and I followed her home, taking great care to hang well back and to walk on the opposite pavement. She turned into a street lined with semi-detached bungalows and my heart sank. Sure enough, she lived with a couple of wrinklies, probably her parents. There was no way I’d have time to get rid of neighbours, let alone people in the same house. My practice woman had to live alone and in a spot with nobody close by.
The day was coming to an end and the young Detective Constables Jenny Eastham and Nat Borrowdale were the first to leave the CID Room, but not together. Jenny let Nat get well clear of the building before she locked files in her desk drawer and said she was off for an early night. Ed had noticed the atmosphere between Jenny and Nat had changed dramatically. They’d always been competitive but now there was a new edge to their exchanges. At team meetings Nat had stopped trying to catch Jenny’s eye; in fact, he noticeably avoided doing so.
It wasn’t her concern but, from soon after her arrival in Canterbury, Ed had wondered if Nat was the right man for Jenny. Physically, they were a strikingly attractive couple. Nat’s dark hair and sharp features contrasted markedly with Jenny’s fresh face and honey-blonde head. Ed’s doubt came from her perception of them as people. Jenny was bright, open and honest. Nat was more closed, with a suggestion of potential danger behind his eyes.
Ed watched the door close behind Jenny before turning back to the document on her screen. A few minutes later, her second-in-command, Detective Sergeant Mike Potts, stretched, yawned loudly and pushed back his chair before levering his somewhat overweight frame to its feet.
‘D’you fancy a drink before calling it a night?’
At that moment Ed could think of nothing better than a cold glass of white wine, but she was determined to finish the job she’d set herself.
‘Sorry, Mike, I must finish this. I can’t face one more day with these abductions.’
‘Another time then. I’m off, see you tomorrow.’
Ed had just re-gathered her thoughts when the telephone rang. It was DI Saunders, calling from Maidstone.
‘Hi, Brian, what can I do for you?’
‘I’m calling to ask a favour.’
‘Hit me.’
‘We’ve just appointed a new DS.’
‘And?’
‘He’s sharp, but still a bit police school. I want him to start thinking laterally, outside the box. I was wondering if—’
‘Surely you can handle that?’
‘Yes … but I think you’d do a better job.’
‘What do you have in mind?’
‘If you could spend an hour with him, talk through the way you handled the serial abductions investigation.’
Ed thought for a moment and then decided to reward herself with a trip to Maidstone.
‘Okay … how about tomorrow? I could get over to you by nine.’
‘Give me five minutes. I’ll call you back.’
Twelve minutes later Ed’s phone rang. It was Brian.
‘First thing tomorrow’s not good for him. Is there any chance you could make it after eleven?’
‘Tell him I’ll be there at half past.’
‘Thanks, Ed, I’ll make sure he’s here waiting.’
‘By the way, what’s his name?’
‘It’s Dan, DS Daniel Wheadon. As I said, he’s not been with us long. It will be good for him to have a chat with you.’
‘No problem, but you owe me.’ Ed paused as her memories of previous visits to Maidstone came flooding back. ‘Remember those coffees you used to greet me with? It would be good if Dan did the same.’
‘Consider it done.’
DS Daniel Wheadon looked younger than his 26 years. Short sandy hair, tight and wiry against his head, enhanced his boyish features. His clothes hung easily on a slim, lithe body which, as Ed would discover, was more muscular than it first appeared. He’d greeted her with a coffee in each hand and led her to an Interview Room where they sat in chairs arranged at right angles across the corner of the table.
‘Right. Brian said you’d like to hear about our recent case of serial abduction.’
Dan looked a little embarrassed. ‘He said I’d learn a lot from the methods you used to solve the case. It would be a privilege to hear it from the Senior Officer.’
‘It was a team effort. I’ve got a good bunch of colleagues in Canterbury. As for DI Saunders, we didn’t overlap much, but from what I saw of Brian, you’re lucky to be working with him.’
‘We’ve got on well so far.’
‘Keep it that way.’ Ed paused. ‘Thanks for the coffee.’ She took a sip and then began. ‘Right, I’ll take you through the investigation from the beginning. Stop me at any time if you have a question.’
Fifty minutes later, coffees drained, they’d finished their chat. Daniel picked up the empty cups. ‘I’ll just get rid of these.’
Ed smiled. ‘I’ll go to the loo and meet you back here.’
As Ed re-entered the corridor, she saw DS Wheadon standing by the Interview Room door. At the sound of her footsteps, he turned and smiled.
‘It’s a bit early, but, if you’re not in a hurry, I thought we might grab some lunch. There’s a pub round the corner.’
‘I was thinking the same thing.’ Ed didn’t add she’d been thinking the same thing ever since Daniel had introduced himself earlier that morning.
The pub was literally around the corner.
‘I’ll go to the bar. What’ll you have?’
‘A sandwich would be good, anything but tuna.’
‘Drink?’
‘Tonic, ice and lemon,’ said Ed, ‘I’m driving back to Canterbury this afternoon.’
Familiar as she was with the drinking habits of old colleagues at the Met, Ed didn’t remind him they were technically on duty, so she was pleased to see Daniel return with her tonic and a mineral water for himself.
‘Cheers.’ Daniel touched his glass against Ed’s. ‘Thanks for making time to talk me through the investigation. I’d already heard about the neat way you narrowed your
