Evil in Return by Elena Forbes Read Free Book Online Page B

sharper-eyed than most, had already made a couple of teasing remarks about special treatment. Luckily Downes was away from her desk and the other members of the team were either busy on their computers or the phone. But Donovan decided that she was going to have to say something to Chang.
    He removed his jacket, threw it over the back of his chair and sat down at his desk, which was next to hers, rubbing his hands briskly. He opened the bag and took out another coffee, a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, an apple and a large chocolate brownie, which he laid out in a row in front of him.
    ‘Breakfast,’ he said, tugging his tie undone and dropping it casually into a drawer.
    ‘You mean lunch.’
    He gave her a broad smile. ‘Dinner, actually, if you really want to know. By the time I realised I hadn’t eaten last night, it was already morning and I was too tired to do anything about it. Is it always like this?’
    She nodded. ‘It’s always crazy at the beginning of a major new case. The DCI before Carolyn Steele kept a sleeping bag in his office for overnight stints.’
    ‘Rather him than me,’ he said. ‘I like my home comforts.’
    ‘Well you’d better get used to it. At least there’s the overtime to think of.’
    ‘What about my social life?’
    ‘You’re not allowed one. Didn’t they tell you?’
    ‘Just as well I don’t have one then.’ He took a large bite of the bagel.
    ‘You’ll have me feeling sorry for you in a minute. Where’ve you been?’
    ‘On a wild goose chase trying to follow up on a man Nick interviewed yesterday. Wasted most of the morning.’
    As he spoke, Tartaglia entered the room and came over to Donovan.
    ‘Karen just called in,’ she said, looking up at him. ‘She’s on her way back from NatWest now. She’s been through Logan’s bank accounts for the last year and so far it all looks kosher – no big deposits, except via his agent, no other sources of income, no large outgoings or cash withdrawals or anything out of the ordinary. He was also pretty frugal on the expenditure side. Apparently he had a very healthy current account balance and an even fatter deposit account.’
    ‘So much for impoverished writers.’ He sat down on the corner of her desk and folded his arms. He looked tired and was badly in need of a shave. She wondered if he had made it home the previous night. ‘I guess it demolishes one theory,’ he said, rubbing his eyes. ‘Unless Logan had another bank account tucked away somewhere, it looks as though we can rule out gambling or extortion.’ He looked over at Jane Downes, who had just come into the room. ‘Any luck tracing Logan’s next of kin?’
    ‘Not yet,’ she said, sitting down at her desk opposite Donovan. ‘But one of his neighbours has ID’d the body.’
    ‘What about the victim profile?’
    ‘Coming along slowly. I’ve spoken to Actor’s Equity and Spotlight and I finally managed to track down his acting agent, but he wasn’t very helpful. Apart from being very sorry to hear what had happened and a load of stuff about Logan being a decent bloke, seems he hadn’t spoken to Logan for several years. He had nothing to do with the publication of the book. I’m waiting for the headmaster from St Thomas’s to call me back. Hopefully, he’ll be able to fill in some of the gaps.’
    As she spoke, Minderedes entered the room and Tartaglia stood up. ‘Come over here for a minute,’ he said, beckoning everyone over. ‘Nick’s been chasing down Logan’s phone. I want you all to hear what he’s got.’
    ‘Where shall I start?’ Minderedes asked, as they gathered around.
    ‘Go from last night.’
    ‘OK. As you know, Logan’s iPhone was missing and switched off. About midnight last night, someone turned it on again. The provider contacted us immediately. We eventually traced it all the way from Covent Garden to a B&B in Victoria. Just after four this morning, we raided a room and unearthed a spotty little git called Chester.