‘Our second victim was staged to look as though she’d suffocated herself with a thick plastic bag and masking tape. Her body had been there for at least a day, so we’re going to want a timeline from Keats on that before we talk to the neighbours. Penn, I’m pretty sure Keats will want to get both our victims done today because of the potential link, so it’s a day trip to the morgue for you.’
‘Cool.’
Stacey and Bryant both shook their heads. None of them would ever understand their colleague’s fascination for the process of the post-mortem.
‘One of you chase Mitch, chase Keats, chase Mitch again. I want a name for our second victim. Stace, get me everything you can on Jamie Mills.’
She paused. ‘Everybody sorted?’
‘Yeah, boss,’ Stacey said with a wide smile.
‘Absolutely, boss,’ Penn added with a barely hidden smirk.
‘Make that three,’ Bryant said, raising an eyebrow at his colleagues.
‘Don’t get cocky, people. Those half shifts you’ve been doing are a distant memory and there’s a lot of work to do so get cracking,’ Kim said, wondering when the novelty of her return would wear off.
She pushed herself off the edge of the desk. She was at her door before she remembered. She turned. ‘Stace.’
‘Boss?’
‘This missing man, what’s your gut say, anything in it?’
Stacey nodded. ‘It’s a bit weird.’
‘Okay, stay on it but obviously…’
‘Absolutely, boss.’
The detective constable knew the murder investigation took priority.
‘Look lively, Bryant,’ she said, grabbing her coat.
It was just before 8a.m. and a little early for a house call by anyone’s standards, but this time she had no choice.
They were already behind the eight ball on this one.
EIGHTEEN
‘What was in the envelope, Stace?’ Penn asked once the boss and Bryant were out the door. Although she’d shared her intentions with Bryant, Penn knew nothing of her transfer request.
‘It’s not important,’ she said, fighting back the emotion in her throat. The dark cloud above her head had been blown away, and the constant feeling of dread in her stomach was beginning to dissolve. For two months the anxiety had been with her from opening her eyes in the morning to the moment she fell asleep.
The boss walking out like that and giving Burns his marching orders had made her want to burst into tears. Whether it was through relief, pride, admiration, respect, she didn’t know. But what she did know was that the boss had come through for her without even knowing it.
‘Not all superheroes wear capes, Penn.’
‘You know, that might be the most random thing you’ve ever said to me, but if you’re talking about the boss, that was quite something, wasn’t it?’
‘I don’t think Burns was expecting it,’ she said, chuckling.
‘Probably still crying his eyes out in Woody’s office,’ Penn agreed. ‘But he did have it coming,’ he said, catching her eye. ‘If only for the way the knobhead treated you.’
Stacey was still struggling to believe the man was gone. She knew her colleagues had done everything they could to mitigate Burns’s impact on her, and she appreciated it. She gave herself a mental shake. Time to crack on.
‘So what did the boss text you for yesterday?’ she asked.
‘She wanted me to climb a tree,’ Penn answered.