Gavin shouldered his backpack and locked his car before setting a brisk pace across the car park outside the Archbishop’s Palace.
He eyed the CCTV cameras pointing at the fading paintwork of the parking bays, their position next to the streetlights that bathed the uneven surface providing a clear view of everyone passing by.
An involuntary shiver crossed his shoulders at the memory of watching himself being attacked under those same cameras a few years ago, and he shook his head to clear the thought.
His footsteps echoed off the centuries-old pavers under a stone arch, and then a stiff breeze buffeted him as he crossed the disused cobbled cart track between the Palace and All Saints’ Church. Flipping up his coat collar, he dodged around a pile of dog shit then hurried past the tilting gravestones that crowded the path when he saw the lights turn green at the pedestrian crossing.
He joined half a dozen commuters who shuffled onto a concrete island on the other side, and waited for the passing traffic to grind to a standstill while he eyed the red-brick exterior of Maidstone’s police station at the curve in the road a few metres away.
Until this morning, he hadn’t appreciated how compact the box-like structure was compared to Northfleet’s modern headquarters.
The darkened privacy glass peppering the upper floors stared blankly out across the cluttered skyline, smeared with grime from the passing nose-to-tail traffic that clogged Palace Avenue. Unlike the smooth rendered exterior of headquarters, the rough outer masonry seemed dull against neighbouring buildings.
Jogging over the crossing as soon as the lights changed, Gavin slowed his pace as he drew nearer, staring at his feet while he wondered what Sharp was saying to his team during his early morning briefing, and whether his absence would be noticed.
He hadn’t had time to explain his sudden departure to Paul Solomon, or the two uniformed constables he’d shared a corner of the incident room with, their desks cluttered by files and paperwork.
‘Morning, Gav.’
A familiar voice jolted him from his thoughts, and he raised his head to see Laura standing on the front steps of the station, grinning.
‘Hey.’ He smiled, held open the door for her and swiped his security card across the panel beside the front desk.
‘So, how was it over there?’ she asked once they were climbing the stairs up to the first floor. ‘Glad you’re back?’
‘Yeah, I am.’
She stopped on the landing, turning to him with a frown. ‘You don’t seem too sure about that.’
‘It’s different over there.’
‘In what way?’
‘It’s hard to explain.’ He paused a moment. ‘It’s good to be back among familiar faces, though.’
Laura reached out and lightly punched his arm. ‘We missed you too. Come on, otherwise we’ll be late.’
Kay was already standing beside the whiteboard when they walked into the incident room, and after storing his backpack under his desk Gavin wandered over to join her.
‘Morning, guv.’
‘Good to see you.’ She smiled, and he saw then how weary his mentor looked.
‘Sharp said you had something for me.’
‘Yes.’ She reached up and tapped one of the photographs pinned to the board. ‘This is Porter MacFarlane.’
‘The armourer who’s missing two rifles? Has anything turned up?’
‘No, and the search team came up empty-handed as well.’
‘Okay. What do you need?’
She folded her arms, lowering her voice. ‘I want you to look into Porter’s background. A deep dive. We’ve got all the obvious records to hand, things that had to be covered for his firearms certificates…’
‘But you think there’s something else.’
‘I don’t know.’ She sighed. ‘I could be completely wrong, but the fact that they have that many firearms and aren’t controlling their stock scares the living shit out of me, Gav. I mean, what else might be missing?’
‘Not being funny, guv, but Laura’s more than capable of doing this.’
‘She is, you’re right – but I need someone I can trust.’ She stopped, waiting until a gaggle of uniformed constables passed, then looked at the photograph again. ‘Adam knows Porter.’
‘Ah.’
‘They’re not friends or anything like that, but he does look after the deer herd, and Porter used to take his old springer spaniel over to the surgery. I’d like to keep that connection under wraps until we know more because otherwise––’
‘You’ll have to claim an interest in the investigation and hand it over to someone else.’
‘Exactly. And I’m not prepared to do that. Not yet.’
Gavin exhaled, his gaze moving to where Laura and Barnes sat at their desks, heads bowed while they worked through the first emails of the morning. ‘All right. Leave it with me. Do you want to give me something else to do during today’s briefing that I can use as a cover? Otherwise Laura’s going to want to know what I’m up to.’
Kay grinned. ‘Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure I can come up with something.’
‘I’ll bet.’ He turned to go.
‘Gav?’
‘Yes, guv?’
When he glanced over his shoulder, Kay was watching him, a wary look in her eye.
‘Did Bainbridge offer you a job over there?’
‘No.’
‘Let me know if she does. I’d like the chance to convince you otherwise.’