DS Jessica Daniel series: Locked In/Vigilante/The Woman in Black - Books 1-3 (71 page)

‘Can we meet tonight?’

‘Jess . . .’

‘Please, Adam. I’m asking you if we can meet up.’

‘I . . . well, yes. I’ve wanted to see you ever since the quiz but . . .’

‘Brilliant. How about that pub we were in before opposite that Italian place. Around eight?’

‘Um, yes, I guess but . . .’

Jessica hung up, not waiting to hear if he had anything else to say. She had a plan that would hopefully prove once and for all she was right.

She knew she first had to keep up appearances. If things were going to work, she couldn’t seem to be acting erratically. She found Cole in his office and they both went up to DCI
Farraday’s floor for their morning briefing. Jessica let the inspector do the talking and didn’t push her own views. Eventually the chief inspector consented to let a picture of Donald
McKenna be released to the media – without a name – and ask the public for information.

Jessica wanted to grin, knowing she was already on to him, but kept a straight face. She looked at the picture they were sending out of McKenna and could see Farraday completely. The eyes
weren’t quite the same, the hairline was completely off and there was definitely a different shape to the face but there was unquestionably something similar only she could see. Maybe it was
the ears? Perhaps the chin?

In the meeting, they agreed to keep details about McKenna’s sister from him. With nothing else formally to go on, they were edging towards a secret twin and didn’t want to risk
letting the prisoner know they were on to him. Instead, the three were going to spend the day working with the media, either directly or behind the scenes, to get the photo as widely circulated as
possible. If papers or TV stations wanted interviews, one of them would be on hand to peddle the line that this person was someone they wanted to speak to. They would give no extra details and no
names. Meanwhile, more officers were being brought in to take the phone calls. Anyone who suggested McKenna as the identity would be instantly discounted and there would be a secondary team of
officers ready to start looking into the backgrounds of any other names suggested who had a similar date of birth to McKenna – or better yet no trace of a birth certificate.

Jessica nodded along and spoke when she was supposed to, silently thinking her own plan through. The way the day was going to work out should go in her favour. The three of them would be
operating closely together, which would give her a better chance.

After the meeting, she went to the storage room to ask for some evidence bags. It wasn’t unusual for officers to be asking so she wasn’t giving anything away. Jessica then returned
to her car and hunted around in the door wells. She knew there was a nail file in there somewhere but hadn’t used it for years. She found it in the passenger door and started chiselling one
of the nails on her right hand, knowing she had to get it exactly right and that she would only have one chance. Finally, she looked through the first-aid kit in her boot, taking out a fine piece
of gauze and handling it as gently as she possibly could by the corners.

With everything in place, she went back into the station and entered the Pad – which was the ridiculous name that had been given to their media briefing room. DI Cole and DCI Farraday were
already in there along with the press office staff. They worked on a statement together, reiterating they were appealing for help with the identity of the man, and then it was faxed and emailed to
the various media organisations along with the photo of McKenna. With that done, the three detectives put in follow-up calls to various newsdesks to give them any additional quotes they might want.
They first started off with the local media as the press officer contacted a few national broadcasters and the wire services.

Jessica got through the morning looking for an opening that never came. As lunchtime approached, she was beginning to feel pangs of anxiety about whether she could pull off what she hoped for.
She could also sense grumblings in her stomach and realised she hadn’t eaten since breakfast the previous day. She hadn’t wanted to risk train food and then simply forgot to eat.

They were working on a large desk, each with a different phone and their own laptop just in case they needed to either type anything or use the Internet.

With none of them on a call, Jessica stood and caught Cole’s eye across the table. ‘I’m going to nip to the canteen and get something to eat. Do you want anything bringing
back?’

He pushed out his bottom lip and breathed through his teeth. ‘Why not? Just a sandwich or something. Nothing with egg though.’

Jessica walked around her chair towards Farraday. ‘How about you, Sir? Do you want me to bring you through some lunch?’

The DCI looked quizzically at her. ‘I suppose. A sandwich is fine for me too.’

Jessica took another step towards him. ‘No worries, I’ll be back in a . . . I think you’ve got something stuck to your cheek, Sir.’

The man used his hands to brush at his face but Jessica leant in. ‘No, you’re missing it, it’s just . . .’ She quickly flashed her palm across his cheek using the nail
she had sharpened to deliberately nick his skin.

Blood instantly ran down his face as he jumped back. Jessica held the hand she had caught him with to her side, using the other to take some tissues out of her pocket. ‘Oh God, I’m
so sorry. I keep meaning to sort my nails. Shit, you’re bleeding. Here, take these.’

The chief inspector stared at her, his eyes wide as he took the tissues. ‘Are you okay?’ Cole asked from the other side.

Jessica continued to apologise as the DCI dabbed at his face. ‘It’s not deep. Those are some sharp nails you’ve got there, Daniel.’

‘I know. Sorry, Sir. I’ll go sort them, then go to the canteen.’

Jessica turned around, moving as quickly as she could towards the door without making anyone even more suspicious. She took the gauze from her pocket and wiped all of the blood she could onto
it, placing it carefully into the evidence bag. Jessica strode out to her car and unlocked it before putting the bag under the driver’s seat. The day was cool and she figured that, although
it wasn’t a freezer, it was the best she could manage.

Despite rarely being on time, let alone early, Jessica got to the pub twenty minutes early to wait for Adam. She hid herself away on a table out of sight from the bar so no one
would question why she was hovering there without a drink. At eight o’clock exactly, she saw Adam walk through the front doors. She didn’t want to out herself to the bar staff so waited
for him to find her.

He looked good and was wearing casual jeans, another T-shirt based on a cartoon she knew, a thin jacket and canvas trainers. ‘Do you want something to drink?’ he asked, approaching
the table.

‘No, I’m not feeling too great.’

Adam looked a little disappointed and sat on the stool opposite her. ‘Oh right, I was hoping we were going to talk about . . .’

‘I need you to do something for me.’

Adam sighed and looked away from her. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have come.’

‘Please, Adam. It’s just one thing.’

‘Jess . . . I’m not very good with this type of thing. You didn’t contact me for all that time. I called and sent you texts and left you messages. I know you were ignoring me
and I figured “fair enough”. I mean, I was upset and all because I thought we got on great but I’m not a stalker or anything and figured that if you didn’t want to see me,
it was up to you.’

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, rubbing his eyes. ‘Look, I know your friend from the quiz was killed that night and it’s all right if you were upset and everything. I
understand that and thought I’d give you space but I don’t know what you want from me.’

Jessica breathed out heavily. ‘I need you to do one thing for me and then we can try again.’

Adam kept looking at the table and wiped his eyes a second time. ‘What?’

Jessica reached into the handbag she’d brought with her and took out the transparent wallet that had the bloodied gauze on it. She put it on the table so he could see. ‘Please can
you test this for me against Donald McKenna? I couldn’t freeze it but I kept it as cool as I could. I touched it too but I can give you a sample so you can eliminate me. I got these . .
.’

She reached into her bag again and took out a clean mouth swab she had taken from the station and another clear packet. ‘If I give you a swab, you can separate any traces of me, yes? I was
careful when I picked it all up anyway so you might not have to.’

Adam shook his head but still didn’t look up. ‘It’s not that simple but I can’t do it anyway, Jess. You can’t ask me to. When you log into the database it all gets
stored. If anyone ever checked, I’d have no answer and would lose my job. They could even prosecute me.’

‘They don’t just check as a matter of course though, do they? It’s unlikely they’d find out.’

‘That’s not the point. It’s illegal.’

‘Can you do it for me?’

Jessica had never seen Adam lose his temper before but he banged his fist on the table and looked through teary eyes straight at her, his voice full of anger. ‘How dare you. I’ve
waited all these days to get any kind of reply from you. Anything to say “hi” or “sorry for not getting back to you”. Anything. You ignore me completely and then, when you
want something, you get me out here and ask me to break the law for you.’

‘Adam, I’m sorry, I . . .’

‘I
told
you about my parents. I don’t tell anyone but I
told
you.’ Jessica simply stared at the man in front of her, with no idea what to say. He wasn’t
making any effort to control his tears any longer.

When it was clear she wasn’t going to add anything, Adam looked away again and picked up the small bag with the blood-soaked gauze. ‘Jess, look, I like you. I
really
like
you. I know we only went out a few times but I had some of the most fun I’ve ever had. If you want me to test these, just swab your mouth and say the word and I’ll do it.
For
you
. But after that, I don’t want to ever see you again unless you absolutely have to come to my work. Even then, I want you to ask for someone else. But if you enjoyed those moments as
much as me, please don’t ask me to do this.’

Jessica looked at the tears running down his face and the redness around his eyes then picked up the mouth swab, ran it around the inside of her cheek and put it in the evidence bag.

‘Just test it.’

In the two days since seeing Adam, Jessica jumped every time her phone went off. Whenever it rang or sounded the familiar text-message tone, she would snatch it from her pocket
and look to see if it was Adam contacting her. She had spent two more nights outside of DCI Farraday’s house but had been careful not to fall asleep. She took a thicker jacket each evening to
guard against the cold and waited until three in the morning before driving home and trying to sleep for a short while before heading to the station.

She had managed four hours’ sleep in two days and had barely eaten, having just picked at a couple of pasta dishes for lunch from the station’s canteen. She could feel her body
craving rest and food but fought to keep going, telling herself that as soon as Adam got back to her it would all be worth it. Jessica was struggling with her conscience to justify the way she had
treated him. It was as if a coldness had taken her over in the pub, pushing her to act in a way she wouldn’t normally.

Whether it was at briefings with others or in the quietness of her own office, she found her mind wandering frequently and could still hear the voices in her head telling her she was right.

‘
The end justifies the means
.’

The media appeal using Donald McKenna’s photograph hadn’t gone well at all. On the first evening, they fielded a very irate call from the prison’s governor asking what they
were playing at. Farraday also told them he’d had to deal with an incensed superintendent who had been contacted by the governor wanting answers.

None of that would have mattered if any of the calls had been useful but almost every person who phoned had pointed out the picture was McKenna. There was a small number of other names put
forwards but nothing that fitted their criteria. The positivity that had gripped the team in the previous days now felt distant and everyone was back to hoping for a lead rather than being able to
push for one.

Jessica was sure one call from Adam could change all of that. When she got her match she knew she’d still have no admissible evidence, given the way she had taken the chief
inspector’s blood, but at least she would know for sure he was the twin and either he or McKenna had somehow changed their appearance.

After an unproductive day, Farraday asked Jessica if she could hang around at the station to finish off the paperwork relating to the phone campaign. She didn’t know why he wanted her
specifically but she gave it twenty minutes before passing it on to another officer. She was planning to go home and change before heading off to wait outside his house for the evening.

The nights were drawing in and there was only an hour of daylight left as Jessica drove out of the station. The rain had begun earlier in the day and not relented and her car’s heater was
again struggling to keep the steam from the windscreen. As she reached forwards to wipe away the mist, she heard her phone ringing. Knowing she shouldn’t, she took the device out of her
pocket and glanced away from the road down at the screen.

‘Adam Compton’ the screen read. Jessica pulled over to the side of the road, only realising after she’d stopped that she hadn’t indicated. The driver of the car behind
beeped their horn in annoyance as they swerved around her but Jessica wasn’t bothered. She quickly pressed the screen to answer the call. ‘Adam, have you done the test?’

The man on the other end was clearly a little shocked at her directness. ‘Yes.’

‘What did it say?’

‘I don’t know what you were expecting but there was nothing. No match to Donald McKenna, no match to anyone.’

Jessica was silent for a moment, stunned by what he had said. ‘It’s not?’