Like This, for Ever

and had I thought there was a danger of its being lost, I’d have made efforts to secure it in some way. And I would have told you the minute you got here. The body was lying face-down on the bank when I arrived and I merely secured the scene, not touching it in any way.’
    ‘So who the hell did pull it out?’
    Lacey had never seen Tulloch like this before. It was unnerving. She was used to the DI being on her side. ‘I imagine the same person who texted me, but that’s mere supposition on my part, Ma’am.’
    ‘Regardless of who pulled it out, it almost certainly went in here,’ said Joesbury. ‘The chances of a body thrown in the Thames getting washed up here are slim. The flow of the river just doesn’t allow it.’
    ‘So now we’ve got two bodies dumped along the Creek, followed by three along the Thames,’ said Tulloch.
    ‘Maybe there’s no connection with the other murders. Maybe Tyler wobbled on his bike and fell in,’ suggested the doctor.
    ‘Want me to talk to Uncle Fred?’ offered Joesbury. ‘If he’s not on duty, I’ll phone him at home tomorrow. I’m pretty certain I’m right about river flows, but it’d be good to have his view.’
    ‘Yeah, that can’t hurt,’ replied Tulloch. ‘Right, can you drive Lacey’s car to the station? I want to talk to her.’
    ‘He’s not insured to drive my car,’ Lacey pointed out.
    ‘Flint, SO 10 will indemnify him for any bloody car he gets behind the wheel of. He can drive it back now or you can collect it in the morning, which will it be?’
    Lacey handed her keys to Joesbury. He let his left eye close in a humourless wink and walked away.

34
    ‘ IS THIS THE first time someone’s tried to involve you in this investigation?’ Dana stared at Lacey, pale and stony-faced, across the interview-room desk.
    ‘Detective Inspector Joesbury has encouraged me to come back to work so that I can join your team, but, other than that, yes.’
    Was that intended to wind her up, that little dig about Mark, Dana wondered. And how come it was working? A couple of months ago, it would have amused her. ‘How much do you know about the case?’ she asked.
    ‘Only what I’ve heard on the news or read in the papers. To be honest, I’ve been avoiding it. I’m finding violent crime a little difficult to deal with right now.’
    ‘Another coffee, Lacey?’ said Anderson.
    As Lacey shook her head, Dana wondered if she’d made a mistake bringing Neil in on the interview. For one thing, men always had a thing about Lacey Flint. For another, he was just too damn reasonable at times.
    ‘One thing I should tell you is that I went to Durham prison today.’ Lacey glanced at the clock behind Dana’s head. ‘Yesterday,’ she corrected.
    ‘Again?’ said Anderson, before he could stop himself.
    Lacey showed no sign of having heard him. ‘People in prison hear things. It’s not impossible that text had its origins there.’
    Dana thought about it. ‘Not impossible,’ she agreed. ‘Just highly unlikely. Prison inmates do not have access to mobile phones, for one thing.’
    ‘Where there’s a will,’ said Anderson. ‘I can have someone follow it up in the morning.’
    ‘I hear you go out a lot at night, Lacey,’ said Dana. ‘Where do you go?’
    ‘I walk,’ said Lacey, with that cold glint in her eyes that Dana had always, secretly, been rather afraid of.
    ‘Where? Where do you walk?’
    ‘Along the embankment, usually. I’m fond of the river.’
    ‘The South Bank?’
    ‘Both. I usually do a circular walk.’
    ‘Not really the time of year for walking along the river.’
    ‘I dress for it.’
    ‘Do you walk alone?’
    ‘Always.’
    ‘Where were you last Thursday evening between 7.30pm and 9 o’clock?’
    Hazel-blue eyes narrowed. ‘Are you serious?’
    Impossible to back down now. ‘Perfectly.’
    ‘Last Thursday evening I was out walking.’
    ‘By the river?’
    ‘Yes, for a while, I cut back through Vauxhall.’
    ‘Anyone see you?’
    Lacey let a slow, cold smile spread over her face. Her lips didn’t part, her teeth remained hidden. ‘Actually, yes,’ she said. ‘Some kids at my local community centre. One of them lives next door to me.’
    ‘We may need to talk to him.’
    ‘He’ll be thrilled. He’s following the case very closely.’
    ‘Did you know Tyler King?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Ryan Jackson? Noah Moore? Jason and Joshua Barlow?’
    As each name was put to her, Lacey shook her head, slowly and deliberately. Jesus,