definitely on the cards then? I know you mentioned it before, but that was ages ago and you haven’t said anything since.’
Helena shrugged. There was an empty chair at the next desk and she reached for it, pulled it across and sat down next to him.
‘Nah, nothing definite,’ she said, glancing around the room and keeping her voice low. A couple of dozen officers were milling around, some chatting, some on the phones, a small cluster of them standing around the incident board, pointing at the new pictures that had been pinned there and clearly discussing them animatedly.
‘But she’s certainly keen, and I can’t put it off much longer. I’ve told her that once this case is done, we’ll sit down and make a decision. I mean, I’m keen too, don’t get me wrong. It’s just … could I make a good parent, Devon? Seriously, when the job’s like it is? The kid would never see me. I’m really scared that I’d be shit at it …’
She suddenly looked so vulnerable, so insecure, that his heart twisted a little, and he reached over and patted her hand.
‘You’d make a brilliant parent,’ he said. ‘Coolest mum on the block, look at you! Hunting down the baddies … kids love all that stuff. And other cops make it work, loads of them. You would too.’
He paused, watching her, and was rewarded with a flicker of a smile.
‘She wants to carry it though, which is fine by me,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure pregnancy and me would get on.’
‘That’s a relief. You’re bad enough first thing. Can’t imagine you with morning sickness as well,’ he said, and she laughed and punched him lightly on the arm.
‘OK, back to business. What are you thinking, Devon?’
He glanced at his computer screen again – still no report from the lab – and turned back to face her.
‘I’m thinking, guv, that things have taken a pretty dramatic turn in the past few hours, that’s what I’m thinking. I’m thinking that when Danny O’Connor vanished last week, for some reason he went back to London to his old apartment. And I’m thinking that now, well, he’s probably dead. Almost certainly dead, in fact. I can’t imagine whoever lost all that blood in that room walked out of there alive. I mean, obviously we don’t know yet if it was his blood, but seeing as it was his former home, and he’s missing and everything … shit, guv, if it’s his blood, I’m dreading telling his wife.’
He ran a hand across his face. When he’d looked in the bathroom mirror earlier his eyes had been bloodshot, his dark skin tinged with grey. The images of that damn Chiswick bedroom were suddenly back in his head again, making his stomach churn. He wondered if he might actually throw up. He took a deep breath, and then another, trying to focus.
Helena was silent for a moment, clearly realizing he was struggling. She rested a hand on his knee briefly, then said: ‘I know, that’s going to be tough. And I’m so sorry you had to see it. It’s always shitty, coming across things like … well, like that, especially when you’re not expecting it. Are you OK?’
He nodded, the nausea subsiding a little.
‘I’ve seen worse, you know. Not sure why this one has got to me so much. Been thinking about it all night, playing out scenarios. I’m assuming the apartment keys had been returned to the landlord when the O’Connors moved out, so did Danny have a spare set cut? And why go back there anyway? How would he know the place was still empty?’
Helena shrugged.
‘Don’t know. Lots of unknowns right now. You’re right, we still don’t know if the place is covered in Danny’s blood or someone else’s. But assuming for now it is his, we’re thinking what? What would send him back there? If we go with Tara’s theory for a minute, a date maybe, with someone he met online, taking advantage of the fact his wife’s gone away on her press trip? And then what … the date goes horribly wrong and she slashes him to death?’
She was looking doubtful.
‘It’s one theory. Long way to go for a hook-up though.’
‘It is. And of course, a very long way from our first two murder scenes. Although of course we’ve been assuming our killer is local, seeing as we have two bodies in Bristol, but that’s not necessarily the case, is it? Could be London based. Could be from