When Lucy wakes up, her neck is so painful she can hardly turn her head. She has slept badly, which she often does at the beginning of a case when her mind is so full of information. Taking care not to wake Charlie, she creeps into the bathroom, swallows a couple of Panadol and has a quick shower before going through to the kitchen to make scrambled eggs and bacon. It is a Saturday, after all – she might be working but she’s allowed a decent breakfast.
Before she leaves, Lucy slips into Polly’s bedroom and stands next to the bed, looking down at her sleeping daughter. Polly’s hair is all mussed up on the pillow and her thumb is next to her mouth as if she has only just removed it. Resisting the urge to kiss Polly’s night-warmed cheek, Lucy turns to the bookshelf behind her and pulls out a book before retreating to the sitting room. Daisy Gets Lost by Nicky Butler. She looks at the cover for a moment, and then flicks slowly through the pages. It is hard to imagine that the woman she saw lying dead on the carpet yesterday morning, the woman who had been subjected to some terrible violence, is the same person who created this gentle story.
Lucy arrives at the station before John and takes a few minutes to review what little information they have gleaned so far. Basically, not very much. They have been frustrated by the lack of access to the two things they need most – the phone records and the CCTV footage from Stockwell Tube. According to Matt, the station manager had been very helpful but the tapes from Thursday night had already been requested by officers from Brixton, who were also dealing with a murder: the stabbing that Matt had told her about yesterday. That was going to delay things by at least a day or two.
When John arrives clutching a takeaway coffee, he also looks as if he hasn’t slept well, but compared to the previous day he is clean and tidy and the scent of aftershave follows him into his office. Either he had read her thoughts about his appearance yesterday morning or the anticipation of a new case has jazzed him up a bit. Just as she’s about to call out to him, her phone rings.
‘Detective Sergeant Burton.’
John is looking at her through the glass partition and opens his eyes at her, questioningly.
A minute later, Lucy pops her head round the door.
‘Morning, boss. Colin Butler wants to know when his mother can see the body.’
‘Ah, right. Tell him it will probably be this afternoon, but you need to check with Jim first. We’ll call him back as soon as we know for sure.’
Lucy makes a few more calls, scribbling notes on her pad as she speaks, the phone cradled against her chin. When she has finished, she buzzes John.
‘Jim says they should be able to remove the body by one o’clock,’ she tells him. ‘They’ve nearly finished on the ground floor.’
‘Have they found anything of interest?’
‘Nothing earth-shattering, but definitely a few possible leads.’
‘That’s good. Call Colin Butler and tell him to come here at three and one of us will take them to the mortuary after the Scotts have been.’
Lucy can envisage a depressing afternoon looming ahead of them. Nicky Scott’s mother is bound to be in a terrible way, and James Scott has the miserable task of identifying his wife’s body. She shakes her head as if to rid herself of any negative thoughts.
‘One more thing,’ she says.
‘What is it?’
‘We’ve cancelled the barbecue this evening but will reschedule when things calm down a bit.’
‘No problem. That’ll be something to look forward to.’