In the Light of Madness Read Free Page A

the car door as he had done. Nicotine cravings were ravaging her mind, so when Lennox reached for a packet of cigarettes in his glove compartment, a sense of relief washed over her. He brandished the packet in front of her, not knowing whether she smoked or not.
“I don’t normally smoke in the car, but needs must,” he said as he flicked the lighter and lit the cigarette. He turned the engine on and sped towards the station. “It beggars belief. One family is torn apart by grief for their dead son, and the other family show no bloody concern for their missing son who could also be dead.”
He wound down his window to allow the noxious fumes to escape. Wednesday mirrored his actions, inhaling the smoke with grateful, guilty pleasure, whilst reflecting on the night’s events so far.
“We might as well get a few hours sleep before visiting the school tomorrow morning,” she said, flicking the cigarette butt out of the window without thinking, before they entered the station car park.
She levered herself out of his car, every muscle in her body crying out for bed. Her brain, however, was re-examining the interviews.
She walked towards the cream convertible VW Beetle she had bought herself as a gift when she became a detective inspector. As she turned on the purring engine, she pushed in a classical CD and let Beethoven’s piano concerto accompany her home. Tomorrow would hopefully bring more clues and not just more unanswered questions.

Chapter Three
 
Wednesday opened the front door and crept in quietly so as not to wake her half-sister, Scarlett. They shared the three bedded, detached Georgian property on the outskirts of the city of Cambridge. The house belonged to Wednesday. Scarlett was her lodger.
She removed her shoes and padded along the parquet floor to the kitchen. The room was swathed in comforting warmth thanks to the Aga that sat in a recess. A large scrubbed pine table and chairs, and a carver chair at the head of the table sat proudly in the centre of the room.
Wednesday poured herself a bourbon and lit a longed for peaceful cigarette. Grotesque images of the past few hours played in her head, and her heart felt loaded with the parents’ pain. She knew she was too sensitive for the job at times. But she didn’t want to change the essence of her being.
 
Wednesday was up and out before Scarlett had risen, which was not unusual. Breakfast was brief before climbing into her car. She relished being enclosed in her own private space, but the journey was not long enough to either unwind from a hellish shift or prepare for the next onslaught.
She pulled into her space and noticed that Lennox was already there. She had heard he sometimes slept in his office in his previous post, so it puzzled her how he remained so immaculately presentable. Perhaps his recent divorce suited him, she thought as she mounted the stone steps into the station.
She had never worked on a case with him before but she understood that he was quietly persistent and methodical, whereas she tended to be more organic; less regimented and meticulous, but got results all the same.
She arrived in the Incident Room in time to hear DCI Hunter announce that he was calling a briefing in two minutes. Suzy Simmons tapped Wednesday gently on the arm and asked her if she wanted a coffee.
“Yes please. Milk no sugar,” she replied with a nod as she took her notebook out in time to hear Hunter clapping his hands to bring the room to his attention.
On the incident board behind him were pictures of the dead boy, Tom Dolby, and the missing boy, Darren Giles. The stare of youthful innocence penetrated the room. The murder of children always rocked the team hard.
“Right, preliminary findings indicate that Tom Dolby was asphyxiated, most likely smothered by some form of clothing. It stands to reason that he may have been drugged as there’s no evidence of a struggle. No DNA under the fingernails or defensive wounds on the hands. We’re waiting for