“What’s not to like? A pretty, well-endowed woman walks into the room, it stands to reason that men would be drawn to her.”
“And some. Bloody hell, it’s a good job my wife’s not here right now. That’s all I can say. I’d be black and blue just for playing the tape.”
Katy chuckled. “Your wife wouldn’t be a tad insecure, would she?”
He tapped the side of his nose. “Yep, she is that.” He froze the screen once Jason had joined the young woman. “Want me to continue?”
“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind.” Katy withdrew her notebook and jotted down the distinguishing features of the woman, noting any wonkiness in her teeth as she smiled, going above and beyond what she would normally do in such cases, trying to satisfy the feeling she had that this woman might possibly go to ground. “And this is where they get up to leave.”
“Yep. I can switch to the outside cameras if you give me a sec.”
“Brilliant, thanks.”
The camera switched from a bright one to one that was lit by the outside lights and the customer car park. “That’s Jason’s Pathfinder over there.”
They watched the giggling couple hop into the vehicle. Jason, being the gent, opened the door for the woman before he ran around the front of the vehicle to jump behind the steering wheel. Then the car left the area.
“That’s great. At least, we can place the woman in his car after they left the pub, always a good sign in an investigation.”
“Do you need a copy?”
“That would be excellent. We can’t thank you enough. It’ll definitely help, having the footage to hand.”
He inserted a disc, pressed another button and looked up to ask, “Will you be running one of those appeals on TV?”
“Possibly. We’ll see how things pan out first.”
With the task completed, he placed the disc back in its case and handed it to Katy. “My pleasure, I’m always happy to help the police whenever I can.”
He saw them back through to the bar area. Katy smiled and shook his hand. “It’s much appreciated. Let’s hope we find the woman concerned, and quickly.”
“I hope you bloody bring her to justice when you do. Poor Jason, he shouldn’t have gone out that way.”
Katy and Charlie left the pub and returned to the cars. Katy placed the disc on the passenger seat beside her. Charlie leaned on the driver’s door and looked down at her. “And so it begins. Let’s hope we find this bloody woman soon.”
“What’s her motive?” Charlie asked, her brow furrowed. “Do you think she intentionally went in there to trap a man in her web and do away with him? Or do you reckon Jason was specifically targeted?”
“Both valid questions that I just don’t have an answer to, as yet. On the positive side, we have an image of her. If we get desperate, we’ll share that with the media, but only as a last resort. I’d rather try and catch her using our detective skills, keep our attempts under the radar for now. The last thing we want to do is give her the heads-up and for her to take off, it’s only going to bloody frustrate us in the long run.”
“I get that, but where do we start?”
“We need to see if Patti has found any possible DNA at the crime scene.”
“Tough one, considering the car was burnt out.”
“I know. Let the daunting task of the mammoth mission that lies ahead of us begin. See you back at the station. I’ll stop off and pick up something for the gang to eat.”
En route back to base, Katy stopped off at the baker’s around the corner to buy lunch for the team. They were going to have a long afternoon ahead of them, and it was important for them to keep their strength up; what better way to do that than with a hot pulled pork roll and a sticky iced bun? Sod the calories, needs must at times.
The team were grateful for the sustenance Katy and Charlie appeared with. They were just tucking into their lunch when DCI Roberts decided to pop his head around her office door.
“Caught you at a bad time, have I?”
“A girl has got to eat sometimes. Take a seat, sir, what can I do for you?”
“I was hoping we could have a brief chat about Charlie.”
Katy frowned and pushed her lunch aside. She wiped her mouth on a napkin and said, “Something wrong?”
He waved away her suggestion. “Ever the detective. No, nothing is wrong. I wondered how she was doing since her promotion, that’s all.”
Katy loved seeing him on the ropes. He looked awkward and shifted in his seat. “In what respect? If you’re asking me whether the power has gone to her head, then no, it hasn’t. Women aren’t like that, it’s the men who are usually keen to exert their authority, in my experience.”
He squirmed some more and winced. “Ouch! I suppose I asked for that. Maybe we should veer off the subject, I’m sensing you’re super prickly today.”
Katy sniggered. “Only when you raise a daft subject. Tell me, have you spotted a difference in Charlie since she obtained her promotion?”
Sean sat back in his chair, steepled his fingers and rested them against his chin. “No, I can’t say I have. Ignore me, I shouldn’t have singled her out.”
“By that, you mean you haven’t done the rounds checking up on how other sergeants who have recently been promoted have adapted to their new roles?”
“Ah, you’ve caught me out.”
Katy refused to let the subject drop, he’d succeeded in getting her back up now, picking on her partner. “Why Charlie? Is it because of who her mother is? I know you two had a history, but come on, Sean, give the girl a break.”
He sighed and shook his head.
