by M A Comley
“I’m sorry for your loss, Jacky,” Dave uttered, stroking the baby’s face with his finger.
She buried her face into her son’s neck and sobbed.
CHAPTER TWO
Kayli felt emotional on the ride back to the station. Dave had agreed to drive, giving her time to reflect on what had happened at the hospital. Jacky had insisted that she wanted to remain close to her sister for the next few hours. Kayli understood how she felt and didn’t try to dissuade her.
She fished her mobile out of her jacket pocket and dialled her sister-in-law’s number. “Hi, Annabelle, it’s me. How are you?”
“Hey, you. I’m surviving, just. How are you?”
“I could do with a chat and a hug from my favourite nephew, if you must know. Fancy a takeaway tonight?”
There was a slight pause before her sister-in-law replied, “Go on then. Although I have to warn you, I haven’t got much of an appetite at the moment.”
“That makes two of us. We can pick at our food together. I’ll just get the one main portion of chicken then and lots of veg. How’s that?”
“Sounds ideal. Nothing too greasy.”
“Trust me. See you around six thirty. That won’t be too late for Bobby, will it?”
“It should be fine. I’ll put him down for a nap this afternoon.”
“Brilliant. See you later.”
“Kayli ... thanks for thinking of me.”
“Always, lovely.” Guilt draped around her shoulders. Since Giles and Mark had been away, she’d only had the chance to visit Annabelle once due to her busy schedule.
“Are you all right?” Dave asked, pulling the car into the station’s car park.
“I’m fine. Just feeling a little lost right now. It’s hard to explain, really.”
“I’m always here if you need a chat, and Luke’s always around if you need a cuddle. I know it’s not the same as cuddling your flesh and blood, but he’s a good stand-in.”
Kayli smiled at her partner’s generous offer. “I know. I appreciate that, matey. I should go round and see Annabelle more, though. She’s stuck at home all day with only Bobby to keep her company.”
“Not the brightest idea your brother has ever had, is it?” Dave said as they left the car.
“I’m beginning to think the same thing.”
Waiting for them at the top of the stairs was DCI Sandra Davis. “Morning, you two. I’d like a word with you in my office, Inspector.” She turned on her heel and called out, “Now!”
Dave grimaced. “Someone sounds annoyed. You better not keep Frosty Knickers waiting.”
Kayli stifled a laugh. “Did you have to say that? How am I going to keep a straight face now whilst standing in the line of fire? I wonder what’s eating her. I’m not aware of doing anything wrong.”
“It looked pretty serious to me. Good luck.”
They separated, and Kayli had trouble keeping her legs from shaking as she walked towards the DCI’s office. Fiona, the DCI’s secretary, smiled broadly at her when she entered the room. The DCI’s office door was open. “I’ve been summoned, should I go straight in?” she whispered.
“You should. Good luck.”
“Crap! Do I need it?”
Fiona shrugged and winked at her.
Bollocks! What the hell is this all about? She rapped her knuckles on the door and gingerly poked her head into the office. “You wanted to see me, ma’am?”
“Stop dilly-dallying in the blasted doorway and take a seat, Inspector.”
“Sorry. Have I done something wrong?” Kayli asked once she was seated. She crossed then uncrossed her legs, agitated to be sitting before her superior.
“Why is that always the first question you ask? My reply, as always, is I don’t know, have you?”
“Touché, ma’am.”
DCI Davis leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together in front of her. “Perhaps you can answer me a question.”
Kayli tilted her head. “I’ll do my best. What is it?”
“Why wasn’t I told about your personal situation?”
“I’m not with you, ma’am. My personal situation? In what respect?”
The DCI shook her head, an expression of annoyance settling on her face. “Stop with the bullshit. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Your other half going off to Lord knows where.”
“I didn’t know I had to report my partner’s every move to you, ma’am. It’s not like it’s affecting my job.”
The DCI raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it? Look at you! You’ve lost a hell of a lot of weight. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“Have I? And that’s your concern because?”
“Don’t smart-mouth me, Inspector. It doesn’t become you. Am I that much of an ogre that you find it impossible to confide in me?”
“Not at all. I wasn’t aware that it was compulsory to tell you when Mark went away. I’m at a loss to know what I’ve done wrong.”
DCI Davis exhaled an exasperated breath. “You haven’t done anything wrong. It would have been nice if you’d made me aware of the situation, so I could monitor it. That’s all.”
“Monitor it? What’s there to monitor, ma’am?” Kayli fidgeted in her seat some more.
“The fact that you’ve lost a lot of weight and look gaunt—unhealthy, if you like. Now are you getting my drift, Inspector? Obviously not, by the perplexed look on your face. Unhealthy means that you’re lacking in sleep and prone to making mistakes on the job. Has that clarified things enough for you?”
“With respect, ma’am, that’s utter bollocks. I have gone about my duties in the same way I always have. Nothing has changed to me, unless you’re saying that you’ve noticed a decline in my abilities to carry out my job properly.”
“I’m not saying I’ve noticed any such thing. This meeting is about preventing the rot before it sets in.”
“I have no intention of letting either you or my team down, ma’am. I’m actually offended that thought should even enter your mind.”
DCI Davis exhaled loudly again. “It hasn’t. I’m doing something about it before it does. When is Mark due back?”
“At the end of this week. Five days and counting.”
“Good. Why on earth did he take such a dangerous job in the first place?”
Kayli shrugged. She’d asked herself that question a hundred times over the past two weeks. “He tried to get a job in this country, but no one could be bothered to employ him. He was getting low about not being able to contribute to the household expenses and grabbed the opportunity to make some decent money when it was presented to him on a plate by my brother.”
“I see. Does this mean that your brother is also tangled up in this mess?”
Kayli unfolded her legs and leaned forward. “I’d hardly call it a ‘mess’, ma’am.”
“You have your opinions, and I have mine on the subject. All I know is what I’m seeing in front of me and the effect this role he’s taken is having on you and your well-being.”
“I’m fine. There’s no need for you to be concerned. I’ve just made arrangements to go round my sister-in-law’s tonight for a takeaway, if you must know. That’s sure to put a couple of pounds on.”
“You could do with putting a couple of stone on, not pounds, Inspector,” DCI Davis retorted sharply.
“Nonsense. How on earth would I be able to chase criminals then?”
“You delegate. Get Dave Chaplin to do it instead.”
Kayli fell silent. She knew there was no point in arguing with the DCI, who’d been known to give the most stubborn mule a good run for its money.
“I see you followed up on an accident report first thing this morning. Do you believe it warrants an investigation?”
Relieved the subject had changed, Kayli shrugged. “Very early days. I’ve yet to have it confirmed by the investigation team overseeing things at the site, but I don’t think it was a mere accident. I’ve just come from the hospital; unfortunately, the victim has
lost her life.”
“A murder enquiry then? I’m sorry to hear the victim has died. Any suspects yet?”
“Give me a chance, ma’am. There’s something dubious about the boyfriend—not sure what—but I’ll get my team digging into his background now. She was out socialising with two friends last night; I’m due to question the women this afternoon. They might have encountered something unsavoury that led to Miss Drinkwater’s death.”
“Okay. You better get on with things. Keep me up-to-date with your progress.”
“Will do.” Kayli rose from her chair and walked towards the door.
“And Inspector, I suggest you have a good chat with that fella of yours when he returns. Let him know exactly what turmoil he is inflicting on you in his absence.”
“It’s not going to happen, ma’am. I refuse to dictate how I think he should be running his life.”
DCI Davis’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling before she dropped her head and pulled some paperwork in front of her. “Shut the door on your way out.”
On the way back to the incident room, Kayli continually kicked herself. Why? Why did I have to retaliate like that? Why didn’t I just accept what she said and get on with it?
“I need coffee, preferably intravenously,” she insisted, rushing towards the vending machine.
Dave laughed. “That bad, eh?”
“Think of the worst scenario you can think of and multiply it by a thousand,” she said, exaggerating.
The three members of the team all looked at each other with dread in their eyes.
“Anything we can do to help?” Dave asked.
“Nope. Just stand by me and don’t question me about my personal life because I’m liable to put you in your place like I stupidly just did to the DCI. I’ll be sulking in my office if you need me, for the next five minutes, anyway.” Stop wallowing! I need to forget what just happened and get on with the case ASAP. “In the meantime, Donna, can you dig up everything you can regarding Lincoln James, the victim’s boyfriend? Something isn’t ringing true with him, and I want to know what that is.”
“I’m looking into it now, boss. I’ve not found anything so far.”
“What do you want me to do?” Dave sat forward in his chair.
“We need to go and interview the two friends soon. Maybe you can try and pick up Carmen’s car on the CCTV footage, or at least make a start on the search before we set off. We need to know if anyone was following her last night. She said two words to me before she passed away: ‘baby’ and ‘bike’. She could have been hinting that she swerved to avoid hitting a bike. I doubt if she meant a baby was on the road, but who knows?”
“Gotcha. I’ll make a start with Graeme, unless you want him to do something else?”
“No, that’s fine with me. Give me ten minutes, all right?” Kayli walked into her office. She opened the window to let some fresh air into the small office, but closed it rapidly when a strong gust of wind snatched the windowpane from her hand. God, how I hate the winter! I envy you one thing in your new role, Mark—at least you’ve got sunshine where you are. She spent the next ten minutes going over some paperwork head office had sent through the internal mail system, but she found herself scratching her head. None of it seemed to make much sense. Maybe she was more distracted about Mark than she was prepared to admit. Perhaps Dave and DCI Davis were right. Or maybe Carmen’s death was the problem. Kayli hated it when things weren’t cut and dried at the beginning of a case. After shoving the papers in the in-tray again, she downed her coffee and left the office. “Found anything yet, Donna?”
“No, boss. Nothing official like a police record so far.”
“I kind of suspected that, especially as he runs a bar. He’d need to be squeaky clean to obtain his liquor licence in the first place.”
“That’s a good point. I’ll keep digging.”
“Are you ready, Dave? You can tell me about your progress with the footage en route.”
He slipped on his jacket and followed her out of the room and down the stairs to the car.
Once they were on the road, Dave told her, “We haven’t found anything yet. Mind you, we’re a little in the dark as to where to look, because we have no idea where she set off from. I hope the two friends can fill in the blanks of what route she took.”
“Let’s hope so. I have to say, I’m not looking forward to sharing the news that Carmen didn’t make it. You said they were devastated that she was in the accident. Lord knows what their reaction is going to be after hearing the news of her death.”
They parked in the multi-storey car park close to Cabot Circus where Dawn’s Beautification Salon was based.
“Crikey, this looks a bit swish,” Dave muttered.
As they walked through the door, a mixture of smells hit Kayli’s nose. The pungent smell of bleach or peroxide challenged the smell of nail lacquer being applied by one of the assistants sitting in the near corner of the room.
A girl with bright-pink hair was standing behind the small desk. “Hello there. Do you have an appointment?”
“We have a meeting with Dawn and Sonia.”
The girl turned and shouted above the din of the hairdryers. “Dawn, there’s someone to see you.”
A pretty brunette with wavy brown hair looked over her shoulder, glared at the receptionist, and smiled at Kayli. “Can you give me five minutes to finish off Mrs. Tucker?”
“Of course. Maybe we could chat with Sonia first?” Kayli shouted back.
“Good idea. Sam, show them through to the staffroom. Sonia is on her break.”
“Like to come this way.” The girl smiled and set off in her high heels. Her shocking-pink tights matched her hair, reminding Kayli of a character from the Trolls movie, and she was wearing the shortest denim miniskirt Kayli had ever seen.
Kayli turned sideways to see Dave’s eyes homed in on the girl’s shapely backside, which earned him a jab in the ribs.
“What?” he mouthed with all the innocence of a hormone-rampant ten-year-old.
Kayli tutted and shook her head. Men! You’re the same the world over.
Sam pushed open the door to a relatively small room. “Sonia, I have the two police officers to see you.”
Sonia leapt out of her chair and began tidying her lunch cartons away. “Excuse the mess. Come in and take a seat.”
“No need to tidy up on our account. I’m DI Kayli Bright, and this is my partner, Dave Chaplin. Would you rather we spoke to you and Dawn at the same time, or are you happy to speak to us alone?”
“I need to get back to work soon. I have a client due in ten minutes, sorry.”
“No problem. Can we sit down?”
“Please do. How’s Carmen doing? It was such a shock to hear she was in hospital.” Sonia ran a hand over her face and gathered her blonde hair into a ponytail with a coloured band.
Kayli inhaled a breath. “Oh dear, it’s extremely hard for me to tell you this, but unfortunately, Carmen died a few hours ago.”
Sonia’s first reaction was to let her mouth drop open, then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed. “No, not Carmen. There must be some mistake.”
Tears misted Kayli’s vision. “I’m sorry. I was there when she passed away. The doctors did everything they could to save her, but the internal injuries she had suffered during the crash proved to be too much in the end.”
The door flew open, and Dawn entered the room. She took one look at Sonia and rushed to her side. “Sonia, what’s wrong? Oh shit! It’s not ...? She’s not ...?”
Sonia looked at her friend and nodded as fresh tears slid down her face. She whispered, “She’s gone, Dawn.”
Dawn, forgetting she was wearing a mid-thigh dress, collapsed on the floor beside her friend and buried her face in her hands. “How could this be? Not Carmen—please tell me this is some kind of cruel joke?”
“I’m so sorry. I wish I could tell you it was a mistake, but it isn’t. She suffered a ruptured spleen in the accident, and the inter
nal bleeding proved to be too significant in the end. There was nothing the medical staff could do to save her.”
The two women hugged each other, sobbing as more tears fell. It was uncomfortable for both Dave and Kayli to witness, but the women’s distraught reactions were understandable.
“Look,” Kayli said, “would you rather we came back another time, once this news has sunk in?”
Dawn released her friend and shook her head. “No. Your partner said this was a suspicious accident. You need to ask your questions now to get the case going. Isn’t that how this works? By suspicious are you suggesting Carmen was murdered?”
“We do need to ask our questions, but we’re also keen not to come across as insensitive. We appreciate how difficult this news must be for you to swallow. We wouldn’t be in such a rush if we were dealing with a normal accident.”
“Are you all right to answer some questions, Sonia?” Dawn asked.
Sonia sniffled. “I think so.”
“Tell me to stop if it all becomes overwhelming for either of you.”
The two women nodded. Dawn stood up and moved a spare chair into position beside Sonia, and they held each other’s hands.
“First of all, we need to establish where you were last night.”
“We were having a drink at the Jolly Roger pub on the outskirts of Sea Mills. We were celebrating Carmen’s promotion,” Dawn said, her voice catching a little.
“That’s very sad. I have to ask, did this celebration involve alcohol?”
“Definitely not. Sonia and I both drank, but Carmen refused to.” Dawn’s gaze drifted to the floor.
“Dawn, is there something you’re not telling us?”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks. She swallowed hard and grasped her friend’s hand tighter until her knuckles grew white. “She was pregnant.”
Sonia turned her head sharply towards Dawn. “No! Why didn’t either of you tell me? How could you keep that news from me?”
“I’m sorry. Carmen wanted to wait until the twelve weeks were up before she started spreading the word. I guessed, and she found it impossible to deny it when I tackled her about it a few weeks ago. I found her being sick in the ladies’ loo on a night out.”