Sarah pushed her hands deep into her Barbour coat. It had been a steal from the local charity shop and given the inclement weather, it was certainly proving its worth. She was already sick of the cold and had months of it ahead of her. Storm clouds blotted out the moon, draining Slayton of colour, and the tinny sound of an empty beer can kept company with her as it gusted down the street. She strode past a burnt-out car with a ‘Police Aware’ sticker flapping on its shell. Maggie’s bungalow was on Stellar Avenue, one of the more deprived areas of town. It was a quarter of a mile from the police station, and a mile from where Sarah lived. It was tragic to see the once-thriving community falling into decline. When residents of Lower Slayton first objected to Irving’s mass housing development plans, he had promised them the world. Newly tarmacked roads, a youth club and doctors’ surgery to accommodate the extra families living in the area. But once his plans were passed, his promises fell away and the land set aside for extra services was used to accommodate more homes. He’d invested in Slayton police station, and donated money to the hospital but the residents of Lower Slayton had been forgotten. Now the roads were potholed from all the extra traffic and the schools were filled to capacity.

A street lamp overhead blinked three times before giving up and petering out. Sarah chose her steps wisely. Broken pavements were another thing to look out for. Despite it all, she had been happy to respond when Maggie texted half an hour before. Libby and Jahmelia were grounded until Angelica’s killer was found and the hotel where Maggie worked was short-staffed. Slayton had its fair share of tourists throughout the year and now the number of journalists taking up residence was growing by the day.

‘Sorry to call you over at such short notice.’ Maggie rubbed her hands together as she let Sarah inside. Her hair was tied up with a paisley headscarf and she was wearing a blue tabard beneath her coat.

‘No problem.’ Sarah smiled. ‘I may as well watch Blue Bloods here as at home.’

‘That’s a cop programme, isn’t it? Aren’t you ever off duty?’

‘Two words. Tom Selleck.’ Sarah still had a crush on him from watching old Magnum P.I. re-runs as a teen.

‘Well, there’s wine in the fridge,’ Maggie replied, smiling. ‘Help yourself.’

‘I don’t drink while babysitting but thank you.’ Sarah waved her friend away. ‘Now off you go, you don’t want to be late.’