Sam decides she’ll make a strong coffee, then sit down and read Denver’s next chapter with the help of the tablets she can still feel scraping their way toward her stomach.
“Detective Inspector Hansen?”
She looks up, wincing as the sudden movement doubles the throbbing in her head.
“Good afternoon,” Tina Edris says, extending a hand. Sam notices her discreet French manicure—Past Sam’s go-to choice. “I’m Detective Inspector Tina Edris. Senior Investigating Officer on the Charlotte Mathers homicide investigation.”
“Please just call me Sam,” she says, holding out her clammy hand, which Tina grips firmly and shakes once. She curls her hands in her lap, not wanting her own ragged nails on display. Sam breathes Tina in: a jasmine citrus scent, white satin blouse,deep brown eyes that are almost black. No makeup or jewelry, save a beautiful Swiss Swatch and a simple pearl stud in each ear. Tina’s black hair is slicked back into a high updo, and she puts Sam in mind of Nefertiti.
“Nice to meet you,” Tina says. “Do you have a moment? I’m hoping to discuss your role in my investigation and how we can best work together.” Tina speaks slowly, seeming to choose each word deliberately before saying it quietly, without any accent. Sam supposes this is a technique to ensure she’s listened to and not talked over.
“Yes. Sure. Let’s talk,” Sam says and Tina nods her head to the small meeting room. Sam is rather wobbily as she stands and is relieved that Tina has already started walking away. She pops a mint in her mouth and follows. Inside the small meeting room, they sit facing each other.
“Firstly, I should say welcome back to work,” Tina begins. “How are you finding it so far?”
“Fine. Thanks,” she assures, almost truthfully.
“Excellent. So, as SIO, you’ll be reporting to me and I’d like to set expectations here and now. Good rules make good friendships, as the wise man said.” Tina smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Sam waits. “To business, then,” Tina continues. “As you know, you will be responsible for the book element of the Charlotte Mathers investigation. I would like to ensure that we’re on the same page withHow to Get Away with Murder. Excuse the pun.” Sam tries to smile but her head spins, forcing her to look at the floor and focus on her breath.
“… Detective Hansen?” Tina’s brow wrinkles. “I asked how you plan to approach your element of the investigation?”
“Well,” Sam says, swallowing hard. “I’ve started reading the book.”
“What do you make of it so far?” Tina raises an eyebrow. “I read it over the weekend.”
“Oh, great.” Sam pinches the top of her nose, praying that the tablets kick in quickly.
“I’d like you to focus exclusively on finding the author,” Tina says, pulling out her notebook and reading from a neat list. “I’d like you to identify where the book is selling—how are people buying it? Find out where the profits from the sales go, how the book is printed and—”
“I’m doing all that,” Sam says through her mint.
Tina continues to read from her notebook: “… and set up searches for all named victims. Especially Basil, who survived Denver’s attack.” Tina takes a breath, flips a page and continues. “You should know that I visited the lab today and the copy of the book that was found among Charlotte’s belongings had only her fingerprints on it. We can’t determine whether those were made pre or postmortem but the lab found several on the outer cover and nothing on the inner pages, which indicates that Charlotte read little, if any, of Denver’s book. She may still have owned the copy of it found at the scene, though, so it’s still important. As I’m sure you know, reading and collecting books are separate hobbies. Obviously, both the presence of Denver’s book and his initials on the tree trunk are details that have been withheld from the press.”
“Have you spoken to the housekeeper yet?” Sam asks. “Charlotte’s teachers need looking at, the men especially as males commit over eighty percent of homicides. We need to focus on anyone who knew Charlotte might be walking home that night. Charlotte’s online activity—”
“I’m doing all of that,” Tina says, her mouth a tight line. “I’d like a weekly report from you and I’d like you to focusexclusivelyon finding the author ofHow to Get Away with Murder. Nothing else.”
“You need to pull all CCTV footage of Charlotte in the park,” Sam says. “There are restaurants in there, a hotel even, they’ll have security—”
“To achieve my objective and solve this case swiftly,” Tina says, raising her voice slightly, “I need every officer to concentrate on their own task. To follow instructions, even if they’re returning to work following extensive sick leave. I cannot tell you how hard it has been for me to get to where I am today and I will not allow a team member’s misplaced idea that those instructions don’t apply to her to jeopardize my investigation.”
“Absolutely, Tina,” Sam says through gritted teeth.
“Thank you.” Tina stands. “By the way, what are your thoughts on Basil?”
“Oh.” Sam’s cheeks flare with heat. “Erm… I…”
Tina scrutinizes Sam’s face. “Please tell me, Detective Hansen, that you have readallofHow to Get Away with Murder?”
“Of course I have.” Sam tries to sound offended, but even to her own ears, her protest is hollow.
Tina simply shakes her head, lip curled in disgust, and lets the door slam closed behind her.
“How’d it go?” Taylor asks as Sam returns to her desk. She presses her hands to her burning cheeks.
“Coffee, Taylor,” she mutters. “Please. Strong.”
“That good, eh?”
