The Thames-Tigris Connection E-Book

John Broughton

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Metropolitan Police Detectives, Vance and Shepherd, are investigating a case in Central London. Several murders of prominent Iranian exiles present Vance with a powder-keg primed to explode.

He and Shepherd must avoid a conflict among London’s Muslim community. MI-6 involvement results in the arbitrary closure of three unsolved cases, however, the Intelligence Agency has a plan for Shepherd - to make use of her ability as a renowned crack shot.

But can they discover and take down the fanatical anti-Zoroastrian movement in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and eastern Iran, and at the same time provide justice to the victims of the closed cases?

Leseprobe

THE THAMES-TIGRIS CONNECTION

VANCE AND SHEPHERD MYSTERIES

BOOK 4

JOHN BROUGHTON

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Author’s Note

Next in the Series

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2023 John Broughton

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2023 by Next Chapter

Published 2023 by Next Chapter

Cover art by Lordan June Pinote

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author’s permission.

CHAPTER1

LEABANK SQUARE, HACKNEY WICK, AND NEW SCOTLAND YARD, LONDON, MARCH 2023

Amaya Ahmadi stepped out of the shower to stand and admire her naked body in front of a full-length mirror. She cupped and raised the dark nipples of her heavy breasts, immortalised in oil self-portraits in her studio through the door. At twenty-six years old, the Iranian woman’s physique was as near perfect as the Creator had intended, yet she sighed as she stared at herself, knowing the price she paid to maintain this perfection—a rigid diet and daily run. Her splendid figure was in no way due to her DNA. She smiled at the thought of her rotund mother at home in Tabriz, Iran, daily forcing her comfortable body out of bed to go to the carpet-weaving factory.

Instead, she frowned when she thought of her father: many thanks to her billionaire father that she was here and owned this palatial purpose-built flat in a block on Leabank Square, next to the picturesque banks of the River Lea with views across to the Olympic Park along with Westfields with its array of shops, bars, restaurants, and entertainment spots. The frown was due to his damned work! Why couldn’t he understand that she was right to be terrified; his platitudes were no help. Had she stood in his shoes at the other end of the phone last night, she’d have already bought the train ticket and would be at Euston station right now. She hated to criticise him, as he was the perfect Muslim father. However, as things stood, he wouldn’t be here for a whole week!

Her studio apartment was perfectly situated for transport links with Hackney Wick Station (London Overground) only a short distance away, whilst by car, she could also gain swift access to the Docklands and out of London to Stratford and the M11. Perhaps I ought to consider going to him or am I overreacting?

She smiled at the thought of her father; Manny Ahmadi had left school at fourteen to work in a souk, selling spices, dried fruit, and nuts. Within three years, he had created his own export business and by the age of twenty-one, had arrived in Britain to study at the Manchester Business School, where he excelled and went on to found a chain of clothing, footwear, and homewares stores throughout the northwest region. At one stage, he was briefly ranked as Britain’s richest man. Amaya smiled as she reached for and slipped on her sports bra; undoubtedly, his subsequent lifestyle of expensive restaurants and single malt whiskies had robbed him of his athletic youthful figure. Now, to her, he was dear old cuddly daddy. She pulled a pale-blue designer fleece top over her luxuriant raven-black hair and hauled up a pair of grey leggings, slipped on running socks and grey trainers. Finally, she adjusted her locks with a severe brushing before cramming on a blue woolly hat. She smiled at her reflection; no need for makeup on a routine Monday morning jog on this 7th of March 2023. She had run the same route through Victoria Park in Hackney, East London, many times. The UK had been her home since 2015 when she moved from Iran to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, part of University College London.

Amaya closed her front door, as usual, at precisely 8 am, put the key into her leather bag, and slung the strap over her shoulder so that the bag rested against her right hip. She sped past the People’s Park Tavern and the cricket nets, occasionally smiling at a familiar face, straight down the path towards the Old English Garden and the Victoria Park kids’ Main Playground beyond. With the noise of her pounding feet, she did not hear other shoes behind her also hitting the ground at speed. She knew something was amiss when an atrocious pain speared between her shoulder blades as a steel blade buried into her back. Again and again, the assailant struck as Amaya screamed for help. Some people, including two oncoming joggers heard her and found her slumped in a pool of blood on the path between the rose garden on one side and the children’s play area on the other. She died shortly afterwards despite their attempts to provide first aid. Meanwhile, the assailant had fled, running off, described as a petite female wearing a black tracksuit with the hood pulled up. The joggers phoned the police at 8:40 am and reported the killer sprinting out of the park through the Queen’s Gate and running towards the Gascoyne Estate.

* * *

Aalia Phadkar, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, renowned for her statuesque presence and impassive marble-bust face, for once betrayed her emotions. At the opposite side of her desk sat one of her favourite officers: ‘Big Mal’ Ridgeway, so nicknamed because of his uncanny resemblance to a larger-than-life erstwhile football coach who had once steered Manchester City to glory when they boasted little money but immense talent. Malcolm Ridgeway had just delivered his unexpected resignation from the force, and, unremarkably, this bolt from the blue had rocked her Greek goddess equanimity. He was trying to sweeten the blow with his undoubted charm.

“I don’t know how you do it, Ma’am, I really don’t! You have to take so much in your stride, being in charge and commanding the respect of the Met’s thirty-three thousand police officers, including racists, sexists, and homophobes. It’s all so political nowadays with the police watchdog and woke politicians ready to pounce on your every word. Not that you’ve given them much to get their fangs into.”

Her large brown eyes bored into his, seeking any sign of insincerity and finding none.

“I’ve never pretended that mine’s an easy job, Malcolm. I wouldn’t change it for anything, but the Almighty knows how hard certain – ahem – malfunctions can be to bear. Only last week, the watchdog found disgraceful examples of bullying and sexual harassment in a central London police station. This is 2023, Malcolm, not 1973.”

“Life on Mars!” DCI Ridgeway murmured.

“Eh? Oh yes,” her divine features illuminated with a forced laugh, but her countenance reverted to anxious mode as a frown creased her brow. “Which is why I need high-calibre senior officers like yourself, Malcolm. You know how much I appreciate and need you.”

He wasn’t going to be turned, as his mind was made up, and he had no intention of letting this meeting become an ineffectual kind of mutual love-in.

“That’s a moot point, Ma’am,” he growled. “I’d say that a certain lack of appreciation and support swayed my decision.”

“On my part? But that’s impossible!”

He met her wide-eyed outrage with unwavering eyes, “Is it, though? Let me spell it out, then, so we know where we stand. At the end of the year, Detective Inspector Shepherd had one of her flashes of intuition and solved the crossbow case, which you’ll remember, Ma’am,” he explained. “Brittany is a damned good cop, and she had been right to follow her instincts, but in the national interests, I was compelled to warn her off. She was right to call it a grave miscarriage of justice. You, Ma’am, insisted that I kowtowed to Vauxhall Gardens and let the matter of Bethany Tibbet drop.”

“I remember we had this conversation, when was it? Back in November? When you accepted that with a higher rank in the police force comes greater complications and, indeed, as in that case, unwelcome compromise.” Her perfectly-formed mouth curled at the corner into an I-know-I’m-in-the-right smile—one she tended to rely on in difficult situations like this. But this meeting was more obdurate than she imagined.

“You’re quite right, Commissioner,” Ridgeway said, “I even told poor Brittany that she had to learn a few hard facts of life. I even threatened the poor lassie with a transfer to Greater Manchester Police to whip her into line—something I bitterly regret.”

“Surely not!”

“Oh, indeed! And I’ve had since November to think things through. This is no impulsive decision, Ma’am. When the Secret Service takes precedence over the Metropolitan Police, in the national interest, I cannot do my job as I conceive it. Oh, I’m not stupid, I understand realpolitik, but it doesn’t sit easily with me. I joined the police with ideals of justice and to make our great city a safer place for its inhabitants. In this case, leaving Bethany Tibbet at large to continue on a psychopathic high, hardly does that. So, I decided that the only way to fulfil my ambition would be to enter politics,” he chuckled and looked pointedly at his commanding officer, “since I’m never likely to dethrone you, Your Ladyship!”

“Watch your tongue, Mal, or I’ll have you arrested!”

“Would you have me lose my pension? I don’t deserve that. I haven’t finished yet, Ma’am. You should know that I’ve been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the upcoming 2024 Mayor of London elections. I can’t go back on my word now. I entered the nomination papers to stand, back in December. Yesterday, three months later, I received confirmation that I’d been selected.”

Aalia Phadkar’s face lit up and her flashing white teeth endowed her with matchless beauty. Ridgeway wondered what the commissioner was smiling at—he had faith he could do the job! He had some smart ideas for the capital. However, she reassured him,

“I was thinking, what a damned good Mayor you’d make. The blond booby did a half-decent job, so—”

“Ah, but he was a Conservative—”

“True, it’s harder for a Liberal to be elected. But I’m sure your words will carry the necessary conviction, ha-ha! to persuade Josie and Joe Voter. Rest assured, I’ll vote for you and help your campaign. But now, you must help me.”

“What can I do?”

“Suggest your successor.”

“That’s easy; no need for an external appointment. There are two internal candidates of the highest order. It depends only on whether you want a man or a woman.”

“Vance and Shepherd,” she spoke with a confidential tone. “I meant it when I said I need your help. Of course, I’d already thought of one of those two. Vance has more experience of policing, but Shepherd has her formidable intuition.”

“That’s true, but you need a DCI who is thoughtful, can lead a process of change, and has political acumen and the gravitas to command support from across the political spectrum. We’re dealing with London and its diverse communities and police officers.”

Phadkar smiled winningly, “Which is why you’ll leave such a large gap, Malcolm.”

“Well, thank you, Ma’am, but given those requisites, intuition alone isn’t enough.”

“Quite; it has to be Jacob Vance! A shame in some ways, I have a soft spot for Brittany Shepherd.”

“Don’t we all? She’s so much prettier than Jake the Rake!”

“Don’t let him hear you call him that!”

“It’s unfair—I can’t think of a better family man.”

“You and Vance go back a long way. If you agree,” her hand strayed to the office phone, “I’ll give him a buzz and break the news to him in your presence.”

“Thank you, Ma’am! I’d appreciate that.”

A curt nod of the divine profile, and she tapped out Jacob’s office number, then fired off instructions. “If you’re not too busy, that is,” she concluded and replaced the handset in its cradle. “He’s on his way. Just as well for him, if he’d been too busy, I’d have given Brittany the promotion,” she smiled cattily.

Settled in the chair next to Ridgeway, Vance gazed with a perplexed air at his commanding officer. She rarely summoned him to the fifth floor, and, whenever she did, it was never for a frivolous reason.

“Good morning, Jacob. I’ve brought you here to inform you of DCI Ridgeway’s resignation from the force. You may well be looking at the next Mayor of London if all goes well.”

The commissioner and the detective chief inspector chuckled simultaneously at Vance’s incredulous face.

“I know, it came as a shock to me, too,” said Phadkar as Vance realised and closed his gaping mouth. “You have my permission to gawp again, Jacob. I’ve decided to replace Malcolm with you. Congratulations, DCI Vance!”

He didn’t fail to disappoint as his jaw dropped, but he recovered quickly.

“I’m not really a great pen-pusher, Ma’am. More of a hands-on old-fashioned copper.”

The commissioner was glaring at him when her desk phone rang.

“Hum, yes, I see! Get DI Shepherd over there at once. DCI Vance will take charge of the case. That’s what I said, DCI.”

Aalia Phadkar turned her Greek goddess countenance on Vance and smiled irresistibly, “Well, Jacob, my old hands-on copper, get over to Victoria Park. You have a murder to solve—a foreign-looking female jogger in her twenties has been stabbed to death. It happened about thirty minutes ago. We’ll talk about your new appointment when you report back.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Ridgeway stood, extended a hand and said, “Congratulations, Jacob.”

They shook hands before the new DCI hurried out of the commissioner’s office to take the lift to the ground floor, where he found a driver to speed him to Victoria Park. When he arrived, he found Dr Sabrina Markham and her forensics team already combing the area. Some twenty paces away from the body of the attractive victim, he was heartened to see DI Brittany Shepherd questioning three young women dressed in running outfits.

“Ah, good morning, sir. These three young ladies were first on the scene. They heard the victim’s screams and tried to give first aid, but to no avail.”

“Who’d want to do such a thing?” One of the runners, a redheaded woman also in her twenties, Vance judged, sobbed. “Amaya was such a lovely girl!” She wiped an eye with her sleeve.

“You knew her, did you, miss?”

“Oh yes, officer, sometimes we jogged together, and, occasionally, I’d go back to her studio for a coffee.”

“Studio?”

“Yes, Amaya is – was – a painter, I mean, an artist. She was very talented.”

“This Amaya, she was a foreigner.”

“She said she was Iranian. She told me that her father is a successful businessman up Manchester way.”

“I see,” Vance bit his right thumbnail before gazing into the pretty freckled face, “Do you know where she lived?”

“Oh yes, on Leabank Square. It’s not far from here, just over there.” She pointed vaguely towards the gate he’d walked through several minutes before.

“What’s your name, young lady?”

“Kathy – er – Katherine Willis.”

“Well, Kathy, give us a couple of minutes, then, if you don’t mind, you can take us to Amaya’s house.”

Katherine Willis dabbed her eyes again and murmured with a tremble, “Why would anyone do this to a harmless young woman?”

“Just an opportunist robbery, probably,” Vance said.

“Like hell!” Shepherd growled, loud enough for her boss to hear. He ignored her – for the moment. Instead, he wandered over to the CMO, Dr Francis Tremethyk, the cordial Cornishman, as Vance liked to call him.

“What can you tell me, doc?”

“And good morning to you too, Detective Inspector.”

“Detective Chief Inspector, actually.”

“Really? At last, the Met has come to recognise your extraordinary rudeness, me dear!”

“Sorry if I was distracted and failed to greet you, Francis. My head was working on a theory.”

“I doubt I can help your theorising, Jacob. It’s all tragically straightforward. You will, of course, receive my report after the autopsy.”

“But for now, humour me, doc!”

“Three hefty blows with a kitchen knife from behind, at a guess, piercing a vital organ. We’re talking about at least a twenty-centimetre blade.”

“What’s that in real measurements, doc?”

The chief medical officer peered over his half-moon glasses and chuckled, “I’ll bet you still use Fahrenheit, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Twenty centimetres is around eight inches, which says a lot, me dear.”

“It does,” mused Vance. “Premeditation. You don’t wander around with an eight-inch blade on the off-chance, do you? Thanks, doc. I’ll expect your report.”

Shepherd and Katherine Willis broke off their chat as Vance approached. The trainee architect smiled shyly, but Shepherd said, “There’s more to this case than meets the eye, Jacob. Let’s hope we find something helpful at the victim’s house.”

“Regarding that, I’d better ask the remarkable Markham if we can take Amaya’s handbag. We’ll need a key to enter without damaging the property.”

Dr Sabrina Markham, Head of Forensics, beamed at Jacob and offered, “Congratulations on your promotion.”

“That was quick; how did you find out so soon?”

“Been on the phone with Max—it’s all around the Yard.” Vance had been best man for Sergeant Max Wright, her husband, a genius with computers.

“What? Have you been promoted?” Shepherd stared at her colleague and friend with her intense ocean-blue eyes. She had only just got used to treating him as her peer after her promotion. “What about Mal? Is he a Super now?”

“No, he’s left the force. Resigned. Says the female officers are too uppity for his liking!”

“Bloody liar! Mal would never say that—that’s a Vancism if ever I heard one!”

“Excuse my colleague, miss, she’s an old friend. We do this all the time.”

“Don’t mind me, Detective Chief Inspector, but shouldn’t we get going?”

“We’ve checked the handbag. There are no other dabs, only the victim’s,” Dr Markham said.

“No attempt to seize the bag, then,” Vance mused. “I told you it wasn’t an attempted robbery, Jacob. There’s a lot more to this case. The killer wanted us to think that it was a botched theft, failed because people arrived on the scene.”

CHAPTER2

LEABANK SQUARE, HACKNEY WICK, AND NEW SCOTLAND YARD, LONDON, MARCH 2023

The two other young female joggers, Kate’s friends, joined her and the two police officers.

“Mind if we come along, officer? I’m Janey, and this is Sharon; we’re Katey’s friends.”

“Any objections, Detective Inspector?” Jacob pointedly gave Brittany her correct title.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not allowed,” she said, “but if you ladies promise not to touch anything in the flat, we’ll turn a blind eye.”

“Thank you, Detective Inspector,” Janey said, “I’ve always wanted to see Amaya’s studio—only Katey was allowed in!”

“That’s another thing,” Shepherd whispered to Vance, “Look at these three—a prettier trio would be hard to find, yet, our killer chose Amaya. I find it curious, that’s all.”

“A question of strength in numbers, Brit. Amaya was alone. Most killers are cowards.”

“Mmm! The whole case strikes me as odd.”

Kate led them at a vigorous walking pace, too brisk for the somewhat unfit DCI, giving the impression that she’d rather be jogging with her mates. On the way, Vance’s policeman’s eye picked out door cameras and CCTV installations; he also noticed some parked cars with dash cameras. Any one of these might help identify the woman in black seen running from the crime scene. As DCI, it fell to him to organise an appeal to the public, something he would do as soon as he arrived back at the Yard. It was important to gather eyewitness reports while memories were still fresh.

At last, the brisk marching group came to Leabank Square. Amaya Ahmadi’s apartment occupied part of the ground floor of a purpose-built block. Vance realised he had never set foot in the heart of Hackney Wick during his long career in the Met. An estate agent would have described the property as a wonderful one-bedroom garden flat, close to Hackney Wick station with great connections into Canary Wharf and the city, he thought and calculated that such a place would not come cheap. How could a single artist afford such a place?

Angry with himself because he hadn’t checked the victim’s handbag for the door key before setting off on the gruelling march, Vance hoped he would find it immediately. First, he checked the zip compartment in the bag’s inner lining but only found a receipt for a dress. He pulled out a purse and noted that it was well supplied with £20 notes and credit and debit cards. If the robber could see this now, she would be kicking herself! Inside the almost empty coin compartment, he found what he sought—a Yale key, which granted access through a double-glazed door to the entrance hall that, at a glance, contained a wall-mounted entry phone and electric heater, built-in storage cupboard, which he opened to reveal a hot water cylinder. He expertly inserted a searching hand behind the lagged cylinder—often a preferred place for householders to hide documents or wallets in the mistaken supposition that a burglar would not dream of frisking there. He found nothing concealed, so concentrated on appreciating his surroundings with its wood effect floor and two doors. Shepherd had opened the nearest, which led into an almost square, small reception room with another door to the side of the property and garden. The apartment was double-glazed throughout and, in this room, a window overlooked the rear, with coving to the ceiling and two wall-mounted electric heaters; it vaunted the same wood-effect floor, and a door through to the kitchen.

The latter was a fully-fitted kitchen with a range of wall and base units, rolled top work surface incorporating a one-and-a-half bowl sink with mixer taps, tiled splashbacks, a plumbed-in washing machine, integrated oven and hob with overhead extractor, and the same wood effect floor. A door led into the bedroom.

He judged the bedroom to be about four metres by three and a half, and again, it boasted a window and door to the side and garden, and another window overlooking the rear, built-in wardrobes, wall-mounted electric heater, and the ubiquitous flooring.

“Ladies, remember, don’t touch anything!” He pulled on a pair of latex gloves and waved them at the three joggers.

“Look here, sir,” Shepherd flourished a framed photograph at him. It showed a smiling Amaya standing between two grinning males.

“Oh, that’s poor Amaya—she said it was taken in Iran with her father and brother—that’s what she told me, anyway,” Kate said.

“Did she have a man friend here or in Iran?” Vance asked. “I’ll wager all three of you, do,” he smiled at the sniffling trio.

Janey answered, “Funny, Detective Chief, ain’t it? We all have boyfriends, and I’d often wondered, but Katey, here, says Amaya denied having anyone. Weird! She was the prettiest of us all.”

“Oh, I don’t know!” smirked the redhead.

“They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Shepherd said pointedly who was the Yard’s sweetheart because of her perfectly oval face, stunning sapphire eyes, and 1920s bob.

“I reckon that Amaya had never been with a man,” Katey blushed bright red at her words, “she told me that she didn’t want a boyfriend here since it would distract her from her art and her family would prefer her to choose an Iranian. I don’t know if she was right, but she insisted that Iranian men hate anything that smacks of feminism. She used to get quite heated about it.”

“Islamic Revolutionaries think that way, for sure,” Vance said, “but I doubt you can paint all Iranian males with one brush,” the unhappy, thoughtless choice of metaphor failed to endear him to Shepherd, which he made worse by adding, “but who’s to say the extremists are wrong about their womenfolk?”

“The post-mortem will clarify Kate’s point,” Shepherd said mournfully. Shall we go through, sir?”

“Yeah. Bag up that photo, will you, Shep? And, girls, at the risk of being boring, I repeat, remember, don’t touch anything.”

Two of them nodded, but Kate glared and chewed ostentatiously on her chewing gum. She probably feels more at home than the rest of us, Vance reasoned silently. Later, he’d have a more extensive chat with Ms. Katherine Willis.

“You four go ahead,” he nodded, “I’ll stay a minute to get a better feel of the victim’s character.”

With the room clear, the first thing he noticed was Amaya’s meticulousness since nothing was out of place, except the bagged-up photo, removed from her bedside cabinet. It had been the only photo in the room. Strange, no photo of her mother! He opened the bedside cabinet and found a slim volume entitled Avesta. Vance had attended an obligatory Met course about Islam, but he could not recall anything about this book which, as he flicked through its pages, revealed itself to be a religious text. He would have expected a young Iranian woman to have a copy of the Qur’an in her bedside cabinet drawer. His intelligence as a police officer triumphed over his ignorance, so he bagged the volume and continued searching. He found a pack of tissues, a packet of paracetamol tablets, and another slim volume, entitled The Old Eve by Simin Behbahani. She was into poetry, bless her! He slipped it into the same bag as the Avesta. When he got back to the Yard, he would make a great effort to swot up on Iranian culture.

He took his first step in that direction, without realising it, as he walked over to near the window, where an easel with a canvas covered by a velvet drape stood, positioned to capture the daylight to best advantage. As he stood in front of the covered work, he imagined Amaya busily painting and caught sight of his thoughtful face captured in a full-length mirror, the twin of that in the bathroom. The painter was working on a self-portrait, then. He drew back the dark-blue velvet cloth and gazed at an exquisite work of art—indeed, the Iranian artist had an immense talent, what a loss to the world! A beguiling smile from the lovely face met his scrutiny, depicted in blue and green oils so artfully that the rendition almost seemed alive. His gaze dropped to the heavy breasts and erect nipples, making him gasp and detach his inspection immediately, but he felt compelled to finish his clandestine survey as he studied the dark area at the groin. Quickly, before Shepherd’s waspish tongue could do any damage, he covered the painting and transferred his attention to a stack of paintings propped against the wall to the right of the easel. Mostly, they portrayed her—either portraits or nudes—well, he thought, she was a fine model!

Shepherd’s waspish tongue struck, “Into art appreciation now, are we, sir? I think you’d better come and see what I’ve found. I used a pair of Amaya’s tweezers to move it from the litter bin.”

It turned out to be a cinder of a sheet of writing paper.

“You did well, Shep. These things are so delicate. Mishandle them, and they disintegrate into useless powder. Use your mobile and get the remarkable Dr Markham here straightaway.” He used the epithet that Dr Tremethyk always used when referring to the forensics expert. He smiled as Brittany reached into the back pocket of her jeans. Like countless young women throughout the land, she carried her mobile tightly pressed against her rump. He tried not to think about Shepherd’s booty. After all, he was a happily married man—but a typical male in all respects.

“Sabrina will be here as soon as possible, sir.”

“Good work, Shep. We’ll leave your remarkable find undisturbed where you placed it. He didn’t dare even breathe on the fragile piece of evidence, the only clue they had to the murder.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and Vance, who had been showing the paintings to the women, hurried to the Entryphone, where he saw the features of Sabrina Markham in limpid shades of grey, and remotely opened the door. In moments, the Head of forensics was opening her ‘bag of tricks’ as she called it and handling a professional pair of tweezers to insert the crisped, blackened sheet into a suitable receptacle. “I’ll get this straight down to the lab, Jake—she was one of the few permitted to shorten Jacob because of its rhyming association with Rake. He smiled and nodded, “As fast as you like, Sabrina! You can call in your boys to go through the flat. Shep and I didn’t find anything, but we’re not experts in your field.” He handed her the latch key. “They’ll lock up when they’ve done. We have to get back to the Yard. Her Ladyship is waiting on me, and a wise DCI doesn’t keep the Commissioner waiting. Ms. Willis, would you mind coming to make a statement at headquarters?”

She nodded her consent as Dr Markham said, “Don’t worry, Jake, this won’t deteriorate further in this container: it’s purpose-built for such samples.”

“Great! I’ll wait on your findings, Doctor,” he said respectfully.

The other two young women set off at a run towards Victoria Park, no doubt chatting as they jogged about their deceased friend’s apartment.

Half an hour later, in the New Scotland Yard foyer, Vance turned to the young woman, “Kate, sorry to keep you waiting, leave us on the third floor where you’ll find a waiting area with seats. We’re up to the fifth, Brit, you’re coming with me. Commissioner Phadkar made a point of wanting you present as well.”

“Did she? Well, blow me down! I wonder whether she wants to make it a joint promotion?”

“Cheeky bint! You should get so lucky!”

“Sorry, Detective Chief Inspector!”

In reality, the highest-ranking police officer in the building had a well-pondered reason for her choice which, after carefully listening to Vance’s exposition of the facts of the case as hitherto known, she put into practice by turning her dark-eyed gaze onto Shepherd’s charming features.

She looked at the detective inspector whilst still addressing her senior officer, “Thank you, Jacob, that’s all very concise and clear, but unless I’m mistaken, Brittany can contribute her reservations.”

Bloody hell, how did she know? for once, Jacob and Brittany shared an identical thought. Their expressions and exchange of glances betrayed them.

“Well, you do, don’t you? Have reservations, I mean,” the commissioner smiled and gazed into the troubled sapphire eyes. “Let me be clear about one thing, Brittany, Jacob is the new DCI, but I don’t want to break up a winning investigative team. You two work brilliantly in tandem and it’s not a question of a hierarchy. It never was, not when Jacob was detective inspector and you were detective sergeant—nothing’s changed, although you will respect his rank in front of other colleagues.”

“Of course, Ma’am.”

“Now, back to your famous intuition. DCI Vance believes this was a botched robbery and you don’t, right? He will continue with his supposition, but I want to hear your objections.”