DI Mitchell Yorkshire Crime Thrillers: Book 1-3

by Oliver Davies

  “We better get on, light’s fading,” I said to Kay, looking miserably out at the darkening sky.

  “No run tonight?” Alice said, and I raised my eyebrows at her in surprise.

  I looked over at Sarah. “Does she mindread you too, or is it just me?” Sarah gave a small smile, and so did Alice.

  I sighed. “Aye, we’re too busy at the station for me to cut and run early.”

  “Literally run,” Kay put in, smirking.

  “Up mountains, too,” Alice said, smiling at Kay. “The nutter.”

  “Laugh at me then why don’t you,” I said, pretending to grumble, but I didn’t really mind at all.

  I saw Sarah glance between Alice and me before raising her eyebrows at me.

  “Time to be going,” I said quickly before Sarah could make any comment. From the sparkle in Sarah’s eye as she waved us out, she seemed to know.

  We drove back to the station in dusk and buckled down, with another cup of coffee for me, to these other cases we’d been neglecting. I caught up on the reports, paperwork, and statements Maha had already taken and found them impressively thoroughly done. She really was due for a promotion, but then, Kay was also overdue one by several years.

  Perhaps Maha would want a promotion and a move to a bigger department in a few years’ time, once she’d gained a little more confidence, but not yet. And Kay was settled here with her wife. I couldn’t see her wanting to commute to York and spend less time with Anna because of it. If she did get a promotion, it would have to be here in Lockdale.

  Even as I read through the reports on the missing pedigree Pekinese and reports of some graffiti round the back of the shops, my mind was still on Graham and his case. I was determined not to let this drop until I’d fully satisfied myself that either there wasn’t any more to the case than what had first appeared, or I found out what had really happened.

  Thirteen

  I arrived early the next morning with the hope of getting these minor cases out of the way before diving back into Graham’s. Maha came over almost as soon as I sat down.

  “You’re here early,” I said, surprised. She wasn’t contracted to start until nine, and neither Samuel nor Kay were in yet. Hogan was, but then, she liked to arrive earlier and leave earlier.

  She raised her eyebrow at me. “There’s plenty of work to be going on with.”

  “True,” I said.

  “I called into the Leeds pathology unit. They’re not done with Graham’s body yet. They’re running some extra tests.”

  I blinked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “Extra tests?”

  Maha looked at me unimpressed, like she could tell I was still half asleep. “Yes. They wouldn’t say but,” she paused, “it sounds promising, don’t you think? Like they might have found something?”

  I nodded silently. “I hope they have,” I said. “I hope they’ve found something crucial.”

  Maha patted me on the shoulder sympathetically and wandered off.

  I got started on the other cases, calling up several shop owners to follow up on if they’d had any other incidents or new information to add. They didn’t. I then made calls to the few rescue centres Maha hadn’t called yet about the pedigree dog, but none of them had it.

  Just as I was getting up for my second coffee, Maha got a phone call and, from the way her face lit up, I guessed she’d had some good news.

  “They’ve got the dog!” she said as soon as she put the phone down. She looked ready to clap her hands together in celebration, but just about restrained herself. I smiled, remembering the rush of solving a case when you were just starting out, and every small victory felt huge.

  “That’s really good,” I said. “You did a really good job.”

  She grinned, already dialling the owner’s number to let them know the news.

  With that case ticked off for now and nothing new with the others, I looked again at the photographed footprints found in Graham’s garden, both from the robbery and after his death. They certainly looked to be different sizes, but I felt like if I kept staring at them, perhaps they’d change to become the same before my eyes.

  “Mitchell?” Maha hovered beside my desk, and I started at the sound of my name.

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded over at Hogan, who was standing in the doorway to her office. Dammit, I thought. She looked like she’d called my name a couple of times already.

  “Take the day off,” she said as soon as I’d closed the door behind me.

  “What?” I said. “But why, ma’am? I’ve been doing the other cases--”

  “I know,” she said. “But you’ve not taken a full day off in months, and you’ve got pouches under your eyes like week-old tea bags.”

  I opened my mouth, closed it. “Bit harsh, chief,” I said.

  She gave me a look. “Go and put your feet up. Watch the Bake Off or anything that isn’t a cop show, okay?” She waved her hand. “Or go running, Mitchell, I don’t know. Just come back fresh tomorrow. Watching you obsessing over the Stewart case is exhausting just to watch.”

  I exhaled sharply, irritated but resigned. When Hogan got an idea in her head, it was pretty much useless trying to oppose it.

  “Fine, ma’am,” I said, knowing that I sounded like a teenage boy who just got his Xbox taken away.

  She shooed me out, and I headed back to my desk to grab my things.

  Kay was just coming into the station with Lexi on a lead, and she looked startled to see me putting on my coat.

  “Going somewhere without me?” she said, sounding almost comically offended.

  I smiled despite myself. “You can come fell running if you want,” I offered. She pretended to shudder dramatically. “The chief says I’m ‘obsessed’. She’s sent me home.”

  Kay sighed. “You knew it was going to happen if you kept pushing.”

  “Thanks for the understanding,” I huffed.

  “Go take a nap, Mitchell,” she said.

  “You’ll be telling me to watch Bake Off next,” I said.

  “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!”

  I left before she could tell me to watch the Sewing Bee as well, walking quickly towards home as the air was brisk and sitting still in the barely heated station had made my fingers and nose chilled.

  Once changed, I headed up a tor I hadn’t climbed in a long while and found the path in a state of disarray. Focusing on not falling down the hill took my thoughts away from the difficulties of Graham’s case, and away from thoughts of Alice running around my head like cyclists in a velodrome.

  The run to the top left my legs feeling weak, and I made my way carefully back down, avoiding the rain-slick stones and sticky mud. As I made my way down, I thought I saw someone move off to my right, but when I looked there wasn’t anyone there.

  I slowed slightly, frowning. There was a small wood coppice up on the slope here that I’d been running alongside, but other than that there was little cover. I couldn’t imagine why someone would want to keep out of my sight, so I decided that I hadn’t seen it after all.

  I felt in pretty good shape as I picked up the pace again, good enough to run the Three Tops, as Graham and I had planned, but the thought left an uneasy feeling in my stomach. We’d not known each other for that long, and I’d certainly run more races without him before we’d met than I had with him. And yet I’d gotten used to hearing him puffing along at my side, keeping up with me even though he’d been a good many years my senior.

  The mists up the top had coated me in a thin layer of damp, and I was sure I looked a sight as I ran back through the village towards my house, which was why I groaned internally upon seeing Alice, laden down with a shopping bag. She was only wearing old jeans and a warm coat, but she still managed to look perfectly put together. I contemplated diving into a sideroad or someone’s hedge so she wouldn’t see me. She seemed to continue to catch me when I wasn’t looking my best, first when I had my mouth full of pastry in the station, and then I’d looked like a drowned r
at in the pub.

  She waved, and sighing, I waved back and jogged across the road to say hello.

  “Got caught in the rain again?” she teased.

  “The mist this time,” I said. “I swear I don’t always look like I’ve been swimming.”

  She hummed. “The evidence for that claim is a little thin on the ground,” she said.

  “Fair point,” I said, pushing my damp hair out of my eyes. The curls always fluffed up something awful when they dried after getting damp. I expected it looked like I had a wet cloud on my head.

  Alice paused like she was building up to say something, and I waited, holding myself still even though I was beginning to get cold.

  “Would you like to meet me for lunch?” she asked abruptly, not quite meeting my eye. Her skin was tanned from being outdoors, but I could still see her blush. “I thought we could go to The Teaspoon.” She looked up, meeting my gaze again. “Check in with the staff to see if they’ve remembered anything about my and Graham’s visit?” Her voice lifted at the end, making her statement into a question.

  I couldn’t imagine that the staff would have remembered anything new, but I was more than happy to have lunch with Alice. The fact that Hogan had given me the day off made me feel less guilty for doing something that most likely wouldn’t advance the case much. And I still firmly believed that there was a case, no matter what Hogan thought.

  “One o’clock,” I suggested, after checking my watch. It was a bit before twelve now, and I’d need a shower. My stomach was already growling, and breakfast felt like it’d happened years ago.

  “See you then,” she said, giving me a small smile before she headed off down the pavement, her gait slightly unbalanced by the heavy shopping bag in one hand, making her ponytail swing as she walked.

  I let myself grin for a moment before jogging home, stretching out my stiff joints before I hopped into a hot shower. I dressed casually, not in my uniform or running gear for once, and tried to tame my hair, which didn’t want to behave. I shrugged in the mirror and gave up, heading over to The Teaspoon a little early, and ordered a cup of tea while I waited, with Alice showing up not long after.

  “Hot chocolate?” I offered once she’d settled in her seat.

  She gave me a surprised look before nodding. “That’d be great.”

  We both ordered the full English breakfasts still being served, with Alice getting a vegetarian one and mine with extra bacon.

  “That’s why you run, then?” she said, nodding at the bacon when our food arrived.

  “It’s a benefit,” I said and patted my stomach. “I’d be big as a house otherwise, I’m sure.”

  Talk came easily between us, and so did the comfortable silences. It was nice to talk to her about things other than work, and it was also nice to just sit with her amongst the cafe’s hubbub and look out the window at the moors in the distance. Graham’s house was somewhere up in that direction, I thought.

  “Sarah seemed to be doing better?” I said, my mind drifting back to Graham even as I tried not to.

  Alice rolled her eyes. “She’s doing well enough to tease me about this all morning.” She waved a hand between us.

  “Oh?” I said, my heart rate accelerating. “This?”

  Just then, the waiter came over, a teenage boy probably not much younger than Samuel.

  “Do y’want any more drinks?” he said, with a thick Yorkshire accent.

  I coughed awkwardly at the interruption, Alice and I both avoiding looking at each other. “Just some water for me, please,” I said, and Alice echoed my request.

  As the boy was turning away, I had a thought and straightened in my seat, calling him back.

  “Just a second!” He and Alice both looked at me with enquiring expressions. I fumbled in my pocket for my badge, and the teenager’s eyes widened. I glanced down at his nametag. “Liam, hi, I’m DI Mitchell, I’m sure you’ve heard about the passing of Graham Stewart by now?”

  He nodded silently.

  “Do you know what he looks like?” I asked.

  Liam shook his head, still seeming shocked that I was police.

  Alice brought up a picture of Graham on her phone before I could and showed Liam. “Do you recognise him?”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah. He’s been here a couple of times.” He frowned at Alice for a moment. “You’re his daughter, aren’t you?”

  “Niece,” Alice said. “I’ve been here with him fairly often. Did he visit any other time?”

  I watched, slightly amused, as Alice took over the questioning as smoothly as a duck to water.

  Liam started to shake his head before stopping. “Yeah, think so.”

  I looked up sharply. “When was this?”

  “I dunno.” Liam pulled a face and shrugged. “Few weeks back, maybe. Only remember because there was a bit of a scene, like.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Who was he with?”

  He shrugged again, still looking nervous. He glanced over his shoulder towards where one of the other staff was looking over with a slight frown.

  “Some lady.” He looked briefly at Alice. “Not you. Shorter,” he lifted his arms out by his sides to indicate a larger person, “but stocky, like, you know? Strong.”

  I scribbled this down in my notebook. “Rough age?”

  Liam looked at Alice again. “Er, younger?” he said hesitantly, blushing. I tried to hide a smile at his embarrassment, and I saw Alice’s lips twitch too. “Twenties, maybe?”

  “You’ve got a good memory,” I commented. This had happened several weeks ago.

  The teenager blushed even darker. “Well, she was fit, wasn’t she?” he muttered. “And they had a row or something outside.”

  I felt like Maha now, after she’d found that dog, and half wanted to punch the air with my fist, but I didn’t. Alice blatantly vibrated with energy, too.

  “Did you hear what they were saying?” she said, her voice holding an eager edge.

  Liam looked between us nervously, like he sensed how focused we were on what he was saying. “Not really, no, sorry,” he mumbled. “They were all quiet, whispering, but still really mad, you know? It was weird.”

  Alice and I looked at each other.

  “And whilst they were in the cafe?” I asked. “Did they say anything that you overheard then?”

  He pulled an apologetic expression. “I dunno, wasn’t paying much attention. It was probably around the lunch rush, ‘cus we were right busy.”

  “Liam, you’ve been very helpful, thank you,” I said. “Can we talk to your manager for a moment?

  “Am I in trouble?” he said. “I didn’t think it was important, you know, everyone been saying it was just a--” He cut himself off sharply after looking at Alice’s pinched face. I pressed my lips together. Town gossip had gotten hold of the prevailing theory of suicide already, then.

  “You’re not in trouble,” I assured him. “We just need to see if any of the other staff saw or heard anything.”

  The other staff hadn’t. Only Liam’s manager had been working that day, and though she vaguely remembered the row outside, she wasn’t even a hundred per cent sure it’d been Graham when we asked her. But it was at least a second verification that some kind of argument had taken place.

  “We need to borrow Liam for an hour or so, is that alright?” I said to the manager, not really asking, and she knew it.

  She nodded grudgingly. “Most of the lunch rush is over, at least,” she grumbled.

  Alice quietly took her leave as we left the cafe. “I better get back to Sarah,” she said, sounding reluctant.

  “Of course,” I said, disappointed that we hadn’t had more time together, but I was itching to work on the case again, and Alice couldn’t really come into the station with me for that.

  “I had a nice time,” she said, looking up at me from under her eyelashes, “and you’ll keep me updated, won’t you?”

  “As much as I can,” I agreed.

  I thought she’d just tur
n and walk away, but she stepped forwards to hug me before pressing a kiss to my cheek.

  It was very chaste but left me flustered for a moment after she’d left and I caught Liam smirking.

  “Shut up,” I said lightly.

  His grin widened. “You’ve got it bad, mate,” he said before he seemed to remember who he was talking to and looked sharply away.

  I shook my head and led him over to the station, where Liam’s nerves quickly returned. I handed him over to Maha, thinking that she might intimidate the teen less than Kay or I would.

  Maha looked surprised to be introduced to a teenage boy that, as far as she knew, had no connection to anything, but she rolled with it and told him where the interview room was, gesturing for him to go ahead.

  “I need his statement taken,” I told her, once Liam had gone out of hearing range. “He saw Graham and a younger woman having some kind of a row in The Teaspoon a few weeks ago.”

  I paused after saying that, thinking that it sounded bad when laid out like that. But Liam had described the woman as being in her twenties, and even if I could’ve wrapped my head around the idea of Graham possibly cheating on Sarah, I could never imagine him having an affair with someone so young. Whatever the row had been, I couldn’t think it had been romantic.

  “If you can just get him to talk it through, as much detail as possible, okay?”

  “Got it,” she said.

  “And then I want him to talk to Samuel,” I said as the idea occurred to me, and Maha looked surprised. “See if he can draft a drawing of this woman from Liam’s description.” It would be quicker than trying to get in a professional artist from the York police.

  Maha nodded in approval. “Good idea.”

  She went off to speak to Liam, and I told Samuel what I had in mind, my tone somewhat stern. “I need you to do your best on this,” I said, fully aware I was patronising, but Samuel didn’t exactly have the best record for working hard. “It’s really important, you hear me?”