out that way, anyway – she could see that it was too high, and a straight drop of several floors. Nor did it look as if anyone would hear her if she called for help.
The choking panic rose in her throat again.
Where was she? What was this place? Why was she here?
Harriet gripped the windowsill as dizziness swept over her. She realized suddenly that she was starving. How long had it been since she’d had anything to eat? A day, two days? The fact that she wasn’t certain frightened her even more.
And she had to pee. The thought made her screw up her courage to try the door. The unpainted wood looked ancient and scarred, and there was a web of scratches around the old-fashioned keyhole. The knob turned in her fingers, but the door didn’t budge.
Gripping the knob more tightly, she turned it hard to the right and leaned back with all her weight, but the door didn’t even quiver. She let go and rubbed her smarting palms against her jeans, then crouched down to peer through the keyhole. There was nothing to see but darkness.
For a moment, the urge to call out was almost overpowering, but she pressed her hand hard to her mouth. A shout might bring worse than being alone and hungry.
Then she heard a noise. A creak, and then another, the soft footfalls of someone climbing the stairs. Harriet’s first instinct was to hide. She looked round wildly, but there was no cover, even beneath the frame of the old iron bed.
Her logical mind told her it wouldn’t matter, that whoever was coming knew she was there, but her body obeyed a different instruction. She ran to the bed and wrapped the blanket around herself, as if the tattered fabric could give her a layer of protection, and huddled back against the wall. Then came the sound of bolts being thrown back, and the clicking of the tumblers as the key turned in the lock. The door swung open.
“Superintendent.” Rose Kearny looked as though he were the last person she wanted to see. Kincaid might have been tempted to take it personally, except that she’d been friendly enough yesterday, and her behavior seemed decidedly odd. She didn’t strike him as the type to be skulking in doorways.
“Are you all right?” he asked, when she didn’t step forward. She was dressed much as she had been at the fire scene yesterday, but with her hair loose rather than pulled back in a ponytail she looked younger, less professional.
“I-” She glanced past him, as if seeking a means of escape, then appeared to resign herself to the conversation. “I was hoping to have a word with Station Officer Farrell.”
Kincaid nodded towards the warehouse. “He’s there now, working on the crime scene.”
Rose looked more uncomfortable still. “I- it’s just that – if my guv’nor finds out I’ve been here without clearing it with him, he’ll be livid. But our next duty’s not until tomorrow morning, and there’s something I thought Officer Farrell should know.”
“Something you’ve remembered?” Kincaid asked, his interest quickening.
She shook her head. “No. But I’ve been looking into some things…” She drew farther into the doorway. “It’s nothing, really. Probably a stupid idea. And if any of the lads from my watch see me here-”
“Look.” He recalled now that there was a tea shop a short way up the road. If he was lucky, the place might have sandwiches, too. “Let me buy you a cup of tea, and you can tell me about it. Then I can pass your idea along to Farrell if you don’t want to speak to him yourself.”
After considering for a moment, she said, “Okay. I don’t suppose it’s likely I’ll run into anyone I know in a tea shop.” She smiled for the first time.
“Any rule against you being seen with a detective?” he asked as they headed east on Southwark Street.
“Not as long as it was you wanting to talk to me, but I’d rather not have to explain.”
They reached the place Kincaid remembered. He saw that it was a museum as well as a tea shop, housing displays on the history of tea and collections of teapots, but they could use the restaurant without buying a ticket for the tour. Rose ducked inside with obvious relief.
When they’d found a table near the back and placed their orders – tea and sandwiches for him, tea and a scone for her – he said, “Anyone would think you were hiding from a jealous boyfriend.”
“Rather that than get on the wrong side of my guv’nor. Or the lads – that’s even worse. But no. No boyfriend, jealous or otherwise.”
He wondered what had motivated her to risk discipline, or being ostracized, but thought it better not to push until she’d relaxed a little. “Are you the only woman on your watch?” he asked.
“Yeah, at the moment. We had another, a probationer, when I first transferred in, but she got posted to another station.”
“It must be hard.”
Rose shrugged as the waitress brought their tea. “Sometimes, but not like it used to be. The fire service is changing. Some of the old-timers may not like women coming in, but they know there’s nothing they can do about it. And the good officers, like my guv’nor, realize that women have things to offer that are as important as brute strength. Not that I’m not strong, mind you,” she added, with another small smile. “But I think the strength thing is overrated. I can haul hose and lift ladders with the best of them, but there are techniques that women, or smaller men, can use to make things easier. It seems to me that should be the point – getting the job done as efficiently as possible. Safer for personnel, safer for victims, safer for property.” Her face was alight with enthusiasm, and Kincaid found himself hoping that the wear and tear of the job wouldn’t erode too much of her crusading spirit.
“What about hazing? Is that still a problem?” Kincaid asked as their food arrived.
Rose considered for a moment. “There’s teasing, of course. It’s part of the culture, and I think that if you’re going to make it as a woman in the fire service, you have to let a certain amount roll off your back.” She frowned and added slowly, “The tough part is knowing when you have to draw the line, because eventually you will, with someone. I’m sure it must be the same for women in the police.”
Kincaid thought of the difficulties Gemma had had with one of the sergeants under her command at Notting Hill. It had taken a delicate combination of tact and authority for her to establish a good working relationship with the man, but then she’d had the advantage of rank.
He was watching Rose slather butter on her scone, and congratulating himself a bit because he’d never felt particularly threatened by female police officers, when it occurred to him that he’d never worked with a woman who outranked him. If he did, would he find he was a hypocrite, and a self-righteous one at that? It was an uncomfortable thought. He made an effort to concentrate on his sandwiches, but he couldn’t help wondering if he’d condescended to Maura Bell in a way he wouldn’t have if she’d been male.
“What about you?” asked Rose. “We’ve established that I don’t have a jealous boyfriend. Are you married?”
Kincaid looked up, startled, and tried not to choke on his tuna sandwich. “Um, no. But I live with my partner and our two sons.”
“That sounds very progressive of you.” Her smile was a little too quick, and he saw a telltale flush of color stain her cheeks, as if she’d embarrassed herself by asking. “Bohemian.”
“It’s not, really.” He hesitated, imagining himself trying to explain their family situation, or telling her how hard it had been just to persuade Gemma to live with him. God forbid he should mention marriage. That was a can of worms he didn’t want to contemplate himself, much less reveal to a stranger. “Long story,” he said at last, then, not wanting to seem abrupt, added, “we’re both in the job, so it complicates things. We used to work together.”
“Really?” Rose sounded interested. “What happened?”
“She put in for promotion and a transfer.” More than ready to change the subject, he said quickly, “Why don’t you tell me what it was you wanted with Bill Farrell?”
Now, Rose seemed to feel awkward. With her fingertip, she pushed scone crumbs into a pile on her plate. “I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to tell Station Officer Farrell how to do his job. But after the meeting last night I was curious, so I started looking back through the fire reports for the Borough in the last year.” She pulled some folded papers from her jacket pocket and spread them out on the table. “I found five structure fires in the past seven months that seem to fit a pattern.”
He could see that the top pages were fire brigade incident reports. “I’m sure Farrell will have checked for
