The Cold Light of Mourning - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,93
shook her head.
“No, coffee, please.”
“What time did he leave?” asked Victoria. “I didn’t hear a thing.”
She broke into a grin. “Or did he leave? Maybe you’re hiding him in your room!”
“No, sadly, he went home about two,” said Penny. “They’ll have a busy weekend. He said they’d be talking to Alwynne and Bethan will have to go over everybody’s statements and of course, they’ll have to get the photos enhanced. I guess all we can do is await developments.”
The morning dragged on slowly and Penny found it hard not to keep looking at her watch. Every time the door opened she looked up expectantly, and hoped she had managed to hide her disappointment when each new arrival turned out to be the next client.
A few streets away in the incident room, Bethan was repeating herself to Davies whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.
“Emyr, sir! What do you want me to do about him?”
Davies looked up at her.
“Sorry, Bethan. Not quite with it today. Emyr. Right. Let’s keep him where he is for now, because if we release him, Williams will know we’re onto him.
“Look, here’s what I want you to do. You know that woman’s phone—the one we recovered from the grave? The tech guys must be finished with it by now. I want the passwords and then you and I are going to set a little trap.”
Bethan broke into a broad smile.
“Sounds good. I’ll be back.”
By lunchtime, Penny was more than ready to call it a day and wondering how she was going to make it through the afternoon, went up to the flat. She shook her head when Victoria asked her what she wanted for lunch and plopped down on the sofa.
“Not hungry,” she said. “I feel like there’s something I should be doing, but I don’t know what it is. I feel all wound up … can’t concentrate.”
“Have you heard from him this morning?”
“No, but I didn’t think I would. I know he’s got a lot on. He says this is all going to be over soon, one way or another.”
“Good,” said Victoria. “It’s frightening to think that Williams is still out there.
“Sure you don’t want a cuppa, or anything?”
“Okay, a tea would be great, thanks,” said Penny as she reached over and picked up one of Victoria’s library books from the coffee table and idly started leafing through it.
She sat back and thumbed through the pages, glancing at the names and descriptions of the different kinds of drugs available on the streets of Britain, each one easily capable of destroying every life it touched.
She turned the pages slowly and then stopped. Turning back a page or two she read the description closely.
Users of the drug face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
In high doses, it can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. This can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure and ultimately, death.
“Methylenedioxymethamphetamine,” she muttered, underlining it with her finger as she stumbled over the word. MDMA. More commonly known as Ecstasy.
She tore a piece of paper off the small pad beside the telephone and printed MOMA. Looking at it critically, she printed the letters again, this time flattening the O.
“Victoria,” she shouted. “It’s all about drugs! And Meg Wynne must have known it! That’s why he killed her. It’s drugs!”
Teapot in hand, Victoria peered into the sitting room to see Penny jumping up off the sofa with a book and scrap of paper in her hand.
“What time is it? Have I got time to go and see him before the first appointment this afternoon?” Penny asked.
She glanced at her watch.
“Look, just call the first couple of appointments and see if they can come in later, would you? I’ve got to go and see him. I’ll explain later.”
Victoria watched as Penny flew out of the flat and shook her head.
“Tea for one, then.”
Penny arrived at the incident room, out of breath and barely able to speak, just as Bethan was returning with the accomplice’s cell phone.
“It’s all about drugs, Bethan,” Penny panted. “I have to speak to him.”
Davies looked up as Bethan entered his office and when Penny followed a few seconds later, he stood up.