Gina waited for the next clue.
‘Stop staring at me like I’m one of your victims or suspects, Mum.’
‘I’m sorry. Bad habit.’ She’d almost pushed it too far – almost. ‘What are we doing tomorrow?’
Hannah shrugged. ‘I know Gracie would love to go to Cadbury World.’
‘Sounds like a plan.’
Gina’s phone began to buzz across the coffee table.
‘That’s if you’re available.’
DCI Chris Briggs’s name flashed up and he knew that she’d booked the week off. She tensed up as she took the call. ‘Briggs?’
‘Sorry to call you. I know you’ve booked holiday but DS Driscoll’s plane has been delayed. He’s still stuck in Portugal and Wyre is visiting a friend in Staffordshire. She’ll be here soon, but I need someone to meet me at Cleevesford Manor, now. We have the body of a young woman, looks like murder and we can’t afford to lose any time. Forensics are on their way now. Please tell me you can be there.’
Hannah slumped back onto the settee, her gaze fixed on Gina. The expression she was reading on Hannah’s face now was one of disappointment.
‘I’ll be there in about half an hour.’
‘See you soon.’ Briggs ended the call.
A shiver ran through Gina’s body. She wasn’t sure if it was a result of Hannah’s reddening face or having to work that closely to Briggs again. Once her lover, now he was the keeper of her deepest darkest secret. She’d avoided being too close to him for too long, but now she was going to be working the next case with him until the other detectives in the department were back on the scene soon.
‘Come on, Gracie. Looks like we’re on our own tomorrow. I don’t know why I expected it to be any different.’ Hannah lifted the sleepy girl up and wrapped her in a blanket.
‘I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’ Gina went to give Gracie a peck on the forehead but Hannah turned away. ‘Don’t be like that. I can’t help it that a case has come in. Everyone else is on holiday or away. There’s only me.’
‘This was meant to be our time; you, me, and Gracie. You promised. Aren’t there any other detectives?’
Gina shook her head. ‘None that can get there now. It’s a big case.’ She turned away and dropped her hands in frustration. ‘Hannah, it looks like a woman has been murdered. I have to be there because at the moment there may be a killer on the loose. I’m doing my best. I love you and I love Gracie, more than anything.’
‘No, you love your job more than anything!’ With that, Hannah was already halfway up the stairs.
‘Goodnight, chicken,’ Gina called out to Gracie up the stairs.
The door to the spare room slammed. Gina flinched as Ebony, her little black cat, began rubbing its head against her leg. ‘At least you’re not angry with me.’ She glanced at the clock – if she hurried, she’d make it by half past midnight.
As she grabbed her bag and keys, Cleevesford Manor ran through her mind. She’d been a couple of times, once following a burglary and another time she took Gracie for an afternoon tea. The grand building had been there for centuries, owned by the same family. Its land, spread over acres, was the place to book for any extravagant celebration. She shivered, wondering who the woman was and why anyone would want to harm her.
She knew Hannah was right, she did love her job more than anything. She didn’t love the people she came across all the time but she loved the fact that she was taking bad people off the streets. She wanted this killer in a cell. Maybe then, she and Hannah would be able to carry on with the week they had planned.
Chapter Three
Sunday, 10 May 2020
He crossed his thumbs over her jugular as he reached his end. Her moaning below him only moments earlier had been all he needed to finish off.
‘You can let go now.’ Removing his hands, she rubbed her neck, stood and pulled her dress back down.
They wouldn’t talk about this. Not because he didn’t want to, it wasn’t part of the unwritten agreement. He did what he was meant to do and he’d enjoyed it, but was it enough? He had a taste for something more, an intensity he couldn’t explain or expect anyone to ever understand.
Was it enough? He asked himself the same question over and over again as he lay there in the darkness, staring out of the window at the stars in the clear May sky. Was it enough? That question was going to haunt him. It had to be enough. He rolled off the bed and slipped his trousers back on.
Nothing was ever enough. He needed more now, there was no going back.
A star twinkled. Maybe it was a planet. It was bright enough. She’d already left the room and he funnily missed her presence.
