As they returned to the station, Gina headed straight to the kitchen. Briggs leaned against a wall and Annie was laughing at something he’d said. As soon as she spotted Gina, she stopped. ‘Don’t mind me. Oh, Chris, I’ll fill you in with the rest of what happened in despatch later,’ Annie said with a giggle as she grabbed a paper cup and filled it with cold water. It was rare to hear anyone around the station refer to DCI Chris Briggs as just Chris – it was normally, sir. They’d been intimate and Gina wouldn’t ever call him Chris while working. He grinned at her, not commenting on the informality that had slipped from Annie’s tongue.

The heat had been draining and chocolate on a stuffy day hadn’t been the most fulfilling meal. She could feel the last of the cocoa paste sticking to the roof of her mouth.

‘How did it go?’ Briggs asked.

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Annie said as she left with her cup of water. ‘Call me later.’

‘Gossiping again? I don’t know,’ Gina said as she also filled a paper cup with water and sipped the cold liquid.

Briggs let out a small laugh. ‘Not about you, Harte, just everyone else. Okay it was about you a little. It looked odd, you leaving the station the way you did the other night and not coming out for Wyre’s birthday drink. Gossip is still rife after the last case and everything you went through with the attacks. We’re all concerned, like family. You know how things are. If it were any one of us, you’d be concerned too.’

‘Well, thank you for not lying when I asked you. At least I know what I’m up against.’

‘We’re not your enemy, you know,’ Briggs replied as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She took his hand and removed it. ‘I know. But seriously, all of you need to drop it. I’m not some delicate little flower you need to look out for—’

‘We all need looking out for in this job.’

‘Okay, but start planting some gossip that lets people know that I don’t need anyone fussing. That case was ages ago—’

‘Four months and you’ve only just finished the counselling sessions.’

‘Finished, that’s the important word here. I finished, I’m stronger for everything that’s happened to me and I have what is turning out to be a meaty case to get my teeth stuck into. I know I opened up to you about my past, in those moments where my safety was compromised, but I’m fine now. That was a long time ago. I’m not vulnerable, sir.’

‘We’re all vulnerable, Harte, and we all need friends. Just remember you have friends. I’m here to talk should you need me.’

She smiled and finished her water. He had Annie now. She wasn’t about to be confiding in him any time soon. ‘About the case then, sir. We’re planning to search Darren Mason’s parents’ house this afternoon. We have the team prepped. Keith is finished with the van. He and Bernard are just repacking what they need and we’ll be heading over.’

‘What are your thoughts?’ Briggs asked.

‘Same as yours. He was hiding something, I’m just not sure what. I think his reluctance to let us search the van on a voluntary basis could have been because of the weed we found. After speaking to Beryl Day, the owner of the Crump Lane Garage, I think there’s a lot more to him and he’s definitely hiding something. He was angry in the footage when he was speaking on the phone. He even kicked his van at one point. Beryl also said that when he drove off, he then pulled over on the brow of the hill to talk on his phone again. Was he panicking about something?’ Gina frowned as she thought.

‘We’re no closer to finding out exactly when the girl got into or was loaded onto the van. The fact that she had been using drugs and weed was found in his van provides somewhat of a connection.’ Briggs began to undo his cuffs and roll his shirt up.

‘Not quite in the same league though. I’m really hoping that the search turns something up otherwise it’s back to questioning.’

‘What about his friend?’

‘I’ll go there on the way back from the search. Obviously, we have no right to search his home but Darren Mason had come from there. I’ll drop by with one of the team and get a witness statement. We’ll play it from there. I have a feeling they’re lovers.’

‘Lovers?’

‘Yes, listen to the recording of his interview. He mentions getting up and chilling with Callum Besford, but then he breaks off during the sentence.’ Gina stepped back and looked around. Neither of them wanted anyone else to ever guess that they once may have been lovers. She threw the cup in the bin. ‘Right, I best get prepped for this search.’