Page 12 of Twisted Lies

Kim was surprised at the amount of time it had taken Frost to drive away, noted only as she poured coffee from the fresh pot. Perhaps the experience had affected her more than she’d thought. Or she was making notes of what she’d seen in case she forgot. It made no difference. Woody would never let it through, whatever kind of article she chose to write.

‘Thanks to whoever,’ she said, turning back to her team and raising her mug in the air.

Penn raised a hand in acknowledgment.

Thank goodness. As Stacey drank neither tea nor coffee, her efforts did not yield the best results.

Bryant had quickly briefed the team while she had updated Woody. And during that conversation, despite the news of what she’d been called to, he had still asked if she’d actioned ‘the other thing’. He knew full well that she would use a major murder investigation to put it off for just a little bit longer, and he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. And she had resolved that she was going to address it in just a few minutes.

‘Okay, post-mortem is at three.’

Penn’s head shot up expectantly.

Kim nodded. ‘It’s yours but get ready: it’s a grim one.’

‘No probs.’

‘Penn, yowm a weirdo,’ Stacey said, shaking her head.

‘What was your first clue?’ he asked with a bright smile.

‘That you listen to headphones with no sound,’ she answered.

‘Who says there’s no sound?’ he asked, crossing his eyes.

‘Okay, enough you two,’ Kim said. Left to it, the two of them could banter for hours and right now they didn’t have those hours to spare.

Their first task was finding out if this was a victim- or killer-led murder. Where was the thread that they would need to grasp by the fingernails and unravel? Would Mitch, the lead techie, find forensic evidence that would lead them to the killer, or would the history of the victim lead to the killer’s identity?

‘Bryant and I will be heading off to the victim’s address shortly, and while we’re gone I want you to find me anything you can on our victim, as well as checking any CCTV in the area. This was well set up. The murderer had to have known the spot. It’s not a building you’d just happen upon if you were passing by the trading estate. He must have been driving a decent-sized vehicle to transport the bins, roller cage, chair and fuel for the fire.’

Both were making notes as she spoke. She didn’t need to be more specific. They would divide the jobs up between themselves.

But before any of that, there was something she could delay no longer.

‘Stace, a word,’ she said, nodding towards the Bowl.

Carrying her coffee, she stepped in and closed the door behind the detective constable.

‘Sit down, Stace.’

‘I’m okay, boss, but you’re starting to freak me out.’

‘You’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, quite the opposite; now please take a seat,’ Kim said, sitting behind the desk. The position felt alien to her, and she felt more at home with her behind parked on the edge of the spare desk in the squad room.

Stacey sat.

‘Woody and I have been talking about your performance and h… we feel that you’re ready for the next stage in your career.’

‘Okay,’ she said, clasping her hands together.

‘It’s time for you to go for the sergeants’ exam.’

Stacey looked surprised. ‘Okay,’ she repeated. ‘I mean, if you think I’m ready.’

‘You’re ready,’ Kim said without hesitation. ‘You’ve grown in both confidence and ability, and you’ve always been mature beyond your years. You’d be an asset to any team.’

‘Th… Thanks, boss. I don’t really know what to say. I appreciate your faith in me, and I’ll give it some—’