Cold, Cold Heart by A.J. Cross

Author:A.J. Cross [A.J. Cross]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2018-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

Hanson came into an empty UCU on Monday morning to the sound of the phone ringing. Dropping her belongings on the table she reached for it. ‘Unsolved Crime Unit, Police Headquarters, Rose Road.’ The voice in her ear was faint.

‘Hello. May I speak to Detective Inspector Bernard Watts, please?’

She absently registered the grammatically correct phrasing, the pleasant, somewhat diffident tone. ‘I’m sorry, DI Watts isn’t available right now but I can take a message for you.’ She reached for a pen.

‘Would you tell him that David Lockman called? My contact number is …’

She froze, her one thought that she had to end the call. ‘Mr Lockman, he’s very unlikely to return your call.’

‘I understand, but I’d very much appreciate you letting DI Watts know that all I want from him is a general indication of how his new investigation is progressing.’

She wouldn’t give this man anything but he deserved honesty. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Lockman, but he’s unable to do that. All I can say is that the Unsolved Crime Unit is committing all of its time to the case.’

‘Who am I speaking to?’

‘My name is Kate Hanson. As I said—’

‘Ms Hanson, you mentioned time. I doubt you can tell me very much about that. I’ve become an expert on it over the last ten years. What I also know is that I’ll never have a life or any real freedom until Della Harrington’s killer is identified.’

She took this to be an oblique reference to what they had been told had happened to him the previous week. She understood. Without someone identified by UCU as responsible for Della Harrington’s death, his future would continue to be blighted, no matter what the appeal court had ruled.

‘I’m truly sorry, Mr Lockman.’

‘I’m sure you are but it doesn’t help me. Something happened at my home last week. Someone took the top off a stone sundial in my front garden and used it to smash my window.’

‘We heard you were in hospital …’

‘I’m home now. I’m fine,’ he said, tone clipped. ‘Except for acute embarrassment at losing track of how many Valium I’d taken, plus guilt for causing unnecessary work for people who’ve got better things to do.’

‘I will let DI Watts know that you called and what you’ve said.’

‘Thank you.’

Replacing the phone, she added words to the message pad. The door swung open and her colleagues came inside. She gave them a quick evaluation. ‘You don’t look chewed out so I’m guessing the meeting with the chief went well?’

Watts blew air through his lips and sat as Corrigan switched on the kettle. ‘As well as it could. He’s accepted Coultard, Fenton and Dobbs as persons of interest, with Coultard and Dobbs under consideration as potential suspects. He wants us to push one of them up to prime suspect.’

She looked at him. The case was moving on and it was all wrong. ‘We need to talk about …’

Watts stretched his arms, let them drop. ‘I feel like I’ve done nothing else but talk for the last couple of hours, doc.

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