Tony Hill u Carol Jordan 08 - Cross and Burn

thought the advancement of human learning came down to nothing except more sophisticated ways not to feel the pain.
    Bev’s deputy, Dan Birchall, looked like a member of a minor boy band run to seed. The lineaments of a handsome young man lurked beneath the slack fleshiness of his face, the neatly trimmed beard unable to disguise the jowls forming along his jawline. He still moved with a certain grace, almost dancing between the shelves and cabinets. But it was a dance whose tempo was starting to slip and whose steps looked a little more desperate with every passing year. ‘You’re Dr Blessing’s lady, aren’t you?’ was his response when Paula introduced herself. It wasn’t a line that endeared him to her.
    ‘I’m looking into the whereabouts of your chief pharmacist, Ms McAndrew.’ Paula smiled. There was no mileage in anything other than working the witness for whatever he might know. ‘Her son has reported her missing.’
    Dan rolled his eyes. ‘Right,’ he said, stretching the word as far as it would go. ‘Well, suddenly, something makes sense. We’ve been at sixes and sevens all day, wondering what was up with Bev. Because Bev would never just not show. Totally not her style.’
    Paula pulled up a lab stool and sat down, indicating he should do the same. But he remained on his feet, leaning against the counter with ankles crossed and arms folded. It made her wonder what he had to hide. If she’d been Tony Hill, no doubt she’d have worked it out already. But her gift was for interrogation; she was accustomed to taking the long way round. ‘So you’ve had no communication from her?’
    He shook his head. ‘Not a word. Not a text, not an email, not a message. At first, I assumed she’d been caught up in traffic. Except Bev somehow always manages not to get caught up in traffic.’ He rolled his eyes again. ‘That’s Bev. So organised she listens to the travel news with breakfast. But once it got to half past nine, I thought there was no way Bev would be an hour late without calling in. So I tried her home number and her mobile. I got the answering machine and the voicemail.’ He spread his hands. ‘What else could I do?’
    ‘Did it occur to you to go round and check she was OK?’
    He gave her a peevish look. ‘Why would I do that? It’s not like she lives alone. If anything had happened to her, Torin the Wonder Boy could have called for help. Besides —’ He waved impatiently at the bustle in the dispensary. ‘Look at this place. We were already one down. I couldn’t walk away from the rest of the team. We only took half an hour each for lunch as it was.’ He seemed more irritated than worried. Paula hoped that whatever had happened to Bev wasn’t the kind of thing that would make his annoyance come back to haunt him.
    ‘I appreciate that. You’ve got patients to consider.’
    Dan pounced on the get-out. ‘Exactly. People rely on us.’
    ‘So, when did you last see Bev?’
    ‘Yesterday. A bit after half past five. She was through in the office.’ He pointed to a cubicle tucked away in the far corner. ‘I was going for a birthday drink with Bob Symes, one of the porters. I asked her if she fancied joining us, but she said she had some paperwork to wrap up and then she had to go to Freshco on the way home. So I left her to it.’
    ‘Was there anybody else still working?’
    ‘Well, the duty pharmacist, obviously. She comes in at five and she’s on till half past midnight. The night-duty dispenser does midnight till eight thirty.’ He flapped a hand dismissively. ‘But you won’t be interested in the hell that is our staffing roster.’
    Paula made a note on her pad. ‘I’ll need the details of the duty pharmacist.’
    Dan nodded. ‘No problem. Vahni Bhat, that’s her name. I’ll give you her numbers when we’re done. She’ll be in tonight, if you want to see her.’
    ‘Thanks.’ She looked around. Two young women and an older man were focused on what they were doing, paying no attention to her and Dan. Paula didn’t often find herself in a workplace where the staff were so overwhelmed with their own tasks that they ignored a police inquiry in their midst. ‘Was Bev particularly close to anyone here at work?’
    Dan scratched his beard and frowned, his eyes sliding away from hers. ‘I wouldn’t have said so. Don’t get me wrong, we’re good enough mates here. And heaven knows, I’ve worked with Bev for a million years. But we don’t live in each