“This is possibly the last time I’ve seen a colleague of mine and you’re standing there telling me to calm down!” he snapped. His head dipped in shame. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. My emotions are twisted and all over the place.”
“Don’t worry, I’m the forgiving type in extenuating circumstances.” Katy searched the reference index at the front of the booklet. “Here we go.” She issued the instructions for Evans to follow, and between them, they managed to obtain a copy of the incident footage.
Evans ejected the disc and placed it in a plastic case, then handed it to her. “Glad to be of assistance. I hope this incident is an innocent mistake, can’t stand the thought of knowing that the driver was intentionally following him. Umm… is it all right if I ask how he died?”
“All we can tell you at this stage is that he died in what we perceive to be an accident, involving his bike.” Katy deliberately chose to keep the truth from him, conscious of his emotional state.
“How sad, after all he’s been through this year as well.”
“Sorry? Would you care to elucidate?”
“Going through the divorce from Anne, I meant. Another month or so and he would have been a free man and now he’s gone.”
“Are you telling me his marriage was a tumultuous one? I mean, we’re aware they were getting divorced, but…”
“Oh yes, he used to come to work with the odd bruise now and again. When I talked to him about the issue, he always told me he’d bumped into things. I could tell he was lying. One day, I took him to one side and forced it out of him. He sat in my office and broke down in tears, admitted that Anne had been abusing him for years. I don’t mind telling you that I was dumbfounded by his confession. I’m probably in the minority when I say this, I just didn’t think women abused their husbands. Nagged them to death, yes, but physical abuse?”
Hmm… that would explain Anne’s awkwardness during our conversation. “You’d be surprised. Was he getting any help?”
“From his doctor?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t ask. The conversation was an awkward one. I broached the subject, but that’s as far as it went. I dried up then, we both did.”
“So you didn’t discuss it any further?” Katy queried.
“No. I couldn’t, I was out of my depth. I don’t do relationships, you see. I’m a single professional who intends to climb the promotion ladder at the earliest opportunity. I can’t do that if I’m tied down to a significant other, someone who could possibly get in the way of my success.”
“I see.” Katy waved the disc. “Well, thanks for this. We’ll get it examined by our experts.”
“I’ll show you out. I hope the disc helps with your investigation.”
“I’m sure it will. Thank you.”
Charlie waited until they’d left the building before asking, “Will you take it to Forensics for them to try and enhance the image?”
“Yep, we’ll shoot over there now. Maybe we’ll strike lucky and find a tech available to do it on the spot.”
They reached the car. Charlie paused and raised an eyebrow. “Is that wishful thinking on your part?”
Katy sniggered. “Maybe. We’ll give it a try, let’s face it, we’ve got nothing to lose. If we luck out, then we’ll hand it over to one of the boys when we get back, see what they can come up with.”
The lab was a fifteen-minute drive away from their location. Katy put her foot down when the traffic was at a lull, but most of the time, she found herself at a standstill, tempted to use the siren to get through the mind-numbing weekend roadblock. “Damn, and I thought it was bad enough during the rush hours around London, this is a nightmare to contend with.”
“Yeah, I avoid coming into the city on the weekends, correction, I take the tube where I can, if I have to come in.”
“Now you tell me. Thanks for that super useful nugget of information, partner.” She was on the verge of doing a three-point turn when Charlie gestured for her to take a side street up ahead.
“I’m sure that’s a short cut, might be worth a shot.”
“We might as well. This is doing my head in. Why in God’s name do people insist on bringing their damn cars in? I thought the congestion charge would have put paid to that line of thinking.”
Charlie grunted. “Maybe people have got more money than sense around this area.”
Katy inched forward until she could finally access the street. She looked in her rear-view mirror and snorted. “Follow my leader going on behind us.”
“A mass exodus. I hope I’m right if not, there are going to be a few drivers pulling their hair out.”
“That’s the risk they take for following a woman driver, eh?”
“You have a nasty streak running through you, DI Foster.”
Katy turned, grinned and winked at her partner. “Don’t you forget it.” Facing the road again, she asked, “Which way now?”
“Left then a sharp right.”
Katy did as instructed and smiled when she saw the lab emerge in front of them. “Not just a pretty face, are you, Sergeant?”
“I’ve had my moments over the years.”
Katy sniggered.
She found a parking space close to the entrance and they entered the building. The security guard grilled them for several minutes, and eventually, allowed them through.
Several technicians were chatting in the hallway. One of them looked their way. “Hello, ladies, can I help?”
“Possibly. I’m DI Foster and this is my partner, DS Simpkins. I was wondering if we could speak to someone about getting some CCTV footage enhanced. It’s important that it’s done ASAP as we have a possible murderer to try and trace, and well, this is the only clue we have to work with so far.”
“Then
