‘Yes,’ she answered. All she wanted was a few minutes to herself. She was constantly plagued from every angle from time thieves.
‘DCI Darke, it’s Danny Hanson from The Star.’
‘Yes, Danny, I know it’s you.’
‘You have my number stored? I’m touched.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I’ve had a very interesting call from a member of the public.’
Matilda sat up. This did not sound good. ‘Oh?’
‘Indeed. I won’t reveal her name, obviously, but she tells me a member of your team has abused his position as a detective to elicit an affair with a witness to a very brutal crime. Apparently, he took advantage when her resistance was low, and, now that she’s pregnant, he’s turned his back on her.’
Matilda could feel the blood rushing around her brain. ‘What?’ She looked up out of her office at her team going about their work. It couldn’t be Scott as he was gay and in a relationship with her best friend’s son. She very much doubted it was Finn as he constantly rambled on about his wife. She hoped it wasn’t Christian or Aaron. They were both committed family men and knew it would shatter their wives to learn of their husband’s deceit. Rory? It was possible. He was a habitual flirt. Ranjeet? Again, Matilda hoped not. His wife was still off work on maternity leave.
‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes. I’m still here. So, who is this detective?’
‘Are you telling me you really don’t know what’s going on in the private lives of your team?’
‘Danny, I’m aware this is a multiple orgasm to you, but if you don’t stop pissing about and tell me, I shall have you arrested for wasting police time.’
‘Ok. I’ll tell you. Drumroll please,’
‘Danny!’
‘Ok, ok, just trying to add to the drama,’ the joy was evident in his voice. ‘It is Detective Sergeant,’ he paused deliberately, ‘Aaron Connolly.’
Matilda’s heart skipped a beat and her mouth fell open. ‘You’d better be one hundred per cent sure about this, Danny,’ she said. Her tone was flat and cold.
‘Oh I am. I’ve got the photos to prove it.’
‘Photos?’
‘Oh, didn’t I mention that?’ he asked, playfully. ‘The woman in question emailed me a couple of snaps of the two of them together. It’s so sweet. Well, it would be sweet if the detective in question wasn’t married with a young child.’
‘What do you want?’
‘Nothing. I’m just giving you a right of reply before I run the story of a detective abusing his position of power with a vulnerable witness, getting her pregnant, then abandoning her when she needs him the most.’
‘Ok, Danny, I need to have this confirmed with Detective Sergeant Connolly. You cannot run this story until I know it’s not a hoax or some kind of revenge attack on my officers.’
‘I’m aware of my position on this, DCI Darke. As it’s Friday, I’m going to be generous and give you the weekend to mull it over. If I don’t hear from you, it will be all over the front page of Monday’s paper. Fingers crossed I’ll be working on a national by the end of the year.’
The line went dead.
Matilda still held the phone to her ear. She wanted nothing more than Danny Hanson’s testicles as earrings now. She’d rip them off him with her bare hands if she had to.
She looked out of her office and into the suite. Her team were going about their business with professionalism. Aaron always had the look of a man who had the weight of the world’s problems on his shoulders, but now his frown was heavy, his head was sunken and he strolled around the office like a man heading for the gallows, which wasn’t far from the truth.
Matilda had no idea what to do. Ideally, she should tell ACC Valerie Masterson, but she had enough to cope with at the moment. Professional Standards would need to get involved and possibly the Crown Prosecution Service. Depending on who the witness was and what input they’d had on the investigation, it could throw the whole case into jeopardy.
The ping on an incoming email made Matilda turn to her laptop. She didn’t recognise the sender’s name, but the subject line was enough to make her sit up and take notice:
DNA test results: Carl Meagan
She clicked open the email, scrolled down the greeting and the waffle to the result at the bottom of the page. Usually, it would take a long time for DNA results to return but as Carl’s were already on file, this was just a case of matching the two.
Matilda’s eyes ran across the screen and back again like she was engrossed in a tennis match.
‘Jesus Fucking Christ,’ she said.
Chapter 40
A uniformed PC entered the HMET suite carrying a large bunch of flowers. He looked over to the small group having coffee which comprised Sian, Rory, Scott, and Finn.
‘Is one of you DS Sian Mills?’
‘One of us is,’ Rory said. ‘That’s all the hint you’re getting,’ he smiled.
Sian stood up. ‘I am. I’m guessing those are for me.’
‘Yes. They were just delivered downstairs.’
She took the bouquet from him and smiled as she looked for a card among the roses, carnations and lilies. ‘Aren’t these gorgeous?’
‘Secret admirer?’ Scott asked.
‘I bet they’re from a serial killer taunting you from his prison cell,’ Rory said.
‘They’re from Stuart,’ Sian said, reading the card.
‘I was so close,’ Rory laughed.
‘He hopes I’m ok and not working too hard. He’s pleased he’s married to the most beautiful, understanding, and tolerant woman he could hope to meet, and he’s looking forward to the next twenty-five years together,’ she read with a huge grin on her face. ‘Take a note here, boys. I’ve been married for twenty-five years and my husband can still surprise me with flowers. If you want to keep your partners that long, be attentive, and don’t take them for granted.’
‘I’ve been married for four years this November,’ Finn said.
‘I can’t believe that,’ Rory said. ‘You’re twenty-four, you look about twelve, yet you’ve been married for four years. It’s like you’ve skipped freedom and gone from college straight to being middle aged.’
‘If you find the person you’re meant to be with, does it matter how long you wait before marrying them?’ He said with a smile.
‘He’s only jealous, Finn,’ Scott said.
‘I’m not jealous. I’m in a very close relationship with Natasha. Or had you forgotten?’
‘Difficult to forget when the plaster is falling off my bedroom wall.’
‘Well, you won’t have to put up with it for much longer. You’ll be moving out soon.’
‘I know,’ he grinned. ‘I can’t wait.’
‘You’re definitely moving into the flat above Matilda’s garage?’ Sian asked, cradling the flowers in her arms.
‘Yes. We’re going around tomorrow to measure up.’
‘Don’t you think it’s going to be a bit weird, trying to have sex when the boss is within hearing distance?’ Rory asked.