Probably best not to think about it too closely.
‘You coming back to the ranch anytime soon, Guv? Only the Chief Super’s giving me the willies.’
‘As long as they’re not inflatable.’
Silence.
‘Never mind.’ Logan tapped his pen on his notebook, where ‘VICTIMS=KILLER(S)?!?’ was underlined three times. ‘Don’t suppose they found any other DNA at Natasha Agapova’s house, did they?’
‘Nah, because that would be helpful. Normally, you’d think hot-and-dry weather equals long-lasting DNA, but our kidnap victim was a great believer in humidifiers. We were lucky to get what we got from the pish stain.’
Now that they’d finished the ‘Mars Bar’, Landfill andMixed-Recycling were at it again – screeching and flapping and screaming at each other.
Of course, maybe theyweren’tfighting? Maybe it was a mating dance? Couldn’t be any more ridiculous than snogging a subsea engineer in a nightclub and pretending it was just a ‘joke’.
‘You still there, Guv?’
‘Look: go through the ANPR again – see if anything pops out at you. This bastard’s out there somewhere.’ Logan flicked back a couple of pages in his notebook, to the scribbles about Andrew Shaw’s gym membership. ‘And get someone to check out Wellheads Fitness Studio. Our victim was a frequent flyer, might have met his killer and-or kidnapping-accomplice there.’
‘Urgh...’As if Logan had just plopped a ‘Mars Bar’ on Biohazard’s desk.‘Guv.’
Logan hung up. Frowned out the window at the quarrelling/amorous seagulls.
Time to go check on his team.
He buzzed up all the windows, then climbed into the gritty afternoon heat. Jogging across the road between a taxi and a gaily painted florist’s van.
Ding-buzz.
Safe on the other pavement, he checked his texts under the baleful eye of Landfill and Mixed-Recycling.
Four messages, waiting and unread. Lined up most recent to last.
BEARDYBEATTIE:
Dear Acting DCI MacRae, I am in Incident Room B2 for our review meeting about Operation Red Dragon. Will you be much longer?
Oh, bloody hell. When did Tufty say that was meant to start – two o’clock or something?
Bugger.
Didn’t change the fact that Beattie was a dick, though...
TARA:
Talk about peer pressure – The Monitor Lizzard wants to go shopping for ALL BLACK GOTH CLOTHES!?!?!!
She’s joined a cult!
THEICEQUEEN:
Thank you for inviting Colin to your barbecue.
Post-mortem suggests TOD range between 0000 and 0400.
Cranial trauma most likely COD.
Extensive tissue damage + dislocated fingers confirms possible torture.
