Page 122 of Dying Truth

‘She dived into an empty pool at Heathcrest Academy. It was your case in the mid-nineties.’

‘Yes, I know the one you mean. You’ll have to excuse an old man’s memory, love.’

‘Inspector,’ she said.

‘Yes?’ he answered.

‘Notlove,’ she corrected. ‘Inspector or Stone. Either is fine.’

His face coloured slightly at the rebuke, but she didn’t care. She would remain respectful, but she would not tolerate blatant sexism to her face. Prejudice in the force was not yet completely behind them, but the era of resigned silence and acceptance was.

‘One of my officers is requesting the case files as we speak but we’d also appreciate your insight,’ she said.

He shook his head. ‘I can still see her now,’ he said, placing his golf club back into the bag. ‘Such a tiny thing lying at the bottom of that bloody pool.’

‘It was ruled an accident,’ Kim said, falling into step as he began to walk behind the others. ‘Did you agree?’

‘Not at first,’ he said.

‘Why not?’

‘You’ll see in my reports,’ he said, bristling.

‘Could you tell us now?’ she pressed.

‘It’s nothing,’ he said.

Kim stopped walking. ‘Sir, there’s clearly something about this case that still bothers you,’ she observed.

‘It’s myMidnight Express, Inspector,’ he said.

‘Sorry?’ she asked. It wasn’t a term she’d heard.

‘Haven’t you seen the film?’

Kim shook her head.

‘It’s about a guy imprisoned in Turkey for drug smuggling. To cut a long story short he’s eventually placed with the crazies who walk endlessly around a pole in the middle of the room. Our guy joins them but he’s walking the opposite way.’

Kim got the analogy. ‘You thought there was more to it and other people did not?’

‘I did indeed, and my boss agreed with me, initially, and allowed me to run with an investigation, but eventually I got shut down. Costing too much money with no clear motive never mind a suspect.’

‘The baby?’ Kim asked.

He smiled ruefully, realising they weren’t quite as different as he thought.

‘Yeah, that was my logic too. I wanted to find the father but the funds…’ he shrugged as his words trailed away.

‘How far did you get?’

‘DNA samples from the kids, well, the ones that were old enough, anyway.’

‘Teachers?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘Not before the money ran out.’

‘Then what?’ she asked.