‘No, I gotta go to the doctor’s now,’ Abby said as she walked off without looking back.

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

As Jane watched the ambulance leave with the injured officers, she thought about the loud bang Abby had heard; if it wasn’t the sound of a shotgun, it had to be something else near the scene of the incident. As she walked towards the damaged house she noticed skid marks and bits of shredded car tyre on the road. It reminded her of the time she was driving on the motorway and a tyre on the car in front of her burst, leaving shredded bits all over the road. It struck her as unlikely that a tyre on a police car would suddenly blow out, especially as the vehicles were checked daily by a civilian ‘garage hand’, but she suspected a bullet penetrating a tyre could cause a blowout.

About eight metres past the crash site Jane saw a distinct skid mark veering from right to left across the road, which stopped just short of a parked car. She realised, from what Abby had told her, that the skid mark might have been caused when the getaway driver braked hard and came to an abrupt halt. She decided to inspect the area more closely and was walking towards it when she heard Kingston’s voice.

‘What are you doing, Tennison?’

She turned around. ‘I was just following up on something a witness to the incident told me.’

‘As the DI in charge of this case I’d prefer it if you consulted me first, then I’ll decide what action should or should not be taken by my officers.’

‘Sorry, sir. I thought I might find some evidence for the investigation.’

‘Are you a forensics expert?’

‘No, but I’ve dealt with a number of murders and rapes during my service and have a good knowledge of major crime scenes—’

‘But no real experience with armed robbery scenes, firearms or GSR.’

‘No, sir.’

She didn’t know what GSR was but didn’t want to appear uninformed by asking.

‘What did the woman you spoke to have to say?’

Jane told him the woman was a young mother called Abby who had just turned seventeen. She got out her pocket notebook and started to brief Kingston on what Abby had told her, but he interrupted her again.

‘Did the girl see their faces?’

‘No, she saw two armed men get out of the car, but both were wearing masks. She’s a bright young girl and saw everything—’

He interrupted again. ‘Is she willing to make a statement and give evidence in court.’

‘Not at the moment, but—’

‘Then she’s not a lot of use to us, is she?’

‘I think I could persuade her to make a statement, and we could always consider witness protection.’