Time to Die

Je

‘Well, all right for some,’ Will said, pushing his hand against the glove box to shut it. A glimpse of white caught his eye and he dropped the door, allowing it to gape open.

‘You didn’t tell me you got another letter,’ he said, pulling out the white bonded envelope.

‘I haven’t …’ Je

Will frowned. ‘Here, in your glove box. Do you want me to open it?’ he said, fishing in his jacket pocket for some PVC gloves. He shook the envelope. It was weighted at the bottom.

Je

Will carefully opened the end, and watched as a round gold keyring fell into his lap. He reached for a pen from the glove box and poked it through the metal loop.

‘Why would anyone send you a designer keyring?’

The letters D and G were intertwined in gold, with tiny studded diamonds twinkling under the interior car light. Will drew his attention to the envelope and gently teased it open. Just like the last one, it contained a small black feather.

‘What the hell? How did that get into my car?’ Je

Will’s brow furrowed. ‘Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to send you this.’

‘I can see that,’ she said, a

Will popped the keyring back inside the envelope and carefully folded it over. ‘Are you sure this is the first you’ve seen of this?’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Je

Will sidestepped her question. ‘Have you left your car unlocked? Lost any spare keys?’

‘No … but I might have forgotten to lock it. I’ve been so busy lately …’ Her voice trailed away.

Will gnawed his lip, staring into the distance.

‘What’s wrong?’ she said, touching his arm to stir him from his thoughts.

Will took a deep breath but avoided her gaze. ‘Nothing. I just don’t like the thought of anyone being in your car.’ His eyes flickered to hers then quickly back onto the streets. ‘I can come over after work if you like, check your house out.’

Je

The concern etched on Will’s face conveyed he did. ‘Best not to take any chances. I know you want to go this alone, but this is getting personal. You’re better off handing everything over to DC Hardwick and assisting him with the enquiries.’

Je

‘Will,’ she said, her words delivered in a spoken sigh. ‘This got personal a long time ago.’

‘Oh.’ Will went quiet. ‘What makes you say that?’

She pointed up through the windscreen of her car. ‘See those ravens up there? They’re everywhere I go. I found one dead on my doorstep the other night. Ravens are said to carry powers of divination, and some believe they are omens of death.’

‘Do you think they’re co

‘It’s early days and I might have it all wrong. But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?’ Je

Will dropped his eyes again. He never was any good at lying. ‘I was going to tell you … but I was going to speak to Claire first, see if she could put some safety measures in place.’

‘I knew you were holding out. What were you going to tell me?’ she said, starting the ignition and pulling away from the kerb. The smell of chow mein and curry wafting from the back seat reminded Je

‘I know who delivered the first letter. It was Charlie Sutton,’ Will said, clicking his seatbelt into place.

She glanced at her partner in disbelief. ‘Sutton? Why would the little scroat do that?’

‘He said an old fella paid him to drop it in. He was driving a van. I was going to tell you, I’ve only just found out myself.’

Je

‘You should have told me the second you found out. We’re meant to be a team.’

‘We are a team. I literally just found out today. Can we have this argument after we’ve eaten? I’m bloody starving.’

Je

She promised to go inside as soon as she made a quick call. But she didn’t have any phone call to make. As soon as Will had left, she took the letter from the glove box and held it up under her nose. She sniffed, as if smelling a milk bottle to see if the contents had soured. Je

‘Oh!’ Je

‘The food’s all laid out, are you coming in or what?’ Will stood with his head cocked to one side, wearing his usual grin.