Buried (DC Jack Warr #1) - Lynda La Plante Page 0,5

recognisable pale blue-green pattern from the bottom left-hand corner of an old five-pound note. Prescott carefully picked up this fragile piece of evidence and placed it in the palm of Sally’s gloved hand.

‘It’s cash, Sal. These stacks of paper . . . it’s all cash.’

*

Jack Warr was a strikingly attractive man. Thick, dark hooded brows hid the deepest brown eyes. He had a cleft chin which showed the permanent shadow of impending stubble and, when he smiled, two long dimples appeared on either side of his mouth, running from his chin to his cheekbones. He had a naturally athletic physique that looked great in anything.

Maggie, his partner, always said it was a good job that his body was so amazing as he made no real effort with the clothes he dressed it in, but she fancied the pants off him no matter what he wore. It was those eyes that had got her in the first instance, though. Eyebrows down, Jack’s eyes would express such incredible intensity that if he told you he could take on David Haye and win, you’d believe him. Eyebrows up, he looked like a delicate, innocent soul that any woman would love to care for. This balance between man and boy was why Maggie loved Jack so much. He was her protector and her lover, her rock and her friend.

‘Where’s the jacket that goes with this shirt you’ve put out?’ Jack shouted from the master bedroom. He liked to call it the ‘master’ bedroom, regardless of the fact that it was exactly the same size as the spare bedroom. The view over Teddington was what made it masterful, according to Jack.

Maggie didn’t answer, so Jack was forced to go into the kitchen to find her. On the breakfast bar were a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea that she’d put out for him. On the back of his chair was his jacket and underneath were his shoes. Maggie’s crooked smile said, Why do we do this every morning?

Jack kissed and hugged her tightly. He never tired of just holding Maggie in his arms. She felt the same today as she had when they first met. Jack would maintain that Maggie kept her exceptional figure effortlessly, but she tried her very best to go to the hospital gym during every lunch break and, when Jack had the car for work, she’d leave herself enough time to walk to the hospital. For Maggie, this daily exercise was not only good for her body, but also hugely therapeutic, as it took her away from the stresses, pressures and horrors of being a foundation year doctor. Neither Jack’s nor Maggie’s job was easy. Shift patterns and heavy workloads dictated that junk food was sometimes on the menu and, when they did get a rare day off together, they loved nothing more than going out for drinks, dinner, and a movie.

Maggie exercised to stay beautiful for Jack, and Jack did absolutely nothing to stay fit for Maggie. She was a health-conscious 34-year-old and he was a slobbish 36-year-old. Maggie, in stark contrast to Jack’s ‘Heathcliff’ look, had blonde hair and blue eyes. Jack adored the way she looked when she rolled out of bed in the morning, with her hair ruffled and her pale, flawless skin unhidden by make-up. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and would ever see. He had eyes for no one but her.

Maggie had just come off a night shift on the orthopaedic ward at the New Victoria Hospital. She was three weeks into her new rotation and, despite always coming home exhausted, she still got Jack ready for work before she went to bed. By the time he got home that night, she’d be gone again, so this hug had to last him at least twenty-four hours. Jack nuzzled Maggie’s neck. He normally hated the way she smelt when she came home from work – the horrible combination of alcohol hand sanitiser, that chemical smell that hangs in the air in hospitals, mothballs and, occasionally, vomit – but this morning he was running late, so she’d already had time to shower and, therefore, smelt of tangerines.

Fourteen months previously, Maggie and Jack had agreed that moving from Devon to London was the right thing to do for her career. His career, in his words, wasn’t as big a deal as hers. Maggie knew she wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon, whereas all Jack really knew for sure was that he wanted to be