No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2) (15 page)

“I’m sure he won’t mind you
guys knowing. The news isn’t good, I’m afraid. The little mite has
a desperate fight ahead of her. She was born with a heart defect.
Needless to say, Jack will be absent for a few days. That reminds
me—I need to make the chief aware of the situation first thing.
Anything useful turn up from the TV appeal aired last night?”

“A few things. Mainly to do
with the second attack. I’ll make some notes and let you have them
in a couple of minutes, boss,” Joanna said.

“Sounds positive. Okay, I’ll be
right back.” Sally inhaled a few calming breaths as she walked
along the corridor to the chief’s office. DCI Green’s secretary was
busy putting filter paper in the coffee machine when she walked in
the office. “Fresh coffee—you can’t beat it, Lyn, can you? Is he
in?”

“He is, and no, you can’t beat
fresh coffee. The smell perks me up instantly when the machine
starts churning early in the morning. Have you seen Joan
recently?”

Sally smiled as her previous
chief’s warm features filled her mind. Joan Cradley had retired
from the force almost two years before, and DCI Mick Green had
filled her shoes less than adequately in Sally’s mind. But then, to
be fair, Sally could have been biased, as she and Joan had become
firm friends over the years. Being a high-ranking female copper in
a man’s world always took its toll, though. In the end, the stress
of the job had culminated in Joan bowing out and taking retirement
in her early fifties. Since then, Sally had remained in contact
with Joan and had visited her on a few occasions in her new home
out in the sticks, tucked away from all civilian life. One of
Sally’s other female copper friends, Lorne Warner, had gone down
the same route at an early age. Although, in Lorne’s case, her
calling to be a copper had drawn her back into the Met soon after
she’d opted to take early retirement. The force was in her blood,
and Sally totally comprehended that sentiment. She had no idea what
she would do if ever she were forced to leave her beloved Norfolk
Constabulary. Sally shook the thought from her head and replied,
“Sorry. Drifted off then for a second, envious of Joan’s life in
her tranquil setting. I haven’t spoken to her for about a month.
You?”

“I rang her at the weekend.
She’s deliriously happy about having yet another granddaughter to
coo over.”

“How wonderful. Is it really
nine months since she told us about that? I hate the way time is
passing us by so quickly.”

“I was amazed by the
announcement, too. She asked after you, specifically about the
court case. That’s coming up soon, isn’t it?”

Sally’s mouth twisted. “Did you
have to remind me? Two weeks, to be honest. The nerves are
beginning to jangle a little. It’s one thing bringing the bastard
to court; it’s another thing having to face him in the dock, his
eyes eating into your flesh. Oops, that’s a tad melodramatic.”

“Will you take someone with you
on the day for moral support? I’ll volunteer if you need someone to
hold your hand, Sally.”

“That’s kind of you, Lyn. I
think—I hope—Mum and Dad will be there with me.”

The chief’s office door opened,
and he looked daggers at both of them. “Could we possibly leave the
gossiping until lunchtime, ladies? I have a huge pile of
correspondences I need to get my head around first thing. That’s a
little difficult with you nattering away out here.”

Sally winked at Lyn, whose
cheeks had flared up. “My fault, sir. Do you have five
minutes?”

He pushed open the door and
stepped back for Sally to join him. He closed the door behind them,
marched past her, and reclaimed his seat behind his large mahogany
desk. “What’s this in connection with, Inspector?”

“I wanted to let you know that
I’ve given my partner permission to take a few days off, sir.”

His brow wrinkled heavily. “In
the middle of a big case? Is that wise?”

“No, but a necessity all the
same, sir. His daughter has just given birth to his first
grandchild, and it’s touch and go whether the baby makes it.” His
brow relaxed, and he reclined in his chair, linking his hands
together on the desk. “Compassion won through in the end, sir.”

“I understand. Well, I hope the
baby survives. That must be a horrendous situation to contend with.
How is the case proceeding?”

Sally was tempted to shake her
head in disgust at the way the chief appeared to change the subject
so quickly. Instead, she relented and sighed heavily. “Well, I’m
just about to go through the calls we’ve received from the appeal
that went out last night. I’ve interviewed a few people concerning
the first crime, the murder, and I have to say, although I have one
or two suspects in mind, we have no evidence as such to fling at
the suspects as yet. However, the pathologist rang me yesterday to
say the victim was four weeks pregnant, and I also learned that she
had an affair with her brother-in-law.”

“I see. So, that’s clearly the
motive.”

“I’d rather get the DNA
evidence to back up any accusations, sir. I should have that on my
desk either today or tomorrow. It’s certainly a step forward in the
investigation and one that could possibly lead in either of two
directions.”

“How so?”

“Either the husband or his
brother could be the murderer. At least, that’s my line of thinking
after contemplating the case throughout the night.”

“You make a valid point,
Inspector. So if the DNA evidence regarding the foetus comes back
as unexpected, I take it you’ll be arresting the
brother-in-law.”

“I’ll certainly be instructing
him to come in for further questioning. Not sure I’m ready to go
out on a limb and arrest him for simply fathering an unborn child,
sir.”

“Nonsense, Inspector. That’s a
motive right there—he’s killed her in order to prevent her from
telling everyone about their affair.”

“I understand where you’re
coming from, sir, but the husband might have found out she was
playing away from home. If so, there’s every possibility that he
killed his wife in a violent rage. By what I can gather, the
marriage was in jeopardy.”

“Ah, well, that certainly
throws a different light on things. I totally understand your
dilemma. Let’s hope the DNA helps to make things a lot clearer for
you. What if the DNA belongs to neither of these men?”

Sally’s eyes widened. “Crap, I
never really thought about that, sir. That would make the
investigation spin out of control, upside down, and on its head.
I’d rather not think about that now. I better get on with the
investigation, sir. I just dropped by to inform you of Jack’s
predicament.”

“Very well. Do you have a
suitable replacement for him within your team?”

“Oh yes, sir, any member of my
team is capable of stepping up to the plate. They wouldn’t totally
fill the void, but I reckon eighty percent would be covered.”

“Glad to hear it, that’s as it
should be. Keep me informed of your progress as usual,
Inspector.”

“I will, sir.”

Sally walked out of the office
and rested against the closed door. She exhaled a large breath as
her heart rate recovered to near normal. Leaning forward, she
whispered, “Why do I always feel as if I’ve been placed on the
naughty step every time I enter this room?”

Lyn chortled. “I totally
understand that. He’s a pussycat really, once you get to know
him.”

Sally snorted and walked
towards the outer door of the office. “I’ll have to take your word
on that, Lyn. He has a tendency to bite my hand off every time I go
to stroke him, metaphorically speaking of course.”

Lyn laughed, and Sally shook
her head. “Christ, did I really say that out loud? I’m more
stressed out than I thought. Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

Sally marched back to the
incident room and headed in Joanna’s direction. “I know it’s only
been a few minutes, but have you got anything useful for me?”

“A few things, boss. I’ve put
them in order of priority.” Joanna handed Sally a sheet of paper
just as her phone rang. “Hello, DC Tryst. How can I help?”

Sally scanned the sheet,
admiring the way Joanna had prioritised the list, just as Sally
would have herself. That task alone boded well for the constable’s
future on the team, not that Sally had ever doubted the young
woman’s capabilities in the first place. She looked up to see
Joanna beaming.

“Thanks for letting me know.
We’ll send a team out there immediately. Goodbye.”

“What was that?” Sally asked,
cocking her head.

“Julie Smith has regained
consciousness and is sitting up in bed.”

Sally dropped the list on the
desk and pointed at Joanna. “Great news. You’re coming with me to
the hospital.”

“Really? How fabulous. Thanks,
boss.”

Numerous times during the
drive, Sally found herself wondering if she’d been right to invite
the young detective constable to be her partner for the morning. If
there had been a gold medal in the art of chatting enthusiastically
about every conceivable topic under the sun, Joanna would have won
it hands down. Sally nodded and voiced lots of yeses at the
appropriate times, not wishing to dampen Joanna’s passion by
chastising her. However, when Sally parked the car in the hospital
car park, she felt obliged to guide the constable’s train of
thought back to the task in hand.

“So, here’s the plan. We take
things nice and slowly, okay?”

“Yes, boss. Do you want me to
take notes?”

“That’s a definite requirement
when you’re out in the field with me, Joanna. Leave the questions
to me, too, all right?”

“Of course.” Joanna beamed at
her.

“Let’s go then.” Sally led the
way to the ICU and produced her warrant card for the nurse sitting
at the reception desk. “The station received a call saying that
Julie Smith had regained consciousness. Is she up to answering a
few questions?”

The petite redhead smiled and
motioned for them to take a seat, which Sally declined. “I’ll
certainly ask the question for you. The doctor is examining her
now.” The nurse left the desk and slipped into the room. A few
minutes later, she returned with the doctor.

“My patient is still feeling
very fragile, Inspector, but when I asked her if she felt up to
seeing you, she swiftly agreed.”

“That’s wonderful news. How is
Julie’s health, Doctor?”

“Her injuries appear to be
healing rapidly. Some patients have the ability to do that. Go easy
on her, all the same. Although we’ve carried out a few basic tests,
we’re unsure what limits there are with her memory as yet.”

“You have my word on that,
Doc.”

The doctor returned to the unit
and held open the door for Sally and Joanna to join him. Julie
Smith immediately looked their way. Her head was still wrapped in
bandages, and the bruising on her face was even more evident than
it had been the first time Sally had visited her.

Sally smiled and introduced
herself and Joanna. “Hello, Julie. Daft question in the
circumstances, but how are you feeling?”

Julie’s eyes fluttered shut
then reopened again as she sucked in a large breath. “Glad to still
be alive, I suppose.”

“That’s the ticket. Are you up
to telling us what happened?”

“I can try. Not sure I’ll be
much help, really. The attacker struck out at me before I realised
what had gone on.”

“I understand. Did you get a
good look at him? Are there any details you can give us?”

“My memory appears to be
reluctant to revisit the actual attack at the moment,
Inspector.”

Sally raised her hand. “There’s
no rush. Take your time. Can you close your eyes for me? I’ll try
and walk through the scene with you. Remember, I’m only a few steps
away.”

Again, Julie inhaled a large
breath and allowed her eyes to close slowly. Sally watched as a
pained expression contorted the woman’s young features during the
process.

“Where are you, Julie?”

“I’m walking down Chester Road.
I’ve just left my friends at the pub, and no, I’m not drunk.” The
briefest of smiles tugged at her lips but vanished when she took up
her story once again. “He walked towards me. It was dark. I was
looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. I shuddered. I
thought it was because of the evening chill, but I think I sensed
some form of danger.” Her eyes flew open.

Sally reached over and patted
the back of her hand. “Take your time. There’s really no need to
rush, Julie. Can I get you a glass of water?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Sally moved round the bed to
the water jug and glass. She handed the young woman a half-filled
glass, and Julie accepted it with a shaking hand. “Relax. The last
thing I want to do is hamper your recovery. If you don’t feel able
to continue today, that’s fine by me.”

“No. I want to do it—if you’re
prepared to be patient with me. You need to catch this man before
he hurts someone else.”

“Exactly. In your own time. So
you were walking, not driving?”

Julie clung to the glass with
both hands and closed her eyes once more. “That’s right. He’s much
taller than me. I’m five-foot-three. He looked about six feet
tall.” She sipped the water again and swallowed noisily.

“What’s he wearing?”

“Black jeans, I think. It’s
hard to tell because of the dark. Yes, I think they’re black. He’s
also wearing a grey hoodie.”

“Can you make out his physique?
Is he slim, or is he carrying a little excess weight?”

“He’s very thin. If it was a
girl, I’d put her at borderline anorexic.” Julie opened her eyes
and looked uncertainly at Sally as if needing reassurance.

“You’re doing really well.
You’ve given us a lot of information already,” Sally said, unsure
whether she would be able to give the same level of detail if she’d
been in the victim’s shoes.