‘Me too, I don’t like these new people coming in and upsetting our vibe within the team.’
Ben laughed.
‘Not much we can do about it, just have to suck it up and pray they don’t stick around long. At least Bigfoot will be gone in four weeks, and I can guarantee Stan won’t be around for long, as he always looks as if he’s going to pass out at every crime scene.’
‘True, at the rate they come into us, he’s never going to last.’
‘What worries me is who they might replace him with. Better the devil you know sometimes.’
This case was taking its toll on them both and they slowly walked into the house shoulders slumped, exhaustion radiating off them in waves.
FORTY-TWO
Ben’s phone was vibrating so violently it almost threw itself off the table he’d placed it on whilst it was his turn to have a long, hot soak in the shower. Morgan stared at it, willing it to stop. She was wiped out. She didn’t want to take any more today, wasn’t sure that she could, but as she got closer to it and saw Wendy’s name flashing across the screen, she snatched it up.
‘Hey, he’s in the shower, is everything okay?’
‘Lucky Ben, wish I was in the shower. Not with him obviously.’
Morgan laughed. ‘Where are you?’
‘Back at the office, I brought the two knives back to print before they get sent off to the forensic science laboratory for in-depth analysis.’
‘Are you not ready to call it a day too?’
‘You bet I am, there isn’t enough coffee in the world, but here’s the thing, I found a partial on the blade of the knife retrieved from Lauren’s body. It was hard to see at first because it was smeared with dried blood. What if it’s from the killer? The blade could have slipped, and he absent-mindedly grabbed it, cutting himself in the process. That would mean a fingerprint and DNA from him.’
‘Holy shit, that is incredible. Well done, Wendy, you’re amazing.’
‘I’m good, but I was only doing my job, and I could be completely fantasising here, it could just be wishful thinking, and it might be a partial print from Lauren.’
‘Ben is going to be over the moon with this.’
‘Well, like I said, don’t get your hopes up too much because we both know it’s never this easy, but just maybe for once we’ve caught a break that could identify who this person is, and we can get them off the streets for good.’
‘All we need is a name. I’m going to speak to the school the girls went to, and see if they have a record of this mystery brother. Someone has to know who he is.’
‘Yep, their time is almost up, Morgan, I can feel it in my bones, and I wanted you to know that I have your back, always. I mean I might tell you off a bit, well okay a lot, but it’s only for the sake of the forensics.’
‘Aw, Wendy, that’s the nicest thing someone has said to me in a long time, thank you and I always have yours too. I hope you’re right, Wendy, because this has been too hard. Night, get yourself home.’
‘Night.’
‘Who was that?’ Ben was standing at the kitchen door wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.
‘We might have caught a break.’
He placed his hands in the prayer position. ‘Really, please tell me you’re not winding me up.’
She shook her head and relayed what Wendy had just told her. His smile was infectious as he grinned at her. ‘Wouldn’t that be something?’
‘Yes, it would. What are we eating?’
‘I’m too tired to cook, should we have cheese and ham toasties?’
Morgan nodded. Cooking wasn’t her thing either, but she could make a mean toasted sandwich. Fifteen minutes later they were sitting on the sofa, blowing on their plates to cool the sandwiches down. Ben was now wearing a pair of SpongeBob pyjamas. He finished his sandwich and stretched out. ‘Let’s call it a night.’
Morgan wanted to, more than anything, but she couldn’t switch off just yet. Not now, especially if they might have a lead. ‘I just want to do a little digging around. I’m not ready for bed yet, I’ll only lie there tossing and turning. You go on up and warm my side of the bed up.’
