From the outside, St Aldates Police Station in Oxford could just as easily have been a library or public baths. It was a beautiful old building with centuries of city life etched into its sandstone walls. Only the numerous CCTV cameras and modern windows made it look as if it belonged in the twenty-first century. Inside, however, it was a typical police station; far more high-tech than Chipping Norton and more heavily manned, but a typical cop shop nonetheless.

Gifford, Oaks and Davidson had driven across from Chipping Norton and were now waiting to be brought up to speed. They were each nursing a machine-dispensed hot drink in a paper cup but none of them were drinking the contents. Canteen Barbara had spoilt them rotten and now there was no going back.

As DI Lee spoke, Mason sat at his laptop and got all of the crime scene photos up on the interactive whiteboard that covered one complete wall. Once the images were uploaded, Lee could then move them around, enlarging and reducing, as he referenced each one. For Davidson, this was his first murder. The gruesome nature of the images didn’t bother him, as he’d seen numerous farming accidents in his time. But the deliberate brutality of one person taking another’s life in such a cruel way was shocking to everyone.

Lee’s succinct and emotionless summary of Mulhern’s murder was impressive. ‘So,’ he concluded. ‘The burglaries and the murder are intrinsically linked. Because the crime scene is so vast, covering both our jurisdictions, we need to work very closely together now and constantly share intel. I propose that DI Mason and I lead the murder angle from Oxford, and DI Gifford continues to lead the burglary angle from Chipping Norton.’

Jack knew that Lee wanted the far sexier murder investigation for himself, which was fine by him. All Jack wanted was to make sure that no one else died. ‘Sir, of course DI Gifford and yourself should lead this now dual investigation, but perhaps we should shuffle the teams to make best use of accumulated knowledge.’ Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Davidson twitching and fidgeting like a child desperate to be chosen first for a game of five-a-side. ‘DC Ronnie Davidson would be an asset to you, sir.’ Jack glanced casually at Mason. ‘And DI Mason would be invaluable to us. If you’re amenable, DI Mason?’

Mason knew he had no choice but to back Jack’s decision and claim to be more than happy with the idea of joining the Chipping Norton team.

*