came out to see what was going on.’
‘Did anyone go into Caitlyn’s flat?’
‘Yes. The flat directly next door belongs to Polly Nicoletti. When she couldn’t get any sense out of Diane, she went in to see what had happened.’
‘Anyone else?’
‘Not that we know of.’
‘Did she touch anything?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Who called 999?’
‘Polly Nicoletti.’
‘OK. Bring her in for a witness statement and take her prints too. What do we know about Caitlyn Brown?’
Rita Morgan took a sip of her coffee then put her hand up. ‘Caitlyn worked as a veterinary nurse at a surgery on Woodseats. Now, last week, she came into the station and gave a statement saying she had been raped in October.’
‘Why did she wait so long?’
‘Apparently, she saw the story in the paper about Julia Adams being raped and she thinks she was attacked by the same man.’
‘Right. Who’s SIO?’
‘DI Ben Hales.’
Matilda’s heart sank. She had a very fractious relationship with DI Hales. He believed he should have been promoted to DCI and put in charge of the Murder Investigation Team. He resented her success and delighted in obstructing her at every turn. She knew they would have to work together at some point, and she wasn’t looking forward to that happening. It would appear that day had arrived.
Matilda set her team to work before leaving the freshly decorated MIT room and heading for the cold, damp, poorly-lit, and cramped CID suite.
The open-plan room was cluttered with desks and filing cabinets. When Matilda entered she was hit by a wall of noise: telephones ringing, fingers drumming hard on computer keyboards and different topics of conversation being conducted all at once. She walked slowly through the mine field towards Ben’s corner office. His role was to oversee all CID’s cases. He spent more time behind his desk than solving crimes.
Matilda rapped on his glass door. She looked through at the dark-haired DI. Head down, he was writing on a note pad. He looked up. His brow creased when he saw her.
Did he just roll his eyes?
He nodded and Matilda took a deep breath, then walked into the room, closing the door behind her.
‘Morning, how are things?’
‘Checking up on me?’ He asked in his icy, difficult tone.
‘No. I was being polite,’ she said, wondering why she even bothered trying to make small talk. ‘A young woman has been murdered. I believe she’s connected to a series of rapes you’re working on.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes. Caitlyn Brown. You know her?’
Ben’s desk was a mountain of files and paperwork. He briefly looked through it before selecting the relevant file. ‘Caitlyn Brown, twenty-three, said she was raped on October fifteenth last year. She’s dead?’
‘Yes. Serious head injury. She was found in her own flat last night.’
‘Any suspects?’
‘Not so far.’ Matilda pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘Did she say who raped her?’
‘No,’ he skimmed the file. ‘She gave a good description though.’
‘Apparently she came forward because she saw a news story of a similar attack.’
‘Julia Adams. She was raped on Saturday February fifth. She came into the station the next morning, still wearing her clothes from the attack. She was a mess. She was taken to the interview suite. We got some DNA but there’s no match on the computer.’
‘Did she know who raped her?’
‘No, but the description she gave was similar to Caitlyn’s.’
‘I’m going to need to speak to the SOLO for both Caitlyn and Julia.’
‘That’s PC Kesinka Rani. I put her on Caitlyn when I heard of the similarities with Julia’s attack.’
‘Good thinking. We’re going to need to liaise on this, Ben. Are you all right with that?’
‘Do what you want,’ he said, returning to his paperwork.
Matilda sighed and left the room.
That man will never change.
PC Kesinka Rani was sitting in the station canteen on her own. Her current work as a Sexual Offences Liaison Officer (SOLO) was stressful and demanding. Her job was to be a first point of contact for all victims of rape. Kesinka interviewed them, talked them through the process of the investigation, and was with them every step of the way to recovery.
The stories Kesinka heard from victims were often harrowing and upsetting. She tried not to allow them to get to her, but it wasn’t easy.
This morning she was due to visit Julia Adams. Last night, Julia had sent a text to Kesinka asking her whether it was a good idea to return to work. The decision was entirely Julia’s, but Kesinka had offered to go around for a coffee to talk through options.
Before that, however, Kesinka needed a good breakfast inside her. Unfortunately, due to several recent late nights, she hadn’t been shopping, so she fell back on the station canteen for her meals. On the table in front of her was a cup of weak tea and a double helping of scrambled eggs on toast. She was enjoying her breakfast and didn’t notice DCI Darke walk over to her table.
‘Kesinka, sorry to interrupt, any chance of a word?’
‘Of course, ma’am,’ she said, swallowing. She put down her knife and fork and pushed her plate to one side.
‘Don’t stop eating on my account. Is it good?’
‘It is actually,’ she picked up the cutlery again. ‘Better than I can make, anyway.’
‘I may have to start having my meals in here,’ Matilda smiled. ‘Kesinka, DI Hales tells me you’re acting as SOLO for Caitlyn Brown.’
‘That’s right.’
‘What can you tell me about her?’
‘Oh. Well, she’s quite a shy person. She doesn’t have many friends. I get the impression her parents are a bit controlling. Her mother certainly is. She’s an only child. She works as a veterinary nurse. That’s about it really. Why?’
‘I’m sorry to tell you this, but Caitlyn was found dead in her flat last night. She’d been murdered.’
‘Oh
