DS Jessica Daniel series: Think of the Children / Playing with Fire / Thicker Than Water – Books 4–6 (44 page)

‘Go home, Sebastian,’ Jessica said, walking away from him towards her car.

She could hear him jogging after her. ‘Can I have a quick word?’ he called.

Jessica reached her car as Sebastian caught up, turning to face him as he stopped behind her. Despite the fact he’d been running, he wasn’t out of breath. She had left her car under
one of the high lamps illuminating the car park. The overhead light was a hazy yellow but, even with that, his dark eyes were as striking as they had been in the daylight. Jessica was desperate to
dislike him but had to fight back a grin as his mouth cracked into a lop-sided smile.

‘Thanks for stopping,’ Sebastian said.

‘What do you want?’

‘I had a call from the office that something was happening here – something about a girl. Can you tell me anything?’

Jessica ignored his question. ‘Why did you write about Martin Chadwick and Anthony Thompson?’

If her question had rattled him, Sebastian kept a straight face. ‘Because it was a good story.’

‘Did you contact Anthony Thompson, or did he come to you?’

Sebastian met her eyes and smiled wider. ‘I don’t think I should tell you.’

Jessica finally broke and was unable to stop herself grinning back. ‘Honestly? You should go home. You’re not going to get any information waiting here. There’s a service yard
at the back of that alley and everything will be removed without you even knowing it’s happened. Call the press office tomorrow and they’ll have something for you.’

The journalist lowered the recording device he had been holding. ‘Can I call you tomorrow?’

Jessica wasn’t sure but it looked as if he had winked at her as he spoke. She didn’t acknowledge it, just in case it was a trick of the light. ‘I don’t give my number to
journalists,’ she said, although she hoped he didn’t know that Garry had it.

Sebastian nodded without replying for a few moments. Jessica studied his face, hoping to notice a mole or unsightly hair – anything that would reduce his appeal. There was nothing she
could see.

‘How about giving me your number so we can go out sometime?’ He stared into her face, his smile unmoving.

Jessica held up her left hand, wiggling her ring finger at him. ‘I’m engaged.’

Sebastian’s smile widened even further. ‘Let me leave you my card,’ he said, reaching into his pocket.

‘I told you I’m engaged,’ Jessica replied sharply.

Sebastian tilted his head to the side and laughed. ‘I meant for if you want to talk to me for professional reasons.’

Jessica took the card and unlocked her car door. Sebastian made to turn around but she wasn’t ready to let him have the final word. ‘I meant what I told you before,’ Jessica
said. ‘Stop stirring things up.’

She wrenched the door open, ready to duck down to climb in but Sebastian called out without turning around. ‘Oooh. I love it when you talk tough.’

‘What is wrong with this bloody chair?’ Jessica said, reaching under the seat to try to adjust the controls.

The man opposite her grimaced, looking on apologetically. ‘Sorry about that, I’ve got another one on order. It should be here any day.’

Jessica frowned across Andrew Hunter’s desk at him, trying to look menacing but, as they locked eyes, she lifted what she quickly discovered was the wrong lever under the chair. The piston
mechanism hissed and Jessica felt a rush of blood as the height of the seat dropped dramatically, leaving her at eye level with the desk, her knees bent uncomfortably. She stood quickly, unhappily
glaring at Andrew to make sure he wasn’t laughing.

‘You should really fix this thing,’ she said.

‘Do you want to swap seats?’ Andrew offered.

Jessica looked at the man’s high leather-backed seat and nodded. ‘Go on then.’

She moved to one side as the confused-looking man stood up. He clearly hadn’t expected her to accept his offer. As they swapped positions and she moved behind his desk, Jessica struggled
not to make an appreciative groan as she reclined into what was definitely the most comfortable office chair she had ever sat on. Meanwhile, Andrew adjusted and then fidgeted uncomfortably into the
broken one she had just vacated.

Jessica wheeled herself closer to the desk. ‘Right, now that’s sorted, we can get on with it. I read through the statement you gave last night and we have been in contact with the
medical investigation team this morning. We don’t have a post mortem yet but there are no concerns that Sienna Todd’s death was anything other than a suicide.’ She thought she was
giving the man good news, considering it meant he was definitely not a suspect. The uneasy look Andrew was giving her didn’t seem that relieved. ‘Are you okay?’ Jessica added,
feeling a little embarrassed about stealing his chair.

Andrew was clearly trying to keep his face neutral as he replied but his bobbing Adam’s apple gave him away. ‘Yeah . . .’

A thought occurred to Jessica. ‘Is that the first . . . ?’

She didn’t finish the sentence as the look on Andrew’s face gave her the answer that Sienna’s was the first dead body he had ever seen. She had already checked out his story to
see if he could be a suspect but everything he said was confirmed. His horror was so real that any suspicions there could have been around him seemed ridiculous. She had not looked behind the
sheeted-off area herself – but had seen the photos that morning. Even in less than perfect light, the amount of blood was astonishing.

Andrew clearly didn’t want to dwell on it, so Jessica moved on. ‘Are you still working for the girl’s father?’

He paused for a moment, apparently thinking his answer through before responding. ‘Is that important?’

‘There’s a conflict of interest if you’re our only witness but you’re also being paid by Sienna’s father. As long as you cooperate, there’s not much we can do
– but it would be nice to know.’

The man nodded. ‘I spoke to him last night after your people had been around. He was devastated, not the man I met a few days ago. He doesn’t think it was suicide.’

Jessica wondered if Andrew was offering his own opinion on the death but she didn’t question it. ‘Is he paying you to find out if someone killed her?’

Andrew didn’t reply but nodded gently.

‘Great, so we’re investigating a suicide while you’re blundering around getting in the way.’

The man was instantly defensive. ‘It’s not like that. I’ll share anything I find.’

‘What makes you think you’ll find something I won’t?’ Jessica was being deliberately inflammatory.

‘I don’t, I . . .’

Jessica spoke over him. ‘There are certain things I’m going to share with you because you’re a witness and it might jog your memory about the things you saw last night. I want
to be clear that I am not passing these on in any sort of professional capacity and that I’m trusting you not to hand this information over to Sienna’s father. Is that
understood?’

Andrew was looking flustered, nodding but confused.

‘Good,’ Jessica continued. ‘Although we’re pretty sure it was a suicide, what we don’t know is if it was deliberate or accidental. We found cut marks high on
Sienna’s inside thigh where they wouldn’t be seen unless she wanted to show someone. We’re pretty sure they are self-harm cuts. Most self-harmers would do that to their arms, not
their legs, but not everyone.’

Andrew was wide-eyed and Jessica thought he was likely remembering the previous night, which was what she wanted him to do. She did have a few pangs of regret given the shocked look on his
face.

‘Are you sure you’re all right to hear this?’ Jessica added.

‘I just . . . I’ve never heard about the thigh thing before.’

Jessica didn’t like to think too much about it herself. She untied her hair and then knotted it tighter into a ponytail as she replied. ‘Apparently it’s fairly common. What we
don’t know is whether she cut her wrists trying to self-harm in a similar way – but accidentally hit the artery – or if she knew what she was doing.’

She watched Andrew lean back into the chair, apparently able to ignore the collapsing backrest. ‘I’m not sure I can help you. Once I saw the blood I just . . . I can’t even
remember it. I called you and that’s about all I know.’

Jessica nodded, thinking the visit to see the private investigator hadn’t been one of her best ideas. He seemed a little wet.

‘We have recovered the CCTV footage of the complex,’ she said. ‘Although there isn’t one specifically watching the area where Sienna was found, we’re pretty sure no
one else was present. We have also rounded up a couple of her friends who were with her earlier in the evening. We haven’t managed to identify or speak to everyone she was with but the two we
have statements from say they didn’t know why she might have a reason to kill herself. I’m going back to see them all at some point but, for now, all we have to go on are the
surveillance images you told us about.’

Andrew leant forward. ‘I’m going to need my computer back if that’s all right . . . ?’

Jessica stood up from the desk. ‘Go on then. I guess it is your desk.’

He lifted himself up from the seat and Jessica saw him wince slightly as he reached towards his lower back. She thought it would serve him right for trying to stitch her up by making her sit in
that chair but she didn’t say anything.

‘What time is it?’ Andrew asked, looking at his watch. Jessica didn’t reply as the only time-keeping device she had was her phone, which was in her jacket pocket. She wondered
if he was asking as a hint because he wanted to get away. Seemingly realising what he had done, Andrew met Jessica’s curious eyes. ‘Sorry, I do that.’

Jessica shrugged, ready to swap seats but, instead, Andrew turned around and walked to the window where he twisted a plastic pole hanging from the top to close the blinds. It had been gradually
getting darker and she realised why the man had queried the time. Jessica took her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was half past six. The day really had flown by.

‘Sorry for keeping you,’ Jessica said.

Andrew waved his hand in acknowledgement before sitting down. She stood behind his chair, watching as he dug into the bottom drawer to take out a camera. He placed it on the desk and then hunted
through the next drawer up, pulling out a lead which he connected from the camera to the computer.

‘Sorry, it’s a bit slow,’ he said apologetically.

Jessica wandered to the other side of the desk and started pacing the room. She was feeling restless, so started poking at the plant in the corner. It was almost as tall as she was, its green
leaves waxy and bright.

‘Do you know what it is?’ Andrew asked. Jessica looked up to see him pointing at the foliage.

She shook her head. ‘Some sort of plant, I think.’

She knew it sounded pathetic but she was unable to stop herself laughing. As Andrew joined in, Jessica began to feel a bond of sorts with him. Outwardly, he was plain but there was something
about his personality that was delightfully charming. He reminded her of Adam in the way there was something incredibly likeable that was hard to specifically identify.

They were the exact opposite of Sebastian.

‘What’s it like being a shit version of a detective?’ Jessica asked in a way that let Andrew know she was joking. Well, half-joking.

Andrew stopped laughing but he still had a smile on his face as he tapped on the computer’s keyboard. ‘I dunno. What’s it like being a shit detective?’

‘Ha!’ Jessica liked the boldness of his response. ‘Touché. You don’t know my colleagues, do you?’

Andrew chuckled as a reply. ‘It’s all right. I never wanted to be a police officer or anything like that.’

‘What did you want to be?’

The man continued typing on the keyboard while he spoke. ‘My mum reckons I wanted to be a dustman when I was four.’

‘Nice. Are you still aiming that high?’

Andrew laughed again. ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this. I have a degree in criminology so I know a bit about it. The truth is, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow
up.’

He laughed at his own joke but Jessica could see the truth in the statement. So many people fell into jobs and careers without knowing if they actually enjoyed them.

‘What kind of things do you usually do?’

Jessica remembered how squeamish he seemed at the blood. She didn’t blame him but figured he rarely dealt with anything that had any real intensity to it.

The man looked up from the computer. ‘It’s mainly affairs and stuff like that. Husbands cheating on wives, wives cheating on husbands.’

‘What do you do? Follow them?’ Jessica was genuinely interested, wondering if it was rewarding.

Andrew removed the wire from the camera and plugged it back in before returning to typing on the keyboard. ‘Pretty much. You follow one of them, maybe take pictures depending on where you
are. It’s not that hard.’

‘Is that mainly men?’

‘Actually no. Most of the ones I end up trailing are women – but that’s probably because it’s the men who are willing to pay to find out what their wife is up to. I think
a lot of the females checking up on their husbands go to agencies in the city where they run these honeytrap things. They have these young women who look like models on their books who go into pubs
and clubs and flirt with the men to see how they respond.’

‘I’ve heard,’ Jessica replied. One of her previous cases involved a man being murdered having being caught up in a honeytrap sting. She wondered how Adam might respond if a
female with model looks tried to chat him up, remembering how shy he was when they first started going out. Jessica thought of the way he would trip over words and apologise all the time and
figured it would be funny to watch him in action.

Andrew looked up and shrugged. ‘That’s not my thing anyway. If you’re hiring a girl to chat up your husband, I reckon you’ve got bigger problems.’ Jessica wanted to
ask what else he did, thinking it couldn’t all be affair-related, when he added, ‘This is ready, by the way.’

She stopped playing with the plant’s leaves and went to stand behind Andrew. He brought up a window on the screen and started clicking through the photographs of Sienna.