Tony Hill u Carol Jordan 08 - Cross and Burn

‘Unless there’s another team you’re not telling me about.’
    ‘As far as I’m aware, she was straight. Her marriage to Torin’s dad didn’t break up because she ran off with another woman.’
    ‘Why did it break up?’
    ‘She said Iraq changed him. He began drinking heavily and she felt scared all the time when he was around. He was never actually physically violent towards her or Torin, but he shouted a lot, he was always angry. She felt they were living on a knife edge. Ironically, once they got divorced, they got on better. He had a good relationship with Torin. Bev reckoned having to take responsibility for being a family man was one stress too many, given what he was dealing with on the front line.’
    Fielding nodded. ‘That’s squaddies for you. The Army acts like their parents and that’s an easier family to belong to than real live ones, with all their demands and issues. So have we checked that the husband is where we think he is?’
    ‘I haven’t. I expect PC Okeke made inquiries.’
    ‘Check it with him. So what kind of social life did Bev have post-divorce? Was she a party animal? Did she have boyfriends?’
    ‘She’d been out with a couple of guys since the divorce, but nothing recent, according to her colleagues. From my observations, I’d have said she was someone who took her job and her role as a mother seriously, which didn’t leave a lot of room for much else.’
    ‘But you admitted you didn’t know her that well. What about internet dating? Do you think she might have been into that?’
    Paula shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have thought she was the type. But what do I know? What is the type? Presumably forensics will be able to tell when they have a crack at her computer.’
    ‘Though God knows when that will be.’ Fielding looked gloomy. ‘Remember when they told us computers would make everything quick and easy? So how come it takes for ever for the geeks to get them to spill their guts?’
    ‘We never had that problem in the MIT,’ Paula said. ‘We had Stacey Chen.’
    ‘Yeah, well, lucky you. The rest of us have to live in the real world. So who gets the kid? With the dad in Afghanistan and mum dead? Where is he now? With relatives? Or social services. You sorted that out, right?’
    Fuck, fuck, fuck. Truth or lies? ‘He’s with friends,’ Paula said, setting for the half-truth and moving swiftly on. ‘He’s got a maternal grandmother and an aunt in Bristol. I believe the aunt is coming up to Bradfield today.’
    ‘Good timing. We need to go through Nadia Wilkowa’s life again, see if there are any intersects with Bev McAndrew. That might bring us closer to finding how he acquired her. Pharmaceutical rep, pharmacist – not such an outrageous thought.’ Fielding turned away and stared out at the moorland landscape. ‘Christ, it’s bloody bleak. Why the hell would you want to live out here at the arse end of nowhere? What do people do all day? There’s nothing as far as the eye can see. Even the bloody sheep have given up.’
    Paula had never had much faith in her sense of direction, but she was beginning to wonder about where they were heading. She took out her phone and opened the map app. A flashing icon marked their movement along the road. In the ‘search’ box, she typed in an address she recalled from the Jacko Vance investigation. The app took a moment to load, then it informed her that the barn where Vance had killed Michael Jordan was a mere seven miles away by road. Looking at the map, it was a lot less than that as the crow might fly if it had any interest in making the trip.
    She had no idea whether Carol Jordan had visited her late brother’s home since his death, but if she was going to be out this way again, it might be worth taking a swing by to see if there were any locals who could help to pinpoint Carol’s location. Because she really didn’t want to lose contact with the boss she had come to count as a friend.
    Moments later, they were slowing down, driving alongside other parked police vehicles. They emerged into the bright morning, eyes narrowing against the sunlight, and identified themselves to the PC who was controlling and noting access to the crime scene. ‘Where’s the SIO?’ Fielding asked.
    The PC pointed. ‘DCI Franklin’s over by the body.’
    ‘Which one is he?’
    Paula’s heart sank as she followed the PC’s finger. ‘The tall one who looks like a Neanderthal undertaker,’ she said under her breath, barely