The Angel. Katerina Diamond

Adrian and Fraser watched DCI Kapoor walk away. Adrian couldn’t help wondering if she was on the level; he had learned the hard way that power and corruption go hand in hand. She was from outside the county which was a promising start. He was at least a little hopeful that she wasn’t being controlled by Dominic, who seemed to have his hands on everybody’s strings.

      ‘She seems nice?’ Fraser said, his voice getting higher at the end. A hint of optimism in the form of a question, as though it were more of a request than a statement. At least Adrian wasn’t the only one who was concerned.

      Adrian rolled his eyes and headed back towards his desk. He knew better than to be optimistic, anything could happen and he wasn’t about to put his trust in anyone just yet. Not after everything they had been through; he would be an idiot if he did.

      Denise Ferguson smiled as he approached, as did the woman with the green bag. But hers wasn’t a friendly smile, it was a knowing smile and it immediately made him suspicious.

      ‘The DCI has asked that you take care of this young lady, Adrian. She’s a freelance journalist doing a piece on the dangers posed to the escalating numbers of homeless people in Exeter. Wants to know about the identification of the man in the fire.’

      ‘What?’ Adrian looked back and the DCI smiled at him; he was missing having Fraser as his boss already.

      ‘Play nice.’ Denise smiled before tottering off back to her desk.

      ‘DS Miles, nice to meet you.’ He held out his hand to the young woman. She stared at him for a few seconds too long. He hated journalists but he knew the department had a lot of damage to repair, damage which he felt at least partially responsible for. He would play along for now, until he figured her out.

      ‘Lucy Hannigan. Nice to meet you too.’ She ignored the gesture and sat down. Adrian detected a tone to her voice that was bordering on sarcasm. He dismissed it as paranoia and his general mistrust of the press. ‘I wasn’t even sure anyone would be investigating this man’s death,’ she continued. ‘Presumably it was a man.’

      Adrian pulled out the pictures of the fire and placed them on the desk in front of her.

      ‘That’s about all we know for sure at this point. The building having collapsed on him hasn’t helped at all.’

      ‘Is it just you working on this?’

      ‘Me and my partner, DS Grey.’

      ‘I think I read that she got shot last year. Is that right?’

      ‘It is. Good memory.’ He wasn’t about to elaborate if that’s what she wanted, he wasn’t going to give her any more fuel for her fire; this was about containment and nothing else.

      ‘Oh yeah. I have a great memory.’ There was that tone again.

      ‘Well, when my partner arrives we’ll be heading down to the food bank to see if they have any knowledge of anyone that might be missing. So far, it’s a bit of a mystery. We’re not even sure if it’s a homeless person, but it seems like the most likely scenario at this point.’

      ‘Good job you’re a detective then, isn’t it?’ She was definitely being weird with him.

      ‘Sorry, have we met before? You seem to have some kind of issue with me?’

      ‘No wonder they gave you a badge.’ She smiled.

      Adrian could tell that he looked puzzled. She seemed to be amused by his confusion. He was racking his brain but he couldn’t place her. Which could only mean one thing. He concentrated for a second on her lips, curled ever so slightly into a smirk. There was something familiar about her … something intimate.

      ‘Did we …?’ He tailed off awkwardly.

      ‘Ironic really that I should get stuck with you now. I have to be honest, if you don’t even recognise me that casts some serious doubts over your ability to do your job.’

      He saw her again in his mind, a fragment of a memory, her lying beneath him, his hands on her body, his mouth on her skin. It was still a little hazy.

      ‘What did I miss?’ Imogen slammed her bag on the table and bursting the tension.

      ‘Miss Hannigan is a freelance reporter,’ Adrian said, flushing red, grateful for Imogen’s interruption. ‘We’ve been asked to brief her on the body in the signal box.’

      ‘It’ll be a short briefing to be honest. We’re kind of stuck at the moment.’

      ‘So I hear.’ Lucy Hannigan reached into her bag and pulled out a business card. ‘This lady does a lot of charitable work with the homeless in the area, she might be able to help you out. I’ve written my number on the other side, in case you don’t have it already.’ She looked pointedly at Adrian. What was he missing?

      She put the card on the table and stood up.

      ‘Thank you, we’ll check that out right away.’ Adrian picked the card up, looking at it to see if it sparked anything. He still couldn’t remember the exact circumstances under which he’d met Lucy; he knew it was a couple of years ago, and she looked completely different now. He hoped it came back to him before he bumped into her again.

      ‘I’ll be in touch. I’d like to follow the investigation. I don’t suppose there’s any chance I can get a copy of those pictures, is there?’

      ‘I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have to clear it with the DCI.’ Adrian said.

      ‘Thank you. Good seeing you again, Adrian.’ She was being sarcastic. Adrian’s face felt hot.

      Adrian and Imogen watched her leave.

      ‘Do you know her?’ Imogen turned to him and asked, her eyebrows knotted in confusion.

      ‘I think I probably do.’ Adrian cringed. He changed the subject before she pushed any further. ‘Where have you been? You’re normally here first.’

      ‘I was talking to my mother. They’re in Crete at the moment.’

      ‘Is she well enough for that?’ Adrian sounded concerned.

      Imogen sighed. ‘The doctor says rest is what she needs, it’s probably good that she’s in a different setting, having people wait on her hand and foot.’

      ‘Did you speak to Elias? Did he say how your mother was doing?’

      Her parents were together in Crete; it was a strange thought. She had never known her father and suddenly almost thirty years later they were back together, a man whose name she hadn’t even known growing up. Her mother had always kept him a secret and she had accepted it, but because of his apparent involvement in a case she was working on, it had all come out earlier this year and now here he was. She hadn’t gotten used to the idea of having a father yet. Imogen had asked him if they could get to know each other slowly, but the truth was she didn’t want any part of it. She had managed this long without him. Her mother was finally reunited with the man she’d lost, but as far as Imogen was concerned, he was a stranger. Finally learning his identity had been a huge shock that she just wasn’t prepared for.

      ‘He’s making sure she’s taking all her medicine, their cabin is top of the line so she’s really comfortable.’ She paused and took a deep breath before speaking again. ‘When he comes back he wants me to meet his children, and grandchildren. They don’t know about me yet, he said he wanted to talk to me about it first but he doesn’t want any more secrets.’

      ‘Are you going to meet them?’

      ‘I’ve been an only child to a single parent my whole life, I’ve never known anything different. To go from that to having three younger brothers and a bunch of nieces and nephews … I don’t know if I’m ready for all that just yet.’

      ‘Then tell him to wait.’

      She shook off some imaginary burden, jingled her car keys and started towards the exit. ‘Enough about my crap anyway,