Free Killing for Keeps by Mari Hannah Page B

car.’
    ‘Live a little. It’s Friday night. You can’t keep up this relentless pace—’
    ‘Ahem, didn’t you just finish telling me I can?’
    ‘Good point.’
    ‘Who am I kidding? I can hardly bail a day into a double murder enquiry, can I? Much as I might like to.’
    ‘No, but how many times have we had this conversation?’ Putting down the wine, Jo turned to face her. ‘You drive yourself too hard. Remember when Stella Bright was dying and
things got on top of your old boss? Who advised him to delegate? You should take your own advice, Kate. By all means give your team direction, but then let them get on with it. There’s loads
of them and only one of you. They’ll share the workload. You’re good for nothing otherwise.’
    Kate was welling up. There were no actual tears. Even if there had been, Jo would’ve made nothing of it. Her support was unconditional. There would be no bullshit offers from the force
psychologist at
her
recommendation. No reminding her of it later. What was said in her living room would stay there. Kate could rely on her integrity.
    Fighting sleep, she sat up straight. It was true that she’d been feeling the strain for a while and had failed to do anything about it. She was doing the work of two. Her annual leave had
gone untouched. She’d been working flat out for months and it had to stop.
    Jo had read her mind. ‘Is there no chance you can take time off?’
    ‘You coming with me if I do?’
    ‘Try stopping me.’
    Kate looked at her. ‘Promise?’
    ‘Cross my heart and hope to die.’
    ‘Please don’t say that unless you mean it.’
    ‘I do mean it. I’m a lot of things, but a tease isn’t one of them. Of course I’ll come with you. I hate to see you like this. You can barely stay awake. Besides,
I’m a doctor. I’ve made a diagnosis and come to the conclusion that you need my special kind of therapy to make you well.’
    ‘I am well!’
    Nothing wrong with a little pretence
.
    ‘Are you, really?’
    Kate dropped her gaze.
    ‘I’m worried about you. Let me take care of you.’ Jo stroked Kate’s cheek with the back of her hand, eyes on fire. ‘Would it help to know that I have an ulterior
motive? I want you, desperately. Maybe we could start where we left off on Valentine’s night.’
    Leaning her head back, Kate shut her eyes as the memory took hold: a rudely interrupted and sexually charged moment that had taken them both by surprise, an encounter that had seen them
scrambling into their clothes – just as things were getting intimate – in order to drive to a police station to rescue a friend whose daughter had gone missing.
    Kate heard the glug of wine as it left the bottle. Even though her weekend was in ruins, she was spent, far too tired to object.
    ‘Maybe we could start tonight,’ Jo chuckled. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m well out of practice.’
    Her voice sounded far away.
    Jo picked up her glass and sunk back into the soft cushions of the sofa. Sliding her free arm round Kate’s shoulders, she sighed, expecting a kiss at least. There was no response. Her
former partner had surrendered to tiredness and fallen asleep.

15
    T urning over, Kate pulled her knees up to her chest and the covers over her head as dawn crept into the room. Even in her semi-conscious state, something wasn’t quite
right. Feeling the heat of breath on her hand, she tried to wave it away without success. Forcing her eyelids open didn’t work. She was drifting down and down into the comfort of sleep again.
When something wet touched her face, she tried to rub it off.
    She was freezing, cold and frightened.
    A shadow, dark and indistinct, moved closer. She saw blood, sticky and congealed, a gaping jaw, an empty eye socket, a silver belt buckle embedded in raw flesh. Waking with a start, sweaty and
confused by her surroundings, she shook her head, trying to dislodge the nightmare but the crime-scene images refused to budge. It would be a long time before she