‘I know. We will.’

‘I genuinely thought she was dead. How could anyone do this?’

‘If there is one thing we have learned, it’s that people are capable of anything. Look, I know you found her and that you’re invested in this case, but I really have a bad feeling about this whole thing. I can’t explain it, Adrian, and you know I am not superstitious or anything, but I want you to promise me you try and stay level-headed about it.’

‘It’s sweet of you to worry, but I am fine. Let’s just find out who Jane and John Doe are, then we can figure out who did this to them. I’m not some ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Have a little faith in me.’ Adrian squeezed Imogen’s hand.

They were at work and had promised to keep their relationship out of the office as they knew the DCI didn’t really approve and it could affect the way the DCI treated them. Neither one of them had a particularly stellar reputation for following the rules and so they needed to be careful not to piss the boss off. Adrian had promised himself that he would stop walking that line between what he was obligated to do and what he thought he should do. The law existed so people like him didn’t get to decide other people’s fate, he needed to remember that.

Chapter Eleven

It was amazing how much the woman’s appearance had improved since she had come in just a few days ago. She wouldn’t be winning any beauty competitions just yet, but the swelling on her face was almost gone, and she was sitting upright in the bed when Adrian and Imogen arrived at the hospital. But her face was still a patchwork of pinks and purples.

Imogen noticed the way the woman smiled at Adrian. She wasn’t threatened by every female who spoke to Adrian, but she had come to realise he was more naive than she had first thought. He didn’t seem to notice when he was being manipulated by a woman, or even flirted with, which was refreshing. Probably because he didn’t have a manipulative bone in his body.

Maybe he deserved more credit than she was giving him, but she was concerned that someone might take advantage of his good nature. This woman was obviously just expressing her gratitude again and yet there was still something about her that Imogen had a problem with. She was off in some way.

They had to tell her about the body of the man, they had to ask her who he was, and Imogen had a feeling they weren’t going to get the truth. But they at least had to try.

‘Hello. I am DS Imogen Grey. I need to talk to you about something.’

‘OK,’ the woman said, sucking in a breath, bracing herself for the conversation.