‘I’ve got something,’ Rory said, slamming the phone down and jumping up.
‘Well don’t go spreading it around the office,’ Sian said without looking up from her desk.
‘No, listen. I’ve spoken to Elizabeth Ward. Katie Reaney’s probation officer. A few months ago, her car was broken into and, among other things, her laptop was stolen. It had encrypted files of her clients on it.’
Suddenly everyone in the room was paying attention.
‘Go on,’ Sian said.
‘That’s it.’
Sian sighed. ‘If the files are encrypted they won’t be able to be opened by someone who doesn’t have the password. They should be able to tell if they’ve been accessed, and where. Didn’t you find that out?’
‘Erm …’
‘That’s a no, I’m guessing.’
‘I said I’d pop round and see her later this afternoon.’
‘Ask the right questions this time, Rory. Also, find out where the car was when it was broken into. There could still be a chance of CCTV footage.’
***
‘You’d think in this day and age CCTV footage would be clearer than that,’ Sian moaned as, an hour later, she and Rory were watching a grainy image on an iPad. ‘My Stuart’s colonoscopy was clearer.’
‘Eww, you’ve seen your husband’s colonoscopy?’ Rory wrinkled his face in disgust.
‘We have no secrets.’
The car park where the laptop was stolen no longer had the footage. However, as it was a reported crime, and the case was still active, the video was still in the hands of the police. It was obvious Elizabeth’s Alfa Romeo had been the target. The hooded figure on the film entered the open-air car park, walked past several more expensive cars, then chose the 2004 Romeo. He hovered by the back of the car for a few minutes, head almost down at the ground, before swiftly smashing the back window, grabbing a briefcase, a coat, and a carrier bag of shopping, and running off into the distance.
‘Replay it,’ Sian said.
Rory started the short film again.
‘What’s in the carrier bag?’ Sian asked.
‘A few items she’d bought from Marks & Spencer. Apparently, she’d been to do a bit of shopping, then when she got back to her car, she realized she hadn’t been to the bank. She was gone less than ten minutes.’
‘Is there any chance we can zoom in on the bloke?’
‘We can, but it won’t be any clearer. Just a bigger blur.’
They both squinted at the robber.
‘What do you think?’ Sian asked.
‘Well he’s slim, and tall-ish. White, I’d say. I really don’t know.’
‘Me neither.’
‘Any other cars broken into in the vicinity?’ Sian said, stepping away from the iPad and rubbing her eyes.
‘No. None. Well, not that day, anyway.’
‘So Elizabeth Ward could have been followed and the robber struck when he found the best opportunity. Any joy on the encryption?’
‘Unfortunately, yes. It turns out encryption was a polite way of saying she had a password on her laptop. As it was Ward1962, I don’t think the killer would have taken long to access her files.’
‘Bloody hell, should she be working as a probation officer?’
‘I thought that too.’
Scott came bounding into the room with a grin on his face like an excitable puppy. ‘Rory, Rory, grab your phone.’
‘Why, what’s up?’
‘Just do it, come on.’ He beckoned Rory over.
‘Whatever it is you two are doing, I don’t want to know about it,’ Sian said, putting her arms up and walking away.
Rory ran to the door, snatching his phone from his desk. Scott stopped him as they reached the corridor and held him back.
‘Just look around the corner, carefully,’ he said, almost whispering.
Rory did as he was told. He held up his phone and took a picture. ‘Brilliant. We’ve got it.’
‘Got what?’ Sian asked.
‘I didn’t think you were interested.’
‘I’m not,’ she replied, lips pursed.
‘Yes, you are,’ Rory teased.
‘Oh, all right,’ she relented, too easily.
‘Look, it’s Faith kissing Steve Harrison,’ Rory said, showing her his phone.
‘Aww, that’s quite sweet.’ Sian smiled.
‘I’m texting this to the boss. It’ll cheer her up.’
‘You wouldn’t have put them two together, would you?’ Scott asked, taking a Snickers from Sian’s snack drawer.
‘Why not?’ Sian asked.
‘I don’t mean it in a negative way. I just always thought Faith would go for a DI or something.’
Sian sat back in her chair. A small smile appeared on her lips. ‘When I was a PC, well, we were called WPCs in those days, I went out with a DS for a while. It was the talk of the station. DS Clive Maybury. He was a handsome bloke, gorgeous eyes.’ Suddenly remembering where she was she looked at Rory and Scott, who seemed to be hanging on her every word. She cleared her throat and went back to her work.
‘You can’t just leave it like that. What happened? Did you get married?’ Rory asked.
‘Yes, Rory, we got married. Only don’t tell my husband and four kids,’ she replied with heavy sarcasm. ‘Of course we didn’t get married, Rory. It was just a fling, eventually, it, you know, flung.’
‘What happened to this DS Maybury?’ Scott asked.
Sian’s face dropped. ‘He was gunned down in an armed robbery, just off the Wicker. Sawn-off shotgun. He got both barrels in the chest and was dead before he hit the ground.’
‘Oh, Sian, I’m so sorry,’ Scott said.
‘We’d broken up long before then, but, well, it took a while to get over.’
A silence descended on the two DCs while they took in the tragic turn of Sian’s story. She looked at them both; their faces were aimed at the floor. ‘Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with PC Harrison. He’s a good copper. He’s always the first to volunteer when it comes to going into schools to talk to young kids about the dangers of drugs and staying safe online. Better-looking than you two, as well.’ Sian smiled.
‘Fancy him yourself, do you?’ Rory teased.
‘I’m old enough to be his mother. Get on with your work.’
They went back to their desks as Faith came into the office. She had just passed Rory’s desk when he stopped her.
‘What?’ she asked.
He stared intently at her face, as if studying her. ‘There’s something different about you.’
‘Is there?’ She frowned. ‘In what way?’
‘I don’t know.’ He squinted and leaned close to her. Suddenly, he sat back and smiled. ‘No, nothing, it’s OK. I thought you had a PC on your lips.’
Rory and Scott started laughing. Even Sian lowered her head to hide her smirk. Faith blushed.
‘Who told you?’ Faith asked.
‘Nobody,’ Rory replied with a huge grin on his face.
‘It was Kesinka, wasn’t it? She promised. Well, if you’re looking for gossip, Rory, here’s something for you – Kesinka has been dating Ranjeet since Christmas.’
‘What?’ Scott gasped.
‘You’re joking!’ Sian called out.
As if her name had summoned her, Kesinka entered the room. She stopped when she saw all eyes turned to her. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, a look of worry on her face.
‘You never mentioned you were going out with Ranjeet,’ Scott said.
‘You told!’ she admonished, glaring directly at Faith. ‘You said you wouldn’t.’
‘You told Rory about me and Steve.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Rory saw you in the corridor, Faith,’ Sian said. ‘Just now. He and Scott were behaving like schoolgirls.’
‘Oh. I’m so sorry, Kes.’
‘So we’ve got two romances going on,’ Rory said, rubbing his hands together.
‘Yes. All we need is for you and Scott to admit you’re dating and everyone’s hooked up and happy,’ Faith said.
Kesinka laughed. ‘I think we should get a hashtag trending on Twitter. What do you think Faith, #Scory or #Rorott?’
‘Definitely #Scory. I’m on it,’ she said, walking to her desk with a spring in her step.
Rory and Scott both blushed and turned away. Sian smiled. She loved working with this team so much.
Danny Hanson’s mobile phone was ringing. As his hand’s free still wasn’t working, he pulled over before answering. The last thing he wanted was to be arrested for using his phone while driving. He guessed the police would like nothing better than to get him off the streets for a few hours, especially if Kate Stephenson ran the story she was planning about Matilda Darke.
The caller had withheld their number. Danny guessed it was the Hangman. He made sure the doors were locked and took a deep breath before answering.
‘Hello,’ he’d tried to sound confident and brash, but his shaking voice betrayed him.
‘Another bit of news for you; a man has been found hanging in Matilda Darke’s house. As much as I would love to claim this one, I’m afraid I can’t. Shame.’
The call ended.
Danny sat in silence as he absorbed this latest piece of information. Was it correct? Why wasn’t the killer taking the credit? Did that mean there was a copycat? A second killer on the loose? Blood seemed to be flowing on the streets of Sheffield. Danny kept wondering why the killer hadn’t called one of the national newspapers and got instant fame. He shook his worries from his mind and dialled Kate’s mobile. By the time she answered he had forgotten his doubts and was back in journalist mode again.
‘Boss, it’s happened again. I’ve got some front-page news for you.’