He made it three steps towards the door, then doubled back.

“Everything alright, sir?”

“Aye. Aye, I was just… So we can get ourselves prepared. Is she back in tomorrow? The dragon, I mean.”

“I’m, eh, I’m afraid not, sir, no.”

“Right. Right. On holiday, is she? Off burning some village to the ground somewhere, is she?”

“She’s… Well, she’s on the sick.”

Ben’s face fell. “Oh. Oh. Right. I didn’t mean… I was just…” He cleared his throat. “Well, if you’re talking to her, give her our best. If, you know, you think that’s appropriate.”

Across the counter, the constable smiled. “I’ll get the message passed on, sir,” she said. “I’m sure someone will probably be speaking to her at some point.”

“Right. Good. Thanks,” Ben said. He played another drumbeat on the counter, glanced down at the pen attached to it by a chain, and the spot where a small pile of unnecessary paperwork would usually be sitting, then gave a nod. “I’ll just… I’ll go through, then.”

He made it two steps this time, before doubling back.

“Sorry,” he began, “what exactly do you mean by ‘someone will probably be speaking to her at some point?’”

Chapter Nine

By the time Logan and Shona arrived back at the Three Sisters car park, Tyler and Sinead were waiting. He didn’t notice them at first, as Sinead’s car was dwarfed by the assortment of other polis vehicles crammed into the limited amount of available space. It was only a shrill whistle and a hollered, “Over here, boss,” that eventually drew them to the DCI’s attention.

Shona said her goodbyes to Logan, gave the two Detective Constables a smile and a wave, then headed for her car. She had a long day of deeply unpleasant work ahead, and delaying it would only make things worse.

Logan waved her off, watched until her car had disappeared around the first bend in the road, then went striding over to where Sinead and Tyler waited by the footpath that led past the house.

There was a bit of cutting across the grass required to get from the path to the building itself, but the alternative was the bumpy, uneven driveway that went all the way to the house’s front door. Driving up there posed a greater risk of contaminating the crime scene, not to mention of knackering your bloody suspension.

“You finally made it, then,” Logan remarked, joining them at the start of the path.

“Aye, sorry we took a bit longer than suspected,” said Sinead.

“He sick?” Logan asked, indicating Tyler with a jerk of his thumb.

Tyler’s eyes went wide. “Sick, boss? I’m not sick. Who told you I was sick?”