CHAPTER SEVEN

 

For Kate, the rest of the day was a never-ending blur of report writing and meetings, and it wasn’t until around four o’clock that she remembered that she and David had some problems of their own to sort out.

With a heavy heart, she allowed her self to forget work for a moment, and consider what she was going to say to her husband. It was a double-edged sword; she loved him and the boys with all her heart, but she also loved her job with a rare passion. And even she realised that that put incredible strain on their relationship.

‘You look all in.’

Kate had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t heard Jon enter her office. ‘Yeah,’ she stretched and sighed. ‘I think the little grey cells are going into melt down with all this paperwork.’

Jon gave her a knowing smile. ‘I’m willing to bet that long face has nothing to do with paperwork.’ He sat opposite her. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Just be grateful that you are un-attached,’ she said with a humourless laugh. ‘This evening I have to endure yet another in-house discussion regarding David’s role as house husband. And I’m not exactly looking forward to it.’ She glanced at Jon’s face and saw a strange expression there. It had appeared as soon as she mentioned him being single, and there was still a hint of it even now. A sadness? Regret? What else didn’t she know about Sergeant Jon Summerhill?

‘I’m guessing he wants to go back to work?’ The odd look vanished, and once again Jon seemed only interested in her.

‘I thought we’d sorted it, but clearly I was wrong. David thinks it’s time for the whole house-husband thing to be scaled down.’ Kate pulled an exasperated face. ‘And I don’t blame him, but…,’ she shrugged. ‘…basically we disagree on how and when we should allow the boys to fend for themselves.’

Jon screwed up his brow, ‘So Marcus is fourteen and a half now, and Eddie is eighteen months younger?’

Kate nodded. ‘And I don’t think that either of them is ready to have their stability taken away. Especially Eddie.’ She thought about her lovely, messed up son, who had spent most of his young life battling with OCD, and her heart lurched. For all the occasions when she had berated herself about trying to juggle being a mother and holding down a high powered job, the thought of Eddie made everything worthwhile.

‘How’s he doing? You told me that he joined an on-line chat group for kids.’ Jon sat back in the chair.

‘Eddie’s good. The group really helps, but since he started Cognitive Behavioural Therapy his school work has improved no end, and the SSRI medication is really suiting him. Another reason why I don’t want to upset the status quo.’

‘I can understand that.’ He raised an eyebrow at her. ‘But maybe you could compromise? Perhaps you could talk David into seeing you through to the Shauna Kelly investigation, and then you re-negotiate? Maybe suggest he goes part-time for a while? Would he consider that, do you think?’

Kate nodded slowly. ‘His old company have already approached him with that in mind. I suppose that could be the answer, once this case is put to bed.’ And when would that be she wondered. At this point they didn’t even know for certain if they had a case, but if Shauna had been murdered, Marcus could be planning his gap year by the time she got her cuffs out. ‘It’s certainly worth a thought. Maybe I’ll put it to David tonight.’ She straightened up. ‘But enough of my petty domestic dramas.’

‘They aren’t petty, ma’am. I’ve known far too many relationships buckle because of the police force. Not many people get the balance right.’

‘True.’ She could name a bucketful of broken marriages and she did not want to become one of them. ‘Well, I’ll give tonight my best shot, although I may need a very large glass of wine to accomplish that task without losing it.’

‘Whatever it takes. Just make it work.’ There was urgency in his voice, and a wistful hint of something lost.

Kate said nothing but secretly wondered if it were connected to the strange look of sadness when she had said he was un-attached. It was certainly nothing that he’d ever spoken of before, but whatever it was, it seemed to make him determined that she didn’t cock her life up.

‘Thing is..,’ he continued’ ‘I reckon we coppers get things out of perspective, because of what we do and what we deal with, we forget that there’s another world out there, one full of love and fun and spontaneity. Don’t lose sight of that, just because of this job. We’ll still be around long after the Force has retired us to the scrap heap.’

‘And when did you turn into the Dali Lama?’ Her eyes were wide.

He gave a short bark of laughter and broke the moment. ‘Sorry. I just know how driven you can be, but you do have another little world back in the Old Police House in Saltpan Village, and it’s equally as important as all this.’ He looked at her and the intensity returned to his eyes. ‘I believe that it’s the breakdown of family units that causes most of the misery that we see. Even things like that massacre on Dovegate Lane.’

‘Jon! For heaven’s sake! I’m going home for a hot supper, a glass of wine and a heart to heart with my husband! Even if it all goes tits up, I’m not going to take a machete to my family and bury them in the cellar!’ She pulled a face. ‘Even though I do have a very suitable and more than adequate cellar.’

‘Sorry!’ He held up his hands in mock surrender. ‘Sermon over! I promise to shut up.’

Kate stood up. ‘Please do, and in return, I’ll stop whinging. Bargain?’

‘Bargain.

‘Right, now why don’t you get away early tonight? Tomorrow we should know if we have a new murder investigation or not.’

‘Maybe I will for once..,’ Jon got up and ambled to the door. ‘…because whatever transpires, we still have a difficult case. Shauna’s death is undoubtedly suspicious until we prove or disprove it otherwise.’  He stopped mid-stride. ‘Hey, I forgot.’ He grinned at her. ‘Did the super buy your explanation about the finding of Jamie Durham’s murder weapon?’

Kate raised her eyebrows high. ‘Not in a month of Sundays! But short of accusing me of planting it personally, she’s had to accept it. Even if she did make a caustic comment that our team has the luck of the devil, or maybe we own a crystal ball?’

‘Mm, close.’ Jon chuckled. ‘But we won’t be able to use the rambler with the missing cocker spaniel again, will we?’

‘Dead right. And I’m running out of excuses.’

‘Ma-am?’

Kate looked up and saw Rosie McElderry striding towards her.

‘Uniform has got a match on the man in the CCTV footage, the one talking to Shauna Kelly.’

Both she and Jon stopped in their tracks. ‘Who is he? Do we know him?’

‘His name is Asher Leyton. He’s not actually known to us, but he has been warned a couple of times for curb-crawling.’ Rosie said thoughtfully. ‘Which doesn’t bode well, does it?’

No, thought Kate. It doesn’t. The next step up from hassling women on the street, was taking them away. ‘Have they got an address for him, Rosie?’

‘Yes, Guv.’ The detective stared at the memo. ‘Granary Court on Norfolk Street. The Garden Flat. Posh pad for a pervert.’

With a glance at her watch and a brief thought for her impending talk with David, Kate said, ‘Cancel that early night, sergeant. I think we should go and have a word with Mr Asher Leyton, don’t you?’