had a shite day.’
She tucked herself back in and hauled herself into a sitting position, resting against the headboard. ‘Two rejections in twenty-four hours.’
‘Not my fault I got called to work.’ He paused. ‘Not like the old days, is it? Used to be two or three times a night. Now we can’t seem to synchronise our libidos.’
‘What’s the matter with you?’ She glowered at him. ‘Last night, you were all over me like Buxton at a wedding.’
‘And you were shattered. Now it’s my turn.’ He yawned. ‘Look, I’ve been out on the bloody streets all day, trying to identify a body.’
‘You don’t find me attractive anymore, do you?’
Cullen ran a hand through his hair, his eyes watering. ‘It’s not that, at all.’
‘What is it, then?’
‘I’m exhausted. Really.’
‘It’s been months since you’ve been interested in me.’
‘What about last night?’
‘That’s different.’
‘How?’
‘It just is.’
‘Sharon, I still find you sexy as hell.’
She looked away. ‘Right.’
‘I mean it. What’s going on in your head?’
‘I’ve been bored out of my mind. Doing work on my day off. Then I started reading that book…’ She shrugged. ‘Scott, I don’t want to put you under pressure, but I think we should move. Put it all behind us.’
‘It?’
Her eyes darted around the room. ‘This is where…’
‘Shit, right.’ Cullen grabbed her hand and stroked her palm with a finger. ‘Let’s talk about this tomorrow.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Please?’
‘Try harder.’
‘Pretty please? Sugar on top and chocolate diamonds.’
‘Okay.’ She laughed and stabbed a finger at him. ‘Tomorrow.’
‘Sorry. It was nice what you were trying to do, but I am knackered.’ He ran a finger along the underside of his eyes. ‘Look at my bags.’
‘That’s hay fever. It’s oil seed rape season just now.’
‘I don’t get hay fever.’
‘Then it’s too much coffee.’
‘Man’s got to have a vice.’
She knelt and hauled off her bodice, showing ribs and tight stomach. ‘Go to sleep, Scott.’
Monday
19th May 2014
Ten
Methven held up his notebook and glowered around the Incident Room. ‘Next is the Jonathan van de Merwe case, fresh in yesterday. First point to note is DCI Cargill is the Senior Investigating Officer.’ He glanced over to the side. ‘Alison, would you like a word?’
‘Thanks, Colin.’ DCI Alison Cargill stood by the entrance, dappled by early morning glare. Hands on wide hips. Forehead creased below her short fringe, the red hair not much longer than shoulder length. ‘We need to focus on getting our ducks in a row pretty quickly. Identifying the body so late has put us behind the curve, but I know you can do it. There will be press interest in this case, lots of it.’ She flashed a smile at Methven. ‘You should all note DI Methven’s Deputy SIO on this and I expect him to take point on the case. Understood?’
Cullen gave a nod. Standard fare. He gazed around the room, his team spread out. Jain at the far side and Eva between them. ‘Any progress overnight, sir?’
Methven checked his notebook. ‘The SOCOs are still going through Mr Van de Merwe’s residence.’
‘They’ve had twelve hours.’
‘As I’m sure you’ll recall from yesterday, it is a town house.’ Methven narrowed his eyes. ‘A large one at that. They’re struggling to finish it in a standard timeframe.’
‘Have they found anything?’
‘Nothing of note.’ Methven drew a breath through his nose. ‘His front door wasn’t just unlocked, it was open. From the lack of obvious signs of disturbance, we think it’d been that way since the early hours of the morning.’
‘I’d say that rules out suicide.’ Cullen rubbed his hands together. ‘Someone’s snatched him from his house in the middle of the night.’
‘Agreed. Determining who killed him is the primary activity of your team today.’ Methven focused on Cullen and nodded. ‘We have two
She tucked herself back in and hauled herself into a sitting position, resting against the headboard. ‘Two rejections in twenty-four hours.’
‘Not my fault I got called to work.’ He paused. ‘Not like the old days, is it? Used to be two or three times a night. Now we can’t seem to synchronise our libidos.’
‘What’s the matter with you?’ She glowered at him. ‘Last night, you were all over me like Buxton at a wedding.’
‘And you were shattered. Now it’s my turn.’ He yawned. ‘Look, I’ve been out on the bloody streets all day, trying to identify a body.’
‘You don’t find me attractive anymore, do you?’
Cullen ran a hand through his hair, his eyes watering. ‘It’s not that, at all.’
‘What is it, then?’
‘I’m exhausted. Really.’
‘It’s been months since you’ve been interested in me.’
‘What about last night?’
‘That’s different.’
‘How?’
‘It just is.’
‘Sharon, I still find you sexy as hell.’
She looked away. ‘Right.’
‘I mean it. What’s going on in your head?’
‘I’ve been bored out of my mind. Doing work on my day off. Then I started reading that book…’ She shrugged. ‘Scott, I don’t want to put you under pressure, but I think we should move. Put it all behind us.’
‘It?’
Her eyes darted around the room. ‘This is where…’
‘Shit, right.’ Cullen grabbed her hand and stroked her palm with a finger. ‘Let’s talk about this tomorrow.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Please?’
‘Try harder.’
‘Pretty please? Sugar on top and chocolate diamonds.’
‘Okay.’ She laughed and stabbed a finger at him. ‘Tomorrow.’
‘Sorry. It was nice what you were trying to do, but I am knackered.’ He ran a finger along the underside of his eyes. ‘Look at my bags.’
‘That’s hay fever. It’s oil seed rape season just now.’
‘I don’t get hay fever.’
‘Then it’s too much coffee.’
‘Man’s got to have a vice.’
She knelt and hauled off her bodice, showing ribs and tight stomach. ‘Go to sleep, Scott.’
Monday
19th May 2014
Ten
Methven held up his notebook and glowered around the Incident Room. ‘Next is the Jonathan van de Merwe case, fresh in yesterday. First point to note is DCI Cargill is the Senior Investigating Officer.’ He glanced over to the side. ‘Alison, would you like a word?’
‘Thanks, Colin.’ DCI Alison Cargill stood by the entrance, dappled by early morning glare. Hands on wide hips. Forehead creased below her short fringe, the red hair not much longer than shoulder length. ‘We need to focus on getting our ducks in a row pretty quickly. Identifying the body so late has put us behind the curve, but I know you can do it. There will be press interest in this case, lots of it.’ She flashed a smile at Methven. ‘You should all note DI Methven’s Deputy SIO on this and I expect him to take point on the case. Understood?’
Cullen gave a nod. Standard fare. He gazed around the room, his team spread out. Jain at the far side and Eva between them. ‘Any progress overnight, sir?’
Methven checked his notebook. ‘The SOCOs are still going through Mr Van de Merwe’s residence.’
‘They’ve had twelve hours.’
‘As I’m sure you’ll recall from yesterday, it is a town house.’ Methven narrowed his eyes. ‘A large one at that. They’re struggling to finish it in a standard timeframe.’
‘Have they found anything?’
‘Nothing of note.’ Methven drew a breath through his nose. ‘His front door wasn’t just unlocked, it was open. From the lack of obvious signs of disturbance, we think it’d been that way since the early hours of the morning.’
‘I’d say that rules out suicide.’ Cullen rubbed his hands together. ‘Someone’s snatched him from his house in the middle of the night.’
‘Agreed. Determining who killed him is the primary activity of your team today.’ Methven focused on Cullen and nodded. ‘We have two
Similar Books
