On Borrowed Time

Chapter 5

5

Back in the incident room, Caroline prepared to brief her small but able team. There seemed to be less energy and enthusiasm than she’d expected, almost as if they were anticipating her announcing the case would be handed over to EMSOU. But she hoped what she was about to say would focus a few minds.

‘Right. First of all, thank you for all the work you’ve been doing so far on this already. The computer kindly tells us we should be referring to it as Operation Utopia. And yes, that means we’re keeping hold of the case.’ She could tell from looking at the faces of Dexter Antoine, Sara Henshaw and Aidan Chilcott that there was an undercurrent of unease. ‘Does anyone have any questions at this point?’

Aidan raised his hand. ‘Is it a good idea, so soon after Operation Forelock?’

‘What’s the timing got to do with anything?’ Caroline asked. ‘I’m not being funny, but we managed to close that case, and this one looks like child’s play in comparison.’

‘But it nearly went so wrong.’

‘Nearly. But it didn’t, did it?’ She wouldn’t admit to her team that she had, of course, had reservations of her own. Not only had she been taken off Operation Forelock and had the case handed over to EMSOU, but she’d come face to face with the killer they’d been hunting after she made an eleventh-hour discovery that had revealed his identity. She swallowed hard as the flashbacks hit her and she recalled how close she’d come to being his final victim. ‘In any case, we don’t have time to worry about daft procedural issues. They’re for me to deal with. Let’s crack on. Sara, we’ve managed to get ID on the body?’

‘We have. He’s Thomas Medland, known to friends and family as Tom. Thirty-four years old, from Barleythorpe. Lived locally all his life. He was married for a while but was recently divorced and living back with his parents. They reported him missing this morning when he hadn’t come home from the pub last night.’

‘Pub? Where was he drinking?’

‘All over Oakham, apparently. I think he’s well-known in a few local places. Well-liked too, apparently. Didn’t get much more than that. Figured we should probably save it for a sit-down chat. We’ve got an FLO with them.’

Caroline nodded. Family Liaison Officers were specially trained to deal with bereaved families and the victims of crime. ‘Okay, thanks Sara. Anything else from forensics or pathology at the moment?’

‘Not yet. He stank of alcohol, apparently, which isn’t surprising if he’d been at the pub. Didn’t seem to be any injuries on the body other than what we’d expect from a hanging. We’re still waiting on an official report, though.’

‘Alright. Good. Let’s get his photo circulated around the pubs, see where he was last night. From there, let’s follow as far as we can on CCTV. See who he talked to, who he left with, where he went. Did he get into any fights or altercations? Ask the publicans, ask the locals. Let’s get on top of this from the off. Get onto the phone network and find out where Tom’s mobile went, too. He’s unlikely to have gone out without it, so we can trace his movements using cell site data and work our way back from there. Dexter, we’ll go and speak to the parents and see what we can get from them. Everyone clear on what they’re doing?’ She watched as her team nodded, now seemingly more fired up than they had been a few moments ago, and felt a fire within her own belly.