Deadly Secrets (Detective Erika Foster #6)(62)

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‘Erika? Erika?’

Her eyes snapped open and the dark interior of the car came back. It was warm, and on the radio, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was playing. Isaac was looking over at her. ‘You okay?’

‘How long was I asleep?’

‘A couple of minutes… You were shouting out names: Edward, Mark and Marissa.’

Erika rubbed her eyes.

‘Just a dream,’ she said.

‘Do you want to stay at Edward’s place? We’ll get some sleep, and then go over to the hospital for visiting?’

‘Yeah. Are you still okay to drive?’ She peered outside, but there was darkness all around. Only the snow-covered motorway was visible.

Isaac nodded. ‘We’ve got another couple of hours at least. Get some sleep, if you want.’

‘No. Let’s talk, about anything. Anything but work.’





Forty-Four





Moss and her wife, Celia, were eating their breakfast in the kitchen early the next morning when Moss’s phone rang. It was Erika, who started to explain that Edward had been in an accident, and that she would be taking a few days’ leave.

‘I’m in Manchester,’ said Erika. ‘Slaithwaite, the village where Edward lives. Isaac is with me.’

‘Isaac Strong?’ said Moss, swallowing a mouthful of cereal.

‘Yeah…’ Erika clearly didn’t want to elaborate, so Moss didn’t press her.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked.

‘I’m fine.’

‘What about Edward?’

‘He fell and broke his hip. They’ve operated, but he’s on a high-dependency ward.’

Moss and Celia’s son, Jacob, came crashing into the room with his toy electric guitar. He skidded across the floor on his knees, the guitar blaring out a tinny squealing. Moss waved her free hand at Celia, who jumped up from the table and grabbed Jacob, switching the guitar off.

‘Mummy’s on the phone,’ she whispered.

Jacob stopped and watched his other mother as her face creased, listening to the call.

‘What’s the snow like up there?’ Moss asked.

‘A foot or so,’ said Erika, on the end of the phone. ‘Luckily, the roads were cleared and we’re in Isaac’s four-wheel drive. I’m going to be here for at least a couple of days. I’ve just phoned Superintendent Hudson and made her aware of the situation.’

‘Okay, I can brief whoever covers for you…’

‘I’d like you to cover for me. I’ve already discussed it with Melanie, and she’s in agreement that you are acting Detective Chief Inspector and SIO on the case.’

For a second, Moss was lost for words. ‘But… It’s a complex case; we’ve got so many strands and now we’re taking over the assaults from the gas mask attacker…’

‘Don’t you want to take over?’

‘Yes! Of course I do,’ she said quickly. Celia was watching her, dying to know what was going on, and what had made Moss’s face flush with excitement. ‘So this is for a few days?’

‘It could be longer. I need some time to make sure that Edward’s okay. My life seems a little unbalanced; it has been for some time.’

‘Okay,’ said Moss, the enormity of the case starting to dawn on her.

‘This is now your investigation. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to take this on. I’m here if you need me. Melanie is already working on giving you clearance as a DCI. You do know that overtime doesn’t exist for my rank. We’re always on duty.’

‘Sure,’ said Moss, looking over at Celia and Jacob.

‘Phone me if you need anything,’ said Erika, and then she was gone.

‘What is it? You look like someone just died!’ said Celia. Then, seeing Moss’s serious face: ‘Did someone die?’

‘No. Erika’s had a family emergency, her father-in-law is sick. She’s promoted me to acting DCI on this case.’ Moss sat down heavily. She pushed her bowl of cereal away, no longer hungry.

‘But that’s great, babe – not the father-in-law part, but that she trusts you,’ said Celia.

‘Yeah, that’s really great, babe,’ said Jacob, imitating her voice. Moss grabbed his feet and gave them a good tickle. He screamed and squirmed.

‘Stop the tickles; you know I detest the tickles!’

‘He detests the tickles. Good vocabulary for a five-year-old,’ said Celia, with a knowing smile. ‘I hope they’re paying you more?’ She put Jacob down.

‘Of course… There’s so much to sort out. I’ll have to do the briefing this morning. Perhaps I should get everyone on the team a coffee.’

‘You’ll be great. Everyone likes you,’ said Celia, gripping Moss’s shoulder and giving her a kiss. ‘Just don’t become as obsessed as Erika.’

‘She’s not obsessed; she’s bloody good at her job. And it’s not about being liked. I now have to lead everyone.’

‘I think the two things go hand-in-hand. Be yourself. How’s Peterson doing? I take it she didn’t put him in charge because of their history. Has he told her yet, about his long-lost son?’