Gytha Lodge - She Lies in Wait

Jonah was halfway up Blissford Hill when he felt the buzz of his phone in the zip pocket on the back of his Lycra. He was standing on the pedals and slogging upward. He considered ignoring it, and then had a vivid image of his mum in hospital. And following that, he had a slightly stomach-turning thought that it might be Michelle. Which was just as irrational as every other time hed believed it in the last eight months, but he thought it anyway.

He braked with gritted teeth and stopped his grinding climb. He caught his shin on one of the pedals as he jumped down, and was savage by the time hed rooted his phone out and seen DS Lightmans extension flashing on the screen.

Ben? he said, and then moved the phone away from his mouth to mask his heavy breathing.

Sorry, Chief. Lightman didnt sound it. Never really sounded anything. Michelle had liked to call him Barbie. Exquisitely pretty and emotionless. A lot smarter than Barbie, though, Jonah knew. Call from DCS Wilkinson. He wants you to postpone your days off to investigate a possible homicide.

Jonah let the DS wait in silence. He looked up at the tree-shadowed top of the hill. It was a slog away, but he wanted the slog. His legs were crying out for it. He squeezed the drop handles of his bike with his free hand and felt the sweat on his palm. He hadnt spent enough time doing this recently.

Sir?

Where? he asked, not bothering to hide his irritation.

Brinken Wood.

There was another silence, but this one wasnt deliberate. He felt knocked off balance.

Recent remains? he asked in the end, though he thought he knew the answer.

No. DCS says not, said the sergeant, who was too young to understand.

His day of cycling was over, but Jonah suddenly felt too old for it anyway. He couldnt remember ever feeling old before.

Send a car to pick me up in Godshill. Bring the kit bag from behind my desk. And find someone to lend me a deodorant.

Yes, sir, Lightman answered, his voice as level as ever.

Jonah slotted his phone back into the pocket of his technical top. There was sweat already cooling on him and leaving him chilled. He ought to get cycling again. It was a few more miles to Godshill.

He stayed there, unmoving, for a full minute, then swung his leg off the Cannondale and started to walk it slowly up the hill.

H ANSON WAS IN such a hurry to climb out of the car that she caught the sleeve of her expensive new suit on a protruding piece in the door and pulled a thread. It gave her a slightly sick feeling. She hadnt really been able to afford it in the first place. Shed bought three others in her first two weeks as a DC, having previously owned only jeans, tank tops, and sweaters, and a few dresses for going out. Suits were bloody expensive, and she resented the money she could have been spending on her unreliable car. Or maybe on an actual social life, which she seemed to have forgotten about somewhere along the way.

She tried to smooth down the plucked sleeve while she made her way inside. She wondered if she could get her mum to take a look at it, if she managed to make it to her mums anytime soon. A potential homicide might mean working through the weekend. Late nights and living off caffeine while they caught the killer. The thought made her smile.

She let herself into CID and saw Lightmans head bent over his screen. She wondered how long hed been here, and whether he did anything else with his life. Whether there were a Lightman wife and kids that he hadnt yet mentioned. He somehow had the look of an unfaithful husband about him. Too pretty, and too closed-off. Unless that was more her own recent experience warping her expectations.