Necessary as Blood

Kincaid could check them when he came in.
    He was happily humming something by Abba when he stopped dead, staring at the monitor with wide eyes.

    ‘Gemma‘s name on an incoming-case file?‘ Kincaid asked, frowning. He loosened his tie, which he never managed to keep properly knotted once he got into his office, and took the printout from Cullen, scanning for essentials.
    He recognized the name of the victim, Nasir Malik, found dead in Haggerston Park, and tried to remember what Gemma had told him about yesterday‘s events. She and the boys had come in after he‘d got home from the Yard, and the evening had passed quickly with the Sunday family routine: dinner, discussing the boys‘ plans for the week, finishing up the laundry, weekend chores.
    In a lull during the washing up after the meal, when the boys were out of earshot, they had talked about Gemma‘s mum. And then Gemma had told him a little about her day. Tim Cavendish‘s friend had been found dead, and she‘d been called to the scene by the investigating officer. Afterwards, she said, she‘d managed to have the victim‘s little girl placed in foster care with Betty Howard. She‘d talked about the child with such concern that Kincaid had wondered if she was displacing her worry over her mother.
    But before he‘d had a chance to ask her more about the case, Toby had come in wanting a story, and by the time the boys were tucked up, they had fallen into bed themselves, exhausted, and he had given it no further thought.
    Now, pulling out his mobile, he rang her. ‘Didn‘t you say the pathologist thought Tim‘s friend‘s death was suspicious?‘ he asked.
    ‘Yes, that was my impression,‘ she said. ‘But there was no sign of trauma, and they won‘t have the tox results yet. Why?‘
    ‘Tox results or not, the DI in charge‘ — he peered at the page, wondering if he was going to have to give in to reading glasses — ‘Neal Weller, his name is, has sent us the case. You said you met the pathologist. Any good?‘
    ‘He seemed very thorough. But Weller, he‘s a bit of a bulldog. I‘d not have thought he‘d hand it off so easily. He argued with Dr Kaleem.‘
    ‘Well, it looks like something‘s spooked Weller. What‘s your gut feeling on this?‘
    He waited, listening to the hum of activity at Gemma‘s end of the line.
    ‘I‘m in the CID room. Give me a sec.‘ Then he heard a door shut and the background sound vanished as if a switch had been flipped. ‘Um, I think I‘m inclined to agree with the pathologist,‘ Gemma said from the sanctity of her office. ‘Something didn‘t feel right.‘
    ‘But, on Saturday, you said Tim was worried about his friend. I gathered he thought he might be suicidal.‘
    ‘Tim was worried, but he‘s adamant that Naz didn‘t kill himself.‘ She paused, and Kincaid heard the tap of a pencil on her desk, her habit when she was thinking. After a moment, she said, ‘It‘s a dodgy case, any way you look at it. And Weller was the one who investigated the wife‘s disappearance.‘
    Kincaid picked up a pencil himself and doodled interlocking circles. ‘Then Weller‘s treading on eggshells now, I would guess. Afraid he missed something. Could be a right balls-up, and he‘s getting out while the going‘s good.‘
    ‘I‘d guess he‘s close to retirement,‘ said Gemma. ‘He wouldn‘t want to finish his career with a black mark. So...‘ she hesitated, and Kincaid grinned at her restraint. ‘So, if you think the case merits reassignment, will you take it yourself?‘
    ‘Would you kill me if I didn‘t?‘
    ‘Oh, worse than that. Much worse,‘ Gemma answered, and he heard the smile in her voice.
    ‘And where would you start?‘ he asked. ‘If it were your case.‘
    ‘You‘ll want to see Weller, of course. And Tim. And the pathologist. But if it were me, I think I‘d start with Naz Malik‘s law partner. She‘s bound to know more about Naz and his wife than anyone else.‘
    Kincaid flipped through the case notes, saw the name and address of Naz Malik‘s firm.
    ‘You‘ll keep me in the loop?‘ added Gemma.
    ‘Have you ever known me to overlook a valuable resource?‘ he asked, and smiled as he clicked off. Cullen was staring at him, his lips pursed as if he‘d just eaten a lemon.
    ‘We‘re going to take this one?‘ Cullen repeated Gemma‘s question, but with much less anticipation.
    Kincaid‘s sergeant tended to be territorial, and wouldn‘t care for Gemma‘s involvement in the