Питер Джеймс - Left You Dead

He parked behind the Major Crime building, then went into his office to check his email for any updates and, out of force of habit, the overnight serials — all the logged crime reports in the county.

Then at 8.50 a.m., wondering what awaited him, but surprised how relaxed he felt about what could be a career-changing meeting in ten minutes’ time, he stepped back out into glorious warm sunshine. As he did so, his private phone pinged. It was a text from Cleo.

Thinking of you XXX

He texted three hearts back, then headed down the hill towards the rear entrance of Malling House, which housed the Sussex Police brass and their key support staff.

As he approached, he was puzzled by the sight of two unfamiliar vehicles, dark-coloured Audi A6s, parked up outside the building. He clocked their licence plates, but neither were familiar, and he knew from memory the indexes of pretty much all of the local unmarked cars.

He walked past them and was about to enter the door when a burly man in a grey suit came through it. He was followed by Cassian Pewe, his face chalky white, then another tall man in a blue suit bringing up the rear.

‘Good morning, sir!’ Grace said to Pewe breezily. ‘I’m here for our—’

The ACC walked past stonily, without acknowledging him.

An instant later, the man in the grey suit opened the rear door of one of the Audis. As Pewe entered the side behind the passenger seat, the burly man pushed the ACC’s head down protectively. Then he closed the door. Blue Suit opened the door on the far side, slid in behind the driver’s seat and pulled the door shut.

Grey Suit then climbed into the driver’s seat. The car glided away, down towards the main entrance barrier, which rose as it approached. Then it was gone.

Grace hesitated, uncertain what to do. Was this it? Clearly, Pewe had been arrested, he thought to his immense relief. Hadn’t he? It certainly looked like it.

He wondered if the crew of the second Audi were searching his office.

He turned and headed back towards the Major Crime building, unsure whether to be elated or worried. Then his phone rang.

It was Alison Vosper.

‘Roy? How are you?’

‘Well, ma’am, I’m not entirely sure.’

‘I just wanted to let you know, before you heard it from anyone else, that we are arresting ACC Pewe — the evidence you gave us checked out. He has been suspended with immediate effect.’

For a few seconds, Grace was speechless. ‘Thank you for telling me, ma’am.’

‘I know this may not change anything, Roy — other than perhaps doing myself no favours. But my offer to you of a job in the Met remains open.’

‘I appreciate that, ma’am. I really do.’

‘One day, perhaps? Call me any time, you know where to reach me.’

‘I really appreciate your faith in me.’

‘Until then, stay safe.’

‘And you, ma’am.’

Moments after he ended the call, his phone rang again. It was Cleo. He answered and she sounded surprised.

‘Sorry, darling,’ she said. ‘I was just going to leave a message. Have you had your meeting with Pewe?’

‘No, he’s otherwise engaged.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning he’s just been driven off in the back of a car, under arrest.’

‘No way!’

‘Yessss!’

‘Oh my God! You’ve done it!’

‘Here’s hoping.’

‘You have, you’ve done it!!!’

‘With luck!’

‘I was just calling to say that when you collect Reggie — or before — could you swing by Tesco Lewes and pick up some cat litter?’

‘Yes, sure. Shall I get some cat food as well and some treats?’

‘Treats for you or Reggie?’

‘Haha!’

‘Just don’t vanish, eh?’

ANPR— Automatic Number Plate Recognition. Roadside or mobile cameras that automatically capture the registration number of all cars that pass. It can be used to historically track which cars went past a certain camera, and can also create a signal for cars which are stolen, have no insurance or have an alert attached to them.

CID— Criminal Investigation Department. Usually refers to the divisional detectives rather than the specialist squads.

CPS— Crown Prosecution Service.

CSI— Was SOCO. Crime Scene Investigators (Scenes of Crime Officers). They are the people who attend crime scenes to search for fingerprints, DNA samples etc.

DIGITAL FORENSICS— The unit which examines and investigates computers and other digital devices.

FLO— Family Liaison Officer.

HOLMES— Home Office Large Major Enquiry System. The national computer database used on all murders. It provides a repository of all messages, actions, decisions and statements, allowing the analysis of intelligence and the tracking and auditing of the whole enquiry. Can enable enquiries to be linked across force areas where necessary.

IOPC— Independent Office for Police Conduct.

PM— Postmortem.

POLSA— Police Search Adviser.

SIO— Senior Investigating Officer. Usually a Detective Chief Inspector who is in overall charge of the investigation of a major crime such as murder, kidnap or rape.

Police ranks are consistent across all disciplines and the addition of prefixes such as ‘detective’ (e.g. detective constable) does not affect seniority relative to others of the same rank (e.g. police constable).

Writing during a pandemic has not been without its challenges, but there have been positives as well: fewer distractions and travel, and being able to spend more time with our ever-expanding menagerie.

As ever I owe thanks to so many people in so many fields, especially Sussex Police, the medical world and, for this book, the world of the car salesman! I always find it heartening that so many people are willing to take the time to share their knowledge, and even industry secrets and tricks of the trade in some cases, to help me get my novels to feel as authentic as possible.

My most heartfelt thanks start with Sussex Police. To Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne OBE, Chief Constable Jo Shiner, and to so many officers and support staff actively serving under them, as well as retirees from Sussex and other forces. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order and beg forgiveness for any omissions.

Inspector James Biggs, PC Matt Colburn, Financial Investigator Emily Denyer, DC Jenny Dunn, PC Philip Edwards, Inspector Mark Evans, CSI James Gartrell, CSI Chris Gee, Aiden Gilbert in Digital Forensics, DCI Rich Haycock, Inspector Dan Hiles, Chief Digital and Information Officer Joseph Langford, Chief Superintendent Nick May, Sergeant Russell Philips, Chief Constable of Kent Alan Pughsley QPM, Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police Robin Smith, James Stather in Forensic Services, PC Richard Trundle, and Police Chaplain Fr Richard Tuset. Also Beth Durham, Suzanne Heard, Jill Pedersen and Katie Perkins of Sussex Police Corporate Communications.

And retired officers: Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett, Detective Superintendent Nick Sloan, DC Pauline Sweeney, DS Mark Taylor and Detective Superintendent Jason Tingley.

A big thank you also to Theresa Adams, Julian Blazeby, Mike Canas, Neil Chapman, Jeanie Civil, Sean Didcott, Tim Griffiths, Victoria Grogan, Anna-Lisa Hancock, Phil Homan, Haydn Kelly, Rob Kempson, Dr James Mair, Dr Adrian Noon, Ray Packham, Richard Parsons, Graham Ramsden, Judith Richards, Julia Richardson of Galen Myotherapy, Kit Robinson (role model for Noah Grace!), Alan Setterington, Helen Shenston, Lucy Sibun, Carolyn Smith, Sam Smith, Steve Soper, Orlando Trujillo, Derek Warwick and Mark Willmett.