At the property in Oswestry several hours later, they had drilled a number of test holes in the garden and examined the dirt, soil and dust, with no trace of human remains. It had been a long shot, anyway. They couldn’t go around digging up every place the Corrigans had lived or worked. The fact is, Reece Corrigan had ample opportunity and more than enough means to dispose of anyone he wanted. His company had been involved in so many construction jobs over the years that they could have hidden a body on any one of them. The chances were that they would never find Clive Osborne’s remains. But it had been worth a shot. At least they’d tried.
Back at the car they waited for the Parkins to close the door before pulling away. Imogen looked at the clock: it was after ten. Walsh was driving this time. It was only fair and he insisted. Even though she preferred to drive, it was possible he preferred it, too. At least this way she might be able to get some sleep.
‘What now, then?’ Imogen said, trying to cram the work talk in before she nodded off.
‘We’ll have to put some more pressure on Jimmy Chilton, see if he can be a bit more forthcoming with the information.’
‘Do you think that will work?’
‘We already know that he never worked alongside Osborne and so I don’t see how he can help us with that. He might have more information on Glover, though.’
‘He definitely knows more than he is letting on. It always amazes me how many people are complicit in domestic abuse.’
‘It’s hard to get involved, I guess. You don’t want to make things worse. It’s one thing to suspect something and another entirely to out and out accuse someone.’
‘Is that what it is?’ Imogen asked. ‘Or are people just more worried about looking after their own shit?’
‘I suspect there is some of that, too.’
‘It’s so frustrating.’
‘So, now I guess it’s my turn to ask you a question.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You asked me some questions before and now I want to ask you something.’
‘What is it you want to ask me?’
‘What do you think will happen when the DCI figures out that you and DS Miles are in a relationship together?’
At least that answered that question. Maybe she and Adrian weren’t as discreet as they thought they were.
‘Excuse me?’ Imogen responded.
‘That’s assuming she hasn’t figured it out already.’
‘Did she say something to you?’
‘Not to me, but it’s obvious. Maybe she was waiting for it to peter out. These things happen a lot within the force. You’re not the first.’
‘Adrian has volunteered to transfer,’ she said, almost like a boast, as though he should know that they had discussed it like adults already.
‘So, he should probably do that.’
‘Why doesn’t she like team members dating? It’s not against policy.’
‘It’s not my story to tell, I’m afraid, but if she knows you’re together then she will partner you both up with other people. It just keeps things simpler on call-outs.’
‘Have you ever been in a relationship with someone on your team?’
‘This isn’t about me,’ Walsh replied.
‘So that’s a yes, then. You know what it’s like – you work with someone day in and day out and you have no social life. Your world revolves around the job. People need other people. It’s just a basic human thing. We certainly never intended for it to happen.’
‘But it has happened. I just wanted to let you know that it hasn’t gone unnoticed.’
Imogen wished this conversation wasn’t happening right now. She was trapped in the car with DI Walsh and as friendly as this conversation was, it was almost certainly a reprimand.
‘Is that why DCI Kapoor has suggested that I work primarily with you?’
‘I told you, she hasn’t said anything to me, but I would say that’s a safe bet, yes.’
‘Shit!’ she swore.
‘I’m just giving you a heads-up, DS Grey. You work with detectives, someone was bound to notice. As long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone’s ability to do their job, she will turn a blind eye. These last few weeks have been quite tense, though, and after the way this case is playing out—’
‘That’s got nothing to do with our relationship.’
‘Maybe not, but if Adrian was working with another officer, maybe he wouldn’t feel able to cultivate this anger of his.’
‘So, it’s my fault?’
‘I’m just saying if he was with, say … me, he would remember he was working, that his personal feelings don’t come into it.’
‘Are you going to talk to the DCI about it?’
‘Only if she speaks to me first. I’m not the enemy, Grey. I’m trying to give you some advice here.’
‘OK. I appreciate you being honest with me. I guess DS Miles and I need to have another talk about the future. It doesn’t feel like a fling, so we need to figure out a way to move forwards.’
‘He could just move to another team and you would still see each other at the station, as well as at home.’
‘I can’t make the decisions for him, and this is a discussion for me and him to have, anyway. I’m sorry if we put you in a difficult position.’
‘I’m not worried about me. Like I said before, these things happen a lot.’
‘Well, I’m tired. I’m going to shut my eyes for a minute, if that’s all right with you,’ Imogen said before the conversation got even further away from her.
She should have known people had figured it out. Somewhere inside she already did. Would she even tell Adrian, or let him think that no one was any the wiser? She had hoped to keep it quiet until they had figured out what kind of relationship this was, it still felt too early to go public. She didn’t want to keep secrets from him, but at the moment she had no idea how he would handle the news. He really wasn’t himself.
She leaned against the glass and crossed her arms. It was cold in the car, but she didn’t mind it that way. It occurred to her that maybe Walsh had started that difficult conversation to avoid talking to her for the rest of the journey. Was he that smart?
The catseyes on the motorway blinked past her like the tick of a clock, each around a second apart. She started to count in her head, mostly to stop herself from thinking about the dilemma she was faced with. Same shit, different day. The man or the job. She couldn’t have both.