Jennifer stared down at the cold bloated face as the zip of the body bag was pulled back. His twisted features were far from at peace. She searched her memory for a living version of the corpse before her, and something clicked into place. ‘Of course, he came to see me the other day.’
Ethan left the undertakers scratching their heads on the landing as he made his escape down the narrow winding staircase. ‘There’s nothing on PNC for him,’ he said to Jennifer as she followed him down. Attending officers had already checked the police national computer, which would highlight any offending history.
Jennifer clutched the handrail for support. ‘I know. I checked him out too. He came to make an enquiry for a friend. He asked for me specifically because he knew me growing up.’
‘Were you close?’
‘Oh not at all. His parents owned this pub years ago. I used to come in to collect dad after he’d been drinking. Price must have looked me up.’
Ethan’s face set in a grim line at the mention of her father. ‘So what did Price want?’
‘He asked about past offences and how people were treated if they confessed to historic crimes. I gave him some strong advice and told him it was best to come clean, especially with advances in forensics. He thanked me and left. I made a note to do some digging on offences around the time he mentioned. It’s in my “to do” pile.’
‘Looks like he found another way of dealing with it. Did you pick anything up at the scene?’
‘Not a thing. But it all seems a bit weird with that other guy telling him to go for it.’
Ethan blew out his cheeks in exhalation. ‘I’m not convinced there’s anything paranormal connected with this, but do a bit of digging on Price and submit a report on the tarot card reader just the same.’ An intelligence report submitted under the Operation Moonlight banner would trigger a confidential information sharing process between the other hubs, located in London, Wales, and Scotland.
‘You’re teaching your grandma how to suck eggs,’ Jennifer said absentmindedly, rooting in her bag for the car keys. She reddened as she pulled the keys out of her bag, reminding herself she was with Ethan, not Will, and his tolerance for banter had not yet been tested.
‘Point taken,’ Ethan said, holding out his hand for the keys. ‘I’ll drive if that’s OK with you.’
After an uneventful journey back to the station, Jennifer sat at her desk and stared at the files in various colour binders. As much as she loved Op Moonlight, finding a genuine case involving the paranormal meant wading through police incidents full of fanciful accusations and unlikely events. A unit in the control centre filtered reports of interest to their team, allocating the steady flow of incidents involving the paranormal from across the county, with Haven and Lexton being the main hotspots of activity. They were then emailed to her sergeant, who printed and collated files of the reports, colour coding them as they were disseminated for further investigation within the team. Red was urgent, amber was important, and green was non-priority – or a crock of shit as Will so delicately put it. Jennifer sighed as she counted the number of green folders. At least she didn’t have to travel for those ones. Most of the time she could deal with them over the phone.
She cast an eye over Will’s wrinkled suit as he came purposefully striding over, hiding one hand behind his back. She wished he would take more pride in his appearance, but her efforts to bring him into step never lasted very long. Perhaps it was time she accepted him for who he was. Jennifer sighed as he stood before her, an expectant look on his face.
‘Please tell me there haven’t been any more nickings while I’ve been out. I’ve got to speak to Emily yet, and all these jobs have magically landed on my desk.’
‘Emily’s been bailed. Childcare issues. She’s promised to come in tomorrow and tell all.’
‘She’d better,’ Jennifer said, jabbing a thumb towards Will’s spotless workspace. ‘I cleaned your desk while you were out. The least you can do is take some of these green files off me.’
‘Not my fault you keep swanning off with the DI,’ Will said, holding out a letter. ‘Here. It was dropped into front counter after you left.’
Jennifer frowned as she stared at her name scrawled on the white bonded envelope. It felt cold to the touch, as if it had been stored in a fridge.
‘Maybe it’s a thank you letter,’ Will said before snickering, ‘oh sorry, I forgot, you don’t get those, do you?’
Jennifer narrowed her eyes at Will in mock disgust. Her computer pinged with twelve new emails to add to her already neglected inbox. He was right. She needed to stay in the office and get on top of things. A decent case was hiding somewhere in the deluge of enquiries. Lifting the envelope to her nose, she closed her eyes and inhaled. She was rewarded with a faint musty smell. ‘Huh,’ she said, opening her eyes to see Will regarding her comically.
Ignoring his funny looks, she opened the stiff white envelope and pulled out a folded piece of bonded notepaper between the tips of her fingers. Laying it on her desk, she flicked it back with her pen and stared at the faded print of the newspaper clipping attached. It revealed a story of a hit and run back in the nineties in Haven. Jennifer vaguely remembered that the case had never been solved. She shook the envelope, raising her eyebrows as a small black feather floated onto her desk.
Chapter Three
There was little time for Jennifer to contemplate the letter as Ethan walked into the room, with a young woman by his side. The slight flush creeping up her throat suggested she was not as comfortable in the limelight as he was. The tapping of keyboards and ringing of phones silenced as Ethan cleared his throat to speak.
‘I’m glad I’ve got you all together, I’d like you to join me in welcoming the newest member of our team, DC Zoe Fox.’
A petite girl with a nose stud, Zoe looked much younger than her twenty-six years. She was dressed in a loosely fitting black shift dress and matching pumps that spoke of comfort rather than money. Zoe’s kohl-lined eyes flicked up from under her jagged black fringe and a faint smile crossed her lips as she caught Jennifer’s stare.
Jennifer returned her smile, feeling Zoe’s dark eyes delve into her psyche. It was as if a freezing cold hand had been shoved down her back. She shuddered, switching her gaze back to Ethan, who had launched into a speech praising them for all their hard work. Jennifer loved his zest for life, and rousing talks on teamwork. Will, on the other hand, was less impressed, describing his talks as the ‘Ethan Cole Roadshow’. She kicked him under the table as he stifled a yawn. Will was there at her insistence, because Jennifer wouldn’t accept the role without him. But as time went on, Ethan had come to value his skeptical nature and analytic mind. It helped keep them grounded, and Will had gained enough convictions to prove his worth on the team. It was voiced in his speech, as he praised them in turn.
‘You all form an integral part of Op Moonlight, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your hard work and commitment, both now and in the future. Now please, don’t let me hold you up with your work any longer.’
As Ethan finished talking, Jennifer felt as if she should clap, but Will had already turned back to his computer and Claire had skulked into her office, as she often did, to avoid being roped in. Ethan rocked on his heels for a couple of seconds, before introducing Zoe to Jennifer and loping out the door.
‘That was some speech,’ Zoe said, in a strong Essex accent. ‘I hope I can live up to his expectations.’
‘He wouldn’t have picked you if you couldn’t,’ Jennifer replied, catching sight of a scar running from the top of Zoe’s cheekbone, to the edge of her jaw. It was camouflaged in the palest of foundation, and Jennifer felt a rush of inexplicable sorrow. She drew her glance away and swept a hand towards her desk. ‘I’ve got a load of work to get through, you’re welcome to join me.’