Free The Coercion Key by Catriona King

have any effect on me, you know. I take it that’s a yes.”
    “It’s a no.”
    “Well, then I’ll lay odds on that it won’t be long before you give her a call…”
    ***
    By the time Craig returned to the C.C.U. it was time for lunch, so he gathered everyone together and they headed to The James bar, the C.C.U.’s local watering hole. As they were walking down Princes Dock Street Liam fell back beside Craig and dropped his voice.
    “We’ve done a search on the boyfriend, boss. Linton must have fancied a bit of rough.”
    “In what way?”
    “Well he doesn’t live in BT9 for one thing. He has an address somewhere out near Sydenham.”
    BT9 was the postcode of an expensive area of Belfast that nestled between University Road and Balmoral Avenue. It was home to Queen’s University, Belfast’s academic jewel, houses worth millions of pounds, and restaurants and shops with prices that would make the average Belfeirstian’s eyes water. It was just known as BT9 to the rest of Belfast. Shorthand for Northern Irish prosperity.
    “When are you seeing him?”
    Liam shot him a surprised look at the ‘you’. “This afternoon. Don’t you want to be there?“
    Craig shook his head. He needed some time to make sense of the past few hours.
    “He’s not a suspect yet, Liam. Remember we have four cases so it’s unlikely that whoever did this was just linked to Victoria Linton. We’re beginning to find things that tie the cases together.”
    Liam went to ask the question but Craig shook his head. “Give me a few hours. We’ll have a briefing at four o’clock and I’ll tell you everything then.”
    Craig glanced at the group walking slowly ahead. Nicky and Annette were deep in conversation and Craig watched as Nicky balanced perfectly on her five-inch heels, despite the street’s surface being broken by tram lines and the remnants of builders’ waste. Davy and Jake were walking together. Davy hunched over, with his hands pushed deep into his jean pockets, his six-foot plus gangly frame still towering over Jake’s much more compact five-feet-eight. Craig smiled; glad to see Davy back in his dark jeans after a few months trying out his girlfriend Maggie’s suggestion of wearing a suit. He’d never really looked comfortable and it hadn’t been necessary when he didn’t work with the public face-to-face. But Craig was glad to see that some remnants of the style change had survived in the shirts he now wore instead of his old, ripped T-shirts.
    They reached the pub and ordered and while they were waiting for the food to come Craig brought them up to speed on his thoughts.
    “We definitely have four cases that were made to look like suicide but are effectively murder. They killed themselves, but only after they were coerced into it.”
    Jake went to ask a question but Craig nodded him into silence while the waitress put down their plates then he picked up the file he’d brought with him and explained. “Each of them left a suicide note using exactly the same words.”
    Jake interrupted, more confident now that his secondment to the team had become permanent.
    “How did Victoria Linton kill herself, sir?”
    “Car exhaust. She was found this morning by a neighbour coming home after a late night.”
    Annette made a face at the image. She’d seen Carbon Monoxide poisoning once when she’d worked in A&E and it wasn’t pretty.
    Nicky scanned Craig’s face, looking concerned. “Were you up half the night?”
    Craig nodded and Liam chipped in, looking for sympathy.
    “And me.”
    Nicky came back at him, quick as a whip. “You’ll soon catch up. You’re always half asleep.”
    Liam objected loudly, starting a moment of banter. As it died down Jake spoke again.
    “But if they all killed themselves, even if they were coerced into it, where’s the chargeable crime? If I tell you to kill yourself otherwise I’m going to… kill your budgie, say, what crime can you charge me with?”
    “Here, son. What did