Expression still serious, his mouth nonetheless twitched up at the edges. ‘Can’t say I’ve ever had either of those issues.’
‘Well, from your face, I was starting to wonder whether you even use an oven.’
His eyebrows took a slow ride up to crinkle his brow. ‘I can cook.’
‘Really?’ He’d fed her, even brought fresh, hot food around, but he hadn’t cooked it himself, it had been take-out food.
‘Yep. I’m a damned good cook, if I say so myself. I just can’t recall sticking my face so close to a hot, open oven that I’ve managed to singe my eyebrows. Never applied mascara, not really interested in trying it, especially if that’s the result you get.’
She reached for her coffee and risked a sip. Still hot, but no longer so hot that it would scald her tongue. She shot him a grim look, squinting at him through the wisps of steam. ‘So, Adrian, back to the fire, how do you know Gordon Lawrence?’
‘I don’t know him personally, but I certainly know of him and I think we have a problem.’ He stroked his fingers across his chin. ‘Possibly a significant one. This guy, Gordon Lawrence, he’s amongst a group of people we’ve been investigating in relation to one of my major cases I’m prosecuting on based in London. I’d just started to dig deep into his connection. So far, I haven’t found anything, but I just need to find the right thread to pull.’
Sufficiently interested, Jenna leaned her elbows on her desk and cupped her chin in her hands as she squinted at him. ‘Major case in relation to…?’
‘Drugs.’
Surprise rippled over her senses. ‘Oh great.’ Now she’d have the Drug Squad all over her patch and she’d never get to the bottom of the reason for the fire. It threatened to turn into a circus. She’d already passed over her barista to them. ‘So, what are we talking? From initial findings, they believe it’s arson, but we have no idea yet the whys and wherefores, we’ve been left holding our arses in our hands, if the truth be told, and I need answers.’ She’d wanted them when she’d arrived at the station two hours earlier, but nothing further had come to light. Forensics took time. No one had stepped forward to claim next of kin despite the press release.
‘Don’t we all?’
She tapped the screen on her phone and glanced at the time, an idea formulating in the back of her mind. Early yet. ‘We’re not due a debrief for another couple of hours.’
‘The Drug Squad are going to be all over this shortly.’
Damn. Just as she thought. She already had them nudging their way in on her other case. She’d enough balls in the air. She needed to keep them all there and the only way to do that was with information. Currently, she didn’t have enough.
‘The Drug Squad are going to have to wait their turn. As I said, the fire service has only just let forensics into the house. It’s been too much of a hot spot to investigate. We’re hoping for another update from NILO in the next couple of hours. Hopefully, SOCO have something more to give us, but the scene is still causing them problems with the heat.’
She considered how much she should tell him. Maybe not her theory, but the facts were all there if he cared to ask anyone he knew in the station for them. He only needed to go to Chief Superintendent Gregg. Since Adrian’s involvement with Fliss’s disappearance, it appeared Gregg and Adrian had become best buddies. Almost. There was always a line between officers and prosecutors. There needed to be for when matters went to court. And Adrian would possibly be taking this matter to court at some point in the future.
‘We have five bodies in situ at present.’ That was common knowledge, it had been in the press release.
Adrian inclined his head, dark eyes intense as she continued.
‘Obviously, we need to verify the identities, but as of today they still couldn’t do it. As it is a family of six, that makes us short one body.’ She tapped the desk with her forefinger. ‘That is an assumption at present as a full inspection of the scene is still taking place. The sixth body could be under the rubble. There was a family party, everyone, it appears, went to bed early. As all the bodies have been located from the first floor where the bedrooms are, in the east wing of the building some of the floors have collapsed inwards, so forensics will verify that at a later stage. But, and again an assumption, we think they’d all gone to bed as they were in different parts of the building.’ Jenna blew out a breath and wrapped fingers turned to ice around her cup. ‘SOCO sent photos of the bodies.’ She dropped her hands back down to the desk and squinted at him. ‘Last night.’
‘Ah.’ He made a slow inspection of her and inclined his head again. ‘You should have called. I was back home. Available.’
Her smile came with ease at his understanding as she raised her cup and took another drink. ‘I’ll remember that in future. I just assumed you’d be asleep after a long day.’
‘I’m always available for you, Sergeant.’ His smile gave her a reassurance she hadn’t realised she needed.
‘They tried to lift one of the bodies last night but it was so hot it melted the plastic body bag and fell back through onto the floor.’
Adrian’s mouth twisted. ‘Unpleasant.’ Again, his eyes made a quick tour of her face. She recognised the look, she did it to Fliss. He was checking her, making sure she was okay.
He had nothing to worry about, she’d survive. She’d survived worse. Nothing about this case was personal. Desperately sad, but not personal.
She gave a shrug. ‘So, we have nothing to go on yet.’
Her mild impatience gathered speed, she tapped a rhythm out on her desk with her fingers as she continued to stare at Adrian. She wanted information as much as he did. If not more so. She raised her cup, surprised to see she was almost halfway through as time ticked away.
With her mind kicking into overdrive, Jenna pushed away from her desk and came to her feet in one fluid motion. ‘Let’s not wait for NILO to come and debrief us.’ She caught his gaze in hers. ‘Let’s go down there and take a look for ourselves. See what information we can glean from it. It’s my case, my investigation, my decision.’
Adrian’s lips morphed into a satisfied smile as he rose to his feet and jammed the lid back onto his coffee. It was all the answer she needed as she strode around the desk and swung open the door, speaking over her shoulder to Adrian as she went.
‘We’ll pick up Mason on the way through the office.’ She considered the amount of work it might entail, the information they might be able to extract once they were on site. ‘It won’t do Ryan any harm to come with us and see what’s going on, either. It’s good experience for him.’
Her mind whirled through who else would be involved.
She could only hope PC Gardner was not the scene guard at the site this morning. She’d seen his name on the rota but couldn’t pull from her memory the exact times he would be there. Eight hourly shifts, offered on overtime, had been arranged so each PC on the rota would have the opportunity to keep up with their other duties, and it ensured none of them became bored. Of course, he’d jump at it. He wouldn’t have voluntarily offered. There’d have to be something in it for him. It was the type of character he was.