By the time Cora returned home, all she wanted to do was get outside. She’d spent the entire afternoon cooped up in the cramped South Suffolk LEA Educational Psychology Unit and almost an hour and a half in her car in near-stationary traffic. She needed fresh air and space to think.
Changing into her running gear, she left her apartment and ran down the winding road to Felixstowe’s North Beach, the rush of salt-scented sea breeze that met her an instant reward.
As she passed through the small park that stretched adjacent to the beach road, a wave of hidden voices rose up beside her from the wind-strewn litter blown to its peripheries.
So tired…
Just another five minutes…
My feet hurt…
Don’t want to be here…
The emotional fingerprints of countless strangers found their voice in Cora’s mind, a constant feature of her life since she was sixteen. But where the unseen voices once made navigating every day a battle, now she found comfort in her ability. Leaning into it had been the best decision she’d made, opening doors she would never have expected.
Not all the doors had been easy, but she was proud of what she’d achieved.
With practised ease, she gently muted each new voice that rose up to meet her, as if they were passers-by in the street and their conversations merely part of the soundscape of the seafront with the barking dogs, mewling gulls and waves breaking on the beach.
Her legs were stiff from her day, so she settled into a gentle pace. No personal bests required: just a steady, measured stretching of her muscles. It was a beautiful evening, with a pale yellow sun already dipping its toes in the silver horizon, painting an arc of tiny white altocumulus clouds pink and gold in the blue sky as it set. The breeze coming off the sea was blissfully cool after the storm-threatening closeness of the afternoon – a perfect companion for Cora’s run.
Here she could think, away from the images, conversations and questions that had characterised her day. She pushed them aside and focused on her breath, the steady pounding of her feet and the wide sweep of the ocean beside her.
She had almost reached Felixstowe Pier when a buzz in her pocket summoned her attention. She stifled a groan. She’d almost left her phone at home but had pocketed it as a last-minute thought. Now she wished she hadn’t. Slowing to a walking pace, she glanced at the screen, answering when she saw the identity of the caller.
‘Evening, Rob.’
‘Evening. I’m not interrupting you, am I?’
He was, but he didn’t need to know it. ‘I’m just out for a run.’
The sigh that met her words made Cora smile. ‘Sounds like heaven. I bet it’s gorgeous by you.’
‘It is. Sun’s setting, lovely cool sea breeze, hardly anyone around…’
‘Okay, stop, or I’ll be jumping in my car.’
‘With the traffic in Ipswich, you’d be lucky to get here before nightfall.’
‘Rub it in, why don’t you, Dr Lael.’
‘More than happy to, DS Minshull. Are you still at work?’
‘No, Joel let us go after the last briefing, so I’ve just got home.’
‘How’s it going?’
Minshull’s groan was the twin to Cora’s earlier. ‘Everyone’s wrecked. I don’t know how we’re going to get through it, to be honest.’
‘I saw the news reports.’
‘Hmm. Flattering, weren’t they?’
‘Where did they get six bodies from?’
‘Who knows? It’s pretty telling when four brutally murdered corpses aren’t newsworthy enough for them. Look, I don’t want to keep you…’
‘It’s fine…’
‘Thanks. I was just thinking, the objects we found around the bodies this morning are likely to be held up for a while with Forensics before we get them back. They’ve got a backlog of stuff to test – the knife we found, clothing from the bodies, swabs taken from the scene. It all has to be looked at before they’ll get to the belongings.’
‘It sounds like a huge job,’ Cora replied, gazing out to sea.
‘It is. But rather than wait for the team to get to the objects found around the bodies, I wondered if you’d be up for inspecting them at the lab? You’ve viewed items before they’ve been tested in the past – this would be no different.’
Cora jogged to a nearby bench on the promenade, watching the strengthening path of sunlight stretching from the sunset across the waves towards her as she sat down. ‘When?’
‘Soon. We have the prospect of formal identifications happening tomorrow, so I need to attend to that first. But maybe the day after? Could you get away from work?’
Cora smiled against the phone, remembering Tris Noakes’ fulsome enthusiasm for her working on the new case. ‘It won’t be a problem. Tris says he’ll cover my caseload when I’m needed. I realise you can’t say exactly when, but as soon as it looks possible, let me know? I’d like to give Tris as much notice as I can.’
‘Of course. Thanks, Cora.’
Cora stretched her legs out, pushing her lower back against the bench seat to ease out a knot at the base of her spine. ‘No problem. Are you okay?’
There was a marked pause before Minshull replied. ‘Let’s just say I’m not stopping to think about it. Better to keep going, I reckon.’
Safer, maybe, Cora thought. Not necessarily better. But it was understandable given the pressure Minshull and the team must be under. Cora had found the prospect of being involved in the investigation daunting enough: she couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be as deep into it as Minshull was. ‘Try and rest if you can tonight,’ she said, knowing he probably wouldn’t. ‘And if you need to talk…’
‘Thanks, I appreciate that.’ His reply was genuine, but designed to gloss over what Cora had just said. ‘Anyway, I’ll let you carry on. Do a lap for me, yeah?’
‘You mean a slightly slower one than I’d do?’
‘Harsh. Probably fair, though.’
Cora smiled as she stood. ‘You just need more practice.’
‘Well, when the Evernam serial killer decides to hand themselves in, I’ll start coming back for Sunday runs with you.’
‘I’d like that. Have a good evening. Get some rest.’
‘Yes, mum…’ He paused, the line falling silent against the waves and gulls around the promenade. ‘I appreciate your help. Honestly. Have a good evening.’
Ending the call, Cora closed her eyes, filling her lungs with salt-sharp air. The prospect of what lay ahead both scared and thrilled her. But there would be time to consider it later. For now, her run was calling. Switching her phone off completely, she zipped it into her pocket and set off along the sun-gilded promenade once more.