Page 16 of Twisted Lies

Kim would have done had she not wanted to separate the two women.

‘Talking of which, best give Keats the heads-up.’

She pressed his number and tapped her fingernail on the back of the phone until he answered.

‘Inspector, I said the post-mortem was—’

‘Yeah, Keats, you may need to postpone slightly. We have a family member en route to identify.’

He laughed.

‘I’m not joking.’

He stopped laughing. ‘Stone, you’d better be.’

‘Only time they can make it,’ she lied. She could have told Leanne it was impossible to view the body so quickly, but she needed to speak to one of these women alone. There was something here she didn’t like the smell of.

‘Stone, we’ve only just removed his body from the roller cage. It’s taken a while, as I’m sure you can imagine. We’ll be leaving the site shortly, so any time after lunch would—’

‘No can do, Keats. We’re on our way with the relative, so I suggest you get back to the morgue and I suggest you do it fast.’

Eleven

‘You all right, Stace?’ Penn asked, watching his colleague closely.

They had divided the jobs between them. He had taken CCTV, and Stacey was checking background on Keith Phipps. The boss had told her to research the victim first and then spread out to the wider family; only Stacey didn’t seem to be checking a whole lot of anything.

She had slid back into her seat after her meeting with the boss, absolutely beaming from ear to ear. But she hadn’t spoken a word since.

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

‘Okay, Stace, now I know you’re not fine cos every time you’ve opened your mouth for the last two weeks, it’s been to tell me you’re now a married woman. I say: “Do you want a drink?” You say: “Of course I do, I’m a married woman.” I say: “Can you pass that folder?” You say: “I can’t do that cos I’m a married woman.”’ He frowned. ‘You get divorced in the last half an hour?’

‘No, I’m still a married woman, but the boss just took the wind out of my sails. She wants me to go for sergeant.’

‘And?’ he asked. The only person surprised by this news was Stacey herself.

‘I dunno, it’s…’

‘Stace, you’re so ready for it, and the boss knows it. You should be a DS.’

‘You think?’ she asked.

‘Stace, in all honesty, I forget you’re not. To be fair, it’s great that the boss has recognised the fact.’

‘Yeah, I’m just a bit stunned I think. But I’m chuffed to bits.’

There was something in her voice that said otherwise.

She turned back to her screen, and he followed suit, receiving her message loud and clear.

She didn’t want to talk about it.

Twelve

Frost pulled up outside the property and switched off the engine.

As a reporter, she shouldn’t care all that much about trudging around someone’s despair and unhappiness, but she hesitated before approaching the home of Penny Colgan, and she wasn’t sure if it was more for herself or the woman inside.