Helen jabbed the brakes and came to a halt outside Southampton Central Police Station. The futuristic glass and limestone building towered above her, commanding fantastic views over the city and the docks. It was only a year or two old and by any measure was an impressive nick. State-of-the-art custody facilities, a CPS unit on site, SmartWater testing facilities, it had everything a modern copper needed. She parked up and walked inside.
‘Sleeping on the job, Jerry?’
The desk sergeant snapped out of his daydream and tried to look as busy as possible. They always sat up a bit straighter when Helen entered. This wasn’t just because she was a Detective Inspector; it was also something to do with the way she carried herself. Entering the building clad in her bike leathers, she was six foot of driving ambition and energy. Never late, never hungover, never sick. She lived and breathed her job with a fierceness they could only dream of.
Helen headed straight for the offices of the Major Incident Team. Southampton’s flagship nick might be revolutionary, but the city it watched over remained unchanged. As Helen surveyed the caseload she sagged a little at the predictable familiarity of it all. A domestic argument that had ended in murder – two lives ruined and a young child taken into care. The attempted murder of a Saints fan by travelling Leeds Utd supporters and most recently the brutal killing of an 82-year-old man in a botched mugging. His attacker had dropped the stolen wallet whilst fleeing the scene, handing the police a clean fingerprint and a swift ID. The perpetrator was well known to Southampton police – just another lowlife who had devastated an unsuspecting family in the run-up to Christmas. Helen was due to brief CPS on the particulars this morning. She opened the file, determined that the case against this little thug should be absolutely watertight.
‘Don’t get too comfortable. Job’s on.’
Mark Fuller, her DS, approached. A handsome and talented copper, Mark had worked hand in glove with Helen for the last five years. Murder, child abduction, rape, sex trafficking – he’d helped her solve numerous unpleasant cases and she had come to rely on his dedication, intuition and bravery. A nasty divorce had taken its toll however and recently he’d become erratic and unreliable. Helen was depressed to notice that he once again smelt of booze.
‘Young girl who says she’s killed her boyfriend.’
Mark extracted a photo from his file and handed it to Helen. It had the distinctive Missing Persons stamp on the top right-hand corner.