Baby's Got Blue Eyes: Introducing DI Ted Darling

by L M Krier

  He was writing as he spoke, then pushed the paper back towards Ted. 'If you want to see the results of my handiwork, I'm sure Joanna wouldn't mind. As I said, we are still very good friends. We were both young, very stupid and very out of it.'

  'Thank you, Mr Foden,' Ted said, 'I appreciate your frankness. I'm sorry to have taken up your time. It would be most helpful to our enquiries if you did not mention to anyone the line my questioning has taken. Certain elements of the case have not yet been made public.'

  Foden laughed shortly. 'I might just have to say something to Joanna, Inspector. Otherwise it would seem a little strange asking her to come into a police station and show an officer her thigh.

  'I imagine you have access to the file on me from the time, though, and I know a lot of photographs were taken then. I just thought it might be helpful to you to have a chat with Jo and then she could confirm what the incident was all about, that it was not some bungled murderous attempt on her life by me.'

  'Another one bites the dust, boss,' Tina said, as they made their way back upstairs. 'I'll start on what we talked about before, at least start looking, doing a bit of a feasibility study to see if it's an idea worth running with.'

  'It's not,' Ted said, more shortly than he intended. 'But you're right. We need to look at every angle. Just keep a tight lid on it, whatever you do, and remember – I don't want a paper trail at this stage.'

  Maurice Brown was working at his desk when they got back upstairs. He looked surprised to see them returning so soon. Ted went across to his desk.

  'Maurice, did you think to ask Foden for his whereabouts on Wednesday evening, before you brought him in?' he asked.

  'You said bring him in, boss. I brought him in,' he beamed with apparent pride.

  Ted sighed. Maurice could be a bit dull at times. 'Right, well, DC Bailey has details of his alibi for that evening and on paper, it looks watertight. Go and check it out, and take young Steve with you. Where is he, by the way?'

  'Little boys' room, boss,' Brown said cheerfully, standing up and getting his scruffy parka jacket.

  'Right, pick him up and get going,' Ted told him. 'Next time, just ask first, then call me if you think there might be a tight alibi.'

  He headed for his office. He was in need of green tea.

  There was a knock on his door shortly after and Tina came in. He nodded at the spare chair and offered her green tea. To his surprise, she accepted.

  'I've been having an initial look, sir,' she told him. 'Rosalie is now the only runaway case you've handled where there has been no outcome. In all other cases, the runaway has either gone home willingly or been found and returned, alive or dead.

  'Of those missing from our patch over the years you've been here, five have been found dead; only the Otterspool one was a homicide. Two were drugs overdoses, one was a road accident, one was a young lass who died from the cold because she was sleeping rough.'

  A shadow passed over Ted's face. 'I remember her,' he said, 'she was only a kid. What a way to end up. I could see a parent of one of those having a major axe to grind with me, not finding their child in time to stop something as dreadful as that from happening.

  'But the Big Boss? Never. It's just too far-fetched. He's my boss. If he didn't think I was doing the job right, and he was the vengeful sort, he could have me up on a disciplinary, make my life very uncomfortable.'

  'You said yourself, sir, that grief can do terrible things to people,' Tina said. 'Does he think Rosalie is still alive, or has he given up all hope and is he mourning her loss like a death now?'

  Ted shook his head. 'I'm not buying it, not for a moment,' he said. 'Look into the others for now, but keep it quiet. I remember the father of the kid who died from the cold. He was quite abusive at the inquest, mouthing off a lot of threats at everyone. I didn't take him seriously at the time, I could see how much he was hurting.

  'But that's a much more probable angle. Wanting revenge on the people he saw as letting his daughter down. Trying to discredit me by a series of murders I'm struggling to solve.

  'It still seems totally far-fetched but I'd have a much easier time believing that than believing it was the Big Boss.'

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Ted sensed his team members were as thoroughly demoralised as he was with the current lack of progress on the case. Three victims, no leads going anywhere and still a lot of legwork to be done.

  He made it a point every year to have a little get-together and he was more determined than ever this year to show his team they were appreciated and try to lift their spirits. A combination of an open bar at his expense and a spread cooked by Trev should hopefully go some way to easing tensions and uniting them.

  It was an occasion for a bit of socialising, and was the reason he threw the invitation open to Significant Others every year. He was interested to meet his new DS's wife, to see if she was as dour in the flesh as she sounded on the two occasions when he had spoken to her by phone.

  Dave, the landlord of The Grapes, made a small rear room available to them and Ted knew Trev would have been in from early on, sorting out his spread of food. Despite all the stresses and anxieties, Ted was at least looking forward to some festive food.

  The get-together was reserved for Ted's immediate team but he had, as ever, invited the DCI to pop in for a quick drink and something to eat with them. He knew how badly he suffered, every Christmas, always optimistically hoping for news of Rosalie, inevitably going home to an empty house, keeping up the pretence that his wife would be there and they would be spending Christmas together as a couple.

  Every year, in the run-up to Christmas, Ted redoubled his efforts to find a trace, any kind of a trace, of Rosalie. This year, to his shame, he had done less than usual because of how busy he had been with the killings on his patch.

  Maurice Brown was the first through the door, on his own, and headed straight for the buffet, almost before he had a drink in his hand. Rob and Sal brought girlfriends, Virgil was with his wife, young Steve was on his own and looking more timid than usual at mingling in a social setting with his work colleagues.

  Tina also came on her own, although Ted knew she had a steady boyfriend. 'I'm on my way to my parents' tonight, boss, spending Christmas with them. Midnight mass, Christmas dinner, the Queen's speech, paper hats, the whole works,' she told him. 'I've got the Cooper round the corner so I won't be drinking. Perhaps I'll try one of your Gunners.'

  'They're an acquired taste, Tina,' Ted warned her. 'Some might say a bit dry.'

  'Very appropriate for you, boss,' Tina laughed, able to relax in his company away from the work setting.

  The DS was the last of the team to appear as he'd been home to collect his wife. Hallam headed straight towards Ted with her, to introduce her. He looked decidedly awkward. Ted put on his best welcoming smile and shook her hand.

  The expression on her face was perfectly summed up by the saying 'bulldog chewing a wasp'. She was short, on the dumpy side, with hair cut in a severe bob and coloured an improbable shade of henna red. She took Ted's hand with an expression of barely concealed distaste as DS Hallam said, 'This is my wife, sir, Joan.'

  'It's nice to meet you, Mrs Hallam,' Ted said, and wished he meant it. He called Trev over and said, 'This is my partner, Trevor. Trev, my new DS, Mike Hallam, and his wife Joan. Trev did all the cooking. Please, help yourself.'

  Trev could normally charm the birds from the trees with a quick flash of his blue eyes. The expression on the DS's wife's face told him that look was going to have no effect on her.

  'I'm sorry I've been giving your husband rather long hours since he joined us, Mrs Hallam,' Ted said. 'I'm afraid he arrived at a rather difficult time. How is your mother doing, by the way? Not easy, I know.'

  'Yes, Michael told me your father was a cripple,' she said.

  DS Hallam looked mortified and said, 'I'll go and get you something to eat, love. I won't be long.'

  Trev was standing just behind the DS's wife, out of her l
ine of sight. He made a face at Ted and said, 'Do please excuse me, Mrs Hallam, I must just go and check on the food.'

  Ted scowled at him for abandoning him but did his best to make conversation. 'So do you work, Mrs Hallam?'

  'I did, until my mother had this accident of hers,' the woman said, and her tone made it sound as if her mother's serious injury was a major inconvenience, done just to annoy her. 'I was a midwife, and a theatre sister before that, but I've had to give my career up to look after her,' then added, 'Your boyfriend is a lot younger than you, isn't he?'

  Ted was taken aback at her directness but was saved from a reply by the return of DS Hallam with a plate laden with food, which he handed to his wife. She scowled at it, and at him and said, 'Are those mince pies, Michael? Why did you get me those? You know how much I hate dried fruit.'

  Ted hastily excused himself and hurried across the room in pursuit of Trev, who grinned at him, his eyes twinkling. 'What a charmer she is,' he said, keeping his voice low.

  Ted was forced to agree. 'I'm surprised the DS doesn't put in for all the extra hours going, just to get away from her.'

  'Good to see the team relaxing a bit,' Trev said. 'I know it's not easy for any of you.'

  'This case is wearing us all down,' Ted said sombrely. 'We're really clutching at straws, it means we're coming up with some incredibly far-fetched theories. I'll tell you about Tina's latest, when we get home.'

  Trev glanced towards the door. 'O.M.G, look who's just walked in,' he said. 'Surely you didn't invite Hard G?'

  'Certainly not,' Ted said, spinning round on the balls of his feet.

  The Professor was making his way across the room. He knew most of Ted's team by sight, through court appearances and previous social gatherings. He shook hands with the men and kissed any women he came across, although Ted noticed that Mrs Hallam skilfully resisted.

  'Ted!' Hard G said, clapping him on the shoulder, and insisting on kissing Trev on both cheeks in the French way. 'So sorry to gatecrash your party, dear boy, and I'm not stopping. I just wanted to pop in to give you a little something for tomorrow.'

  Ted was completely taken aback when the Professor handed him a Fortnum and Mason's hamper. 'I can't possibly …' he started to say but Hard G waved away his objections.

  'Nonsense, my dear fellow, it's just a little something,' the Professor said breezily. 'If you think it leaves you professionally compromised in some way to accept it, please give it to Willow, from me, and tell her to share it with you. It's just a few little treats you may not have indulged in yourself. I do hope you like Tokaji Aszu, I think it's a particular favourite of Willow's.'

  Ted had no idea if it was something to eat, to drink or one of the Professor's sex toys. 'Roger, this is far too generous of you.'

  'Not at all, dear chap, I haven't been able to give you your murderer for a Christmas present so I thought this may go some way towards compensating,' he said. 'I'll be flying off early on Boxing Day so I won't see you again until the new year. Have as good a time as you can in the circumstances, and I hope you catch your killer.'

  'Do have something to eat before you leave, Roger,' Ted indicated the buffet table. 'Trev's made his famous mince pies.'

  'Sounds delightful,' the Professor said, 'but I have the blonde job in the Jag outside and I think she has other ideas. I may be unwrapping my Christmas stockings early.'

  Trev draped an arm around Ted's shoulders and forced a fixed grin onto his face as they waved the Professor off. 'He really is the most loathsome creature ever, isn't he?' he said through gritted teeth. 'But can you just imagine how much that hamper cost? Bit outside our usual shopping style.'

  'Just unfortunate I have to work with him' Ted agreed. 'He's an utterly brilliant forensic pathologist, whatever his other peculiarities. If anyone can find me the opening I need on this case, it's Hard G.'

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Shop talk was banned for the evening. The team knew they still had a killer to catch but the mood was as relaxed as it could be. Ted was standing the team down for Christmas Day. He knew everyone needed a break to recharge batteries and they would be refreshed and more focused after some time away.

  Trev was in his element. Always hugely sociable, he charmed the girlfriends and mingled effortlessly with everyone on the team, although Ted noticed he was giving the Hallams a bit of a wide berth. Ted smiled fondly as he watched his partner talking big bikes with Rob and Sal, his blue eyes sparkling with passion, the girlfriends hanging onto his every word.

  Ted was the perfect host, circulating amongst his team, making sure everyone had all the food and drink they needed and felt at ease. Things were informal, he'd slipped from 'sir' to 'boss' to everyone except young Steve, who was clearly still totally in awe of him.

  He discovered the TDC was a Star Wars enthusiast. Ted had never seen any of the films but once the young man got started on them, he talked with such passion and enthusiasm that Ted found himself curious about the whole phenomenon and made a New Year's resolution to watch at least one.

  As he moved away, Tina came over and joined him. 'Boss, if ever you and Trev split up, can I have him?' she said. 'With the pastry he makes, I can't understand why you're not twice the size of Maurice.'

  Ted laughed, in spite of himself. It was good to see the team relaxing and letting their hair down. Only the Hallams continued to look stiff and ill at ease. He was just about to go over and have another go at breaking the ice with the formidable Mrs Hallam when the DCI walked in, giving him an excuse to abandon the idea and go and welcome him.

  'Really good idea this, Ted,' Jim Baker said, taking off his raincoat and draping it on the nearest chair. 'Just what you and the team need. Now, where are Trev's mince pies? Lead me to them!'

  'I'm afraid you have to sing for your supper first, Jim,' Ted told him. 'Come and meet the DS's wife. If I tell you that even Trev didn't manage to charm her, you'll get the picture. She might be more impressed by rank.'

  He steered his boss deftly over to where the Hallams were standing in isolation. From a distance away, Ted could see that the DS was saying nothing. He didn't have chance to get a word in edgeways in the face of the non-stop monologue from his wife, who kept the same disagreeable expression on her face the whole time.

  'Mrs Hallam, let me introduce you to the Big Boss,' Ted said. 'DCI Jim Baker, this is DS Hallam's wife, Joan. Mike, can I just borrow you for two minutes, please?'

  He left the DCI to see what he could achieve with the formidably unpleasant woman and steered Mike away to the other side of the room.

  'How's it going, Mike?' he asked. 'You've had a real baptism of fire, I'm afraid. I just wanted to make sure you were all right, feeling settled in and a part of the team. How are the ribs doing?'

  'Sorry about the missus, boss,' Mike said with a rueful smile. 'She's not very happy about the changes in our lifestyle since the accident. She loved her work, she's not taken very well at all to being at home with her mother. It's hard.'

  'Must be hard on you too and it's your welfare which concerns me,' Ted said dryly. 'How are the injuries? You still look in a lot of pain.'

  The DS laughed it off. 'Oh, I'm fine, honestly. Getting there. My New Year's resolution is to be less clumsy!'

  Ted let him drift off back to his wife. He noticed that Tina had sidled up to the DCI and was chatting away to him, steering him towards the buffet table and making sure he had everything he needed.

  Ted followed them over and gave Tina a loaded look. 'I do hope DC Bailey is looking after you properly and not pestering you for a promotion,' he said.

  The DCI laughed. 'Not at all, Ted,' he replied, 'she's being very kind and helpful. It's rather nice to be so well looked after.'

  The hint of wistfulness in his voice was not lost on Ted. Tina had to be wrong in her latest theory. No matter how he tried, Ted could not see his boss committing acts of violence on young women, however vengeful he was feeling.

  The Hallams were the first to leave. Neither had r
elaxed much nor mingled. Ted noticed that the DS had eaten very little and drunk nothing. He came over to make their excuses, whilst his wife went and stood pointedly by the door, not saying goodbye to anyone.

  'Sorry, sir,' the DS had returned to formalities. 'We're going to have to make a move. We left the kids and the mother-in-law baby-sitting one another and my wife is worried about both. Thank you for a nice evening, I'll see you back at the office after Christmas.'

  The DCI was next to go. He looked much more relaxed than Ted had seen him look in a long time. Ted hoped he was going home by taxi, as he'd had plenty to drink.

  He patted Ted fondly on the shoulder. 'What a nice young woman Tina Bailey is, Ted. Bright young thing. We chatted about all sorts. She was asking me what I like to watch on television. Turns out we have quite similar taste. We like the same characters in East Enders. I'm not sure if that will have dented my street cred, but I really enjoyed chatting to her. Happy Christmas, Ted.'

  'And to you, Jim,' Ted replied. 'Don't forget, it's open house with us tomorrow, if you want to come over at any time, just for a drink or some more mince pies. You know where we are.'

  Ted strode across the room towards Tina and steered her over to a quiet corner of the room. His eyes were flashing green daggers of warning.

  'Please tell me you have not just been checking out the DCI's alibis for the nights in question by asking him about his television choices?' he said, his tone measured but with a warning edge to it.

  'I was just chatting, boss, honestly,' Tina was all wide-eyed innocence. 'Television was a safe subject to talk about.'

  'It's not even reliable. He could have been talking about things he'd caught up with on i-Player,' Ted told her. 'Or he could have recorded them on his box or something.'

  'He's a worse technophobe than you are, boss,' Tina laughed triumphantly. 'He has no idea about any of that stuff, I asked him.'

  'It's bad enough to suspect him in the first place,' he growled. 'To use a social setting to check out his alibis is just not on. I think you're going in completely the wrong direction here.'