Cole nodded fervently, as though it was a given. ‘Every time. Never go anywhere without one. Always got one in my wallet, just in case.’

Just in case. Tomek scoffed internally. Then took a sip of water. ‘How did you take the news? What was your reaction?’

‘I… At first I panicked. I didn’t want her to keep it. I didn’t want anything to do with it. I wasn’t ready for that type of thing. But then, after a couple of days, I eventually came round and told her that I’d be there to support her. We didn’t have to stay together or anything, but I just wanted to be a part of the kid’s life. Now… now I guess I won’t be able to.’

Very admirable, Tomek thought. It reminded him of his situation, where Kasia had been thrust upon his doorstep after her mother had been arrested for drug dealing. He hadn’t had a choice, but Cole had, and he’d done the respectable thing by committing to the baby’s future, even if it wasn’t his. It was just a shame it had ended the way it had.

Tomek reached out a hand. Cole eyed it suspiciously, then shook it. They held each other’s gaze, saying nothing, both men understanding the silent expressions on their faces.

‘Thank you for your time,’ he said, as he made to leave.

Tomek’s hand was on the door handle when Cole told him to wait.

‘Have you spoken to Shawn?’

Tomek released his grip.

‘Shawn?’

‘Yeah. Shawn Wilkins. Some guy who’s been infatuated with Angelica since I can remember. Stalking her, commenting on her posts, sending her things. Sometimes took it too far. Think she had to get a restraining order against him at some point.’

‘Shawn Wilkins – is that his name?’

‘Yeah. Don’t know much more about him though. But if you’re looking for her killer, then he might be a good place to start.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Tomek would have liked to look into Shawn Wilkins, but on the drive back to the incident room, he’d received a phone call from Victoria, summoning him to her office. On the phone she had been blunt and to the point – no different to normal – but there had been a certain sense of urgency in her voice that he’d never heard before. And as soon as Tomek entered her small room on the second floor, he found out why. Waiting for him, standing by her side, was Nick Cleaves. The chief inspector was leaning against the wall, arms folded, head down, like he was in a 1950s gang or a character out of West Side Story ready to break into song and dance.

Neither looked excited to see him.

‘Take a seat please, Tomek,’ Victoria said, pointing to the chair as if he couldn’t see it in front of him.

As he lowered himself into the seat, he was transported thirty years into the past. Two months had gone since his brother’s death, and he’d been summoned to the head teacher’s office for skipping science, his least favourite subject of all. One of the teachers had found him wandering through the corridors, running his fingers along the wall, scuffing the floors with his shoes. He’d been sentenced to a week in isolation where, with the help of some of his colleagues in there who were brave enough to create a diversion, he’d later escaped – an act that put him at risk of getting further isolation, or even expelled. Tomek had been a naughty kid following Michał’s death. He’d struggled to stay focused and found he’d lost all interest in his education. But what had surprised him most was that he hadn’t left the grounds. If he wanted to truant, to skip classes and embrace the freedom of running around Leigh-on-Sea while everyone else was at school, he could have done. But instead, he’d stayed on the school grounds, running through the corridors. Hoping to get caught. Crying out for attention, screaming for help. And when he’d sat in that headmaster’s chair, he’d felt a sense of relief. It had worked. The punishment was all part of it. But now, as he sat there, holding Nick’s imposing stare, he felt the complete opposite, filled with worry, a deep knot forming in his stomach.

‘Welcome to your first meeting as SIO,’ Nick said as he pushed himself from the wall. ‘This is where the fun begins.’

Something told Tomek that wasn’t true. The knot tightened.

‘The usual format for this is that I ask Victoria the questions, and she has all the answers. Sometimes she knows the meeting’s happening, sometimes she doesn’t, but I expect her to know the answers all the same. Do you see what I’m saying?’

This was a completely different Nick to the one Tomek had known and dealt with for the past thirteen years. Sure, he’d been in confrontational meetings with the chief inspector in the past, but nothing like this. This was on a different level to anything he’d ever been used to. And now he was beginning to get a flavour of what it had been like for Victoria since she’d come in; his respect for her grew a few fractions.

‘I see what you’re saying, yes,’ Tomek answered.

‘Great, because if you do eventually become an inspector, then this is the sort of standard we will hold you to. Do you understand?’

Tomek swallowed deeply and dipped his head.

‘Excellent. Victoria, he’s all yours.’

Nick returned to the wall and folded his arms again. Clearing her throat, Victoria switched off the computer and looked down at some notes in front of her.

‘What’s the latest with Operation Butterfly?’

Tomek told them, starting with the discussions he’d had with Angelica’s family, through to the post-mortem, all the way up to his meeting with Cole Thompson less than an hour before. They gave nothing away in their expressions, nodding gently as he spoke.

So far, so good. He hoped.

Then Victoria’s intonation dropped a few levels. ‘Where are you with your budget estimates?’ she asked.

‘Budget estimates?’

‘Yes. How much of the money allocated to this investigation have you apportioned to the respective expenses?’

Tomek’s face had never fallen faster. He opened his mouth, but it fell shut again.

‘How much do you expect forensic analysis to cost? Do you anticipate you will be over budget or under?’

More opening and closing.

‘Do you expect there to be a lot of overtime? I noticed the team were working till late last night, including yourself. Has that been agreed with the staff?’

Tomek opened and closed his eyes, hoping that the answers might materialise in front of him. But they didn’t. Instead he was looking at two deeply unimpressed seniors, their disappointment growing with each unanswered question.

For a few moments, he didn’t say anything. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he was breathing. Time seemed to slow, and the world came to a gradual, steady halt. The sound of brakes screeching reverberated in his skull. A heavy weight descended on his chest, and he felt his pulse quicken.

‘I… I don’t know,’ he said, his voice broken, coming out as a whisper.

‘What don’t you know?’

‘Any… any of it,’ he said. ‘Neither Chey nor Rachel have come to me about overtime requests.’

‘So they’re working for free?’

‘I…’ He tried to think back to the last time Nick had discussed overtime with him and how the conversation had gone. He drew a blank. ‘No. I’ll… I’ll make sure they’re paid, but…’

‘But what? How much is that going to cost us?’

Tomek said nothing, continuing to stare blankly at Victoria. Now he understood how Cole Thompson had felt: lost, empty, devoid of any comprehensive thought.

‘I don’t know.’

‘And what about the cost for forensics? What tests have you done so far?’

‘The… the…’

Come on, you know this!