by Diane Saxon
After a moment, he sobered and spoke into Airwaves again, only to take her by surprise. ‘One of them belongs to DS Morgan.’ This time his laughter pushed out to fill the car.
Jenna shook her head as she pulled the car out onto the main ring road towards Malinsgate Station. ‘Thanks, Ryan. You big kid. I’ll never live this down.’ Every last person in the station would take pleasure out of ribbing her about it. There had to be a bright side. ‘At least he got his walk.’
Ryan’s laughter came harder as he shook his head. ‘I’d love to see your sister’s face when you tell her Domino has been making his own living. Bad boy.’ He tossed over his shoulder at the dogs on the back seat. ‘He’s moved over to the dark side.’
Domino’s ears flicked back in complete understanding.
Jenna joined in Ryan’s laughter and let it roll off her, happy with the momentary distraction. It was an eon ago they started work and yet they hadn’t managed to get into the station so far. Some days went like that. ‘Who would have known the day would go this way?’
Ryan turned to face her, and Domino stuck his snout between the two front seats to snag a quick kiss with him. With another hoot of laughter, Ryan reared his head back out of the way of the errant dog tongue.
‘I fucking love my job.’ A happy grin settled across his face as the laughter died out. ‘I fucking love it. There's never two days the same.’
She couldn’t agree more. Nothing ever remained the same. Some days floated past on paperwork and politics, others on domestics and theft. Very rarely did they catch a big case. She suspected the fire was about to become one of their biggest.
Although… she snapped out a grin of her own. Who would have suspected she’d rumble an entire drugs ring, including the drug-pushing dogs when she picked up her coffee that morning? Kudos to the team for jumping on board so quick. Task Force couldn’t have done any better. But they’d be picking the up-line drugs ring up if they could through young Shaun.
Jenna glanced in the rear-view mirror at the two large dogs posed to perfection on the back seat, staring out of the side windows as though it was their right to ride in a police vehicle, and assumed Lily was somewhere on the back seat between them.
Her gaze flickered down to her handbag wedged on its side against Ryan’s leg in the passenger footwell, the contents spilling out. Resigned to the loss of her lunch, Jenna sighed as she raised her gaze again to the pure innocence of the panini-loving Dalmatian on the back seat.
Airwaves sprang back to life and the deep tones of Morris King, the communications operator, flowed over them. The best voice in the station, deep and sexy with the melodic undertones of Wales filtered through. Used to his five foot five square frame and bald head, his appearance still managed to disappoint every time Jenna saw him, but she could listen to his voice forever.
‘You’re in luck, DC Downey. Jim Downey’s just walked in the station for his refs break. He says to tell DS Morgan he’ll take your three dogs and raise you a few dead bodies at the scene of the fire.’
The smile wiped from Ryan's face. He fell silent. No evidence left of his humour.
A wave of sadness brought her exhilaration crashing to the floor as she pressed down on the accelerator, every minute of those twenty-four hours she had at her disposal needed to count.
26
Monday 20 April 1050 hours
Jenna leaned in through the back door to pick up the leads of the three dogs. They bounded out of the car and Domino high-stepped his way proudly by her side in through the station’s front doors, where Jim Downey stood, hands in pockets, waiting for them to arrive.
No one could do quizzical better than Jim Downey as he raised one eyebrow in Roger Moore style and peered at them from over the top of his half-moon glasses. ‘You want to brief me?’
Jenna held on to the overexcited dogs and flicked a hand to indicate for Ryan to brief his dad.
‘Yeah, we were doing a search as a follow-up to a drugs bust we carried out this morning.’
‘A drugs bust.’ His voice turned droll as Jim centred his attention on his son. ‘You do know we’re not in America, don’t you?’
Jenna dipped her head to hide her smile. She loved Jim Downey. His response to his son wasn’t exclusive. He spoke to all the overexcited, inexperienced officers with the same casual disdain. She didn’t know an officer who didn’t respect the man professionally and like him personally.
Jim nodded at the dogs as Domino pushed forward to greet him. With a light grunt, Jim drew in a breath and reached down to push the intrusive nose from where Domino had wedged it in Jim’s crotch.
‘I thought you said you were bringing in dogs for drug forensic testing.’ His brow creased as he looked back up at them. ‘So, what’s Domino doing here?’ Jim dropped onto his haunches and gave the Dalmatian a good scrub all over his shoulders until the dog fell on the floor and rolled onto his back to expose his pale pink belly. ‘Hey, boy, you’re looking good. Better than the last time I saw you.’ He swiped his long, nimble fingers along Domino’s side in a quick inspection of the raised scar that ran the length of it.
As Ryan waited, Jenna elbowed him in the ribs and took over. They were fast running out of time. ‘Long story short, we went to carry out a Section 18 in response to an arrest we made and discovered Domino with his dog walker outside of the house we were about to search.’ She used the quick efficient language Jim liked and understood. ‘They entered the premises, coming out a short time later with little bags on their collars. They then proceeded along the street to visit various neighbours, coming away with nothing on their collars. The little dog still has one. Lily, I think she’s called. And so does Domino.’ A little ripple of pride ran through her as she remembered his response. ‘He refused to give his up.’
Jim Downey patted Domino’s ribs until the sound vibrated like a drum and the dog rolled in delirium while the little shih-tzu and Labrador watched on.
‘Good lad.’ With the pride injected in Jim’s voice, Domino preened.
Jim took his hand away, pushed to his feet and stood, hands on hips, staring down at the reposed dog. ‘So, Domino.’ Jim Downey’s mouth twitched and the resemblance to his son struck Jenna in that moment of understated humour. ‘From victim to drug pusher, lad. It didn’t take you long.’
Jim dipped his fingers inside his pocket and drew out two pairs of blue nitrile gloves, snapping them onto his hands in layers. It was his efficient way of working. He’d carry out the first part of his job, strip off one layer of gloves and then continue.
All business, he clapped his hands to draw the attention of dogs and humans. ‘Right. Let’s have you in interview room three.’
Jim led the way, with Jenna and Ryan following and all three dogs in tow, wagging their tails like it was a great adventure.
Jenna closed the door behind them, surprised to see forensic plastic sheets already spread on the floor, taped down, prepped and ready to go.
Jenna offered Domino’s lead to Jim. ‘You can go first, sonny boy.’
Domino trotted forward, sat to attention and waited with one front paw raised in a begging manner to shame her.
‘I never taught him that.’
Jim’s lips tipped into a smile as he took the lead Jenna offered, dipped his hand into his pocket and offered a dog treat while he unclipped the little baggie roll from Domino’s collar. He peered inside and then tipped the contents onto his hand. A small, neat bag containing a white powder. ‘Looks promising, but we’ll get it tested.’ He placed it inside an evidence bag.
As he labelled it up, Jenna’s stomach gave a howl which echoed in the confines of the small interview room. She put her hand to her stomach with the stark realisation she’d not eaten all day and she had roughly twenty-two minutes before she was due in the debrief.
She scrubbed her fingers over her face and then shot Domino an accusing look. ‘You ate my panini.’ His ears flicked back. It may have been her tone of voice, but she suspected the dog knew exactl
y what she was talking about.
‘You had a panini?’ Ryan’s mouth dropped open as his stomach echoed hers. ‘I never saw a panini.’
‘No. Well you wouldn’t. It was on the back seat of my car and when we swapped to the police vehicle, I dropped it in the top of my handbag. I never had time to eat it.’
Ryan pointed at Domino. ‘What makes you think he did?’
Jenna stared at the dog from beneath dipped eyebrows. ‘Because there was no evidence left. He’ll have eaten everything, cardboard wrapper included.’
Jim raised his head and gave her one brief nod. ‘Off you go, the pair of you. I don’t need you here. It won’t take me long and then I’ll join you upstairs for the debrief on the fire. Latest I heard, they’d pushed it back simply because we had nothing earlier.’
Jenna pushed her hands inside her trouser pockets. ‘But you said on Airwaves we do now.’
Jim squatted again and took a gentle hold of the black Labrador. He flipped the name tag over and glanced up at her. ‘We do. The fire service have gained limited access, but they’ve confirmed there are bodies in there. We don’t have a firm count yet. Hopefully there’ll be more information shortly.’ He reached out a gloved hand to scratch Lily’s head. ‘These kids will be fine. They can go in the yard for a while when I’ve finished. Leave them with me and I’ll get someone to contact the owners to come and collect them.’ As he finished speaking, the door cracked open and two of Jim’s new recruits slipped inside the interview room, kitted out in their full personal protection equipment.
Jim looked up. ‘Should I call Fliss to collect Domino when I’ve finished with him?’
Jenna grazed a glance over to the Dalmatian as she chewed on her lip. ‘No. I’d rather you didn’t. I need refs at some point, I’ll whip him out and home.’ Her gaze met Jim’s as a thin thread of worry tugged at her. ‘I’d prefer to explain it to her face to face rather than worry her with a phone call. She’ll think there’s something wrong.’ She sent him a smile as understanding flickered through his eyes.
Content that he had everything in hand, Jenna slipped out of the door, followed by Ryan, her sigh of relief jamming in her throat as she came face to face with the most feared of all their comms operators.
‘Does this belong to you?’
Della Prince’s hard stare rooted Jenna to the spot. Keeper of the car keys, Della took her position with a seriousness unrivalled by anyone else and instilled fear into the hearts of every officer. About the only person who could actually make Mason quail with fright. With her bleached-blonde hair in two-inch spikes all over her head and kohl-black-rimmed eyes, Della was a warrior who Jenna had nothing but respect for. No car keys ever went astray on Della’s watch.
Not normally the subject of confrontations with Della, Jenna stumbled over her words. ‘Well, no. Not really.’
With one large, square hand, Della reached out and thrust the little chihuahua at Jenna’s chest so she had no choice but to snatch Fleur from Della’s hand and snuggle her in tight.
Della’s ice-blue eyes froze her to the spot. ‘You owe me fifty-five quid.’
Jenna reared back her head. ‘Fifty-five quid?’
‘Give or take a penny or two. Consider yourself lucky I haven’t added mileage.’
‘What the hell for?’ She could feel the screech in her voice threatening to take over.
Della’s painted on eyebrows shot up to her hairline. ‘Because if you abandon an animal to the care of front desk, without so much as a bite for the poor soul to eat…’
'But…’
Della shot her hand out, palm forwards and halted Jenna’s protest midstream. ‘If you do that, someone is going to have to go out in their own lunch hour to find it something to eat.’
Jenna dropped her head down to stare at Fleur, and then looked back up at Della, her eyes narrowing. ‘It cost fifty-five quid for food? For this?’ She pointed at Fleur. ‘What the hell did you buy her? Caviar?’
Della crossed her arms over her ample bosom. ‘Of course not. Do I look stupid?’
Jenna clamped her teeth together and let Della continue her rampage.
‘You can’t expect to leave a little one in this kind of weather without a decent coat…’
Jenna glanced out of the automatic glass doors. It wasn’t that bad.
‘… and she needed a lead. A water bowl. A dinner bowl. Oh yeah, and a bed.’
Jenna huffed out a gusty breath. ‘She’s not mine.’
‘Evidently.’ Della held out a hand.
Jenna almost choked. ‘I don’t have fifty-five quid on me. Who would?’
At the soft clearing of a throat, Jenna spun around as she adjusted Fleur into a more comfortable position. ‘Ryan.’ His eyes shot wide. ‘Give Della fifty-five quid.’
‘But…’
She strode off towards the stairwell leaving Ryan to fumble in his back pocket for his wallet. ‘Thanks, Della. Oh, and Ryan? Don’t forget to pick up all the stuff you’re paying for.’
27
Monday 20 April 1205 hours
Team already assembled, the room buzzed with excited undercurrents as Jenna stepped inside, half-consumed meatball baguette in one hand, large black fully caffeinated coffee in the other. She was never going to sleep tonight, but with the energy she’d used so far, this would barely touch the sides.
The quick dash out of the station for food had not been via The Coffee Shack. On the pretence of giving in to the whining PC Downey, Jenna had left Fleur in her brand new fluorescent pink bed under his desk. She’d picked them both up a half-decent lunch and cash to pay him back for the purchases Della had made. There was fifty-five quid she’d never see again once someone laid claim to the pretty little pooch.
Jenna nudged her backside onto a desk next to where Donna perched and, with a smile, gave her a gentle elbow in the ribs. She’d not had the chance to speak with her since the night of the fire and would catch up as soon as the briefing finished.
DI Taylor let out a cough to grab their attention. The room fell silent and Jenna afforded herself a moment to take stock of the team they’d assembled. Her heart sank. With so many in the room, it was a big job.
Not only had the DI called in their normal team of herself and DCs Ellis, Downey, Salter and Wainwright, but the room was packed with PCs, intel, admin, the management team all vying for a chair to sit on or a wall to lean against. The only person she didn’t recognise was the one at the head of the room who leaned forward and spoke to DI Taylor in tones too low to hear from where she was.
Jenna took advantage of the brief distraction to take another bite of her baguette. The outlook didn’t look too hopeful for her next meal.
She drew in a long breath through her nose. The day had already been interminable, but it looked as though it may go on forevermore at this rate.
‘Thank you. Thank you.’ DI Taylor raised his hand and cruised his gaze around the room until every movement ceased. ‘As you are all aware, we had a major incident on Saturday night. At 2240 hours, fire, police and ambulance were called to a fire at…’ he squinted down at his notes, his thin grey hair barely covered the bald spot on his crown that gleamed in the electric lighting, ‘…Kimble Hall. The call was made by concerned neighbours, Mr and Mrs Crawford. No witnesses have come forward. Currently the family remain missing.’
He sucked air in through his teeth as he circled his gaze around the room. ‘Due to the nature of the fire and its ferocity, whereby six tenders were required, we have been unable to get SOCO on site. However, in the last couple of hours, the fire service, after conducting a risk assessment, have been able to enter the building in their PPE with breathing apparatus. The site is not yet suitable for entry by any other personnel.’
Eyes bleak, he continued, ‘What they have found inside, are bodies. None of which have been identified and these are by no means the only ones on the premises. The search has only just commenced.’
Jenna’s chest tightened. The news wasn’t unexpected, but
having verification still sent a shaft of desperate pity for the whole family.
DI Taylor waited to allow the quick whispers to circulate the room, then gave out a small cough to pull them back into order. ‘Further information does put a sinister spin on matters.’
Jenna’s heart thrummed and then paused as she held her breath.
‘According to Roger Ayman,’ Taylor indicated the man stood to his right, ‘our National Inter-Agency Liaison Officer, there is immediate evidence that a number of firearms have been discharged and abandoned several times on the premises. Through the site mapping they’re carrying out, it appears so far, one firearm has been laid next to each of the bodies.’
The pulse in Jenna’s throat hammered harder. Was that symbolic? A different gun for each one of them?
Ryan shot his hand into the air. ‘Sir, were the firearms discharged before the fire was set?’
DI Taylor nodded to acknowledge Ryan. ‘At this stage, we are cognisant of the fact the fire service has carried out its duty to protect human life to the best of their ability and having arrived on scene when the blaze was already well under way, DC Downey, we don’t yet know, nor do we wish to surmise, what has taken place. The most important aspect currently is the protection of evidence, which the fire service again is deeply involved in until SOCO can get their team in there.’ DI Taylor turned his head. ‘DC Wainwright, you have a question?’
Slow to the point of almost painful, as was his way, Wainwright took his time before the question came out. ‘Aye, sir. Do we know at this stage what the body count is?’
Again, DI Taylor nodded and then motioned with his hand at the NILO.
Roger Ayman stepped forward. ‘As DI Taylor said, a complete search of the entire premises has been impossible due to safety issues. We can confirm so far we’ve discovered five bodies.’
Ryan’s hand shot up and a collective groan came from the room. ‘Sir, how many members of the family did you say are missing?’
