‘Shh.’ She flicked on the light. With a pounding heart she held the vase up with the other hand and almost cried with relief when she saw Ebony licking a pile of cheesy puffs that were strewn over the kitchen floor. The cat had edged them over, along with a box of cereal, and the contents had crashed and spilled over the floor. ‘Don’t call for backup,’ Gina said. ‘It’s just my cat playing up.’
‘Are you okay now?’
‘All good, sir. I can’t believe I disturbed you for this.’
‘Well a lot has happened and I told you to call me if anything was worrying you, and I meant it. Even though we’re not a couple, I well… err, I didn’t stop caring, you know. Have you checked your alarm and locks?’
‘They were fine last night.’
He sighed. ‘Just indulge me and check them while I’m on the phone. At least I’ll be able to sleep then.’
Will you?she thought. She hurried to the front door not wanting to keep him from his slumber any longer than she had to. It was deadlocked and the alarm was still set, just as she’d left it before going to bed. The back door was all locked up too. She checked her security app on her phone, scrolling through the footage, and no one had been near her house. ‘It really was just the cat. I can’t believe I called. I feel like a prize idiot now.’
‘Like I said, I’m always here. I want you to call me if you’re worried about something, Gina. Okay?’
‘Clear as a bell. Thanks, Chris. Look, I’ll let you get back to sleep. There are cornflakes and crisps everywhere and my cat is gnawing on things she shouldn’t be eating.’ She ended the call and fed the cat.
Opening the kitchen blind, she stared out. The moon lit the garden up. She hurried to the back window and looked out. Again, there was nothing. Her mind flashed to the previous case where she was being dragged under the kitchen table by a crazed attacker. That was never happening again.
She flinched as her phone rang. It was Briggs again. Her finger hovered over the receive button. They’d just ended their call, what more could he have to say. Had he felt something while they were out watching the party house? They didn’t have to kiss but they had. She hadn’t stopped it. It was a good disguise and it had initially protected their cover. That was all it was. She answered. ‘I’m okay, honest!’
‘It’s not that. There’s been an incident at the house we were watching last night. Damn it! If only we hadn’t packed up so soon. I need you to meet me at Cleevesford Hospital ASAP.’
Forty-Five
As Gina entered the hospital, she passed several women in hen party sashes, plastered in make-up, pushing the bride in a wheelchair. Her swollen stitched up leg was evidence of a rowdy night out. The crowd jeered and laughed as they took selfies with the patient. She followed the signs to ward twelve. A strip light flickered as she took the stairs to the first floor.
She turned and saw Briggs pacing with his phone in his hand. ‘Yes, keep me updated on what’s happening over there. We’re just at the hospital now.’ He placed his phone in his pocket and smiled, running a hand through his messy hair. She could tell he’d been up and out of bed within minutes, as had she. No longer looking and smelling like they were on a date, they both flashed an exhausted smile.
‘Morning. Fill me in.’
They began walking. ‘A woman, Sophie Dobbins, forty-two, was brought in a short while ago after being attacked alongside the river. She’d left the party and was walking outside while waiting for her husband to pick her up, this was between one forty-five and two. That’s all I know at the moment. I’m just hoping we’ll be able to talk with her so we can get a head start on finding out who did this. They were treating her wounds when I popped my head around a few minutes ago. They should be ready to see us now.’ He looked at his watch and led the way.
Gina followed him through the double doors, past the nurses’ station and they waited outside the side room in which their victim was resting. Jennifer, one of the crime scene investigators, arrived behind them looking sleepy and flustered as she pushed through with her bag. ‘Bernard sent me. He’s currently working the scene with Keith.’
‘Great, we’ll just make sure we have her clothes and take some samples, nail clippings, etcetera, and get them to the lab. It’s too much of a coincidence, another attack following one of these Swap Fun parties.’ Gina stared through the glass, hoping the nurse attending to their victim would at least acknowledge their presence.
‘If you can fast—’
Briggs was interrupted by Jennifer. ‘I know. Fast track as always. I’ll get them to the lab as soon as I’m finished here. I can’t promise immediate results but we will be on it. It depends on how much comes back from the other scene too.’ Jennifer pulled a net over her low bun. ‘Don’t want to contaminate anything further. I don’t know how useful this is going to be.’ She glared through the window. ‘It looks like they’ve cut her clothes off. She’s been in an ambulance, been wheeled through the hospital. Too many people have already messed with the potential evidence so I wouldn’t hold out much hope.’
The nurse left the room. ‘She said she’s up to speaking with you now. We’ve checked her over, it’s mostly superficial. No stitches but she is very bruised and shaken.’
The small room was furnished with a single blue plastic chair and a television that hung from above. A jug of water sat on the cabinet next to her. The woman looked up through her brown fringe.
‘I’m DI Harte, this is DCI Briggs. We’d like to speak to you about what happened. We also have a forensics officer present. May I sit down?’
The woman nodded and Gina scraped the chair close to the bed and pulled her notebook from her bag. Briggs stood at the end of the bed, the tiny room not very accommodating of his bulky frame. Even though he was SIO, she knew he’d want her to interview the victim.
‘We realise you’ve had an awful night and you probably just want to clean up and rest but may we take your clothes and a few samples after we’ve spoken? The samples won’t be intrusive, just nail clippings and hair. We want to find out who attacked you and this would help us greatly.’ Gina offered a slight warm smile, trying to put Sophie at ease.
‘Yes, take the clothes.’ With a shaky finger, she pointed at the pile of clothes that had been folded up and placed in a recess in the bedside table. Jennifer shuffled between Gina and the window with an evidence bag as Gina continued interviewing their victim.
‘Okay, can you tell me what happened? Take your time.’
She nodded. Her face blotchy with tears, and dirt smudged over her chin and forehead. Her right hand was bandaged. A tall thin man, probably of a similar age to the woman, knocked on the door and entered. ‘Shall I wait outside, love?’ he asked.
The woman nodded. Gina could sense that there was some tension between them from the way that they looked at each other. He obligingly left.
