Frozen by Lindsay Jayne Ashford Page B

dried-up wallpaper paste. In the candlelight the bare wall had a certain charm.
    She tugged at another piece, thinking about the profiles she’d been working on. AB just had to have a police connection. Whoever killed Tina had known too much about forensics. A con with that much knowledge would be on file, for sure. So who, then? She thought about Rob Donalsen. Leverton already had him down as bent. Could it be him? He certainly didn’t fit the profile.
    She had ripped off nearly all the paper on one wall when she realised the bath was on the verge of overflowing. She put her hand in to pull out the plug. The water was lukewarm because the hot had run out.
    â€˜Damn!’ she said, pulling her bathrobe back on.
    There was no point waiting for the water to heat up again. She might as well go straight to bed.
    She snapped on the light. Turning to reach a bottle of cleanser from the cupboard, she caught sight of the stripped wall. It looked a complete mess. The romantic ambience of a faded Tuscan farmhouse had given way to something reminiscent of a vandalised council flat. Thank goodness there was no-one but family visiting her for Christmas.
    She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when the phone rang. She spat hurriedly and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand as she grabbed it from the floor.
    â€˜Megan, it’s Neil.’ He sounded out of breath.
    â€˜What’s the matter?’
    â€˜We’ve had to take Joe to hospital.’
    â€˜Oh my God! What’s happened?’
    â€˜Don’t worry, he’s okay. He started throwing up everywhere. It’s called projectile vomiting or something. They’re going to have to operate but it’s not serious.’
    â€˜Are you sure?’
    â€˜Yes. The doctor says that’s why he’s been screaming all the time. The operation should put it right.’
    â€˜Where’s Emily?’
    â€˜At the hospital with Ceri – I’m going up there now to fetch her back. Ceri’s going to stay the night with Joe. They’re doing the operation first thing in the morning.’
    â€˜Do you want me to come over?’
    â€˜No, it’s okay. There’s nothing you can do at the hospital – they only allow parents to stay – and I can cope with Emily. I’ve got tomorrow and Thursday off.’
    â€˜Are you sure? I mean if you wanted to stay at the hospital as well I could have Emily.’
    â€˜No. Thanks for the offer, but they wouldn’t let both of us stay. Listen, I’ll phone you in the morning as soon as I hear from Ceri, okay?’
    He put the phone down, obviously in a rush to get to the hospital. Megan stood for a moment staring at the bath as the last of the water gurgled into the plughole. She shivered and ran to jump into bed.
    Sitting hunched under the covers she felt frustrated and useless. Her nephew’s tiny body, only two months old, was about to go under the knife. She wished she could be with Ceri to help her through it. As if she hadn’t got enough on her plate already.
    Megan was just drifting off to sleep when the phone rang again.
    â€˜Megan?’ It was almost a whisper.
    â€˜Delva, what is it? What’s happened?’
    â€˜I’m really sorry to phone you so late but I’ve had this awful photograph…’ Delva paused and Megan heard her take a breath, as if she was trying to stop herself from crying.
    â€˜What photograph? Has he sent you another of those magazine cuttings?’
    â€˜No. This is a real photograph: one he’s taken himself, I mean, and it was delivered by hand. There’s this poor girl lying on a bed and she looks drugged or unconscious or something. I think the police ought to see it but I wanted you to look at it first.’
    â€˜Of course I will.’ A host of possibilities ran through Megan’s mind. Delva’s voice sounded so different: like someone on the verge of a breakdown. There was a note of paranoia