The Present by D S Devlin

Author:D S Devlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008272746
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-10-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Backstreet Terry’s flat was now a crime scene. A small army of uniformed officers, CID and forensics investigators swarmed in, sealing the place off. Jim oversaw everything.

But Anna and Miles were banished to wait in Miles’s car, a burly PC standing guard over them.

At length, Jim came striding out of Nash Tower to speak to them. His expression was darker and more thunderous than ever.

‘Well, I’m flattered that you two saw fit to contact me eventually,’ he said, leaning through the front window of the car and scowling at them.

‘We didn’t think we’d find anything in there, honestly,’ Miles said. ‘I got Terry’s address from an old contact and we thought we’d just make sure the info was kosher before passing it on to you.’

But Jim was not pacified: ‘Don’t treat this like some story you’re writing up for your paper. This isn’t journalism, it’s a police investigation. It’s serious.’

‘Hey, I know how serious it is!’ Anna protested, pointing at the livid bruises all over her neck.

‘All the more reason to leave everything to CID!’ Jim snapped. ‘This whole investigation is under my jurisdiction. I’m in charge. You do nothing without my say so. Everybody – you two included – are answerable solely to me. Have I made myself clear?’

‘What does “IT ALL ADDS UP” mean?’ Miles asked innocently, not at all speaking like a man who was undergoing a major bollocking from CID. ‘The four calling birds is easy enough, it’s Santa’s way of ticking down the time left to save Sharon Steiner. But what’s he talking about when he says “IT ALL ADDS UP”?’

‘I’ll worry about that, thank you,’ Jim barked. ‘That’s what I’m paid for. As far as you two are concerned, unless there’s any other information you possess that I should know about, then I’d be grateful if you cleared off and awaited further instructions.’

‘You can’t expect me to sit around idly,’ Anna said. ‘It’s me that Santa has targeted. It’s me who’ll be getting all the Twelve Days of bloody Christmas sent through until he’s either caught or the time runs out. I’m as involved in this case as you are, Jim.’

‘Yes, but I’m the boss,’ Jim said. ‘Anyway, I don’t have time to stand here arguing the toss. Go home. I’ll be in touch. And try keeping me informed of everything and anything that occurs, yes?’

Miles saluted him, which Anna assumed was a jokey gesture meant to defuse the tension, but which Jim seemed to take as a mocking insult. He reached in swiftly and grabbed Miles’s wrist. For a long, highly charged moment he stared into Miles’s face, scrutinising him.

‘There’s something about you …’ he whispered.

And then, at last, he released Miles’s wrist and withdrew from the car, stomping off back into Nash Tower to oversee the forensics team in Terry’s flat.

‘I think we really ruffled his plumage,’ Miles said, starting up the car and pulling away.

‘He’s under pressure. He’s lost a fellow officer. And I don’t think he’s making any progress on this case.

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