Time to Die

Je

Rolling his chair back, Will allowed Je

Je

‘Pfft,’ Will said, blowing out his disgust. ‘You already know my feelings on that.’

Je

‘If it’s a straightforward harassment then it won’t.’ Will rolled his sweet to the other side of his mouth. ‘Our DI can say what he likes about the paranormal element of investigations, the CPS will only ever accept cold, hard facts.’

‘I don’t recall Ethan saying otherwise.’ Plucking out another wipe, Je

Will gri

‘Well you’re half way there. You’ve got the scruffy clothes and the beard,’ Je

‘I got this in Topman, I’ll have you know,’ Will said, pulling the lapels of his charcoal suit. Je

‘Anyway we can’t go out tonight, Claire’s ordered Chinese takeaway, seeing as we’ve all been working so hard. Will you come with me to pick it up?’ Will said.

‘I’m hardly going to sit here eating sandwiches while the whole place is stinking of curry, am I? Count me in.’

The ping of an email brought her attention to her computer screen, and she swore under her breath.

‘Everything alright?’ Will said, tapping a wad of freshly printed papers against his desk.

Je

‘Are you heading over there?’ Will said.

Je

‘Well in that case, you won’t mind giving me a hand with some enquiries.’

After clearing it with her sergeant, Je

It made Je

Will placed a mug of steaming coffee on her desk, sliding her paperwork aside as he did so. ‘Your desk will be like mine if you don’t watch out,’ he said, amused at the uncharacteristic mess.

Je

‘Unfortunately, the dead can’t speak,’ Will said as he took a seat.

‘Their families can,’ Je

[#]

‘Well that was interesting,’ Je

Will raised an eyebrow questioningly. After getting through some of his own work, he had begun reading the statements, lending a pair of fresh eyes to the investigation.

‘Marcy – that’s Alan Price’s ex-wife – was spoken to by DC Hardwick after he died, but he only made notes that Alan was suffering from depression.’

‘To be fair, he didn’t have to document it at all, given his death was suicide,’ Will said.

‘If you’re going to do a job then at least do it right.’ Je

‘So what’s unusual about that?’ Will said.

‘Alan told Marcy that he moved back to England for the gift of a second chance. When she asked what it meant, he said he was getting therapy for past issues. At first, it seemed to be going well, but then something changed. He said he’d been putting his trust in the wrong people, and she’d hear about it soon enough. That was a few days before his death.’

‘Bloody hell.’

‘I know. I was tempted to ask her about the hit and run, but she’s grieving. It wouldn’t have been fair to pile that on her as well. She’s going to screenshot the conversations and email them over. What do you think Alan meant when he said she would hear about it soon enough?’

‘Perhaps he meant he was pla

‘Maybe. Or perhaps there’s more to it than that. When I visited Emily she said a similar thing … oh what was it?’ She snapped her fingers. ‘That’s it! “The best gift in life is a second chance.”’

‘What does it mean?’ Will said, rubbing his whiskers.

A slow smile spread across Je

Chapter Ten

‘Hey everyone, what better tune to celebrate Friday night than one from the queen of pop herself? That’s right, iiiiiiit’s Mado