Kate handed the taxi driver a ten-pound note, and pushed the rear door open, before shuffling around so she could rest her bandaged foot on the damp pavement. The doctor had confirmed there was no fracture and that the cause of the swelling was a sprain. She’d taken the offer of crutches but didn’t intend to use them for too long. The symptoms of her concussion could last a few days and she’d been prescribed painkillers for when the pain got too much. She’d dry-swallowed two pills the moment she left the hospital.

‘You want change?’ the driver asked.

Spotting a photo hanging from the visor of the driver with two young children, she waved her hand in resignation. ‘Keep it.’

She closed the door, regained her balance on the crutches and stared up at the seven-storey structure of the city’s police headquarters. She stifled a yawn, promising herself an enormous cup of coffee when she made it up to the third floor.

Tottering forwards, she felt the strain of the crutch handles digging into her palms as she followed the wheelchair ramp up to the main entrance, deciding it was the quickest way into the building, rather than entering from below as she was supposed to. She waved her badge at the PC behind the front desk and he buzzed her through with a disapproving look.

The lift deposited her on the third floor and she made her way slowly along the corridor, until she arrived, panting, at the door to her department, only to find it deserted.

She rested against the edge of her desk until her breathing steadied, and then pushed herself onwards, heading out of the office and further along the corridor. The blinds were pulled shut in Major Incident Room One. Peering through the tiny vertical strip of glass in the door, Kate could see the room was packed as DI Underhill pointed urgently to the words scribbled on the whiteboard behind him. Something big had happened and she hadn’t been called.

Pressing her nose against the strip of glass as she strained to see more, Kate spotted Laura at the back of the room. Laura caught her gaze, her eyes widening with concern, shaking her head in warning. Whatever was going on inside, interrupting was not an option.

The supe’s door opened behind her.

‘Matthews? I told you to stay at home. Get in here.’

Taking one last look, Kate circled back around and followed him into his office. The fish in the bowl on top of the filing cabinet gave her a slow, cold stare.

‘I thought I made myself abundantly clear. You are on leave until further notice.’

‘I know that, sir, but I thought if I could show you how mobile I am, you’d realise I can continue working. It’s just a sprain, and I’ll only need these things for a couple of days.’

‘Your leave has nothing to do with your mobility and you know it, Matthews.’

‘Sir, please. I know what you said, and I take that all on board, but I am fine. I really am.’

He sat. ‘Go home, Matthews.’

‘What’s going on in MIR-1?’

He fired her a warning look. ‘It’s not your concern.’

‘You’ve called the entire team in there. It must be something major. There’s been a murder, hasn’t there?’ The supe’s head shot up, the same look of unease in his eyes. ‘I knew it! You need me, sir. I’ve got the experience. After last time—’

‘We’re not discussing this, Matthews.’

‘Let me in, just for support and then I’ll take leave, I promise.’

‘Goodbye, Matthews.’

He wasn’t usually this stubborn. There was only one reason he wouldn’t want her involved.

‘Is this… is this about Amy Spencer, sir?’

He looked at her, exasperated. ‘This is exactly why you need some time away. A woman’s body turns up, and your first thought is it’s somehow related to what happened in London. It has absolutely nothing to do with any of that.’ He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. ‘Clearly you’re feeling the strain of the anniversary of DC Spencer’s death. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard for weeks, and if I don’t force you to take a break, you’re going to run yourself into the ground. I’m telling you this as a friend now: this is an intervention. You need to go home and rest. I don’t want to see you anywhere near this office for at least a fortnight. Go abroad somewhere while her story is raked through the press again. You don’t need that stress.’ He pointed at the door. ‘Go home, Matthews. I won’t tell you again.’

---

Kate made it back to the lift and pressed the down button. She would follow the supe’s instructions and leave the building, but she wasn’t going to go home. If he wouldn’t tell her what was going on, she knew someone who would, and she could guess exactly where that person might be within the next twenty minutes.