‘I could do it easy, but I don’t want to take your money, so I won’t.’

‘You two want a hot drink?’ Teflon asked.

Jane said she’d like a coffee and went over to give him a hand, while the Colonel got a clear plastic sports bottle out of his backpack with a thick pale liquid in it and held it up.

‘No thanks, I’ve got me banana, egg and water mix, so I’m fine.’ He shook the bottle then took a swig.

‘He thinks it makes him stronger, but all it does is make him fart a lot,’ Teflon whispered to Jane. ‘Was Katie really getting upset about the desk or just having a go at you?’

‘I don’t know – a bit of both, maybe. I’m doing my best to be friendly towards her, but I think she’s got a bee in her bonnet about me being on the team.’

‘Well, she’s going to have to get used to it and stop behaving like Lady Muck. If she does start on you again just put her in her place – as a DS she’s answerable to you, not the other way around.’

‘Trouble is, I think she’d go running to Murphy and complain. The last thing I need right now is to give him a reason to reprimand me.’

‘As you just saw, Murphy finds her a pain in the arse at times, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If she’s going to complain about you it would probably be to Kingston.’

‘Why him?’ she asked, trying not to sound too curious.

‘Everyone reckons Katie’s got the hots for him. She’s in and out of his office like a yo-yo and does whatever he asks at the drop of a hat – if he said jump, she’d ask how high.’

‘Do you think he fancies her?’ she asked, wondering if he knew about their affair.

Teflon laughed. ‘Kingston’s definitely a ladies’ man, but personally I think he just likes to flirt with Katie to keep her on her toes. Mind you, some of the lads reckon they’re at it.’

‘What’s DCI Murphy think?’

‘Don’t know. Although he’s pretty close to Kingston, I don’t think he’d approve if they were screwing each other.’

Jane realised she was probably the only one on the team who knew for a fact Katie and Kingston were having a sexual relationship, and she was going to keep it that way for fear of being called a scandalmonger. The last thing she wanted was to alienate Kingston, one of the few who had so far accepted her on the team. She sat at her desk with her coffee and rang PC Turner, the traffic officer.

‘Hi, it’s WDS Tennison. I was just calling to ask if there’s any news on the burnt-out Cortina’s ignition barrel?’

‘Did you not get my report?’