too.’
Kay ran a hand through her hair, and tried not to picture the women’s last moments.
‘Jesus, Barnes.’
‘Yeah. I know.’
Her eyes flickered across the room to where Gavin sat, his chin in his hand as he scrolled through emails.
‘He’s taken it badly.’
‘He has an older sister the same age as the latest victim.’
Kay nodded. ‘Any luck tracing their identities?’
Barnes shook his head. ‘No. I’ve got a horrible feeling we’re not going to find any, either.’ He sighed, and leaned forward. ‘Anyway, what’s been happening here this morning? What juicy gossip have I missed?’
Carys and Gavin wandered over, coffee mugs in hand, their faces inquisitive at Barnes’s question.
‘What was that all about, earlier?’ Carys said, jerking her head towards the closed door of Sharp’s office.
Kay lowered her voice and told them about the journalist that had left his card at her house the previous night, and Harrison’s assertions that he’d get the media department to inform the reporter that turning up at detectives’ homes wouldn’t be tolerated.
‘It’s all Harrison’s fault. I never wanted to be on the news,’ she grumbled.
‘Not so long ago, you’d have killed for an opportunity like this,’ said Barnes.
‘Not so long ago, I was happily working under the radar,’ she fumed.
Barnes fanned his face theatrically. ‘Oh, I’m a celebrity! I can’t handle the pressure!’
Kay crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him while Carys and Gavin dissolved into laughter.
‘Sometimes, Ian Barnes, you’re a right pain in the—’
‘Looks like everyone’s having fun here. What’s going on?’
Kay swivelled her chair round to see O’Reilly strolling towards them rubbing his hands together, a broad grin across his face.
She smiled. ‘Oh, nothing. Too hard to explain.’
‘Well, it’s good to know you can all keep your sense of humour in the circumstances. That’s the way,’ he added, slapping Gavin on the back as he
