A half-drunk mug of tea, a tortoise shaped paperweight and a box of staples… each item held down the piles of paperwork which flapped under the gust of icy wind blasting in through Ruby’s office window. She wriggled her toes as she released them from the confines of her heels, enjoying the sensation of cool air on her skin. What she really needed was to go for a run, to push herself to the limit until her lungs burned, forcing her thoughts to become clear. But now, as she stared at the information on her computer screen she wondered how she was going to talk her way out of this one.
‘Are ya ailing for something? It’s like the Antarctic in here,’ Downes said, making her jump.
‘I just needed some air to clear my head.’ She reached over and pulled the window shut, silencing the flapping paper and returning her office to normality. Or, at least as normal as it could be given what she had just discovered.
‘You might want to take a look at this.’ Ruby pointed to the latest witness statement that had been uploaded to the system. ‘It turns out that Frances Crosby agrees with my theory. She’s provided us with a list of regular clients – sanitised to some degree – who used their services.’
Downes peered over her shoulder, squinting, as he scanned the list of names.
‘Some of these are well known. Is this document restricted?’
‘Yep. Visible only to you, me and DCI Worrow.’
She allowed the words to sink in as Downes scanned the list. She could feel his breath on her hair, and worry crawled over her like an errant spider as she waited for a reaction.
‘Ashley Baker,’ he said, finally. ‘Have you checked the phone number?’
The list comprised names and phone numbers, with little else. But that was all that was needed to link DC Ash Baker with the victims to date. ‘Yeah, and it matches the one on his file. It’ll take DCI Worrow all of two minutes to cross-reference it when she twigs. The only good thing is that the troops on the ground won’t know.’ Her team were working to breaking point. Something like this was bound to affect morale. She cursed Ash’s stupidity, and cursed herself for not picking up on his depression sooner.
Downes exhaled sharply. ‘Fuck!’
A knock on the door brought Ruby back to her senses, and she minimised the computer programme, trying not to look as if she had stumbled across some terrible secret. ‘Yes?’ she said, shoving her bare feet back into her shoes. It was Ash, the last person she wanted to see given what they had been discussing just seconds earlier. She prayed that Downes would not say anything, not yet.
Ruby imagined Frances Crosby gloating over the ripple effect that her statement would have caused. She had hinted often enough how they had infiltrated the police, and now the evidence was seared on the back of Ruby’s eyelids. Ash’s name and phone number in black and white. Was Ash Baker the prostitute killer? The question flashed up before her, taking her by surprise. Her thoughts sometimes did that. It was the side of her personality that wasn’t afraid to ask the question, the side that trusted nobody, not even her own colleagues.
‘Alright?’ Ash said, a concerned tone touching his voice. His eyes flickered to the computer monitor and back to Ruby. He must have known they were talking about him when he walked in.
‘Fine, sorry,’ she said, sweeping back an errant lock of hair from her eyes. ‘I was miles away. What is it?’
‘I was just asking if either of you wanted a cuppa tea. Luddy’s on the phone to the CPS, and I offered to get a round in.’
A tray of teas and coffees always preluded a call with the Crown Prosecution Service. Such consultations could take an hour or more to get through. The team’s cases didn’t just begin and end with the one they were working on, there was a never-ending backlog that demanded their attention too. There was never such a thing as a clear desk in the police, and an empty email inbox was unheard of. As Ruby declined his offer, she dismissed the thought that had taken her by surprise. Of course Ash had nothing to do with the murders. She had her suspect, now all she had to do was to find him. But a hint of doubt still lingered. She had been wrong once, could she be wrong again?
‘Is everything OK?’ Ash asked, pausing in the doorway. Ruby glanced at Downes, whose mouth was set in a thin hard line.
‘Yeah,’ Ruby said, forcing a smile, ‘just a discrepancy with the overtime figures. It’s sorted out now.’
Ash chortled. ‘Good, because I’m skint.’
‘Skint? You should be loaded, all the overtime you’ve been doing. What are you doing with it all?’ Downes said.
Ruby stiffened; she knew it was a dig. This needed to be handled properly. The last thing she wanted was a showdown between them.
But if Ash noticed the challenge in Downes’s voice, he did not acknowledge it. ‘Goes like sand through your fingers when you have kids.’ His words trailed away as he closed the door behind him.
‘That was close,’ Ruby said, plopping down in her chair. ‘Best not to say anything until we’ve worked out what to do with it.’
Downes exhaled loudly, and Ruby could see that the burden of information already lay heavy on his shoulders. He had known Ash a lot longer than her, and seemed shocked by what he knew.
‘He could lose his job over this – his pension, everything.’
‘You don’t need to tell me about dodgy acquaintances,’ Ruby said. ‘I do my best to keep out of trouble but sometimes water and oil mix.’
‘Hmm,’ Downes said, ‘they do.’
‘You don’t think Ash knows anything about the murders, do you?’ Ruby said, finally spitting out the words bouncing around in her brain.
‘No, that’s not him.’
Ruby folded her arms as she spun around in her chair to face him. ‘That’s exactly what I’ve been saying about Nathan. Funny, isn’t it? How you can change your perspective when it comes to someone you know.’ But their camaraderie was short-lived as both Ruby’s desk phone and Downes’s mobile rang in tandem. She grabbed the handset, keeping one eye on Downes. Her heart sank as she received the information from control. There was another murder – and it was the last person she expected.