Valentine Page 3

  When Kate got back to her desk, Theo was standing by his own desk divesting himself of his coat and scarf, shivering theatrically.

  “Still cold out?” asked Kate, somewhat unnecessarily.

  “You could stay that.”

  “How did it go with Laura Ellis?

  Theo grinned and sauntered over to her, rubbing his hands in a manner that could have been interpreted as lascivious. “Lesbians have got a lot hotter since I was at college, I’ll tell you that.”

  “Theo!” Kate shook her head at him. “Stop being so homophobic.”

  “Am I being?” asked Theo, in honest confusion.

  “Well, you’re being bloody sexist then,” Kate said. “As usual,” she added.

  “Well, whatever. She denied all knowledge anyway, totally indignant that we should suspect her. Said that she only had a short-term thing with Kiki and it wasn’t serious. In fact, she said she thought Kiki—“ He stopped talking for a moment, looking thoughtful.

  “What?” prompted Kate.

  Theo perched himself on the corner of Kate’s desk. “Well, that was the one thing that made me pause, actually. I got the impression that Laura thinks Kiki went out with her, well, not because she fancied her or anything like that, but because of some other reason.”

  Kate was nonplussed. “I don’t understand.”

  Theo rubbed his jaw. “Laura said that Kiki sort of went after her, hell for leather, and Laura was flattered and, let’s face it, attracted, ‘cos that Kiki’s seriously hot, right?” Kate fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Well, anyway, so they get it on and then almost immediately Kiki loses interest and they break up.”

  Kate frowned. “Well – maybe Kiki’s one of those people who always want what they can’t have – and then when they get it, they’re not interested anymore.”

  “Maybe.” Theo pushed himself upright. “Anyway, the crux of it is that Laura says she didn’t send the heart or kill the cat.”

  “And you believe her?”

  “I do, actually.”

  “Right.” Kate barely noticed as Theo went back to his own desk. Her thoughts were echoing Olbeck’s. This was a waste of time. She shook her head, dismissing the memories of the dripping hearts, the glint of the metal arrow, the stiff, white body of Frosty the cat, and reached for the top folder from the teetering pile in her in tray.

  Kate got home reasonably early that night. She decided to cook herself a proper meal for once, nothing fancy, but something fresh and tasty. Merlin twined around her ankles as she chopped the vegetables and crushed the garlic. Once the herb-smothered chicken breasts were in the oven, Kate poured herself an orange juice and wandered through to the living room. Tin’s roses still looked beautiful up on the mantelpiece; the multitude of red, velvet buds reflected in the mirror. Kate leant over them and took a deep, grateful sniff. Delicious.

  Thinking of Tin was not quite so uncomplicated. Kate paced back and forth in front of the fire, glass in hand. Should she go to New York? As in, move to New York? Tin was there, he wanted her to come. It would be a great opportunity. But an opportunity to do what, Kate asked herself. What was it that she would actually do? She wouldn’t be able to work as a police officer, that was for sure, and what else was she going to do?

  A small reckless part of her wanted to call Tin that instant and say ‘yes’. Just for the hell of it. Just so she could stop thinking about it, stop going over the pros and cons, get over the ‘should I or shouldn’t I’ once and for all. She didn’t call him, though. She sat there on the sofa, staring at the flickering flames in the grate, waiting for the beep of the oven timer.

  Chapter Five

  “So, Kate,” Detective Chief Inspector Anderton said pleasantly, the next morning. “How’s young Tin getting along in the Big Apple?”

  Kate made a solemn, silent vow never again to share any aspect of her personal life with her work colleagues. “He’s getting on fine, as far as I know. And you do know he’s over forty? Hardly young!”

  “That’s young to me,” sighed Anderton. “Glad to hear it, though. You were looking very down in the mouth for a week or so.”

  Given Kate and Anderton’s history of romantic and sexual entanglement, his comments were particularly unwelcome. Kate gritted her teeth, smiled and said, “I’ll try to cheer up from now on, sir.”

  She managed to detach herself from his presence without appearing rude – she hoped – and made for her desk. She could see Olbeck in his office with the phone to his ear, talking to someone and looking serious, but his office door was shut so she couldn’t hear what they were talking about. Kate sat down at her desk, waved to Rav and Anne, noted that Theo was absent, and then turned her attention to her work.

  She was soon so immersed in answering her emails that she jumped when Olbeck came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Got a minute?” was all that he said. Kate raised her eyebrows but followed him back to his office.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I just had another call from Kiki Dee. She says she’s received a threatening message on her Facebook wall. A death threat, if you could call it that.”

  Kate eyebrows remained raised. “What did it say?”

  Olbeck picked up his notebook and cleared his throat. “’You’ll end up the same way as your cat, bitch.’”

  “Blimey.” Kate sat down in the swivel chair and put her chin in her hands. “So, what do we do now? I presume we’re taking it seriously?”

  “Of course we are. I’m asking IT to look into where the message came from, track down the IP address, find the server, that sort of thing. And I think we might go back and re-interview Kiki, see if she can shed any more light on whether there’s someone out there who might mean her harm, for whatever reason.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, I think so. Let me just talk to Sam, to get the tech stuff rolling, and then we’ll go.”

  Kiki Dee had lost a little of the self-confidence she’d displayed on their first meeting. She was dressed in a shapeless grey dress and thick brown cardigan, and her dark hair was greasy and uncombed. She took some time to open the front door of the house and when she did, Kate noted the dark half-moons under the girl’s eyes with concern.

  “I can’t think who’d be doing this,” she almost wailed, at Olbeck’s question. “I can’t see any of my friends being so – so mean. And as for—“ She shot a quick glance at Kate before she addressed Olbeck. “I guess you’ve talked to Laura?”

  “We have,” said Olbeck. “And I have to say I don’t think she’s had anything to do with this.”

  “I know. That’s what I told you before. I just – I can’t think of anything else…”

  She trailed off, biting her nails. Kate thought of something.

  “Kiki, forgive me if this sounds rude, but in your work as a burlesque dancer, do you ever get, well, unwanted attention from people? Men watching the show, things like that?”

  Kiki sniffed. “I’m not a stripper, you know.”

  Kate repressed a sigh. “I know you’re not. But sometimes, when you’re a public performer, some people – men especially – react rather strangely to that.”

  Kiki looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. “Right.”

  “Has there been anything, any sort of contact with someone at the club perhaps, that’s – shall we say – given you pause? Made you concerned? Anything like that?”

  Kiki sniffed again. “No. No I can’t think of anyth—“ She stopped abruptly, staring into space, her hand at her mouth. Kate held herself tense.

  Kiki slowly dropped her hand. “There was one thing,” she said eventually, slowly. “It was nothing, really, but…”

  “Go on,” Kate prompted.

  Kiki sat up a little from her slumped position. “It was just – a couple of months ago, this guy sent me over champagne after my dance. Real champagne, you know, expensive stuff. The whole bottle and two glasses. He’d put a note with it.”

  She stopped talking, clearly think
ing over the memory. “What did the note say?” asked Kate.

  “Nothing bad. Something like ‘I’d like to drink this with you,’ something like that.”

  “And did you?”

  Kiki shot her a wary look. “Did I what?”

  Kate smiled. “Did you drink it with him?”

  Kiki looked a little sheepish. “I did, actually. We had it at the bar together. He seemed nice and it was a nice thing to do. It’s not often people buy me real champagne. I guess I was a bit flattered.”

  “Can you tell us anything else about him?”

  Kiki’s hand went back up to her mouth, one finger slipping into the corner of it like a little girl. “His name was Joel. That’s all I know, I didn’t get his surname or anything like that – I mean, he did tell me but I’ve forgotten it. He was, um, older than me, maybe thirty-five, maybe?” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, dislodging her finger. “He was married – well, he was wearing a wedding ring.”

  Kate and Olbeck exchanged glances. “Anything else?” asked Kate. “What did he look like? Would you recognise him again?”

  “Oh yes, of course. That night with the champagne, we sat together for over an hour, just chatting. He was nice, like I said. But not really good looking or anything like that. Just ordinary.”

  “Can you describe him?” asked Olbeck, pen poised over his notebook.

  Kiki shrugged. “Just ordinary, like I said.”

  “You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that,” said Olbeck, smiling. “What colour hair, what colour eyes? What ethnicity?”

  Kiki looked startled. “Oh, well, he was white. Um... brown hair, short-ish, you know, normal. Um, I don’t know what colour eyes he had.”

  “Well, we can always bring you into the station to do a more formal identification,” said Olbeck. “Did you see him again after that night?”

  “No,” Kiki said with a firmness that surprised Kate slightly. Then she corrected herself. “Oh, wait, sorry. Yes, he did come back into the club, about two weeks later but I didn’t speak to him then.” Kiki looked a little coy. “I was with Laura by then, and I didn’t want to – well, encourage him, or anything like that.”

  “And you haven’t seen him since?” checked Kate.

  Kiki said nothing but shook her head. Her gaze dropped and the animation that had returned to her features suddenly waned.

  “Please don’t worry,” said Olbeck, who must have also noticed the look of fear that had suddenly returned to Kiki’s face. “We’ll make sure you’re okay. There’s no need to panic.”

  “But is there?” Kate asked, as they drove back to the office. It had started to rain heavily and the windscreen wipers of the car moved back and forth in a way that was almost hypnotic.

  Olbeck was driving and didn’t glance over but she could see him frown. “I’m not sure.”

  Kate tapped her fingers on her leg. “That message on Kiki’s Facebook page seems to make it clear that the cat was killed deliberately. It takes a fairly dangerous person to do something like that, I would have thought.”

  Olbeck’s frown remained. “I know. I’m thinking we might have to get Kiki a panic button, or something. Some kind of alarm.”

  “Well, that’s a good start.” Kate watched the raindrops roll down the passenger side window. “But it’s odd, isn’t it? How does this tie in with the other women, Valerie Houghton and Caroline Whatsit, you know, the lawyer?”

  This time, Olbeck did look at her. “I have absolutely no idea.”

  “Hmm,” said Kate, equally stumped. Then she cheered up a little. “Oh well, hopefully Sam or someone in IT will have tracked down the sender of that message by now.”

  “That would help.” Olbeck slowed the car and indicated for the turn-off into the station carpark.

  Unfortunately, when the two of them got back to the office, the results from IT were still outstanding. Kate could understand it – the department was snowed under at the moment, concentrating on gathering evidence for a big case involving a recently exposed paedophile ring – but it was still annoying. She fetched a tuna salad from the canteen and ate it hurriedly in front of her computer, trying to catch up on all the work she should have done that morning.

  She’d just about got on top of it by four o’clock that afternoon when her telephone rang. She could see, by looking at the display, that it was a call that had been rerouted from Olbeck’s phone. He often did that when he was going to be out of the office or stuck in meetings. Kate answered it.

  “Oh – oh, I was hoping to speak to Detective Inspector Olbeck,” said a woman’s voice that Kate didn’t recognise.

  “I’m sorry, he’s not available at the moment. Can I help?” Kate gave her rank and name and added “I’d be happy to help if I could? I work under DI Olbeck, if that helps.”

  The woman sounded a little diffident. “Well, it’s – perhaps I should wait.”

  “Can I take a message?” asked Kate.

  Suddenly the woman’s tone changed. She sounded firmer, more decisive. “No, no it’s fine. I’ll tell you. I’m Caroline Spendler, by the way. “ Kate felt a small jolt of surprise. Surprise and something else. Anticipation?”

  Caroline Spendler was still speaking. “I think I might know who sent me that pig’s heart.”

  Now Kate did sit up. “Really?”

  The diffident tone was back in Caroline Spendler’s voice. “Yes, I’ve got a pretty good idea. I wonder – this is quite hard over the phone… could you possibly come to see me and I can tell you face to face?”

  Kate’s eyebrows went up and she looked at the clock. Merlin wouldn’t need feeding for some time yet, and she had no other plans for after work. She reassured Caroline Spendler that a home visit would be no problem. “I’m on my way, Ms Spendler.” She got the address details, said goodbye and put the phone down, the anticipation climbing with every minute it took her to switch off her computer, gather her things and leave the office.

  Chapter Six

  Caroline Spendler lived in a modern apartment, part of a renovated warehouse that stood on the banks of the Abbeyford canal. Parking her car in the marked space for visitors to the building, Kate looked around her. What had once been a shabby wasteland of abandoned buildings and empty concrete spaces had been transformed into a smart, chic housing estate of new-build houses, trendy restaurants and a water-side promenade where hip young couples drank artisan beer in pop-up bars, and where an arts, crafts and vintage market was held every Sunday. Kate remembered investigating a serial killing case here, years ago now, before the area’s transformation. It was hard to remember now what it had been like.

  Caroline Spendler matched her shiny new apartment. She had short, geometrically cut blonde hair, subtle but expensive clothes, a single piece of striking statement jewellery worn on a short chain around her slender neck and a general air of confidence and self-sufficiency. Kate knew she was regarding her with favour, just as she had regarded Valerie Houghton with condescension. She made the effort to dial back her approval, to try to remain neutral.

  Caroline Spendler shook hands firmly and offered Kate coffee. Kate accepted, knowing that the coffee would almost certainly be freshly ground and made from the highest quality beans. She took a seat on the grey modular sofa while Caroline moved about the galley kitchen with quick, efficient movements.

  “Here you are,” said Caroline, handing Kate a white china cup in a fashionably square saucer. Kate sniffed the fragrant steam rising from the cup appreciatively. Caroline sat down in a chair opposite the sofa and regarded Kate steadily. Kate had the impression Caroline was finding in favour of her, just as Kate had done so with the other woman.

  “I have to admit, I was a bit embarrassed to call,” Caroline said eventually. She prevaricated, taking a long sip of coffee. “Silly, really. There’s not normally that much that embarrasses me. But – oh well, as you’ll see—“ She broke off and got up, walking over to the small dining table in the corner of the room and picking up the slim l
ittle laptop that stood on its surface. “I’m very busy, you see, I work such long hours and – well, it make it hard to meet people, normally. In the normal way. You know.”

  Kate tried to smile reassuringly but Caroline wasn’t looking at her. She sat back down on the chair and opened the laptop, balancing on her knees.

  “I’ve been using this – site,” said Caroline, her gaze fixed on the laptop screen. “There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s all adults, it’s just – well, it’s a bit like Tinder, really. If you want to meet people, you can contact them through here.”

  Kate was beginning to understand. “A dating site?” she asked in the most neutral tone she could muster.

  A tinge of pink became visible in Caroline’s cheeks. “Well, look, to be honest, it’s not quite a dating site. More of a – more of a hook-up site, if you know what I mean.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “I never thought I’d do something like that but, you know, being single and all that…”

  Kate leapt in to try and diffuse the situation. “What you do in your private life is absolutely no concern of mine, Ms Spendler. You think the person who sent you the heart might have been someone you met on this site?”

  Caroline nodded. “Yes. In fact, I’m almost sure of it. No, I am sure of it. He sent me this message yesterday. See?” She turned the laptop so that Kate could see the screen. The website currently showing was a mass of moody blues, black and gold. ‘4Adults’ seemed to be the name of the site. Kate kept her face as blank as she could – she could almost feel the other woman’s embarrassment radiating off her like heat. Caroline pointed to a message box in the upper corner of the screen. How did you like your present, bitch? was the one line of the most recent email.

  Kate drew in her breath. The message sounded uncannily similar to the one Kiki Dee had received on her Facebook page. “May I?” she asked, reaching out for the laptop. Caroline handed it to her without protest.

  Kate clicked on the link on screen that led to the message sender’s profile on the site. It was disappointingly blank – no photo, no other information. “How do you know who sent you this?” she asked Caroline.