Part 4 (2/2)

'Sorry, ma'am, but he's part of the problem.'

She shouldn't have said it like that. Why did this woman always make Becky talk gibberish?

'I mean, I don't know whether I should be talking to him about this or not.' Becky heard her own voice wobble slightly.

'I suggest you tell me, and then we'll work it out together, shall we?' Philippa's brisk tones made it sound more like a threat than a promise of a.s.sistance.

'I was called out this morning to attend a suspicious death. Jumbo I mean Dr Osoba is here with me. The body is that of a young woman in her mid-thirties.' Becky could almost hear Philippa tapping her fingers on the desk, wondering when she was going to get to the point, but to give her credit she remained silent, waiting for Becky to finish.

'The thing is, ma'am, I think the girl is somebody DCI Douglas knows. So I don't think he should come here, and I don't know if I should tell him who I believe it is.'

'Well, we should definitely prevent him from attending the scene, and he'll understand that. I'll have a word with him and apprise him of the situation. He'll probably call you to ask for more details is that okay with you?'

Becky held her breath for a second before letting it out slowly, shakily.

'The thing is, I think it's his ex-girlfriend. They were close once, and I don't know how he'll take it.'

There was a moment's silence at the other end of the phone.

'Ah. That's not going to be easy, is it? Have you met this woman, DI Robinson?'

'No, ma'am. But I was in DCI Douglas's office yesterday when the woman's brother-in-law called to say she was missing.'

'Just because you know somebody's missing and a dead woman of the right age turns up, you shouldn't jump to conclusions. Why have you made this a.s.sumption if you never met his ex-girlfriend?'

'I've seen a photo of her. I've seen several, in fact.'

There was a moment's hesitation on the other end of the line.

'Okay. I suggest you leave it with me, Becky. I'll tell Tom.' Sometimes the uber-efficient Superintendent Stanley surprised Becky. Tom always said there was a p.u.s.s.ycat lurking beneath the tiger stripes, and Becky was relieved not to have to be the one to break the terrible news.

'Thank you, ma'am.'

'Give me her name so I can be straight with him, and we'll take it from there. I'm a.s.suming this is murder?'

'We think so. Her name is Leonora Harris.'

'In that case, I'll come out myself as acting SIO. Would you rather be removed from the case if I a.s.sign it to a different team?'

'No, not at all. If it is Leo I'd want to help arrest whoever did this to her.'

'I'll be with you shortly. You know what to do.' Philippa Stanley was back to business again and Becky was glad of it. She felt herself stand up straight, ready to do what had to be done.

'Yes, ma'am,' she said.

The line went dead, and Becky began to breathe again.

The shower felt good, and Tom stayed under the pounding torrent for a good five minutes longer than usual. He tipped his head forward, enjoying the pummelling of the pulsating jet on his head and shoulders, clearing his mind of everything but the pleasurable sensation of hot water hitting his body. He had just grabbed the soap and started to rub it up his arms and across his chest when through the open door of his en-suite bathroom he heard the telephone ringing in his bedroom. For once he decided to ignore it. By the time he got there the answerphone would have picked up, so whoever was calling could leave a message. He would get back to them as soon as he was dry.

Tom had had a restless night, wondering where Leo could be. He had spoken to Max to let him know he had been to the apartment, but there was nothing he could say to put Max and Ellie's minds at rest. He hadn't known whether to mention the fact that Leo's clothes were scattered around the bedroom, but he couldn't see what would be gained. It would only add an extra layer of worry, and he didn't have any rational explanation at the moment, so he kept it to himself. Nevertheless, he was cross with Leo. Sometimes he could kill her for her lack of consideration.

He had finally got out of bed at about 5.30, knowing he wasn't going back to sleep, and made himself a proper breakfast for once - bacon, scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms and he had felt better for it. He was still going to be early for work, but he should miss the morning rush hour, and that would save him about twenty minutes of sitting in traffic.

He switched off the shower and shook the water from his body.

'b.u.g.g.e.r,' he muttered as he heard the phone ring again. He grabbed a towel and dripped his way from the bathroom to his bedside table, leaving wet footprints in the pale cream carpet.

'Tom Douglas.'

'Tom, it's Philippa.'

Tom perched on the edge of the bed, clutching his towel around him with one hand, his phone in the other, as he listened to Philippa explaining that Becky had been called out that morning to a suspicious death. Never one to mince her words, Philippa got straight to the point.

'I'm sorry, Tom, but I'm afraid it's Becky's opinion that the body is that of Leonora Harris.'

Tom drew in a lung full of air as he heard Leo's name. It couldn't be true, surely? He closed his eyes and saw her face, her hair, her body. He heard her laugh, felt her arms reach towards him. Not Leo. Please, not Leo.

'Tom?'

'Sorry, Philippa. Is she certain?' Tom let go of the towel and held the phone in both hands, for a moment scared he would drop it.

'She says this woman is missing. Is that right?'

'n.o.body's heard from her in a while, but I think missing's a bit strong.' That was exactly what he had thought himself the night before, but now more than anything, he wanted to rationalise this to convince himself she wasn't missing at all. 'Leo's very independent she could be anywhere. Why does Becky think it's her?'

'She says she's seen photos.'

'Well I don't know where. I never had one in the office.'

'Don't be naive, Tom. Becky's a resourceful girl.'

Christ, not Leo. She couldn't be dead. Tom felt a rush of guilt, as if he should have kept her safe. Maybe if he hadn't ended things all those months ago she wouldn't have been vulnerable to something like this. He would have known where she was would have been able to protect her. Maybe having n.o.body in her life had put her at risk. No. It can't be right. Surely Becky's wrong?

'Was there any identification on the body?' Tom could hear the unsteadiness in his own voice and coughed quietly.

'None that they've found up to now. When I've seen the body we'll get her moved and search through all her clothes, but as yet there's nothing.'

'I need to see her, Philippa, before you do anything. I don't want to alert her sister until we're sure it's her, and I want to say goodbye.'

He should have known better. Philippa played by the book.

<script>