‘Of course,’ Chandler said. ‘She had to know we’d be talking to him about this case, that we’d mention Dark Desires and her, possibly even in the same breath.’
Bliss went on. ‘She made sure word reached the streets about a contract being taken out on her, which she later used as an excuse to have it on her toes. We’re sitting here thinking she and her brood went into hiding because they were scared of being hit, when all the time they’re on the run from us – and Drake, ultimately.’
It all slotted together perfectly. Bliss knew it did. And so did everyone else in the room. The team reunited in that moment, disagreements forgotten. They discussed it at length, dissecting the theory and finding no reason not to take it forward as a genuine hypothesis. It was as good as any other, and better than most. Bishop called for hush and waited for the room to fall silent once more before speaking to the team as a whole.
‘If Jimmy is right – and I think he probably is – it changes only one component of the case: we no longer have to put resources into tracing a contract killer, or attempting to link it back to Lewis Drake. The fact is, for whatever reason, the Parkinsons are still gone and we don’t know where or how to find them. We have to double our efforts, hammer every CHIS harder still, because somebody out there has to know where they went, or at least be able to give us some ideas. Agreed?’
A general murmur of acceptance rippled around the room. Bliss nodded along with them. ‘But leaving them and that aspect of Phoenix aside, finding Abbi Turner remains our prime objective. I’m of the opinion that we commit most of our remaining resources to her. I seriously don’t believe the Parkinsons can help us with that side of things; accessing that bloody server might, though. We can’t know what’s on there, but if there’s even the slightest chance of our man’s details being on that machine or in its data in the cloud or wherever, we need to find it.’
Although some faces turned to Bishop, it was Warburton who stepped into the spotlight. ‘In terms of policy, I remain SIO. Given Bish’s unique position, the decision to make him my deputy provided him with the opportunity to experience a senior investigative role for the first time. As such, I’ve allowed him to run with it, keeping my supervision to a minimum and mostly in the background. I trust each of you will join me in congratulating him on a job well done so far. I listened closely to everything both he and Jimmy had to say, and I can genuinely tell you all that I would not change a single thing. Please, everyone, do continue. Let’s have these bastards.’
Satisfied that Bishop had command of both the investigation and the room, Bliss took the opportunity to cut out. His task was no emergency, but it was still something he had to take care of. As he took the stairs down to the ground floor, he heard footsteps in the stairwell above him. He was out in the car park by the time his pursuer caught up.
‘Where are you off to, Pen?’ he asked, curious as to why Chandler was leaving at the same time as him.
‘I have no idea. You tell me.’
‘What?’
‘Diane told me I should keep an eye on you. She implied there was a chance you might be working off the books, and suggested I become your shadow.’
Bliss blinked and moistened his lips. ‘No offence, but that’s not going to happen,’ he said adamantly. ‘This is one you have to stay out of.’
‘Which tells me there’s something to stay out of. So of course I’m not about to do any such thing.’ Chandler crossed her arms and stared at him.
‘Pen, I’m ordering you to return to the unit.’
‘You can’t order me. You’re not my DI at the moment. I can flap two fingers at you all day long and there’s bugger all you can do about it. But Diane is my DCI, and her order was firm and clear.’
He shook his head again. ‘This is not something you want to be involved with. We can tell her you stuck to me like glue if you want, but that’s not how we’re going to do things.’
He walked across to his car, but when he got in, Chandler slid into the passenger seat alongside him. Looking straight ahead she said, ‘This is happening, Jimmy. Deal with it. Whatever it is, I’m along for the ride.’
***
The pair shared a booth with Detective Sergeant Paul Nicholls in a coffee bar at Huntingdon railway station, literally opposite the Hinchingbrooke Cambridgeshire Constabulary HQ in which Nicholls worked. He was already sipping a coffee when they got there. The man looked wary upon seeing Chandler with Bliss, but seemingly neither irritated nor angered by the topic of the conversation they were about to have. Bliss bought himself a Coke and his partner a still water before settling in.
‘Tell me how this became your problem,’ Nicholls said, savouring his latte.
Bliss was ready and responded without pause. ‘The moment Watson came to live on my manor, he became my problem.’
‘Not if he didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘Something we both know is not true.’
‘Something we both suspect is not true, Jimmy.’
‘If you say so. I know better; you do, too. That might be the official line, but you, your entire team, the CPS… you all know he killed that poor kid.’
‘Prove it.’ Nicholls shoved his drink to one side and folded his arms. ‘Because that was the task I had.’
Bliss noted the resentment. He would have felt the same way had another detective followed up on one of his cases and insinuated himself into it long after it had been closed. ‘Like I told you before, this is
