Inspector Rames

Chapter 44

"Let me get this straight." Dixon stopped in front of us, his feet planted wide. "I've just had the privilege of deploying half the force to drag up the skeleton of a physical abuser and control the resulting media frenzy. The murderer can't be brought to justice because he's dead, but this will open an inquiry anyway. To top it off, this hasn't accumulated any new evidence for our current inquiry. All you have from it is a notebook full of babble."

My gaze drifted to the scene behind him. Men and women in wetsuits were climbing out of the stream and starting the long process of packing up their equipment. Cassia was standing at the edge of the water with a forensic anthropologist, because Paris was, indeed, just a skeleton.

Finding him hadn't helped our current case, and it had cost us time and resources, and it was going to cost us more by opening a new inquiry. But it had needed doing, both from a policing point of view and a personal one.

DC Laney was in charge of Frankie, and she would have a long afternoon taking a complicated statement, starting with the relationship and ending with the letter. But for now, Frankie was standing as close to the skeleton of her boyfriend as she was allowed. Behind us, journalists and TV reporters were squawking in the mouth of the alley, but she didn't once turn her head towards the commotion. She didn't look at the divers, she didn't look at Cassia, and she didn't look at us. She only had eyes for Paris.

Alex and Sebastian were standing with me, both of them equally distracted. Sebastian was watching Cassia. Alex was deep in thought, examining something only he could see.

I was the first person to drag their gaze back to our governor. "Yes, sir."

Dixon folded his arms. "You do remember what the golden hour is, don't you, Amber?"

"They're a long way past that, sir," Sebastian said.

"And getting further by the minute!" Dixon fixed me with a glare. "If you don't have enough evidence to charge Frankie, go and bloody get some! That's what search warrants are for."

Beside me, Alex inhaled sharply as if someone had just pulled the plug on his thoughts. He squinted at me, his gaze a question.

I shrugged. "That's what I was planning on doing next."

We made an about-turn and crossed the small courtyard to the mouth of the alley. Alex lowered his voice as we put the others behind us. "At least this might be the start of some closure for Frankie. I think that's worth something."

"I know you do. I think it, too."

"I was also thinking that it's strange you know about this place."

"It's right next to Iron Paws. I've always known about it."

We entered the alley. Alex glanced over his shoulder. "I don't think you can see the river from the street. You don't make a habit of coming down here on your own, do you?"

"Not anymore. I used to come down here as a teenager with my boyfriends. It was a secluded place for a goodbye kiss. Or a hello kiss. Whatever."

Alex's eyes darkened. "I thought you were a terror at school?"

"Some boys like a bad girl."

"Do they, now?" His heated gaze met mine.

We slowed to a stop. A tabphone camera flashed.

I realised that we were just five feet away from the journalists, and I stepped back. "Not here. Come on."

***

By the time we turned up at Janet Temple's flat with an army of PRBs and a search warrant, it was the afternoon. Janet seemed lost for words when we explained what we were there for, but she duly pointed out Frankie's room. Alex and I took two of the PRBs straight inside, leaving the others to search the rest of the flat.