Bridge to Burn

by Rachel Amphlett

  Kay shrugged off her jacket and hung it over the back of one of the chairs in the small suite, ignoring the water that dripped onto the thin carpet.

  Pulling her mobile phone out of her bag, she frowned at the display.

  ‘Don’t worry, I brought a charger,’ said Adam. He kicked off his shoes and plumped up the pillows on one side of the bed, then swung his legs up and hit the speed dial on the phone. He winked as his colleague answered.

  Kay sank into a chair and scrolled through her phone until she found the number she sought, wondering how she would cope if she were on her own right now.

  Adam’s calm demeanour washed over her enough that, for a moment at least, she could concentrate.

  Barnes picked up on the first ring. ‘Kay?’

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Dad’s had a heart attack, but he’s in recovery. They’re talking about a pacemaker.’ She heard the tremble in her voice as she spoke. ‘We’re having to stay in Swindon over the weekend until we know how he’s doing, so—’

  ‘Not a problem,’ said Barnes. ‘The whole team is scheduled to work over the weekend as you requested, so we can keep the investigation moving forward.’

  Kay released the breath she’d been holding. ‘You’re a star, Ian.’

  ‘You’d do the same for me. Do you want a quick update?’

  ‘Yes, that’d be good, thanks.’

  She smiled. Her detective sergeant might have sounded brusque and efficient to anybody else, but she knew him too well and could spot the emotion in his voice.

  He knew that the only way to stop her falling apart was to keep her mind busy, and as he updated her about the end of the briefing she’d left so abruptly, her thoughts turned to the management of the investigation.

  She knew the next twenty-four hours would test all her abilities as a leader.

  She had to trust her team; she had to learn to delegate.

  Evaluating each task, making suggestions to Barnes’s planned course of action, and encouraging him where she felt he needed coaching, she helped him plot a way forward that would keep up the momentum in her absence.

  When that was done she ended the call, plugged in her phone charger next to the bedside table, and signalled to Adam that she was going to shower.

  His voice carried through into the bathroom as he discussed with Scott which appointments to cancel and what animals required careful monitoring. Laughter ensued as Adam listened to his employee, and Kay smiled as she undressed and then stepped under the hot jets of water.

  However, as she let the stress from the past few hours wash away from her skin, a melancholy seized her.

  Outside of her home life and work, she realised she had nothing.

  No friends to call when life threw a wrench in the works. No-one outside of the police who she could talk to about—

  She stopped, her hands soapy with shampoo as she froze.

  Talk to about what?

  She lived for her work. It was why she had thrown herself into proving her innocence when challenged by a Professional Standards allegation. It was why she gave up her weekends to lead major investigations and set an example to junior colleagues.

  Adam’s work often meant he worked unsociable hours, too, and she realised as she began to scrub at her hair with renewed vigour that they both lived for their work. They enjoyed what they did, but what little choice had they left themselves with?

  A familiar sense of dread began to claw at her chest and she reached out for the faucet, twisting it shut and wrapping a large towel under her arms before tucking it in.

  She wiped at the condensation that clung to the mirror, then peered at the frightened face that stared back at her.

  What if something happened to Adam?

  What would she do?

  Who could she turn to for support?

  She sniffed, then tried to clear the thought. Drying herself, she pulled on fresh clothes and stepped out into the bedroom.

  Adam ended his call and met her gaze, a circumspect expression on his face.

  ‘This is crazy, Hunter. We can’t go on like this. We’ve got to learn to let go, haven’t we?’

  She bit her lip, and then reached out for his hand, lost for words.

  Seventeen

  Kay felt Adam’s hand slip around her fingers as she pushed open the door to the ward thirty-six hours later and crossed the tiled floor towards a bed near the window, a curtain separating its occupant from the others in the room.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she peered around it at the foot of the bed.

  Her father was sitting upright, but his face was the palest she’d ever seen.

  His mane of white hair stuck out in different directions, and his eyes bore testimony to the fight his body had been through in the past three days.

  Still, he managed a faint smile at the sight of his eldest daughter.

  ‘It must be urgent if you’ve both managed to skive off from work.’

  ‘Oh, Dad.’ Kay rushed towards him and gave him a gentle hug. ‘You scared the hell out of us.’

  He held her tight, and then eased her away, shaking hands with Adam.

  ‘How are you, Phil?’

  ‘Sore. Like I’ve been kicked by a horse.’

  ‘We would’ve been in yesterday but they delayed your operation and kept us away.’

  Kay’s father shrugged. ‘Staff shortage, apparently. One of those things.’ He reached up and tapped the left side of his chest. ‘Got a new friend now.’

  He pulled down the collar of his gown and Kay winced at the bandages that covered his chest, purple and yellow bruising covering his shoulder.

  ‘You’re going to be all right now, yes?’ she managed.

  ‘As well as I can be. The surgeon came around about half an hour ago and said the operation went well. They’ll be keeping me in here a few days to make sure I don’t get up to mischief.’ He reached out for her hand. ‘I’m glad you both came.’

  ‘Dad, we wouldn’t be anywhere else. You know that.’

  ‘I know, but I’m fine now. Abby said you’re in the middle of a murder investigation?’

  Kay nodded. ‘I am, but I’ve got a good team working with me. They’ll have it under control.’

  Her father smiled. ‘But there’s another family who needs you now, isn’t there? A family who need some answers. And that’s what you do best, Kay.’

  She sighed. ‘I wish Mum would see it like that.’

  ‘Your mother will never understand, kiddo. It’s not in her nature.’ He raised his gaze to where Adam hovered at the end of the bed. ‘I imagine things are busy at the clinic as well, aren’t they?’

  ‘Under control, Phil. Scott’s coping without me.’

  ‘Coping, yes but these people depend on the two of you.’ Kay’s father shifted his weight, then held up his hand as Kay moved to his side. ‘I’m fine. It looks worse than it is.’

  ‘Are you telling us to get lost, Dad?’ She kept her tone light, but couldn’t hide her frown.

  He laughed. ‘Not in a bad way, no. But look around you – I’m getting the best care possible, I’m out of danger and in two or three days they’re going to kick me out of here. What are you going to do if you hang around? Mope about worrying what’s going on back home?’

  ‘Well—’

  ‘Exactly.’ He cocked his head at approaching footsteps, a voice reaching Kay’s ears as his eyes locked with hers. ‘And that’s your mother. I take it from your sister that things got a bit heated when you got here the other night?’

  Kay bit her lip. ‘You could say that.’

  Her father patted her hand, then made a shooing gesture. ‘Go on. It’s good to see you both, and thank you for coming. But I don’t think the ward sister will appreciate the fireworks display if you and your mother spend too much time in each other’s company.’

  ‘If you’re sure, Dad?’

  He smiled. ‘I’m sure. I’ll give you a call next week.�
�

  Kay’s mood was one of retrospect as she and Adam drove back towards Kent after a hurried lunch with Abby and Silas.

  Her father’s words went around in her head; he had always been the more supportive of her parents, but she wondered if he knew how close to the truth his observations had been.

  She and Adam hadn’t stopped checking their phones all day yesterday, and she’d been almost tempted to use the business centre at the motel to log in to a computer to check her emails.

  Almost.

  A wry smile crossed her lips as she recalled their conversation.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ said Adam, before pulling away from a set of traffic lights and crossing the busy junction.

  ‘Just what Dad said to us. He’s right. We don’t do anything else except work. We’re not very good at delegating, either are we?’

  ‘I reckon, once you’ve got this investigation out of the way, we should have a break,’ said Adam. ‘A proper one. I mean weeks, not days.’

  Kay kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes. ‘I can almost feel the sand.’

  ‘Where do you fancy going?’

  ‘Anywhere. Preferably somewhere without a phone signal or Wi-Fi.’

  Adam laughed. ‘You wouldn’t last three days without a phone signal.’

  ‘I’m willing to try.’

  ‘All right. How about a remote corner of Thailand?’

  ‘Sounds good. We’ve never been to Asia.’

  She frowned as her phone began to vibrate inside her bag, and leaned forward to fish it out.

  ‘Like I said, you wouldn’t last,’ said Adam.

  ‘Very funny.’ She hit the “answer” button. ‘DI Hunter.’

  ‘Guv, it’s Barnes. I’m about to head off for the day, so I thought you might appreciate an update. I’ve got Gavin here with me on speakerphone. How’s your dad?’

  ‘He’s recovering, Ian – thanks.’ Kay shifted in her seat and watched the countryside flash by. ‘He’s had a pacemaker fitted and the doctors are pleased with how the operation went. Lots of rest and recovery for him, though. He’s not out of danger yet. How are things there?’

  She listened as Barnes ran through the briefings he’d given to the team in her absence and the meagre information that had come to light, his frustration palpable at the lack of progress.

  ‘There is one more thing,’ said Barnes, his voice hesitant.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Simon Winter phoned from the mortuary at Derwent Valley. He said Lucas has managed to catch up over the past few days and that he’ll do the post mortem on our victim first thing tomorrow. I can go, if you want. You probably won’t know what’s going on there with your dad for a day or so, will you?’

  Kay glanced across at Adam as he rubbed at his eyes, trying to suppress a yawn as he merged with the fast-moving traffic.

  ‘Tell you what,’ she said. ‘We’re on our way back to Kent now, so I’ll attend the post mortem. Could you do tomorrow’s briefing for me, though?’

  Adam glanced across at her and rolled his eyes.

  She tried to shrug off the guilt at the prospect of returning to the investigation so soon after her father’s health scare, focusing on the tasks at hand instead. Despite what she’d said to Adam only moments before about delegating, as Senior Investigating Officer it was her preference to attend a post mortem simply so that she could listen to what the Home Office pathologist discovered rather than read it from a report. She had learned from Sharp that it was often the best way, even though the whole procedure could be unpleasant.

  ‘No problem about the briefing,’ said Barnes. ‘I can give you an update when you’re back here.’

  ‘Great, thanks. Gavin—’ Kay raised her voice so the detective constable could hear her better over the roar of the car engine. ‘It’s your turn, Piper. I’ll meet you at the station at seven o’clock and then we’ll drive over to the mortuary together.’

  The detective constable sighed. ‘I guess I won’t be having breakfast tomorrow, then.’

  Eighteen

  Gavin set his jaw upon meeting Kay at the police station the next morning and followed her out to the car without complaint, but his complexion remained ashen as they travelled along the M20 towards the hospital.

  He had always struggled with the fact that attending a post mortem was vital to understanding a victim’s fatal injuries in order to work an investigation, and Kay had undertaken to guide him through the process wherever possible.

  She simply couldn’t do anything to calm his nerves or the sickness that wracked him every time he had to attend, though, and leaving Barnes to shepherd the younger detective through the doors of the laboratory where Lucas Anderson worked would only leave Gavin more traumatised, she was sure.

  ‘How are you holding up?’ she said, glancing sideways at him as they walked across the asphalt towards the doors of the building.

  ‘It doesn’t get any easier.’

  ‘Thought you were a bit quiet on the way over.’

  ‘How’s your dad, if you don’t mind me asking, guv?’

  ‘Gave us one hell of a fright, to be honest,’ said Kay, ‘but his doctor says he’s strong and should make a good recovery in time.’

  ‘That’s great news, guv.’

  Gavin held open the door and followed her over to the reception desk.

  Kay frowned at the sound of wind chimes as Gavin scrawled his signature underneath hers.

  ‘Relaxation music?’ she said. ‘Since when has Lucas started playing that in here?’

  The twenty-something receptionist rolled her eyes and took the sign-in sheet back from Gavin. ‘Last week. I told him there was no point – I mean, it’s not like it’s going to do his patients any good, is it?’

  ‘Now, now.’

  The Home Office pathologist stood at the door to the mortuary, his mask pulled down to his neck and his mouth twitching. ‘It provides a relaxing introduction to anyone visiting us.’

  ‘That’s what you think,’ said Gavin, his voice gruff. ‘My dentist has this same playlist. I’m never going there again.’

  Kay laughed and steered the younger detective away from the desk. ‘Let’s go. The sooner we hear what Lucas has to tell us, the sooner I can get you back to the station.’

  She gestured to the pathologist that they’d be with him shortly, then found the ladies’ changing room.

  Placing her valuables in a locker and pocketing the key, she took a fresh set of protective coveralls from a plastic bag and pulled them over her blouse and trousers.

  She hummed under her breath as she dressed; nothing recognisable, simply something to take her mind off what might be waiting for her on the gurney behind the doors to the mortuary.

  Tugging her ankle boots back on, she opened the door to find Gavin pacing the corridor.

  He stopped when she appeared, squaring his shoulders. ‘Ready, guv?’

  ‘Lead the way.’

  The door through to the mortuary opened as they approached and Simon Winter, Lucas’s assistant appeared.

  ‘Good timing,’ he said, his pale eyes stark under a dark fringe. ‘We’ve almost finished.’

  He stood to one side to let them through, and Kay began to breathe in shallow breaths to alleviate the smell that threatened to overwhelm her senses.

  ‘Over here, come on,’ said Lucas, and waved them across to the examination table.

  Bright lights flickered to life above it, illuminating the shrunken corpse laid out, its ragged clothing already prised away and bagged for further examination by Harriet’s team.

  As she drew closer, Kay was reminded of an exhibit at the British Museum she’d seen several years ago and recalled the indignity that had swept over her as crowds jostled to gawp at the shrivelled body.

  It had seemed so disrespectful.

  Her gaze followed Simon’s progress as he began to gather up the bags, and then she turned to the Home Office pathologist. ‘I don’t suppose there were any personal ef
fects tucked into seams, anything to tell us who he was?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. No signs of rings on his fingers, nothing in his pockets, and no previous injuries to trace back through medical records.’

  ‘A real mystery man,’ said Gavin, shoving a tube of menthol vapour rub back in his jacket pocket and rubbing his finger above his top lip.

  ‘Unfortunately for you, yes,’ said Lucas.

  ‘What can you tell us?’ said Kay, fighting down a sense of desperation that clawed at her guts. ‘Surely you’ve got something we can work with?’

  ‘Steady on. I’ll take you through what I do know following my examination and then we’ll work out what’s missing.’

  Kay nodded, and forced herself to relax. Lucas had a point – there was no sense in worrying about evidence she didn’t have until she’d learned what he had gleaned from the post mortem.

  He beckoned her closer to the table until she and Gavin were poised next to the victim’s head.

  ‘I was right about the trauma wound to his head,’ he said, cradling the man’s skull while he ran his little finger down the indentation. ‘This isn’t what killed him.’

  Lucas moved to the left, then reached out and lifted the victim’s arm, turning the hand until the fingertips were exposed.

  ‘Did you manage to get prints?’ said Kay.

  ‘Not from this hand. Remember I said at the scene that the tips were smooth?’

  ‘Someone at the station suggested he might’ve been a guitar player,’ said Gavin.

  ‘It’s not a terrible theory.’

  ‘But it’s not right?’ said Kay.

  ‘No – I don’t think so.’ Lucas lowered the victim’s arm and gestured to the man’s feet. ‘Come over here.’

  Kay tried to ignore the shrunken skin that covered the man’s form, and concentrated on the long bones of the man’s toes as she drew near.

  ‘What am I looking for?’

  Lucas waited until she and Gavin were next to him, and then pointed to a misshapen black mark on the sole of the left foot.

  Gavin’s brow furrowed. ‘Is that a tattoo?’