Maggie could smell the coffee even before she opened her eyes. Having her brother Andy living with her had some perks.
It was only 6am. Her sleep had been restless, as her brain had refused to shut down after seeing Kate last night. She hoped her friend would reconsider the offer of staying with her, but she wouldn’t push the idea.
Unless she had to.
Scrappy, her fluffy ginger cat, was curled up at the end of her bed, resting his big paw across her foot. ‘Sorry, boy. I’m getting up now.’ He stretched out and meowed in protest.
Maggie picked up the tracksuit bottoms she had thrown on the floor a few days ago. She had only worn them indoors so wasn’t too bothered that they were not fresh out of the wash. She pulled them on. Her T-shirt said SMILE but that was the last thing she felt like doing this morning.
‘Coffee time, Scrappy. You coming down for some brekkie?’ She walked out of her room knowing that she would hear a small thump as Scrappy jumped off the bed and followed her downstairs. He rarely missed an early breakfast call. She’d never found out where he had been when he’d gone missing some time ago. Maggie was still convinced that the serial killer, Bill Raven, had had something to do with her cat’s disappearance but couldn’t prove it. When Scrappy had reappeared, the vet had confirmed that he had some drug in him which had made him groggy but other than that, her cat was in good form. She was grateful for that as she was fond of the moggy, even though he could be a pain in the arse.
Maggie walked into the kitchen and yawned. ‘Morning. You’re up early, aren’t you?’
‘Sorry, did I wake you?’ Andy’s lips tensed.
‘Nah. I didn’t get much sleep last night if I’m honest. You look shattered. Everything OK?’ Maggie’s head tilted. Andy had dark circles under his eyes and was looking a bit pale.
‘Yeah. Just working some extra shifts is all. Taking its toll on me, I guess.’ Andy had been working overtime to put towards his savings. Maggie knew he was hoping to get enough money together to start his own business and move out. She hadn’t pressured him to leave, but understood that he needed his own space. He probably never thought he’d be living with his older sister at this stage in his life.
‘Well, don’t burn yourself out. You won’t do anyone any good if you get sick.’
‘Yes, Mum.’ He laughed. ‘Do you want a coffee?’
‘Yes, please. I’ll need as much caffeine as I can get. We have another case and I’ve a feeling I won’t be getting much sleep for a while.’
‘Oh shit! Already?’
‘Yeah. Sadly, these killers don’t think it’s fair to give us a break in between cases.’ She tried to smile, but she could tell from her brother’s frown that he wasn’t buying it.
‘Is this about that girl who was found in the park? I saw something on the news about it this morning. Do you think she was targeted because she was a Goth?’
‘Yes, that’s the case. We’ve no idea why she was targeted just yet. It’s still early days. But you’re right, it could be because of how she looked. There have been cases like that before, haven’t there?’ Maggie said this more to herself than to her brother as her mind ran over the few cases she was aware of in which Goths, or others whose appearances were different from the so-called norm, had been the focus of random, and sometimes brutal, attacks. She would discuss this with the team when she got into work.
‘Right, I’m off to have a shower. If I don’t see you before I go, have a good one and I’ll catch you later.’ Maggie headed upstairs feeling a bit better about things. The shower would clear the cobwebs. She’d call Kate when she arrived at the office to check that she had arranged extra security for her flat.