Lynda La Plante: Backlash

‘Is Mike in?’

‘He’s gone to Wandsworth Prison with Paul Barolli so he may be some time yet. I can let him know you called in.’

‘That’s okay, I’m not in a rush.’

Joan began to mark up notes on the incident board, assuming Anna had popped in to speak with Mike Lewis.

‘You going to introduce me?’ Anna asked.

‘Oh sorry, ma’am, yes of course. Everyone, this is DCI Anna Travis.’

Joan introduced her to two clerical staff and three DCs attached to the case, adding that DC Barbara Maddox was having breakfast. Anna had worked with Joan, Barbara and Paul on four previous cases. With Mike heading up the investigation she wondered how the team would react to her taking over the Rebekka Jordan investigation.

‘What’s the canteen like?’

‘Good. You want a coffee?’

‘If you’re having one, yes thank you.’

‘Want anything with it, teacake, toast?’

‘Nope, just coffee.’

In the canteen Barbara was gossiping with a colleague as Joan joined them.

‘You are not going to believe it. DCI Travis is upstairs in the incident room.’

‘What’s she want?’ Barbara said as she squirted tomato ketchup over her poached eggs and tomato.

‘Come to see Mike Lewis, didn’t say why.’

‘Langton was on the phone earlier, kept going on and on about his knee surgery. He left a message for Mike to contact him, but didn’t mention Travis. She’s in charge of that specialist unit so it must have come from him, you know how friendly those two were.’

Joan nodded in agreement. ‘She looks well. It was terrible what happened to her. I often think about it, you know. One minute you’re congratulating her on getting engaged and then the next minute he’s been murdered.’

‘She’s worked a couple of cases since then,’ Barbara pointed out.

‘I know, I know, I was just saying how it affected me, and she was straight back to work. I wouldn’t have been able to cope at all. Langton had to tell her, you know, he got the call at the station. I will never forget that day. You okay for coffee? I’m taking one up to her.’

Barbara gave a sarcastic cooing sound and then leaned close to whisper, ‘Bringing her in over Mike’s head is going to cause problems, believe me – he’s anxious enough as it is.’

‘It’s rare but I have worked with two DCIs on the same case before. And let’s face it, we’ve no further details about the other two cases we’ve now got to work on.’

‘Well I’m just saying her presence isn’t going to help matters.’

‘I’ll get her coffee then we’d better get back up there. You know what she’s like, God forbid we start off on the wrong foot with her.’

‘I haven’t finished my breakfast,’ Barbara said.

‘I’m sure that’s all you’re worried about, Barbara, you just want to stir it up. I’ve always got along with her and I know why you haven’t.’

‘What?’

‘You were always jealous of her relationship with Langton. How often have you run to the canteen for his chicken toastie, picking out the tomatoes because he hates them?’

Barbara refused to rise to the bait, sliding her unfinished plate to one side and walking off with a foul expression on her face. Sometimes Joan really pushed it with her.

Anna was studying the mug shots of Henry Oates. Langton had said that he had no idea what Oates looked like. The man had a very unpleasant expression. His hair was a dirty blond, very thick and wiry. He had wide-set pale blue eyes and a boxer’s face; the bridge of his nose in profile was very flat and saddle-shaped, but turned up at the end with pig-like nostrils. His mouth was very narrow and turned downwards, and, like a petulant child, he glared into the camera lens.

‘Unpleasant-looking, isn’t he?’ Anna said, as Barbara and Joan walked into the office.

‘He’s even nastier in the flesh; his skin’s very pale – redhead’s skin with freckles,’ Barbara replied as Anna turned and glared at her.

‘No offence, ma’am. You’ve got red hair, but you don’t have that coloured skin.’

Anna chose to ignore Barbara’s acerbic comment. ‘Is he fit? You can’t tell from the mug shots,’ Anna asked as Joan handed over her coffee.

‘Wiry, with big shovel-like hands. Barolli said he stinks like a skunk and lived in squalor like an animal,’ Joan replied as she moved along the board to point out the photographs taken from Oates’s basement flat.

‘So you joining the team, are you?’ Barbara asked.

‘I don’t think that’s a matter that concerns you, DC Maddox.’

Barbara, having been put in her place, trudged over to her desk as Joan told Anna how well she looked.

‘Thank you. How’s your mother?’

Joan pulled a face. ‘Same as usual, nothing is ever good enough for her. She’s got me waiting on her hand and foot, but she’s got meals on wheels delivering her lunches. She doesn’t really go out any more, her focus in life is the TV, and I got Sky for her so she’s got enough channels to keep her happy.’

Anna asked if the HOLMES computer in Mike Lewis’s office was live and linked to their case, and on being informed that it was she picked up the Jordan files along with her briefcase and said that she had some work to catch up on while she waited for Mike’s return from Wandsworth. She had contemplated revealing that she would now be heading up the Rebekka Jordan investigation but felt it would be rude not to speak with Mike personally before informing the team together.

Anna was looking at Henry Oates’s details on the computer and noting that there was little known about him other than his age, date of birth, current address and that he was divorced with an ex-wife and two kids who now all lived in Scotland. She did not see DCI Mike Lewis enter the main office, but Barbara did, and from her desk she watched his reaction as he opened his office door.

‘Travis.’

Anna looked up and smiled. ‘Hi, Mike. How’s it going?’

‘I’m fine. How’s things with you?’

‘Great, thanks. I hope you don’t mind me using your desk. I needed computer access to your investigation so I could get up to speed.’

Mike was wrong-footed, but made no reference to the fact he was surprised to see her, and even more surprised when she had implied she was on the team. Tight-lipped, he hung up his coat and drew the blinds down as his office window looked out into the incident room.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked in a brusque manner.

Anna immediately realised that Langton had not, as he had promised, spoken to Lewis.

‘I got a call from Langton about the Rebekka Jordan investigation.’

‘Yes, and…?’

‘He said he’d ring you.’

‘About what exactly?’ Mike asked as he pulled up a chair and sat opposite her. Anna could clearly see that he was upset.

‘First off, Mike, let me make it clear that I’ve been put in an awkward situation here. Langton had already spoken to the Commander about me coming on board so my hands were tied…’

‘Can you get to the point, please, Anna?’ Mike asked.

‘As you know, Langton dealt with the original investigation and in his usual obsessive way wants a result. Some closure for the Jordan family, and I agreed to reinvestigate only if you were happy about it.’

‘Well this is all news to me and, to be honest, it’s sort of pulled the rug from under me slightly. If he was unhappy about the way I’ve been conducting my investigation-’

Anna, wanting to diffuse the situation, interrupted him. ‘Mike, he’s not. He feels that you have too much on your plate running all three investigations together. To ease your workload he wants me to look at the Jordan case and you to deal with Fidelis Flynn and see what similarities we find that may link Oates to their disappearance and murder.’