Martin Edwards - The Frozen Shroud

He slurped down some water. ‘You’ve come back to work too soon. You look like death warmed up.’

‘Thanks, that makes two of us. See you at the team meeting.’

She marched off in the direction of her office, but he kept pace with her. ‘Sorry, Hannah, but someone had to say it. Better me than some people.’

She halted in mid-stride. ‘Thanks for your concern. Now, I’ve got things to do and so, I expect, have you?’

He grimaced. ‘Back to DCI and DS, eh? Is this about the other night?’

Hannah returned his gaze, trying to choke back her anger. ‘Nothing will ever be about the other night.’

He blinked first.

‘I give up.’

‘Good plan.’ She swept away down the corridor, leaving him to stare at her back view. She was sure he was no longer admiring it.

Hannah was tempted to slap a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door of her office. Uninterrupted thinking time was in short supply, but she needed some. But the familiar strains of Doctor Who broke in before she had a chance to start marshalling her thoughts. The caller’s number was unfamiliar.

‘Is that Detective Chief Inspector Scarlett?’

A man’s voice, eager, and tinged with anxiety.

‘Yes, who’s calling?’

‘My name is Robin Park.’

Hannah squeezed the phone in her palm. Robin, the man whose bout of sickness meant that, instead of being by his side or in his bed, Terri had been wandering around Ravenbank on her own, easy prey for someone with murder on their mind.

Or had his ailment been bogus, a crude ploy to avoid suspicion?

‘Hello? Are you there, Chief Inspector?’

‘Sorry. I … didn’t expect to hear from you, Mr Park.’

‘It’s such a shock, isn’t it? What happened to Terri.’

A pause. ‘Yes.’

‘Devastating, impossible to …’ His voice faltered. ‘You were her oldest friend, she often spoke about you.’

‘We went back a long way.’

‘I wondered … would you mind if we talked? Not over the phone, but face to face.’

‘If you have any evidence that’s relevant to the inquiry into Terri’s death, anything that can cast light on what happened, you should speak to DCI Larter or someone on her team. Straight away.’

‘No, it’s not that. God, I only wish I knew what happened. I’m in a daze. The sense of loss … it’s overwhelming. You two were so close, you must feel the same.’

‘Yes, it’s … hard.’

‘So — can we meet? Not in your capacity as a police officer. But as Terri’s friend.’

Hannah made a quick calculation. What were the risks? The chance of finding some clue to Terri’s fate had to be worth taking. She’d square it with Fern. Of course, she was itching to set eyes on Park. Was he any improvement on his hopeless predecessors? Above all, she needed to discover what had led to Terri’s death. Nobody was more likely to know than this man.

‘All right, Mr Park.’ She took care to sound offhand. ‘I can spare you an hour after lunch. When shall we meet, and where?’

Daniel slammed on the brakes as a car careered through the gloom towards him. He’d almost reached Ravenbank Corner, but the fog was lingering, and the hatchback’s lights were on. A man in a hooded jacket was hunched over the wheel, driving as if he were fleeing for his life. The car came to a shuddering halt a few feet short of his front bumper. Daniel recognised it as Quin’s VW hatchback. He reversed to a muddy passing place, and the hatchback eased forward before pulling up alongside him.

Quin wound down his window. ‘Sorry about that. My fault. Jeffrey keeps saying I’ll kill someone one of these days.’

He was striving for jauntiness, but his features were pinched and nervous. Did that shadow on his cheek hint at a bruise disguised by a touch of make-up? When he saw Daniel flinch, he said quickly, ‘Sorry, not in the best of taste after what’s happened. He means, we see so little traffic, I get careless.’

‘No worries.’

‘For goodness sake, I’d have thought you’d have seen enough of Ravenbank to last a lifetime. Let alone on a vile day like today.’

Daniel was in no hurry to satisfy his curiosity. ‘It’s autumn in the Lakes. Fog and rain are par for the course.’

‘Yeah, it lingers in Ravenbank, even when Martindale is bathed in sunshine.’ He sighed. ‘At least five years ago, we had closure. Craig Meek was dead within an hour of killing Shenagh. But the stuff happening now …’

‘What stuff?’

‘Robin tells me the police have carted Terri’s computer away. There’s a CSI and a family liaison officer at Fell View even as we speak. The police are picking through Terri’s stuff. God alone knows what they hope to find. He’s moved back in with Miriam to get out of their way. As for the journalists, they doorstepped the poor man until he agreed to give an interview. Disgusting, after he’d asked them to respect his privacy, to give him space to grieve. They didn’t take a blind bit of notice, the parasites.’

‘They’d say they are only doing their job.’

Quin narrowed his eyes, as if unsure where Daniel’s loyalty lay. ‘So what brings you back here?’

‘Melody invited me to lunch. I promised her I’d help research the Gertrude Smith case.’

‘Never mind a crime committed a century ago.’ Quin grimaced. ‘Have you heard the latest?’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s been on radio and TV. The police have let Terri’s stalker go. Can you believe it? They wrapped it up in police-speak, but the bottom line is, the scumbag hasn’t been charged. Incredible, you couldn’t make it up.’

‘The police know what they are doing.’

‘You reckon? A polite young woman rang up half an hour ago, wanting to book appointments with Jeffrey and me for further interviews. “Just to clear up one or two points, sir.”’ He mimicked a Geordie falsetto with cruel accuracy. ‘The case is open and shut. What the fuck are they playing at?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

‘Not really, my friend.’ Quin’s cheeks reddened, like a teenager with anger management issues. Was the Celtic charmer just one more part he played? ‘You’re the murder expert, on first name terms with the local plod. I saw you chatting to the fat chief inspector the day before yesterday, while they put the rest of us through the mill.’

‘I was questioned too, remember. If they have let Stefan Deyna go, there will be a reason. To do with gathering more evidence, I suppose.’

‘How much fucking evidence do they need? He did a runner, didn’t he? Everyone knew he made Terri’s life a misery. After they tracked him down to London, now they’re letting him walk out the door. It’s crazy, why catch a dangerous killer, and then let him loose again?’

‘They don’t confide in me.’ Well, it was more or less true. ‘So where are you off to in such a tearing hurry?’

‘To Keswick. Jeffrey and I intended to go together, but … we had a bit of an argument, and he went off in a huff. He’ll be at the theatre by now. We’re rehearsing this afternoon. The show must go on, and all that crap.’ Quin rubbed his cheek. ‘I’m worried about Jeffrey, badly worried. For once, I’d have been glad to hear his bloody awful snoring last night, but he didn’t sleep a wink. He’s still devastated after finding the body.’

So devastated, he’d vented his feelings by slapping his partner? ‘Sorry to hear that.’

‘The sooner the police lock that man up, the sooner we’ll be able to get on with our lives. If they keep on like this … nothing will ever be the same again.’

He wound up his window, and they set off in opposite directions. At Ravenbank Corner, the crime scene was still cordoned off with police tape. The fog was thicker here. Crawling towards Beck Cottage, he saw Robin Park, well wrapped up in Barbour and scarf, step out of the side porch, and raise a gloved hand in greeting. He pulled up on the verge by the low garden wall.