The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(60)

‘Am I boring you?’

‘No, sorry. Family troubles. My daughter’s not talking to me at the moment.’ As she made to put her phone down, it began to ring. ‘Jacob?’

‘I just thought I’d see if there was anything new to report,’ he said.

‘Wyre and O’Connor are still typing up the reports from earlier. They should be available to view soon. I’m heading home in a minute. I’ll type up all my notes too, then I’ll email you. How’re you feeling?’ Gina asked. Jessie began to bark as the wind howled.

‘Sick, tired, headachy, full of it. Have you got a dog now?’

‘No. It’s just the neighbour’s dog.’ Briggs went red as he held in a snigger. ‘I was talking to Wyre earlier, and we have a few thoughts. I’ll fill you in as soon as I get back. I won’t be long. Got to go.’ She ended the call and slumped back into the sofa as Briggs burst into fits of laughter.

‘That was close,’ she said. ‘What the hell are we doing?’

‘We’re doing what most mature, healthy adults do,’ he replied.

‘I’d best go.’

‘Why don’t you stay? You’ve got your laptop in the car, haven’t you? And I have an unopened toothbrush in the cupboard.’

‘Always prepared?’

‘No. Mine is getting scraggy.’

‘I’ll pass. I have to feed my cat.’

‘Okay.’ He stood and walked with her towards the door. She grabbed her coat and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Maybe another time,’ he said.

‘Maybe. I’ll leave you to deal with your chip pan. Goodnight, Chris.’

She looked at the time on her phone as she headed towards her car. It was almost nine. The past couple of hours had flown by. She needed to get home, type up her notes and message Jacob before it got any later.





Thirty-Eight





Wednesday, 6 December 2017





Gina swigged her coffee as she talked Jacob through the points she and Wyre had discussed the previous day. He scrolled down the report, nodding as he read Adele Sutter’s statement. He grabbed a tissue and blew his nose before throwing it on top of the pile that was rapidly filling up the waste paper bin beneath his desk. It had been a long week for them all. Most of them were putting in extra hours without pay. They were all hungry for a result. With budget reductions, everything was taking longer than it should. Lab results were taking longer to come back; research was being done by individuals rather than teams. It was hard to know how long they could all go on working under such high pressure before the department cracked.

Gina smiled as she thought back to the previous night. After she’d left Briggs, she’d spent what was left of her evening typing up notes in her cold kitchen. She’d eventually rolled into bed at about one in the morning, only to be back at the station for seven. Her whole night had been filled with one weird dream after another, with intermittent waking followed by constantly fidgeting in bed.

Wyre threw down her pen and smiled as she turned to face them both. The room went quiet as the other officers waited for her to speak. ‘We’ve had a call, ma’am. An Alice Lenton from number twelve Brookfield Avenue, the road that starts on the corner of Luke Jenkins’ road. She picked up the letter Smith dropped through her letter box yesterday while doing the rounds. She was at her daughter’s all day and only found it this morning. She said something about it being tangled up in her net curtain. Anyway, she claims she saw someone loitering at about two thirty in the morning on the same night that someone tried to break into the Jenkinses’ house.’

Slamming her cup down onto Jacob’s desk, Gina smiled. ‘We needed something and this is it. Come on, Jacob. Let’s go and pay this Alice a visit.’ Jacob stood with little energy, dragging his coat from the back of the chair. ‘O’Connor, when we get back, I want all details on rural businesses in the area fully collated and on my desk. We can’t delay any longer.’

‘I’ll have it all ready and waiting,’ he said. ‘Oh, and guv?’ Gina turned as she zipped up her coat. ‘Thanks for the money.’

Gina looked at him. ‘Sorry?’

‘My bike ride, this weekend. You sponsored me.’

‘Oh yes. No worries. I just hope you survive it with all the training you’re putting in.’ She laughed and grabbed a digestive biscuit off his desk.

‘You’ll see. I’ll show you all when I not only smash it, but come first,’ O’Connor replied as he shoved a whole biscuit in his mouth. Gina laughed as she and Jacob left the incident room.





Thirty-Nine





Jacob sucked on a lozenge as Alice Lenton passed Gina a mug of tea. ‘Thank you, Mrs Lenton, that’s very kind of you,’ Gina said as she took the cup from the trembling lady. Mrs Lenton’s bony hands reached for her own cup before she sat in what looked like an orthopaedic chair. It sat higher than the sofa they were sitting on, making the petite old woman look tall. ‘As you know, we need to talk to you about the morning of the fourth of December.’

‘Of course, Detective. I don’t know if I can add much to what you know, but as I did indeed see something, I though it only right and dutiful to call in.’ She put her tea down and straightened her collar, tucking a strand of long white hair behind her ear and sitting up straight with a smile.