Maggie looked at the address details Bethany had left on her desk that morning. ArrowRoot agency was within walking distance of Markston Police Station. After clocking in at work, Maggie and Nathan grabbed a pool car and headed to the agency to see what they could find out. On the drive, she wanted to pick his brain while she had him to herself. Her thinking was that without the walls listening, he may be more forthcoming.
‘Do you have any idea who we’ll be getting to replace you? Will it be a PC or another DC?’ Maggie wasn’t holding her breath for a reply. Since taking on the DS post, Nathan had become very much a closed book and she was struggling to deal with that at times. When they’d been equal partners, they’d told each other everything. It was one of the reasons why he knew how important it was for Maggie to keep Kate safe. Nathan knew exactly what her feelings for the doctor were.
‘Even if I did know, the guv made it clear that she’ll keep us informed.’
‘OK. OK.’ She held her hands up. ‘I just wondered if Kat was being considered … that’s all.’
‘Kat Everett? I thought she was still with the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit.’
‘Well, technically she is but she’s been fast-tracked down the DC route, and rumour has it the DAHU will be disbanded and absorbed into the Integrated Offender Management Unit, the IOM.’ Maggie tapped her nose. ‘I hear things, you know.’
Nathan laughed. ‘OK, Sherlock. Even if that were true, they may already have a placement for Kat. Let’s just trust the guv to get us the best person for the job, eh? We’ll park at Markston station and walk from there. I don’t want to be there all day.’
They arrived at the agency and Maggie scanned the open-plan area. The men and women were all very young and some reminded her of those dodgy salespeople in pinstriped suits you would avoid if you were just looking around. A woman greeted them.
‘Welcome to ArrowRoot – if you could take one of these each, sit down over there and fill in as much detail as possible, someone will be with you shortly.’ She handed them both a clipboard with a form to complete.
Maggie took Nathan’s and handed them back to the woman. ‘Sorry, we should have introduced ourselves first. My name is DC Maggie Jamieson, and this is DS Nathan Wright.’ They each held up their ID. ‘We’re actually here to talk to the manager. We need some information.’
The woman’s cheeks went red. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I just assumed you were here to register with the agency. Follow me, please. I’ll see if my manager is free.’
All eyes were on them as they passed rows of desks and were led to the back of the building. Two offices were hidden behind large room dividers. Maggie guessed this was to provide some level of privacy. There was an office with a very large window just beyond that. It looked like that was the room they were heading to.
The woman tapped on the door and asked Maggie and Nathan to wait while she talked to her manager. Maggie noticed the man frown when he looked at them but then he smiled – one of those smiles that doesn’t reach the eyes.
‘Officers. Please come in. How can I help you today?’
‘Thank you for seeing us. We’ll get right to the point as we know you’re busy. Were you aware that two people who were registered with your agency have recently been murdered?’ Nathan didn’t sugar-coat the situation.
The man sputtered the coffee he had just taken a sip of. Droplets of brown liquid ended up on his shirt, but he didn’t seem too bothered. ‘Erm … I’d heard about the murders on the news, and that explains all the whispers around the water cooler, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate that I don’t personally know everyone who’s registered here.’ He must have realized how he came across as he then added, ‘Terrible news. The poor families of those women. But what does this have to do with my agency?’
‘Well, it could be nothing at all, which is why we’re hoping you’ll cooperate. We’d like to eliminate any links to the agency as soon as possible from our line of enquiry. Could you provide us with a list of people who registered here six months before the victims, Ms Holloway and Ms Gilbey, registered, and anyone new who registered up until five weeks ago?’ Maggie waited for a reply.
‘Don’t you need a warrant for that? We take GDPR very seriously here and can’t just give out people’s private details.’
‘Yes. We understand and we’ll have a warrant shortly. In fact, DC Jamieson – can you just call in and see how far we are with obtaining it?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Maggie left the room and called Bethany. Bethany confirmed that the warrant had been granted and she would scan a copy over to them. Returning to the room, she opened the handheld computer device issued to police officers. ‘It’s right here …’ She showed the manager the warrant. ‘A paper copy will be provided to you shortly, but in the meantime, can you provide us with that list, please?’
‘Well, that could take a bit of time. I’m busy here.’
‘We appreciate that, but the sooner we have the list, the sooner we can leave.’ Maggie didn’t like this guy’s tone.
‘Fine.’ He tutted and went over to his computer. Within ten minutes he had the list and printed them a copy.
‘Your cooperation is appreciated.’ Taking the list, the pair left the agency and collected Nathan’s car from Markston Police Station. Maggie couldn’t figure out why the manager had been so difficult.
Maybe he had his own secrets to hide.