chapter6

“We've got a knife attack. Wounding with intent to kill. Who wants it?”

Detective Inspector Sanderson's voice filled the MIT office. Despite the early hour, the room was full—with some familiar faces and some new ones. There was a moment's pause—did anyone need another case?—before DC Lucas stepped forward, just pipping Edwards to the post.

“I'll take it,” she said cheerfully. “Anything out of the ordinary?”

“Kebab shop confrontation. The perpetrator's claiming self-defense, but it looks like attempted murder to me.”

“I can't think of a better case for a vegetarian.”

Lucas's manner was playful, but the speed with which she scooped up her warrant card and bag belied her tone. Much had changed on the seventh floor since Helen Grace's incarceration. The whole team had looked up to their inspirational leader—Sanderson included—and her disgrace had affected everybody. She had been in charge of the Major Incident Team for so long that it had taken them a while to get used to the sight of somebody else in her office. Still, Sanderson was getting more comfortable in the role now, and she regarded Lucas's desire to impress as evidence that progress was being made. Perhaps there was life after Helen Grace.

Sanderson felt she'd done more than enough to earn her promotion, having pushed through the complex investigation into her predecessor's criminal behavior with rigor and tact. But it had still come as a shock when Detective Superintendent Gardam told her she was going to be the new detective inspector. Jonathan Gardam had been reassuring, however, urging her to reshape the team in her own image. This was partly to encourage her but was also a deliberate attempt to repair some of the damage caused by Helen's arrest. The reputation of Hampshire Police had taken a terrible battering following the revelation that they'd harbored a killer in their midst, and Gardam seemed determined to rectify this. He knew Sanderson was a by-the-book girl—a fact that no doubt had some bearing on her elevation.

Predictably, the one fly in the ointment was Charlie Brooks. Her loyalty to Helen was unshakable, and the fact that Robert Stonehill had been in Southampton at the time of the infamous S and M murders only reinforced her belief that Helen was innocent. In reality there was not a shred of evidence to connect him with the killings, but this made no difference—Charlie was obsessed with Helen, and on more than one occasion Sanderson had had to reprimand her for her lack of focus.

Scanning the room, Sanderson was depressed to see that Charlie's chair was empty. She hadn't called in sick, wasn't being deployed elsewhere today and knew better than to go absent without leave.

Which begged the question: where was she?