Free Shift by Chris Dolley Page A

in the room I found him in," said Nick. "It still is."

    The sergeant shook his head. "Unlikely point of entry for our Vince. He's strictly a ground floor, brick-through-the-window type of crim. And we found a broken pane in a door at the back."

    "So," said Marsh, eyeing Nick like a predator about to strike. "He breaks in downstairs to steal the cameras. You catch him at it. There's a chase."

    Nick started to remonstrate. Marsh ignored him, raising his voice to drown out Nick's objections.

    "You trap him in the room opposite. There's a fight. You hit him too hard, panic, then try to make it look like Pendennis. Is that how it happened?"

    "Where's the blood?" Nick shouted, holding out his hands, showing his nails, gesturing to his clothes. "Whoever cut off his ears must be covered in the stuff."

    "We'll check the bathrooms," said Marsh. "And the bins. If you cleaned yourself up we'll know."

     

    An hour later was Nick was formally arrested and taken to the station at Summertown where he was scanned, DNA swabbed and had his fingernails cleaned. Then he was given a virtual lawyer, who explained his rights and talked him through the procedures. Don't say anything, don't sign anything and don't let them search your property. Probably the wisest words he'd heard all day.

    A succession of detectives took it in turns to interview him. Nick sat through it all, biting his tongue. He'd tried the co-operative route and look where that had got him.

    He was released at 9:00 am the next day without charge. No apology, no explanation, just a grudging, 'you can go,' from the desk sergeant.

    Once outside, he called Louise. Had the police really spoken to her yesterday? They'd spun so many stories at him the previous night he didn't know what to believe.

    The dial tone rang endlessly. Where the hell was she? He left another message then called a taxi. He'd pick up his van from the Hall then drive to Louise's.

    The cold bit through his clothes. He wasn't dressed for being outside. He folded his arms and tried to squeeze some warmth into his chest. The taxi arrived, he climbed inside.

    "Framlingham Hall," he said. "And turn the heater up as far as it'll go."

    Streets flashed by. Inside, Nick rubbed his hands and replayed scenarios. What the hell was happening? Was Pendennis on the loose or paying a copycat? Some sick scheme to re-open his case?

    And had the police impounded Nick's equipment? Had he lost all the data from the night before?

    The taxi slowed as the Hall came into view. There was a police car blocking the entrance, a tape strung across the drive.

    "Drive past," said Nick. "I'll get out around the corner."

    The taxi dropped Nick off a block away. He cut down a side street and over to an alley that led to the back of Hall. There was a door in the long stone wall that ringed the Hall grounds. Nick slipped inside, out of sight of the police at the main entrance, and ran across the rough grass towards the back of the house.

    Great, the grass was wet. He looked down at his trousers—soaked from the knees down. So much for looking inconspicuous. He made his way to the back door by the kitchen. The police had said Culley had broken a pane in the back door. Would anyone have fixed it overnight?

    No one had. He stood by the door and listened. It didn't sound like anyone was inside. He slipped a hand through the broken pane, turned the key in the lock and gently opened the door.

    He stepped through, closed the door behind him and tip-toed to the front of the house. Still no sounds of life within the Hall. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking up, senses on high alert. The police must have gone, left a couple of officers to sit outside to keep the onlookers away.

    Damn! He noticed the empty windowsill. He'd left one of the imagers there last night.

    He ran to the front room. How much had they taken?

    An array of imagers, monitors and processors filled one corner of the room. Were they all there? He counted them;