Back on the road, Grace glanced across at Nick when they stopped as a set of traffic lights turned to red. ‘Do you think this is a revenge killing?’
‘We’ll have to dig deeper to find out. Although, most of the criminals I’m familiar with wouldn’t do anything on Steele land.’
‘Too close for comfort?’ Grace asked.
Nick nodded. ‘George Steele’s reputation died long before he did, but Eddie and Leon are known to use violence where necessary. Whoever did this would have known there’d be retaliation.’
‘And even without the knife wound, throwing acid into someone’s face takes guts. It can put the suspect in danger too, especially if they missed their target, so our killer could be deranged.’ Grace glanced quickly at him before they moved off again. ‘Not frightened to get hurt.’
‘Or unaware of the risk.’
‘Anyone spring to mind?’
‘No, but I can’t help thinking it’s an inside job.’
Grace nodded. ‘My thoughts exactly.’
By the time they got back to the office, it was nearing lunchtime. Grace had nipped into the nearby supermarket to grab something to eat. Once at her seat, she held up a bag of sugar-coated doughnuts.
‘These will keep us going.’ She smiled as eager hands reached out. ‘Anything we should know, Sam?’ she asked as she logged into her computer again.
‘Yes, but I’m making coffee if we have snacks.’ Sam raised her mug in the air. ‘Anyone want one?’
Grace was unsure whether Sam was joking or not. She had asked for information and she expected to get it. She gave the older woman a look, and Sam sat down sheepishly before adding: ‘The entrance to the side road the gym is situated on isn’t covered by city CCTV or traffic cams. I’ve contacted their control room to see if we can get some footage sent over so that I can analyse whose cars were on the main road around the time of the murder.’ Sam picked up a piece of paper and held it in the air. ‘I’ve already got a list of registration numbers, which I’ve started on. It only covers the last hour of opening times, but it’s a start.’
‘Does anyone’s name stick out?’ Grace asked.
‘Quite a few I know, but nothing that jumps off the page.’
‘Great, thanks.’ Grace nodded her approval. ‘Someone needs to check the signing-in register too, see who came in and out and at what times – see if it tallies with statements.’
‘I’m on to that,’ Alex said. ‘Although I suppose it’s dependent on everyone actually signing in and out when they say they do, seeing as there are no cameras to back anything up.’
DC Alex Challinor was the final member of Grace’s team. Alex had joined their office less than two years ago and, according to Allie, had rocked the boat immensely. He was married with teenage children and, at forty-five, was ten years older than Grace. He liked to think he had a look of Tom Hardy – she thought he had nothing of the sort – and policed with old-school tactics, which no one on the Major Crimes Team agreed with.
Even with the heads-up, Grace had tried not to take an instant dislike to him, but there was something about his mannerisms that made her suspicious. Still, she’d been fooled by people before; in her past job, some had put up a front of arrogance that she hadn’t liked and then, after a few weeks working together, her opinion had changed when they had mellowed and got to know each other. So, for now, she was willing to keep an open mind.
‘Indeed.’ Grace nodded. ‘Okay, Sam. Mine is one sugar please.’
Sam’s smile was faint, making Grace realise that she had been joking when she said she was going to make coffee before giving Grace what she needed. The Stoke sense of humour was taking her a while to adapt to. Its residents were more self-deprecating than those where she’d come from. A very friendly folk, but sometimes she didn’t know whether someone was kidding or not, so it was hard to join in.
She had also felt a need to assert herself during those early weeks, because if she became known as an easy boss, she’d never win over their respect.
Grace had only taken one bite into her sandwich before Nick was calling to her from the entrance to his office.
‘Grace, can I have a word?’
Her shoulders drooped at his sombre tone. She stood up, quickly wiping her mouth and fingers with a napkin before walking across the room. Inside his office, Detective Chief Inspector Jenny Brindley was sitting in Nick’s chair behind his desk. Jenny had been responsible for the Major Crimes Team for two years now, since the last DCI had retired. According to Allie, Jenny was one of the good people. She was fair, but she didn’t like the bending of rules in the slightest. She never turned a blind eye and was definitely not old-school. She was more like brand-new shiny school – dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to get a good job done. Grace much preferred those tactics, which was why she was immediately wondering what she had done wrong.
‘Take a seat, Grace.’ Nick pointed to a chair as he shut the door.
Grace did as she was told, nervous at the tension she could feel all around her. Nick sat down beside her.
Jenny leaned forward and clasped her hands together on the desk. ‘It’s come to my attention that you are involved in the Josh Parker case,’ she said.
‘I am, yes.’ Grace’s heart sank.
‘And we are aware from your records that you are related to the Steele family.’
‘We share the same father, but that’s the only relevance.’
‘Yes, we know that you’ve come clean to us about your connections.’ She raised a hand when Grace was about to speak again. ‘I’m conscious that you don’t have anything to do with them, and I understand you aired concerns before you arrived in Stoke, which is correct procedure.’
Grace felt herself holding her body stiff and tried to relax. It was like being in school again, getting grilled by a teacher. Not that she’d been told off too many times. She’d always been the quiet one in the class who didn’t have many close friends, always handed in her homework on time and got awarded good grades.
‘I think this is too sensitive for you and I’d prefer you to work on something else,’ Jenny said.
‘Oh, but—’ Grace said.
‘I think she’ll do fine working it.’ Nick sat forward to protest. ‘Grace is good at her job, Jenny. From what I’ve seen so far, she’s handled things with professionalism, respect and, I suppose, courage. It can’t have been easy to roll up there and investigate the way she did, let alone run a team.’
Jenny smiled. ‘I do like the faith you have in Grace, Nick.’
‘It’s not just me. You remember she did extremely well on the Caudwell case last year, which is why she came so highly recommended?’
The Caudwell case Nick was referring to was one Grace had found herself immersed in when she’d been first on call to visit a frantic woman whose estranged partner had turned up and wouldn’t let go of their two-year-old son. The child was screaming to go to his mother and Craig Caudwell was threatening to harm him if things didn’t go his way. In the end, it had been just him, Grace and little Henry in the room, but she had brought the child out in her own arms unharmed before negotiators were needed.
‘Yes, I remember.’ Jenny raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.
‘She’s a good worker. She’s estranged from the Steeles and I don’t think she should be removed from the case because of a slight connection.’
‘It’s not actually