Jack nodded sympathetically as he ate, using his chopsticks to shovel the food into his mouth as Maggie jabbed at the noodles with her fork. He poured her a glass of wine, sensing her exhaustion.
‘So, how was your day? Did you get to see Ridley?’ she asked, taking a large sip.
‘Yeah, it was the right place, but I didn’t go inside; he saw me parked and came out. He said he was still all clear with his cancer being in full remission, but there is something going on. He wouldn’t tell me what and he was on edge.’
‘You think he was lying?’
‘I don’t know... I mean, he said he felt fine, but he didn’t look it and just wanted me to leave and not to contact him again.’
‘No doubt he’ll tell you what’s going down when he’s ready. Maybe you just have to give him some space for a bit. How was it at the station?’
‘A few things cropped up. The kid that assaulted the shop assistant has quite a record for previous attacks, but I interviewed his girlfriend. She’s in a hostel, told me she had been with him since she was twelve. She was a runaway and he had virtually kept her prisoner.’
‘She was only twelve?’
‘Yeah, she’s seventeen now, but she’s very young for her age. I got a message from the carer at the hostel. They traced her parents to Liverpool, but I’m not sure if they’re coming down to collect her. Thing is, we found no record of her being a missing person. I’m going to do some leg work tomorrow and get a warrant to search the basement flat where they were living. I think he had other girls there, but when he was arrested no one took a look. It was almost a perfect arrest. He admitted assaulting the guy in the local shop and handed over the knife. I was just brought in to oversee the final investigation and tick all the boxes. But my gut instinct is that something isn’t right. I also spoke to the psychiatrist that his GP had referred him to a few years ago, when he had committed a similar offence. His secretary called him a “troubled soul”. Apparently there was a fire at his family home and his two sisters burnt to death.’
‘Did he do it? Was it arson?’
‘Not proved. They had fire investigators examine the scene who concluded it was an electrical fault. I’ve not seen the coroner’s report but reading between the lines there was some suspicion about the fire. Tomorrow I’m going to visit his father in prison.’
‘What about his mother?’
‘She died of a heroin overdose a few years ago.’
‘Gosh, no wonder he’s a lost soul!’
Jack emptied the rest of the fried rice onto his plate. ‘I would really have liked to talk to Ridley about the case, but he just told me to stay away.’
‘Surely there will eventually be some information about why he’s been replaced.’
‘There was someone at the house. I didn’t see who it was, but I think he was in uniform. It was all a bit awkward.’
Maggie had her eyes closed and was falling asleep at the table. Jack pushed his chair gently back, took her in his arms and kissed her. He then helped her up and guided her out of the kitchen, saying he would join her after he had cleared up. She hugged him before slowly making her way up the stairs. Jack gathered all the empty cartons and put them into the waste bin. He then put the plates and cutlery into the dishwasher and wiped the table and the surfaces. He didn’t feel like going to bed quite yet, so he poured himself another glass of wine and went up to his office.
He decided he would make a list of what he intended to do the following day, including applying for a warrant. He was also going to do what Ridley had suggested and go back and cross reference everything again. He stopped and listened, as he could hear Penny chatting, just as he had done the previous night. He got up and went onto the landing. He heard her laughing, and then speaking so quietly he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He felt guilty as he listened, then he heard her saying goodbye to someone and the call ended.
Maggie was sound asleep when Jack went in, and he crept around so as not to disturb her. He didn’t even put the lights on in the bathroom in case it woke her. He eased into bed beside her and gently drew the duvet up around himself as he rested his head back on the pillows. This was becoming their usual routine. Maggie was always so tired when she got home from the hospital and Jack was glad they had Penny. However, he decided that he would get Maggie to sit down and talk about the possibility of her taking some time off soon. She had been on the front line doing crazy hours for a long time, and he admired her for it, but if it was going to damage her health then he felt he needed to say something. They had spent very little quality time together recently, and tonight was the first time they had had a proper conversation in weeks.
By the time Jack woke up the following morning, Maggie was already downstairs and about to leave for work whilst Penny was giving Hannah breakfast in her highchair. Jack hurried down into the hallway still in his pyjamas as Maggie was putting on her coat.
‘I didn’t wake you, darling... you were in a deep coma!’ she said, laughing.
‘What time is it?’
‘Almost eight. I have to get my skates on.’ She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips.
‘My God, I had better get showered and out as well. Will you be late tonight?’
‘No, I hope not. Have a good day. I love you.’
Jack went into the kitchen. Penny was adding to Maggie’s shopping list of the things she needed to get on her way back from nursery. She asked him to get out some shopping bags for her and put them under the carriage of Hannah’s pushchair.
‘I can easily get everything Maggie wants and wheel it back home.’
‘Do you need some cash?’ he asked.
She paused. ‘Well, I am a bit short.’
Jack had to run back upstairs to get his wallet. He handed Penny a £50 note.
‘Thanks,’ she smiled. ‘I usually use my debit card, but I need a top-up on that if you can organise it for me. They still don’t like cash these days.’
‘Right, I’ll call the bank and sort it out when I get to the station.’
‘Thank you, dear. You have a good day.’
Jack hurried back upstairs to shower and get dressed. He was pissed off at himself, as he had wanted to get an early start, and it now looked as if he would have to go straight to Wandsworth prison for his interview with Rodney Middleton’s father. He collected all his notes from his home office, stuffing them into his briefcase, and went out to the pea-green car he detested so much.
Laura was working at her desk when Jack rang to say that he would be returning to the station as soon as his meeting was over. He asked if she could do him a favour, or get one of the secretaries to help with a further search into details about the fire that had occurred at Middleton’s home.
‘I got what I could yesterday, but I suppose I can do some further research,’ she said. ‘Lucky for you my case has been sorted, so I have some spare time. I should be able to pull up all you need on the Holmes/CRIS system.’
‘I also want the names of the officers who reported the incident.’
‘It was a few years ago, Jack,’ Laura said doubtfully.
‘Only six years ago, so you might find them, plus their contact details as well as the names of the officers who worked on Rodney Middleton’s first assault charge.’
‘Bloody hell, Jack, you don’t half push your luck.’
Jack hung up and then made another call on his hands-free system, to the clinic that Angus Seymour had referred Rodney to. A receptionist answered and forwarded his call to Dr Natalie Burrows. By this time Jack was parking in a bay close to Wandsworth prison.