“Yes Sergeant”, came the reply.

Striker left the room, the officer simply stood there like a robot as he had been directed to do.

At Chester, emergency hospital Doctor Khan the casualty officer, fresh from India was reading when the door opened and staff Nurse Vera Johnson arrived.

“Doctor would you please come and just certify these two bodies?".

“Yes oh, Velly Well” and he rose and followed the nurse through the casualty department and outside the front door.

“Where we go naase,” he asked in his broken English.

“Into this ambulance, with arriving dead cases the doctors certify inside the ambulance”

“Oh I see, Velly well”

The two mounted the steps leading into the rear of the ambulance and Khan was immediately taken aback for there in front of him lay two uniformed police officers.

He hesitated for a moment

Sally spoke first, “Yes it is unusual doctor, the first time I ever recall two such young police officers ever being found dead”.

“It looks like natural causes, a heart attack,” replied Sid Rowlands the paramedic.

Khan did not speak, but he produced his stethoscope, and then proceeded to drop it on the floor forcing him to bend to retrieve it.

This invoked every confidence of those present as to his lack of professional ability. He opened the officer’s tunics and shirts and then felt the neck of each one.

He raised his head and said

“Well they are both dead that is for sure, I can’t see any marks of violence and their faces look at peace, yes it might well be just two coincidental deaths but I never heard of such a case, no indeed. I will fill in the death certificates as natural causes but it is strange, very strange”.

“Oh well doctor”, interrupted Sally, “you can’t complete any form just certify death, in the UK here it will have to be reported to the Coroner and there will have to be a post mortem”.

“I see” said Khan “in India if we had post mortem for every sudden death the pathologists would be working twenty fours hours seven days a week”; He laughed and left the vehicle.

“We will take the bodies to the mortuary Sister, will you notify the police of the up date”, said Jim Edwards appearing not to pleased at the flippant remarks of Doctor Khan when dealing with two fellow emergency service workers and two men so young at that, still he thought just the standard the NHS is getting these days.

“I will phone the police headquarters and update them”, replied Sally as she also left.

She went inside reached for her phone and looking on her desk pad soon found the number of the police headquarters, why she had the need to look always mystified her for over the years the number of times she had telephoned. It was mostly on Saturday nights during the drunks and yobs celebrating hours. She should know the number off pat, and she did, but still looked.

“Police headquarters can I help you?”

“Yes this is Sister Sally Johnson, Chester Hospital. Just to let you know we have received the two dead police officers”.

“The doctor has certified death, there doesn’t appear to be any injuries and it does look like natural causes”.

“Both bodies have been placed in the mortuary by the paramedics I presume you will be sending someone to continue the matter?”

“Yes, thank you sister someone will be along shortly, thank once again Sister”.

PART TWO

THE NEW ARRIVALS

She had parked her car walked across the square and was amused by the numbers of buskers there were in such a small area, fiddlers, saxophone players and singers of worsening degrees. She entered the city police station and approached the desk staffed by a rather chubby woman displaying a badge, “Ethel Counter Clerk”.

“Hello” she said with a smile “are you the new lady Inspector we have all heard so much about?”

“Famous already “thought the new arrival, “Now I wonder why that would be?"

“Come through” said Ethel now sporting a mug of tea or coffee in one hand and holding up the counter hatch with the other.

“I am very pleased you have arrived at long last, I hope you can brew tea?”

The new arrival appeared not to hear the comment for her eyes were transfixed on the tall, slim sergeant she could see standing in an office marked Inspector.

She arrived, knocked on the door causing the Sergeant and the Chief Superintendent from the crown and chevron on his shoulder seated at the desk to look up.

“Ah yes, Miss Ling it appears, the new shift Inspector, I am Chief Superintendent Craig Denton-Smyth, this is Sergeant Tom Striker”.

Striker nodded his head, did not speak but winked at the Chief Super and left the room giving the new arrival a snigger as he looked up closing the door.

“Ah, now then Inspector Doris Scott-Ling”.

He hesitated, looked at her, then down at the file on the desk, it was open, clearly, he had been referring to it when speaking to Striker.

“You have finally arrived and on Friday the 13th very apt I think”

“Ah”, he continued, “mixed race are we?”

“Yes sir, my father is Chinese my mother is white stock Welsh from North Wales, is that a problem for you?”

“No, no, Ling, just watch your tone I am just about to ask you something operationally useful, do you speak the lingo, which would be very useful here?”

“I speaky English, Cantonese fluently and Welsh a little.”

“Um we are a clever one, but you may not know, yet, but Chester is frequented by thousands of tourists each year many are Chinese, you know, armed with their cameras, you likey picture takey”, which caused him to burst out laughing.

He composed himself and saw her staring face, though she said nothing after her first rebuke, her time would come she thought.

“I have checked your file and was just saying to Striker”

“So he had either discussed or worse shown her personal file to or with Striker, way out of line from her understanding of Police Regulations

“By the way your father, he doesn’t own businesses here in Chester does he, you know the usual takeaway places that give us so much bloody hassle”.

“No sir, he doesn’t” she replied.

“What then?” he asked, looking up.

“He owns British China Aero Industries,” she said

“You mean the new international company which manufactures rocket engines”.

Before she answered, he said, “Come to think of it there was a big thing in the press recently, of the new Pandas donated to the Zoo here, he gave those I take it?” He exclaimed

She answered, “Yes that one. Don’t worry he doesn’t live in Chester city centre, he lives in Goldstone Mansion, aptly near Chester zoo” she replied with an inward smile and thought. “He gets on well with the Pandas and of course the monkeys”

 He looked into the file again and then with a smile said

“I see you were privately educated”, mumbling “you would be”

“You obtained straight “A”s in what I still call your “O” levels and “A” levels, then went to Manchester University and obtained a degree in law, Oh very impressive an honours, oh I see”.

She made no comment.

He turned over a page, looked up once again and said, “You joined the police a year ago on the new Government direct management entrant scheme”.

“You attended a six-month basic training programme with the Metropolitan Police then a further six months at the Police College at Bramshill, successfully completing the junior command course, all very impressive”.

“Thank you sir”, she replied

“No practical police experience though have, we?” He said and smiled with a hint of sarcasm.

She had no opportunity to reply for he spoke yet again.

“I will make it plain Miss Ling, when the Chief-Constable spoke with me and told me you had applied to transfer here on leaving Bramshill I was to be frank not very happy about it.”