‘Jane Tennison. Who’s calling, please?’
‘Da da da... Da da da... Da da da da da... Shut it, son!... We’re the Sweeney and you’re nicked!’
She shook her head with a smile, recognizing her sister Pam’s voice behind the crude attempt at The Sweeney theme tune.
‘Just thought I’d ring my favorite sister and see how her first day on the famous Flying Squad went.’
‘I’m your only sister, and it was a pretty uneventful day, to be honest.’
She knew Pam would take great delight in passing on to her parents all the gory details of the bank robbery if she told her about it, and her mother would then become distraught about her safety, so she decided to play it down.
‘So, you had nothing to do with that bank robbery in Leytonstone on the evening news?’
‘No, it’s not on our patch,’ Jane lied.
‘You fibber, Jane. I looked in an A-Z to see where you worked, and Rigg Approach is about three miles from where the robbery took place.’
‘I didn’t get to go out to it as it was my first day. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my supper—’
‘I know better than a judge when you’re telling porkies, Jane.’ Pam laughed. ‘I promise I won’t tell Mum if you got shot at.’
‘It’s no laughing matter, Pam. An officer was shot in the stomach and two others were nearly killed when their car crashed after being shot at.’
Pam’s voice became more serious. ‘I knew you were involved. Was it scary?’
‘I got there after everything had happened I’m involved in the investigation, that’s all — but don’t go saying anything to Mum and Dad.’
‘I won’t. So what happened?’
‘I’m really tired, Pam. I want to have a bath and go to bed—’
‘Oh, come on, don’t leave me in suspense!’
Jane sighed. ‘What are you doing this Saturday?’
‘In case you’d forgotten I’ve got an eighteen-month-old toddler, aka your nephew, to look after.’
‘How is Nathan?’
‘Fine. He’s just started walking and causing mayhem in the house. Actually, you could come over here tomorrow night with a bottle of wine and sleep over.’
‘I don’t think Tony would want me there. I doubt he’s forgiven me yet for telling him he should help a bit more and at least try to change Nathan’s dirty nappies.’
‘I agree with you, but you know how stubborn Tony can be. He’s going up the West End to a stag do tomorrow night. I told him I don’t want him coming home shit-faced and waking Nathan up, so he’s staying at a friend’s house and I’ll be on my own. We could have a good natter, put the world to rights and keep each other company like we used to when we lived at home,’ Pam suggested.
‘I don’t know what time I’ll finish work tomorrow, but I expect it will be late. I was thinking of going shopping in the West End on Saturday if you want to join me,’ she said, knowing she had to buy a newsboy cap.
Pam hesitated for a moment. ‘That sounds like a plan. I’ll ask Mum if she can look after Nathan and let you know what she says.’
‘Tell her and Dad I’ll come for tea after we’ve been shopping — that way she won’t say no to you.’
‘OK... Now tell me about the robbery.’
‘You’ll just have to wait until Saturday, Pam. I’ll see you then.’
Jane put the phone down before Pam could argue.
Jane’s meal had gone cold and slightly soggy while she was on the phone, so she threw what was left in the bin and poured herself another glass of wine. Although it had been a tiring day, she knew tomorrow Murphy would be on her back, wanting to know if she’d typed her reports and submitted them. Not wanting to give him a reason to find fault, she got her typewriter from her bedroom cupboard and took it into the kitchen.
But before getting down to work, she couldn’t help replaying the conversation with Pam in her mind. On the surface, her sister had been breezy and cheerful, cracking jokes about The Sweeney and trying to make Jane laugh. But Jane knew Pam’s bubbliness was sometimes a mask, hiding deeper anxieties. What could she be concerned about? Jane wondered if it was something to do with their parents. They were getting to that age when serious illnesses seem to lurk just around the corner, and perhaps Pam had noticed something worrying. Was that what she’d wanted to talk to Jane about? Jane sighed, feeling she had quite enough on her plate, and tried to put it out of her mind. She took a sip of wine and started typing from the notes she’d made in her pocket notebook during the day.
After a couple of hours, she felt too tired to continue and decided to leave typing the last of her notes until she got to work. She ran a bath and had a long, relaxing soak, then went to bed, where she read over her report of the day’s events. She felt she’d done well, but despite Kingston’s praise, she knew she had a long way to go before everyone accepted her as part of the team — especially Katie Powell. Katie’s attitude had really got her back up, but she now realized it might be down to the fact she was having an affair with Kingston. It made sense to try and keep the peace with Katie, and even to be sociable with her, up to a point.
The sight of Kingston’s pale white bum cheeks bobbing up and down came unbidden into her mind, and she smiled at how she’d thought she could hear him working out, when he was in fact working on Katie. She liked Kingston, but there was no doubt in her mind that what he was doing was wrong — not just because he was married. She knew from her own past relationships — with a married DCI and a single DI on the Bomb Squad — that mixing business with pleasure could be a recipe for disaster.
At last, feeling her mind beginning to wander, she set her alarm and turned off her bedside light. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if her second day with the Flying Squad would be as eventful as her first.
Chapter Twelve
Jane was up at 6:30 the next morning, as she didn’t know what the journey to work would be like at that time and didn’t want to be late. After a light breakfast of tea and toast with marmalade she got ready for work. Although most of the team dressed in what was commonly referred to in the job as ‘scruffs,’ she decided to dress smart but casual. After a few minutes hemming and hawing, she put on her blue Wrangler jeans, a white T-shirt, blue blazer and white trainers, which she thought would be the most practical if she had to chase anyone. She was out of the door and on her way by seven and was parking her car in one of the spaces in front of the building just before eight, which was quicker than she expected.
There was no one in the office and, looking at her lone desk in the corner of the room, she decided to move it over to Teflon’s group of four. She disconnected the phone line, then removed the drawers and tried pulling and pushing the desk, but it was too heavy for her to move on her own. Luckily Dabs then walked in and Jane asked if he’d mind helping her.
‘No problem,’ he said, taking his coat off.
‘It’s quite heavy so it’s probably best if I push and you pull.’
As they slid the desk across the office, Dabs asked if she’d heard back from the traffic officer about the ignition barrel on the Cortina.
‘Not yet. I’ll give him a call just before the meeting as DCI Murphy said he wants the owner of the car visited today.’
‘How did your further enquiries go last night at Edgar House?’
‘Very productive, actually. I found out about another two men who were seen leaving the estate just before the fire was discovered.’
‘Well done. Would the witness recognize them again?’
‘I doubt it, but she described one of them as wearing a cap like the one the pub landlady said the driver of the Cortina was wearing, and she thinks she saw the two men with the duffle bag in a Mercedes sports car.’