the computer and her whiteboard with all her notes on it had been fastened to the wall behind it. Amy, Ben and a few others began to clap and in unison shouted ‘Surprise!’
For once Morgan was truly speechless. After a few moments she found her voice and looked at Ben.
‘What’s going on?’
He grinned. ‘Is that desk okay? Sorry about the balloons, they didn’t have any pink ones, but I figured you wouldn’t care what colour they were. Oh, and that was the only banner they had as well, but it’s the thought that counts.’
Amy shook her head. ‘You’re lucky he managed to find those. When Josie went on her maternity leave, he got one that said “Happy Retirement”. He’s not very good at this, are you, boss?’
Morgan laughed. ‘I thought you’d had enough of me when I looked in my little office and saw everything gone.’
Ben shook his head. ‘Definitely not. Right, enough of the fuzzy stuff. We still have a lot of work to do. Barker was charged with the murder of Jamie Stone and has been remanded for that.’
‘How?’
‘That folder he was about to burn had traces of blood and DNA on the papers inside that matched Jamie Stone’s. The mask and knife he was burning also had traces of Jamie Stone’s blood on it. Which was a miracle really, but sometimes it happens. A minute later and the whole lot would have probably been too burnt to retrieve anything of forensic value.’ He waved his hand at her. ‘It was worth sticking my hand in the fire for that. Barker hasn’t admitted anything, but he knows he won’t be coming home for an exceptionally long time, if at all.
‘In the meantime, we continue to gather evidence and work on the O’Brien murders. Good news is we got a hit on the fibres from that small piece of carpet in the hall cupboard. There were similar ones in the driver’s side footwell of the car you discovered in his lock-up. I’m awaiting confirmation, but Wendy thinks they’ll come back as a definite match.
‘Harrison Wright has been charged with the murders of Olivia, Saul and Beatrix and the attempted murder of Bronte Potter. He made a full and frank confession to them all once he realised there was no going back, and he was already going down for a long time for your attempted murder. He admitted that he wanted the media attention and us arresting Greg Barker for their murders tipped him over the edge, which is why he came after you. He also admitted that Bronte had nothing to do with any of it.’
Amy crossed towards her and patted her back. ‘You did a great job. I’m pleased to tell you that starting from tomorrow you’re on the intake for the detective course and you’re now officially on the team. I’m your tutor, so don’t worry, you’ve already passed as far as I’m concerned. You’ve covered all the good stuff, there’s just the mundane to go through.’
Ben was smiling. The DCI walked in and crossed the room towards her, his hand outstretched.
‘Welcome to CID, Detective Constable Morgan Brookes. We’re glad to have you on board.’
Morgan took Tom’s hand and shook it. ‘Thank you, sir, I’m happy to be here.’
Ben nodded his approval. ‘Right, enough of the niceness. Morgan, you need to catch up on what you’ve missed this last week. Everyone back to work.’
She sat down at her desk and stared at the banner, then she looked around the office. Everyone was already looking back at their computers; she’d had her five minutes of glory.
It was over now, time to get back to work and she had never felt happier.
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Dark House
Detective Lucy Harwin Book 1
Lizzy pulled the covers over her head. Then she realised what was being dragged behind the person with the torch. She rammed her fist into her mouth to stop herself from screaming…
After a previous case ended in a tragic double murder, Detective Lucy Harwin, has been on enforced absence from the force. But when the body of an elderly man is discovered in an abandoned hospital, she is plunged straight back into a case that will test her to breaking point.
For decades, The Moore housed the forgotten children of Northern coastal town, Brooklyn Bay. But ever since a scandal forced its closure, the abandoned building has been left untouched.
Together with her partner, Detective Mattie Jackson, Lucy begins