Already Dead(50)

‘It’s such a pity we don’t have Ben Cooper available,’ said Detective Inspector Paul Hitchens when she’d brought him up to date. ‘He’s always been such a big asset to the team.’

‘We can manage perfectly well,’ said Fry. She didn’t really feel she needed to answer to a Divisional DI. Especially not Paul Hitchens. She’d worked with him, and she knew him. Most importantly, she knew all his weaknesses.

‘If you establish that it was murder, we’ll have to call in the Major Crime Unit,’ said Hitchens. ‘But then, you know that.’

‘If we need the MCU, we need them. What we don’t need is DS Cooper. We’ll manage fine without him.’

Hitchens chewed his lip. Fry could see the problem he was facing. No matter how he felt, how much misplaced faith he had in Ben Cooper, he couldn’t display a lack of confidence in his own team.

But it turned out that wasn’t what was on his mind.

‘This won’t come as a huge surprise to you, Diane,’ he said. ‘But I’m moving on. It’s time for me to do something different. I don’t fit in here any more. It was different when DCI Kessen was here, or Stewart Tailby before him. They were good to work for.’

‘You used to take the piss out of them both,’ said Fry. ‘All the time.’

She had no idea what else to say. Hitchens was wrong – it had come as a surprise to her. But perhaps it shouldn’t have done. She’d seen a leaflet on his desk one day, promoting a seminar for inspectors. Meeting the challenges of the new performance landscape. She’d thought it was just another Human Resources initiative. But he spoke as if she ought to have known. Perhaps she had missed all the gossip.

Hitchens coughed. ‘Perhaps occasionally. But you understand. I did talk to you about it earlier in the year.’

‘I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned it to me,’ said Fry.

‘Oh?’ He looked confused. ‘I suppose it must have been DS Cooper, then.’

‘Yes, I suppose it must.’

‘I’ve worked in E Division for a while, you know. I came to rely on Ben quite a lot. It was good having Cooper as DS.’

Fry said nothing. Presumably Hitchens had also forgotten that Cooper had replaced her as DS on his team. That was a convenient lapse of memory. It allowed him to speak the truth without worrying that she might take offence at the implications. It was good having Cooper as DS. Much better than whoever it was doing the job before him.

‘We have reports coming in of vehicles sighted in the area the night of the murder,’ reported Irvine when she got back. ‘So far, we’ve got two white vans, a red car, and a BMW.’

‘Are they reliable witnesses?’ asked Fry.

‘I don’t know. The red car and the BMW were noticed by a passing motorist. There weren’t many on that road at the time, so it’s a bit of luck for us. And the two white vans were seen by an employee at the quarry company nearby. We’ve got good descriptions of the vans. A Mark 6 Ford Transit, and a Renault Trafic. One had a name printed on the side. Do you think either of those could be of interest to us?’

‘Possibly,’ said Fry. ‘We’ll need to talk to the witnesses to see how well they stand up.’

‘Want me to run with that, Diane?’

‘Fine.’

‘Two white vans, though?’ said Murfin. ‘One is more than enough, if you ask me.’

‘What are you talking about, Gavin?’

‘I’m saying everyone is always looking for a white van. Any inquiry I’ve ever been involved in, we were always trying to track down a white van. And when we found it, the driver never had anything to do with the crime we were investigating. He was always just passing or happened to be in the area at the time.’

‘Maybe they’ve been sent as observers,’ said Irvine cheerfully.

‘What?’

‘Observers. You know, like that American TV series – where these sort of bald aliens always turn up making notes in the background when anything significant happens. They’re observers. It could be why there’s always a white van man in the area when a serious crime is committed.’

Fry scowled at him. ‘Now I have no idea what you’re talking about, Luke.’

‘When was that on?’ asked Hurst. ‘And what is the series called?’

‘I can’t remember,’ said Irvine. ‘It’s American. A bit like The X Files, but more recent.’

‘I think you just made it up.’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘Look, I don’t care whether you made it up or not,’ said Fry impatiently. ‘Can we please get back to—?’