Burying the Past Read Free

I’m retiring. My resignation’s operative from today.’
    â€˜But—’ Fran stopped short. The chief was an institution. He
was
Kent Police. On the other hand, she’d imagine that that was one reason why he’d chosen to go now.
    â€˜I can’t have a senior officer topping himself on my watch, Fran, and that’s the truth. Whatever the outcome of the enquiry. The hotel room he jumped from is being treated as a crime scene, of course, and we’re not supposed to go anywhere near it till Devon and Cornwall Police have given it the going over of its life. But even if they find me lily-white pure, I’m not happy with what happened and my part in it. How’s the poor young lady, by the way?’ He dropped his voice as if a Victorian maiden had been sullied. ‘The one with the unlikely name? Caffy? What sort of name is that?’ he added with sudden tetchiness, as if embarrassed that he’d been unable to refer to Simon by name.
    â€˜It suits her,’ Fran said mildly. ‘Anyway, she’s at work today. There she is.’ She pointed to the overall-clad figure at the top of a ladder. ‘We expected her to take a few days off, but Paula – she’s the woman in charge of the team – says she’s better where she is.’
    â€˜Up there? Dear God. She can’t . . . Not when a man killed himself for love of her less than forty-eight hours ago.’
    â€˜Caffy doesn’t do hand-wringing. And why should she? Her take is that Simon was clearly unbalanced. She compared him to Hamlet – brilliant but unhinged. What if she’d continued the relationship – which she says never was a relationship except in his eyes – and he’d decided to take her life instead, or even as well? But I must admit, her calmness disconcerts me,’ Fran added.
    â€˜It probably disconcerts even Paula,’ Mark said, ‘but if anyone could deal with Caffy should she suddenly have some sort of crisis, it’d be Paula. Do you want a word with her?’
    The chief shook his head emphatically. ‘I mustn’t be seen to do anything that could be construed as interfering with a witness. I’d best be off to clear my desk.’
    Mark and Fran exchanged a glance; no, neither was going to try to argue him out of his decision. They turned with him, one either side, to walk him back to the car.
    He held his hand out for the keys. ‘I’m sure you can rely on Fran here for a lift back to the office, Mark. You might want to discuss what we were talking about earlier,’ he added with a discreet cough.
    Mark shook his head. ‘With respect, Adam, I shall stick to what I said then. It’s one thing if they insist on my acting as a stopgap until they find a proper replacement for you, but as for applying for your job at my age, forget it. No, they want some young thrusting alpha male – or,
pace
Paula over there! – alpha woman, of course. And I wouldn’t want to take on anything extra at the moment anyway.’ He turned slightly to mouth at Fran, ‘I told him.’
    Her face froze, more rictus than smile. She knew what was coming – could feel it in her water. This precious tiny wedding was going to grow of its own accord, wasn’t it? Though how Mark could tell Caffy she’d been dropped as best woman she didn’t know.
    The chief produced his kindest, most avuncular smile, odd in a man not more than eight years her senior. ‘My dear, I am so glad that you are about to enter the married state. And nothing, believe me, would give me more pleasure than to give you away, since I understand your father is no longer with us. On the other hand,’ he added quickly, ‘I can’t imagine that you need to be in any sense “given”. So would you do me the honour of letting me accompany you down the aisle? I understand that Mark is already equipped with a best man.’
    â€˜A best