Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes Read Free Book Online

mock surrender.
    Two minutes later the skinhead was snogging the face off the girl who’d nearly punched him and Andy had finished his kebab.
    21:53
    There was no one in the Intel Unit. The late-shift officers were all out on a job, and Lou went back to her desk and sent an email to the Source Handling Unit to try and hurry up the latest on Nigel Maitland, copying her email to Ali Whitmore.
    It would be a bonus, Lou thought, if she could be the one to nail Maitland, the smarmy bastard. She had met him once, and charming and handsome as he was—hair graying at the temples, light-blue eyes with plenty going on behind them, a warm smile—she’d been wary of him. And it might have been a whopping great coincidence that this young woman, who may or may not have been having sex with her employer and “family friend” who was not quite twice her age, ended up with her skull smashed to pieces on Nigel Maitland’s property: or it might just be the mistake that would finally see him brought down.
    The MIR was still active, but there weren’t many people left. Behind some screens and a long table supporting fax machine, scanner, color printer, and black-and-white printer, Jason Mercer was still hard at work. There was something about him that was making her feel . . . odd. Yet he wasn’t especially good-looking, although he was tall and probably had a good body underneath his meticulously ironed shirt. He held himself with an easy confidence, as though he were here for fun, yet at the same time he was clearly very focused on what he was doing. And he had agreed to work on her team even when he obviously hadn’t wanted to.
    â€œHello,” said Lou, smiling as he started. “Sorry—didn’t mean to make you jump.”
    He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. “I hadn’t noticed it getting dark.” He checked his watch. “My God!”
    â€œWhat time did you get to work this morning?” Lou found herself perched on the edge of the desk opposite, tugging at her skirt.
    â€œHalf past seven. Oh, well.” He gave her a smile. “I daresay your day has been at least as long and twice as stressful. Are you going home?”
    Lou nodded. “The mortuary first, to see if there’s any update or if they need anything from us. After that, home. I need sleep, otherwise I won’t be able to function at all tomorrow. How are you getting on?”
    â€œFine so far,” Jason said. “Do you want me to brief you now, or can you wait for the morning?”
    â€œTomorrow will be fine. I will have to find some way to contain my excitement until then. By the way, what happened to your eye?”
    It must have been a corker when it was still swollen but now it was a purplish smudge under his right eye with a tiny cut on the bridge of his nose. She’d been dying to ask ever since she’d first laid eyes on him at the briefing.
    â€œI play hockey,” he said. And then added, as he must have had to do every single time someone asked, which was probably several times a day: “Ice hockey.”
    â€œAh,” Lou replied, as if that explained everything.
    â€œDid you find out about the phones?” he asked.
    Shit. “Sorry. I saw Jane briefly but we were talking about the house-to-house. Have you checked the coms folder on the computer?”
    â€œStill empty.”
    â€œI’ll give her a call, hold on.” Lou headed back to her office to grab the mobile but he called her back.
    â€œDon’t worry, it can wait till morning. I don’t especially want to start on it at this time of night, anyway.”
    He stood up and stretched, pulling his jacket off the back of his chair.
    22:12
    The reception desk at Briarstone General Hospital was empty, the flower kiosk shut, the only activity was around the vending machines but Lou knew where she was going. The public mortuary.
    She rang the bell on the