DCI Isaac Cook Box Set 1

biscuits.
‘Has she done this before?’
‘When we’ve had a blazing row, she puts on this “you never appreciated me. I’m going to find someone who will” attitude, and then two days later she’s back.’
‘The marriage was strained?’
Robert Avers laughed out loud, a raucous bellow. ‘Not at all, although this is longer than usual. Mind you, it’s not aimed at me, is it?’
‘I wouldn’t know.’
‘They’re going to dump her from that soap opera she holds up as a beacon of art.’
‘Does she hold it up?’
‘In public, but she doesn’t believe it, though. It’s an inane insult to the intelligence.’
Farhan, increasingly comfortable with the man, said, ‘My wife is addicted to it.’
Robert Avers adopted a serious tone. ‘Apologies if I offended.’
‘Apologies not needed.’
‘Mind you, it paid for all this.’ Robert Avers waved his arms around the room, indicating the house in general.
‘Then it seems that you’ve both done well out of it.’
‘Sure have. Let’s be honest, Marjorie can be a bitch, especially with the people she works with, and then if we walk out the door, it’s the photographers and the drooling fans. It’s bound to make anyone a bit difficult.’
‘Difficult for you?’
‘Not really. I just let her have her tantrums, and then it’s fine.’
‘So where is she now?’
‘She sends me the occasional SMS.’
‘We’re anxious to talk to her, check she’s okay.’
‘I don’t follow up on her, although I suppose you could check the location from her phone.’
‘It may not be so easy: rules and regulations, protection of privacy, that sort of thing.’
‘I’ll leave it up to you. Just let me know Marjorie is okay, but I don’t need to know where she is or when she’s coming back.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘She’s an affectionate woman. There’ll be plenty of making up when she gets back.’ Marjorie Frobisher’s husband let out another raucous bellow. ‘You know what I mean.’
***
Isaac and Farhan met later that day to compare notes, plan strategy. Detective Superintendent Goddard stuck his head briefly around the door for an update. He was off, apparently to another of the conferences which seemed to occupy a lot of his time. He was a man destined for greatness – or that was how he saw it. Any opportunity to press the flesh with the shakers and the movers, government or otherwise, and he was bound to be there.
‘It’s irritating, sir,’ Isaac said when asked for an update. He had just made himself a coffee and was seated at his desk, Farhan on the other side, a cup of tea in hand.
‘What’s irritating?’ The detective superintendent realised where the conversation was heading.
‘We’ve got a murder of a ten-year girl, a grisly death down by the docks, and here we are traipsing around the countryside to try and find a corpse, or if she’s not dead, a vain and silly woman with air and graces.’
‘Understood, but this woman is important. I don’t know why, but I’m bound to be grilled by a couple of people tonight, and some of them are very influential. And besides, we have a Murder Investigation Team dealing with those cases.’
‘I’m the senior investigating officer. I should be leading them.’
‘That’s fully understood, but for now, you and DI Ahmed are to focus on the missing woman.’
Isaac, realising that any further debate was pointless, focussed back on the woman. ‘Names, do you have any of these so-called influential names?’ Isaac persisted, mildly irritating his boss, who was in a hurry to get any information he could pass on, in case he was waylaid by pertinent questions later. Apparently, the prime minister was to make the keynote speech.
‘Official Secrets Act at the present moment. If it becomes necessary, then I may be able to get you a special dispensation. We’ve deputised your position on the Murder Investigation Team. You stick with what you’ve got. I don’t know much more than you do. Just keep digging. Any updates, make sure to let me know.’
Farhan was the first to reply. ‘The husband believes she’s got the huff and taken off for a while.’
‘Huff, not a police term that I am familiar with.’
Farhan realised that he had overstepped boundary of familiarity with the senior officer.
‘Sorry, sir. Occasionally, when they’ve had an argument, she takes off for a few days ‒ maintains contact by SMS. He’s a little worried, but he assumes the news from the soap opera she stars in is giving her concern, and she’s taken off until she cools down.’
‘What news is this?’
‘She’s being dropped from the series,’ Isaac said. ‘Took it badly by all accounts. If that gets out, it may make my best contact hostile.’
‘Don’t worry, Isaac. I’ll keep it under wraps. If they ask me tonight, I’ll say that she has had an argument with the husband and is hiding out for a few days. She’s done it before, and until we receive further updates to the contrary, that’s our official comment.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ One significant doubt remained in Isaac’s mind after the detective superintendent had left the room. Why is she so damn important to someone in a position of influence? he thought.
With the detective superintendent dealt with, Isaac and Farhan sat down to evaluate the situation. The office they occupied was not large, but it was freshly painted, with a good desk for Isaac, a smaller one for Farhan, as befitted his lower rank. To the right on entering the office were three comfortable chairs and a coffee table. More private conversations could be held down the corridor in a sound-proofed room. Isaac had all his accreditations framed, and up on the wall. Farhan was not so concerned and had none, just a calendar and a picture of his children.
‘Farhan, getting back to the situation before our unexpected visitor poked his head around the door,’ Isaac said, ‘what