Her desk was messy at the best of times but there was a pile of post on Jessica’s seat that would have been left by someone from the mail room. Although that was what the officers called it, it was essentially just a cubby hole connected to the admin and Human Resources department. She flicked through a couple of letters, before seeing an object that sent a chill through her. A large brown envelope with a printed name and address was at the bottom of the pile. Jessica could see it matched the package that had been sent to the station containing the severed finger but, unlike that one, this was addressed directly to her.

12

Jacob Chrisp downed the rest of his pint and looked across the table at the man opposite. ‘Oi, Fred, your round, fella.’

‘Who got the last lot?’ the man asked.

‘I got the first round, Stevo got his, Legs was next and now it’s your turn. Get moving.’

Fred stood and stepped out from under the giant parasol that extended over the table they were sitting at. ‘Same again, lads?’

The three men nodded. Jacob stretched out from under the umbrella to make sure the upper half of his bare torso was in the sun. ‘Bloody lovely weather, this.’

One of the other two men rolled up the sleeves on his T-shirt to make it more like a vest, moving further into the evening sun. ‘Aye aye,’ he said, nodding his head towards the beer garden’s entrance. The pub was the closest to the office they were clearing. It wasn’t great but the beer was cheap and, with weather like they were having, the patio at the back was perfect for drinking after work.

Jacob and the third man glanced towards where their friend had nodded to see two women sitting on opposite sides of a wooden table a few yards away. One had short blonde hair and was wearing denim shorts with a small white vest top, the other had on a short skirt and bikini top.

‘Whew, that is top quality,’ Jacob said. He gave a low whistle and raised his eyebrows as the two girls looked over. ‘Evening, ladies.’ The two females ignored him, each lighting a cigarette and stretching their legs into the sun. ‘Probably lesbians,’ Jacob said, looking back to his friends. ‘They look the type.’ He coughed loudly. ‘Dykes.’

The two men around him laughed. ‘Who was the redheaded one you were with earlier?’ one of them asked.

‘Some chick from the Old Bill.’

‘What did she want?’

Jacob didn’t know what to think of the two detectives who had visited him and couldn’t figure out what they wanted. Were they saying he could be a target because of something to do with his rugby team or were they just after information? Either way, he had no intention of telling his friends about it. ‘I saw some car accident last week. They were taking a statement.’

‘What were they like close-up? They looked tidy from a distance.’

‘Oh, you definitely would. The red-head was a stunner but there was something about the other one too.’

Despite his bravado, Jacob had been a bit spooked by the officer with the dark blonde hair. Maybe it was the way she had completely dismissed him but he got the feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him. The comments about two of the players being hurt were cryptic but he hadn’t wanted to ask too many questions in case they had come back with more inquiries of their own. As far as he was concerned, the less said about the tours their rugby team had gone on, the better – and it was years ago anyway. Aside from the odd one, he hadn’t seen any of the players for ages and, as for the two detectives, he had given them the name of the freak coach but knew they wouldn’t get too much from him, even if they could find him.

Jacob’s thoughts were interrupted by Fred returning with a tray of drinks. ‘You took your time.’

‘Yeah, just some bloke being a dick and trying to cut in line at the bar. It’s heaving in there. I’ve never seen the place so busy.’

As he spoke a man walked across, standing behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘You all right, fellas? I just wanted to apologise for jumping the queue inside. I don’t want any trouble or anything. Can I get you all a drink to make up for it?’

Fred looked at the man and then glanced across to Jacob, who shrugged, thinking he had something vaguely familiar about him. ‘No worries, buddy, we’re all on lager here so a pint each and we’ll say no more about it, yeah?’

‘Sure, I’ll be right back.’

The man disappeared back into the pub as Jacob and the other two men stared at Fred. ‘What did you say to him inside?’

Fred seemed slightly confused. ‘Nothing, I just sent him packing. I guess he saw us and figured he didn’t want a scrap. Can’t blame him really.’

Jacob took his fresh drink from the tray and took a large slurp. ‘Better get these ones down if we’ve got more on the way.’

Fred nodded towards the two girls who now had their backs to the men. ‘You seen those two?’

‘Both lezzers,’ Jacob replied.

The group continued talking and a few minutes later the other man returned with a tray of four drinks. He walked around the table putting a pint down in front of each man. ‘Here you are, boys, sorry about the trouble.’

Jacob downed his pint and picked up the new one, shrugging at his friends. ‘Free beer – we’ll have to send Fred in to put the shits up people more often.’

‘Aye, it’s always the quiet ones,’ one of the other men said.

They continued to talk and joke but, after finishing the fifth drink of the evening, Fred stood. ‘Time for me to go, fellas, Suzie will be wondering where I am.’

One of the other men got to his feet. ‘I should probably be off too. I’m driving and my copper mate reckons they have those random drink-driving stops after eight. I’m not getting done again.’

‘Can I hop in with you?’ the third man asked, also standing up.

‘Yeah, but let’s get going, it’s already half seven.’

‘You’re all off?’ Jacob said accusingly, though he could hear his own words slurring.

‘Sorry, mate,’ Fred replied. ‘I’ve got to look after the kids tomorrow night too but we’ll come back the day after that.’ The other two men nodded in agreement.

Jacob wanted to protest but was feeling sluggish. The three men left via the gate at the back of the garden, rather than walking back through the pub. Jacob took his phone out of his pocket but the screen was too blurry to make out. He knew there was a taxi rank nearby but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. The man picked up his T-shirt from the table and put it back on. For some reason he couldn’t fit his head through and, as he heard nearby giggling, he realised it was because he was trying to squeeze it through an arm hole. Feeling stupid, he twisted the top around and finally managed to put it on properly. The two women from earlier were now looking at him, laughing openly.

‘What’s your problem?’ he demanded but his words garbled into one. He felt very drunk but couldn’t figure out why.

The two girls were still laughing. ‘Think you’ve had too much to drink, you stupid prick,’ one of them said.

Jacob stood quickly but stumbled on the wooden seat. He regained his balance but his head was spinning. He tried to shout some abuse at the women but his words blended into one, which just made them laugh even more. Trying to keep himself steady, he stomped past them out the back gate his friends had disappeared through minutes earlier. He knew where he was but, for some reason, his brain wasn’t giving him the information he needed about which direction to go in. Jacob stopped, trying to focus on a spot across the road in order to clear his head.

The strange thing was he was thinking clearly enough to know he hadn’t had enough alcohol to feel this drunk. He could remember the five drinks, which was only a little more than he might have on his own in an evening at home. He had only had a pie for lunch but that wasn’t unusual either. One thing he was known for in his circle of friends was being able to put the beer away.