Missing (The Cass Lehman Series Book 3) (8 page)

‘I’ve asked for the handler and dog I worked with last time. The dog’s a huge Shepherd, nothing dainty or precious about him, and he gets results.’

‘It’s the handlers that are precious.’

‘Nah, Maria’s OK.’

They left the crime-scene team and headed back to the car. Ed sniffed at his clothes. ‘Do you think by the end of this case I won’t even notice that I stink after a visit to this place?’

‘God, I hope not. Grace wouldn’t come near me last night.’ Phil looked at her watch, then frowned. ‘Shit.’

‘What?’

‘I should have checked in with her before now.’

Ed screwed up his face. ‘Since when have you had to check in?’

‘I just promised I’d call.’

‘Well, call her.’

‘Give me a tick.’ She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and wandered off towards the buildings until she was out of earshot. Ed watched her, his mouth half-open. In all the time he’d known her, Phil had never wanted privacy to call her partner. They’d known each other for nearly twenty years. Grace treated Ed like family and Phil had always shared everything with him.

After a few minutes she came back and climbed into the car. Without saying anything she started the engine and drove them out of the dump and onto the main road.

Ed let the silence stretch until he felt like his nerves were so taut they would snap. Finally he gave up and turned to look at her. A stab of fear went straight through him. Phil was crying.

CHAPTER
7

‘Cancer? My God, Phil, why didn’t you tell me?’

They were parked on the gravel verge on the side of the road. Vineyards undulated over the hills on both sides. The occasional car whipped past, making their car rock with the sudden whoosh of air.

Phil shook her head. She was too choked up to talk. Ed reached out and pulled her into his arms. ‘Shhh, it’s OK. It’s gonna be OK.’ He patted her back, trying to convince himself, as much as her. He could feel the panic tightening his chest and making it hard to breathe. Phil never cried. Phil would normally push him away if he tried to hug her, but here she was, crying buckets on his shoulder. It was like his whole world was suddenly spinning on a different axis.

At last Phil looked up and pulled back. ‘Jesus, don’t you start, you big sook,’ she said. He realised his own face was wet with tears.

‘Tell me what’s happened.’

Phil looked away. ‘I should’ve told you, but saying it just makes it more real … and I didn’t want you to come charging back from Adelaide like the bloody cavalry.’

‘Of course I would have come back.’

‘Exactly!’

Ed waited for her to go on, biting back the million questions tumbling through his head.

‘It’s breast cancer. Doesn’t run in her family, as far as we know. She found a lump about two months ago. They did a biopsy and it came back malignant. She’s had a double mastectomy and some chemo. She’s got another six treatments to go then they’ll do some more tests to see if it’s gone away.’

‘Did they get it early?’

‘They think so. There’s no secondary.’

‘Well, that’s good news. And how’s Grace holding up?’

‘Better than me. She’s amazing. Her hair’s fallen out and she’s lost her boobs but she’s still gorgeous.’

‘Of course she is.’ Ed thought of Grace’s stunning chestnut mane.

‘We’re doing OK. I’m sorry I blubbered all over you, it’s just that I haven’t really talked to anyone except Grace about it. But this doesn’t mean I need you to come back to Fairfield,’ she added.

‘No, but I think I want to anyway.’

‘What changed? I thought you liked it in Adelaide. I thought you and Cass were going well.’

‘Yeah, mostly. Adelaide’s OK. I just miss home. I miss my life back here. Call me crazy but I even miss working with you.’

‘Is this the part where I’m supposed to say that I miss you too?’ Phil gave him a crooked smile.

‘That’d be nice.’

‘Fat chance! I’ve got myself a partner who does everything I ask him to plus some, who I don’t have to drag out of bed kicking and screaming to get to early morning scenes and who actually remembers whose turn it is to buy coffee.’

‘Does he leap tall buildings in a single bound as well?’

‘Don’t be snarky. Steve’s a good bloke.’

‘So you don’t want me back as your partner.’ He turned and looked out the window, clenching and unclenching his teeth until his jaws ached.

‘You are such a dick sometimes, you know that? Come on, let’s get back and see what Mr Slick and Boy Wonder have come up with. Hopefully it’s more than we have.’

They walked back into Fairfield station half an hour later with a tray of coffees and a bag of pastries. Dave and Steve were plugging away at their computers.

‘Looks like you two are hard at it.’ Phil walked up and plonked the Danishes in front of Steve. He gave her a quick
smile before carefully pulling some papers out from under the greasy paper bag.

Dave leant back in his chair and rubbed at his temples. ‘You wouldn’t believe how many people dumped their crap last Friday and Saturday.’

Ed handed out the coffees. ‘Any luck?’

‘Some. The CCTV was pretty clear. We’ve identified all the trucks that dumped on the Friday and nearly all the cars on the Saturday. There were about half a dozen vehicles on the Saturday where we couldn’t read the plates,’ Steve said.

‘Trailers?’ Phil asked.

‘Yes, and cars without trailers. All of them had plates that were rusty, dirty or faded.’

‘Any of them look like they’d been deliberately obscured?’ Ed asked.

‘Not definitively. We got the make and model of the cars but that’s about it. One of the cars was an old Toyota Hilux. We got a partial plate, last two digits were two, five. We couldn’t get a good look at the driver but he was definitely male and he dumped bags that looked similar to the ones our remains were found in. Those bags are pretty common though, so that doesn’t mean much.’

Steve picked up his coffee and took a sip before placing it carefully on the desk and rearranging the papers again. Ed wondered if the guy had OCD. He leant on the desk and casually nudged the papers. A minute later Steve straightened them again. Ed smothered a smirk that was tugging at the corners of his
mouth. He knew it was petty but he couldn’t help himself. Phil gave him a filthy look.

‘Did you get a chance to run the plates you did identify?’ she asked.

‘That’s what we were doing when you arrived. Nothing more than some unpaid speeding fines and a few drink-driving convictions so far,’ Dave said.

‘That’s a bit disappointing,’ Ed said.

‘It’s quite possible the remains were disposed of in a normal bin and collected by a truck. Tracing plates might not achieve anything,’ Steve said.

‘But we don’t know for sure. So unless the forensic team finds something that tells us exactly where the body came from, we have to pursue both possibilities.’ Ed realised he sounded like a know-it-all, but being around Steve brought out the worst in him. It was like some kind of weird inverse reaction. The more perfect Steve was, the worse Ed behaved.

‘Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious,’ Phil said, shooting Ed another look — one that would have turned most men to stone. She turned back to her new partner. ‘How many more have you got to go through?’

Steve didn’t get a chance to answer. Their conversation was interrupted by DCI Natalia Sorenson, who was striding purposefully across the floor towards them.

‘Dyson! I was beginning to think you’d slunk in and out without me laying eyes on you.’

‘Hey, Boss. Have you been introduced to my new partner Dave?’

‘We met earlier today. Do you have a minute? I’d like a word before you head back to Adelaide.’

‘Sure.’

Ed followed her back to her office. It was a lot neater than Crackers’, with the added benefit that it smelled of perfume instead of body odour.

‘Sit down.’ She closed the door behind him.

‘Closed door? Must be serious.’

‘It is.’

She walked over to the window and looked out over the streetscape. The sun was beginning to set and the shadows had lengthened so that most of the street was shrouded in semi-darkness.

Natalia’s strawberry-coloured hair was longer than she’d worn it when he’d worked here. She was wearing a plain white shirt and a smartly tailored navy pencil skirt with nude pumps. Everything about her screamed professionalism and class. Ed found himself pondering the mystery of an organisation that could promote both her and Crackers.

‘Have you and Phil spoken?’ she asked.

‘About Grace, you mean?’

‘Yes.’

‘We have.’

‘Good. I’ve tried to talk to her about it a few times and suggested she take some time off, but every time I mention it she gets all prickly on me. She’s only giving me the bare minimum, and she’s been walking around pretending everything’s OK.’

‘She only told me today.’

‘Really? I suppose that should make me feel a bit better.’

‘Was that what you wanted to talk to me about? Because I really think you should ask Phil if you want to know …’

‘No, no. That wasn’t it. I was just making sure she was talking to someone. I actually wanted to ask you how things are going with MCIB, and what your plans are.’

‘Oh, right.’ Ed pressed his lips together and gripped the armrests on his chair. From the moment she’d called him into her office he’d been worried that she’d want to discuss his future. He wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. The last two days had completely scrambled the vision he’d had and he wasn’t sure he knew what the new version looked like. He also needed to make things right with Cass. Talking about the future with Sorenson before he’d given Cass a chance to tell him what she wanted was only going to make things worse.

‘I’ve been asked to take on the DCI role at Sturt for a while.’

‘Oh. Is that something you want to do?’

‘Yes and no. It’s a bigger station, more responsibility, a slight step up, I suppose. Their DCI is taking leave for health reasons. He approached me personally and asked me to apply.’

‘And you’re going to do it?’

‘I am. I start next month.’

‘Right.’

She finally turned away from the window and walked over to her chair. She sank into it and leant on her desk, studying Ed.

‘DCI Arnott rang me the other day and asked if I’d release you permanently to MCIB.’

‘He did?’

‘Yes. Steve’s working well as Phil’s partner. I thought she might eat him alive, but they’re a good team.’

‘So you don’t want me to come back?’

‘As Phil’s partner, no.’

Ed looked away. He didn’t want her to see how hurt he was that she was prepared to hand him over to MCIB without batting an eyelid.

‘Right, I see …’

‘Oh come on! You’re not much of a detective, are you? I want you to come back here and take on my role for three months. It could be longer, but that depends on what happens with Pat’s health.’

‘Acting DCI?’

She smiled for the first time and rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, don’t look so shocked. You’re one of my most senior detectives and now you’ve got MCIB experience as well. It wasn’t a difficult choice.’

Ed leant back in his chair and let the thought roll around in his mind. It was appealing, but he wasn’t sure how Phil’d take it. How would she feel about him being her boss?

‘You don’t have to give me an answer now. Take a couple of days to think about it and talk to Cass. You’d need to come back from MCIB a bit earlier. Pat’s booked in for his surgery at the end of next month. I haven’t approached DCI Arnott yet, but if you agree to move then I’m sure he’ll be accommodating.’

Ed had a pretty good idea of what Crackers’ reaction would be. ‘Accommodating’ wasn’t the word he would have used.

‘Thanks. I’ll give it some thought,’ he said.

She stood up and offered her hand. The formality of the handshake felt strange. He was on his way out of the office when a thought struck him.

‘Can I talk to Phil about it?’

‘Yes, if you need to. Just let her know that I’d prefer to keep it quiet until a decision has been made and announced.’

CHAPTER
8

I blinked into the darkness, trying to work out what had woken me. My eyes were heavy with sleep and my brain fuzzy around the edges. The glowing numbers on the clock swam into view. It was just after 7pm. I’d been asleep for nearly four hours.

‘Cass?’ Ed’s voice echoed up the stairs from the small entrance lobby.

‘Up here.’

I flicked on the lamp and sat up in bed, then listened as he trudged up the stairs. He appeared in the doorway.

‘Are you sick?’ He walked over to the bed and sat down, tugging at his laces and easing his shoes off. I wrinkled my nose. He had the unmistakeable odour of rubbish dump about him.

‘I had a vision while I was out for lunch.’

‘Are you OK?’ He’d seen the aftermath of my visions enough times to know they left me wrung out.

‘Yep, just tired.’

‘Where’d it happen? Were you by yourself?’

The anxiety in his voice had crept up a few notches but his questions were sounding more like the Spanish Inquisition than an expression of concern.

‘In the city, and no, I wasn’t by myself. I’m fine.’ I threw the bedclothes back and climbed out of bed. I was still fully clothed. When DCI Arnott had dropped me home I’d barely made it out of the car and up the stairs before collapsing into a comatose state on the bed. I couldn’t even remember getting under the covers. I studied Ed’s face. The dark circles told me all I needed to know, but I asked the question anyway. No point being a complete bitch. ‘How was your day? You left at the crack of dawn.’ I couldn’t help throwing in the last bit.