“I’ll get on it right away.”

The barmaid continued to shake her head periodically as she served the three men sitting at the bar. One of them asked what was wrong, but she didn’t tell them. Sally was pleased to see that—it proved the woman could be trusted. Maybe Brenda had confided in the woman.

“Sorry to interrupt again,” Sally said, hopping up onto one of the barstools, letting her legs dangle freely.

“Anything I can do to help, I will. I still can’t believe she won’t be walking through those doors again.”

“Was Brenda popular amongst the punters?” Sally asked.

“Most of the time, yes. She had a run-in with one or two of the men when they tried to get fresh with her, but in this game, that type of thing tends to come with the territory.”

“Anyone get fresh with her lately?”

“Not that I can think of. I wish I could give you more on this guy who was chatting to her.”

“Do you think anyone else could remember what he looks like? Another member of staff or a customer sitting at the bar perhaps?”

“I’m sorry to be so hopeless. I was rushed off my feet last night and didn’t really have time to take in my surroundings like I usually do.” She struck a clenched fist against her denim-clad thigh. “Why didn’t I pay more attention? Why?”

“Please don’t punish yourself like that. Maybe if someone is able to give us an idea of this man’s description, I can run it past you, see if it jolts your memory.”

“Sure. Although I’m not certain who will be able to supply you with the information you need. All I can do is check the rota to see who was on duty last night.”

“That would be a great help. Your boss is getting the staff’s names and addresses. I could put those who were on duty last night at the top of the list.”

The barmaid walked to the end of the bar and came back holding a rota. She placed it on the bar in front of Sally just as Jack joined her. “Here you go.”

“Get these names down in your notebook, Jack.”

“Will do, boss. Joanna is getting onto the airlines and relevant departments now about the boyfriend.” Jack jotted down the names of the people on duty the previous evening at the pub.

Sally looked at the extensive list and inwardly groaned. The day ahead would turn out to be longer than either of them had anticipated.

The manager appeared and handed Sally the staff names and addresses. “Here’s the information you need. Hope you find it useful.”

“Thanks, that’s a big help. Here’s my card, in case either of you think of anything that might help our investigation. We’ll work our way through the list today. You might be in for a bit of aggro from your staff when they come on duty later. Providing nobody has anything to hide, all should go well.”

“Okay. I can’t see you getting anything out of the staff. I don’t allow them to fraternise with each other, but who’s to say what goes on after their shift ends, right?” Greg added a shrug at the end of his statement.

“True enough. We’ll be in touch soon.” Sally and Jack left the pub. Once outside in the fresh air, Sally said, “I think we’re in for at least six or seven hours of mind-numbing repeated questions that I doubt will throw up much insight into what happened to Brenda Fisher.”

“Maybe we should grab a sandwich before we begin.”

“Food and drink, is that all you think about?” Sally saw the glint appear in his eye. “Jeez, don’t bloody bother answering that. Men… cut your dicks off, and you wouldn’t be able to think.”

Jack roared with laughter. “You do have a certain way with words at times. I suppose you women never think about sex.”

“Not as often as you men. Come on, we’re wasting time. I think I spotted a baker’s up the road on the way here.”

“Lunch is on you, I take it?”

“DIs aren’t on that much more than a DS, you know. Especially ones who have just had to stump up for a new flat.”

“Violins at the ready. Crap, I walked into that one. All right, I’ll get these, but you owe me.”

The rest of the day consisted of working through the list of employees from the pub, though Sally and Jack’s efforts provided them with little useful information regarding what had happened the night before at the pub.

“If only there hadn’t been that function taking place,” Sally complained wearily, walking out of the final member of staff’s house.

“What now?”

Sally unlocked the car, and they both got in. She started up the engine before she spoke again. “The thing is, I really wanted to see what the customers sitting in the public bar had to say, but not one person could tell us who the regulars were that night because of that damn function. Why is it that people only tend to focus on one thing at a time these days?”

Jack shook his head. “Not everyone out there wants to, or needs to, think like a copper, boss.”

She hit the steering wheel with the heel of her hand before pulling away from the kerb. “Maybe if folks opened their eyes a bit more, our job would be less stressful.”

“Like that’s going to happen any day soon.”

“Okay, let’s get back to the station. See what the others have managed to find out, if anything, in our absence, then we’ll call it a day.”

The team were still all hard at it when they arrived. Sally made a beeline for Joanna’s desk while Jack headed for the board to fill in all the negative results they’d achieved during the afternoon.

“Any luck, Joanna?” Sally asked.

“Absolutely nothing on the boyfriend. I’ve tracked him down to working in a hotel in Malaga, but he hasn’t left the country in months. Apparently, he has neither the intention nor inclination to leave there, either.”

“Okay, that’s a pity. On the other hand, he’s one we can conclusively cross off our list. That’s always a nice position to be in.”

“How did you get on? By the looks of things, not very well,” Joanna said.

“You’d be right there. We’re just about to wrap everything up before we set off for the day.”

The team gathered around, and each of them summarised what their investigations had uncovered—which amounted to very little. Sally exhaled a large breath. “Okay, guys. Let’s all go home and get some rest and start afresh in the morning. Frustrating as it is, that’s about the only option left open to us this early on in the case.”

“Looks that way until forensics can give us a name to go on.” Jack placed the lid on the marker pen.

Sally had tidied up her desk and was just about to leave the office when her phone rang. The ominous nerves struck and constricted her stomach. She thought about leaving it to ring and closing the door, but ever the professional, she pushed her uneasiness aside and said confidently, “Hello, DI Parker. Can I help?”

“Darling, I’m so glad I caught you.”

Sally sank onto the desk, relieved to hear her mother’s calm and caring voice. “Hi, Mum. I was just heading home for the night. I was going to ring for a chat later anyway. Nothing wrong, is there?”

“No, dear. Okay, I won’t hold you up. Call me later if you will.” She hung up without saying goodbye, which was quite out of character for Sally’s mother.

Jack appeared in the doorway as Sally was placing the phone into its cradle. “Anything wrong?”

Sally shrugged. “How the heck should I know, especially where my mother’s concerned? You know how wacky she can be at times.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah, I know. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

Still mulling over the strange conversation she’d had with her mum, Sally took Jack up on his offer. “Families, eh? Can’t live with them, and can’t live without them. They’re an absolute law unto themselves at times.”

Jack’s face clouded over for a fleeting moment. If Sally hadn’t worked alongside him for the past six years, she probably wouldn’t have picked up the subtle change in his demeanour. She knew when to hold back and not push him, though. He would tell her what was going on in that head of his when he was ready. It just proved that she wasn’t the only one with crap to deal with on the home front at present. Thankfully, having Darryl permanently out of her hair meant less stress to deal with in that respect. All she had to contend with was her mother weirding her out once in a while. Since menopause had taken hold of Sally’s mother, Janine Tomlin had been guilty of so many weird, and at times unlawful events, driving her husband, Christopher, and her daughter to distraction on more than one occasion. Sally often wondered how her mother coped with dealing with the old folks at the care home day in and day out. Surely she would need her wits about her when constantly seeing to their requirements.