table. Sliding into my seat, I said, ‘So, you never told me your name.’
‘Why do you need to know my name?’ she asked, taking her tea and warming her hands against the paper cup. ‘Is this some kind of interview?’
‘Are you always so hostile with every guy that buys you breakfast?’ I shot back, opening the lid off my food.
‘You’re not just any guy, you’re a cop,’ she smiled over the rim of her cup.
‘Is that a problem?’ I asked, forking scrambled egg into my mouth.
‘No, problem,’ she said. ‘It’s just that cops are meant to always be on duty, aren’t they?’
Putting my fork to one side, I reached into my coat pocket and removed my radio. It hissed with static. I switched it off and placed it on the table. ‘Okay, so now I’m officially off duty.’
‘My name’s Charley Sheppard.’
‘Good to meet you, Charley,’ I said, reaching out across the table.
Slowly, she took my hand. Her skin felt soft but cold. I let her hand go so she could warm it again around her cup.
‘So how old are you?’ I asked her.
‘Are you sure you’re off duty? It’s just that this is beginning to sound like some kind of interrogation,’ Charley said. ‘Why do you need to know my age?’
‘Just being friendly,’ I said with a shrug, returning to my food.
There was a pause. ‘I’m seventeen. Seventeen and a half in fact. Actually I’ll be eighteen in just a few months. Well six months …’
‘So you’re seventeen and a half,’ I smiled.
‘Is that a problem?’
‘No problem,’ I said with a casual shake of my head.
‘So what about you?’
‘Twenty years, two months, three days, five hours and four seconds …’ I said.
‘Ha-ha, very funny,’ Charley said, looking through the window and out onto the cobbled high street. A few people passed by, bent forward against the rising wind.
‘I was just messing with you,’ I said, fearing my teasing might have hurt her feelings. ‘Honest, I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay,’ she shrugged.
I didn’t need to be a cop to know she was worried about something.
‘You look tired,’ I said, not knowing what else to say but notwanting the conversation to dry up. I needed to keep Charley talking.
‘So do you,’ she said.
‘Is that a polite way of telling me I look like a sack of shit?’ I said. She just looked at me. Now I felt like I was on the spot. ‘I’ve been up all night,’ I told her.
‘Investigating the death of that girl?’ Charley said.
Why was she so keen to know that?
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘So why were you really up on that deserted road this morning?’
Charley looked out of the window again. She did know something. I could see her whole body tensing up. Picking up one of the hash browns, I tore it in two and offered her half. ‘Go on, it’s good,’ I said.
Looking down at the food and not at me, she took it from between my fingers. She pulled a piece off and popped it in her mouth. I watched her chew it slowly, thoughtfully.
‘My best friend was killed by a train on the railway tracks a few weeks back,’ she said. She must have seen my look of surprise because she quickly added, ‘Didn’t you know? I thought it would be your business to know something like that. Her name was Natalie Dean.’
Charley was right, I didn’t know. I had only made the move from force headquarters in Truro to the coastal town of Marsh Bay a week ago, so I wouldn’t have known about her friend’s death. But why hadn’t Harker, Taylor or Jackson mentioned it? Why had they kept that from me? I didn’t like the fact that I was being kept out of the loop.
I tried to mask my surprise. ‘I’m sorry to hear about your friend, but that still doesn’t account for you being up on that remote dirt track this morning.’
‘I just wanted to go up to where she died, to pay my respects …’
‘So she died in the exact same place as the girl last night?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, sounding confused, as if I’d
‘Why do you need to know my name?’ she asked, taking her tea and warming her hands against the paper cup. ‘Is this some kind of interview?’
‘Are you always so hostile with every guy that buys you breakfast?’ I shot back, opening the lid off my food.
‘You’re not just any guy, you’re a cop,’ she smiled over the rim of her cup.
‘Is that a problem?’ I asked, forking scrambled egg into my mouth.
‘No, problem,’ she said. ‘It’s just that cops are meant to always be on duty, aren’t they?’
Putting my fork to one side, I reached into my coat pocket and removed my radio. It hissed with static. I switched it off and placed it on the table. ‘Okay, so now I’m officially off duty.’
‘My name’s Charley Sheppard.’
‘Good to meet you, Charley,’ I said, reaching out across the table.
Slowly, she took my hand. Her skin felt soft but cold. I let her hand go so she could warm it again around her cup.
‘So how old are you?’ I asked her.
‘Are you sure you’re off duty? It’s just that this is beginning to sound like some kind of interrogation,’ Charley said. ‘Why do you need to know my age?’
‘Just being friendly,’ I said with a shrug, returning to my food.
There was a pause. ‘I’m seventeen. Seventeen and a half in fact. Actually I’ll be eighteen in just a few months. Well six months …’
‘So you’re seventeen and a half,’ I smiled.
‘Is that a problem?’
‘No problem,’ I said with a casual shake of my head.
‘So what about you?’
‘Twenty years, two months, three days, five hours and four seconds …’ I said.
‘Ha-ha, very funny,’ Charley said, looking through the window and out onto the cobbled high street. A few people passed by, bent forward against the rising wind.
‘I was just messing with you,’ I said, fearing my teasing might have hurt her feelings. ‘Honest, I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay,’ she shrugged.
I didn’t need to be a cop to know she was worried about something.
‘You look tired,’ I said, not knowing what else to say but notwanting the conversation to dry up. I needed to keep Charley talking.
‘So do you,’ she said.
‘Is that a polite way of telling me I look like a sack of shit?’ I said. She just looked at me. Now I felt like I was on the spot. ‘I’ve been up all night,’ I told her.
‘Investigating the death of that girl?’ Charley said.
Why was she so keen to know that?
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘So why were you really up on that deserted road this morning?’
Charley looked out of the window again. She did know something. I could see her whole body tensing up. Picking up one of the hash browns, I tore it in two and offered her half. ‘Go on, it’s good,’ I said.
Looking down at the food and not at me, she took it from between my fingers. She pulled a piece off and popped it in her mouth. I watched her chew it slowly, thoughtfully.
‘My best friend was killed by a train on the railway tracks a few weeks back,’ she said. She must have seen my look of surprise because she quickly added, ‘Didn’t you know? I thought it would be your business to know something like that. Her name was Natalie Dean.’
Charley was right, I didn’t know. I had only made the move from force headquarters in Truro to the coastal town of Marsh Bay a week ago, so I wouldn’t have known about her friend’s death. But why hadn’t Harker, Taylor or Jackson mentioned it? Why had they kept that from me? I didn’t like the fact that I was being kept out of the loop.
I tried to mask my surprise. ‘I’m sorry to hear about your friend, but that still doesn’t account for you being up on that remote dirt track this morning.’
‘I just wanted to go up to where she died, to pay my respects …’
‘So she died in the exact same place as the girl last night?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, sounding confused, as if I’d
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