Flesh and Blood (A DI Amy Winter Thriller) by Caroline Mitchell (best love novels of all time .TXT) 📗

Give them free rein.’ She pointed to the screen, where Sharon was going through each of the murders. ‘She’s lucky we got to her before Bicks did.’ Given his profession, Sergeant Bickerstaff hadn’t risked making an appearance at any of the rendezvous.

‘Mmm.’ Donovan’s smile faded. ‘It was safer for him to stay under the radar than risk getting caught. If the punters drowned, there were plenty more where they came from.’

‘You know, my last few cases ended with my neck being on the line.’ Amy paused to sip her coffee, which had grown tepid. ‘I came away bruised and battered. I almost died. But nothing has taken it out of me like this case. There’s no victory here. Not for anyone.’

‘There is for the children who’ve been taken into care.’ Donovan leaned on the table next to her.

‘They were already in care. They ran away, remember?’ Amy sighed as her words came out sharper than she’d meant. ‘Sorry. I’ll be glad when this is all over. What with Bicks and everything else . . .’

‘I know,’ Donovan replied. Bickerstaff was exactly where they wanted him, and officers had unearthed evidence that his huge house and lavish lifestyle had been paid for with the proceeds of crime. Had Bicks felt good about himself, mixing with the high rollers of the criminal underworld? Was his refusal to grass on his associates out of loyalty or fear? Had he simply got in over his head? More importantly, how could he kill one of his own? The aftershock of this case had spread through the station as officers tried to come to terms with it.

‘How could he kill Carla? He’s known her for years.’ Donovan was clearly on board Amy’s train of thought. His face soured at the memory. ‘He brought her husband in here to talk to us. He patted him on the back.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘She was getting close to the truth. Perhaps he lured her to warn her off and she wouldn’t play ball.’

But Amy shook her head. ‘He knew she was a weak swimmer, which is why he arranged to meet her at the pier. He lured her there to kill her. Tipping her over the edge was the easiest way, and the suicides gave him a brilliant cover.’

‘Bastard,’ Donovan said. ‘I trusted him. I didn’t know him at all.’

An image of the teenagers floated into Amy’s mind. What would become of them now? She thought of Matty, who had spray-painted graffiti near each crime scene as a cry for help, and then of April, battered and bruised, and of Tina, who had fought to protect them as best she could. How many other people were involved? It had yet to hit the press, and the investigation would continue over the next year. Amy was happy to leave it in the hands of PSD. Right now, all she wanted was to wrap things up and go home.

But there was something ugly on the periphery. One more person who needed dealing with. The hardest thing about this betrayal was that it didn’t come from a stranger. It was someone Amy had come to know and trust.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Molly felt sick to the core. She should have been honest from the start. What started out as a small omission had rapidly snowballed, and she could not risk her place on the team. Now, she was in too deep. It was too late to tell her boss the truth. DI Winter had voiced her disgust after Bicks’s arrest, and she did not blame her. Dishonesty of any kind was not expected or condoned, regardless of the excuse. She had stressed it upon them since the start – if any of them were in trouble, they could come to her. But it was the lie that would catch Molly out. It had wrapped itself around her, making her feel that she could barely breathe. Clicking on her emails, she deleted those of no use and forwarded the rest to PSD. The case was in their hands now, and she could not wait to get out of here. There had been an unsettling feeling in the office ever since Sergeant Bickerstaff’s arrest. Was she next on the list of dishonest officers to be named and shamed? Because Winter knew something. Molly could see it in the way she narrowed her eyes as she gazed across her desk at the team.

Molly remembered the day she was interviewed for the role she had come to love.

‘Tell me,’ Winter had said, ‘what would make me think twice about taking you on?’

Quickly, Molly had regained her composure and said something about her high expectations, given she had come from a policing background. ‘I don’t take failure well,’ she’d said. ‘Which is something that might give you pause.’

The answer had impressed Winter, but it wasn’t the first that had sprung to Molly’s mind. Why hadn’t she told her the truth?

Molly’s heart picked up speed. She could not bear to be kicked off the team; it was much more than a job to her. It was a lifeline.

‘Cheer up, mate.’ Steve threw a scrunched-up ball of paper in her direction. ‘You look like someone’s pissed in your tea.’

‘I’m OK.’ Molly forced a smile.

But Steve was still staring at her from across the desk, his brow creased in concern. ‘Are you sure? Because you don’t seem yourself . . .’

‘I’m just tired,’ Molly added. ‘I’ll be glad when we can get back into a routine.’

But would she? Would she be working on this team again? Steve was about to reply when his desk phone rang. Saved by the bell. But not for long. Molly’s gaze flitted to Winter, who stood as DCI Donovan entered the room. His head bowed, Donovan surveyed the paperwork that Winter presented to him. Donovan stood with his hands on his hips, his face darkening as Amy spoke. Oh God, Molly thought. This is about me, isn’t it? They’ve found out. They know that I lied.