at the final message. It was from DCI Deegan of the Ghost Squad, and was simply a number, nothing else.
‘Ghost Squad?’ he murmured, frowning. ‘What the hell does he want?’
The arrival of someone at the entry to his office startled him and he tossed the note onto his desk. ‘Sarah, what are you doing here?’
She frowned. ‘I hope you don’t mind that I’ve started in our new offices a little earlier than you planned, sir. I had some research to do and everything was shut down at Welly House. I’ve still got my coat on from three hours ago, sir, I did mean to leave.’
He softened his expression. ‘No, of course I don’t mind. Do you like it?’ he asked, turning to look out of the window.
‘I lost the first fifteen minutes just ogling, sir. It’s so beautiful — I’ve never seen Westminster from this angle, or at night.’
He smiled. ‘Go home, get some sleep.’
‘What’s your excuse, sir?’
He saw the twitch of a smile at the corners of her mouth and wondered how much more open her face might look if she let rip with a laugh and ditched the heavy-rimmed glasses.
‘I hit the gym in an effort to blow the cobwebs from my mind.’
‘Did it work?’
‘No, but I’m exhausted.’
‘Well, I might have something to send you off with a smile on your face . . . er, no pun intended.’
He gave her a quizzical look. ‘You’ve got me . . . go on.’
‘It’s about the blue paint, sir.’
Now she had his attention. ‘Oh yes?’
Sarah glanced at the notes in her hand. ‘Blue paint is a superstitious colour, particularly in the theatre.’
‘Sit down, Sarah, please.’ He gestured to a chair and reached for his half-drunk bottle of water and gulped some down. ‘How on earth did you get to that point?’
She shrugged, her expression one of slight embarrassment. ‘I got onto the net, sir, and started typing in all sorts of things, hoping to stumble across something that might give us a connection with the paint.’
‘And you have, obviously. Explain it to me and how the theatre links in.’
‘Not the theatre precisely, but it’s what led to me to what came next. As I said, blue is a highly superstitious colour. They say if you paint it on your doors it can keep bad things away from the house, and if you wear a blue bead no witches will approach you. Theatre actors don’t like to wear blue on stage, particularly on opening night —’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Something to do with blue being a difficult colour to achieve in medieval times and thus expensive. If theatre companies were extravagant enough to spendtheir money on blue costumes, people believed the show would close fairly soon due to lack of funding. Unless, of course, they wore it with silver.’
‘With silver?’
‘Meant the company must have had a very wealthy patron and so the show was less likely to close. The silver negated the blue.’
‘Ah, interesting, go on.’
‘Well, I thought so too, and to tell you the truth I got a bit lost in my fascination and kept clicking on all the various sites about blue and its uses and superstitions. I ended up at one site that talked about clowns. Apparently it’s considered intensely bad luck for a clown to use any blue face paint. None of the famous ones ever have or do.’
Jack had been rocking back on his chair legs, but now he slammed forward. ‘They avoid it on their face?’ He felt the thrum of excitement hit his belly.
‘Always. Goes back a long way in history and is now part of the clown mythology. Something bad happens if you wear blue on your face.’
He was staring past her shoulder, thinking as he spoke. ‘How does this work with our victims? Any ideas?’
‘I have a theory, sir.’
His gaze snapped back to her bespectacled eyes. ‘I can’t wait.’
She pushed back strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. ‘Well, the blue paint on Sheriff's and Farrow’s faces was put there deliberately, and because it occurred at both scenes we
‘Ghost Squad?’ he murmured, frowning. ‘What the hell does he want?’
The arrival of someone at the entry to his office startled him and he tossed the note onto his desk. ‘Sarah, what are you doing here?’
She frowned. ‘I hope you don’t mind that I’ve started in our new offices a little earlier than you planned, sir. I had some research to do and everything was shut down at Welly House. I’ve still got my coat on from three hours ago, sir, I did mean to leave.’
He softened his expression. ‘No, of course I don’t mind. Do you like it?’ he asked, turning to look out of the window.
‘I lost the first fifteen minutes just ogling, sir. It’s so beautiful — I’ve never seen Westminster from this angle, or at night.’
He smiled. ‘Go home, get some sleep.’
‘What’s your excuse, sir?’
He saw the twitch of a smile at the corners of her mouth and wondered how much more open her face might look if she let rip with a laugh and ditched the heavy-rimmed glasses.
‘I hit the gym in an effort to blow the cobwebs from my mind.’
‘Did it work?’
‘No, but I’m exhausted.’
‘Well, I might have something to send you off with a smile on your face . . . er, no pun intended.’
He gave her a quizzical look. ‘You’ve got me . . . go on.’
‘It’s about the blue paint, sir.’
Now she had his attention. ‘Oh yes?’
Sarah glanced at the notes in her hand. ‘Blue paint is a superstitious colour, particularly in the theatre.’
‘Sit down, Sarah, please.’ He gestured to a chair and reached for his half-drunk bottle of water and gulped some down. ‘How on earth did you get to that point?’
She shrugged, her expression one of slight embarrassment. ‘I got onto the net, sir, and started typing in all sorts of things, hoping to stumble across something that might give us a connection with the paint.’
‘And you have, obviously. Explain it to me and how the theatre links in.’
‘Not the theatre precisely, but it’s what led to me to what came next. As I said, blue is a highly superstitious colour. They say if you paint it on your doors it can keep bad things away from the house, and if you wear a blue bead no witches will approach you. Theatre actors don’t like to wear blue on stage, particularly on opening night —’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Something to do with blue being a difficult colour to achieve in medieval times and thus expensive. If theatre companies were extravagant enough to spendtheir money on blue costumes, people believed the show would close fairly soon due to lack of funding. Unless, of course, they wore it with silver.’
‘With silver?’
‘Meant the company must have had a very wealthy patron and so the show was less likely to close. The silver negated the blue.’
‘Ah, interesting, go on.’
‘Well, I thought so too, and to tell you the truth I got a bit lost in my fascination and kept clicking on all the various sites about blue and its uses and superstitions. I ended up at one site that talked about clowns. Apparently it’s considered intensely bad luck for a clown to use any blue face paint. None of the famous ones ever have or do.’
Jack had been rocking back on his chair legs, but now he slammed forward. ‘They avoid it on their face?’ He felt the thrum of excitement hit his belly.
‘Always. Goes back a long way in history and is now part of the clown mythology. Something bad happens if you wear blue on your face.’
He was staring past her shoulder, thinking as he spoke. ‘How does this work with our victims? Any ideas?’
‘I have a theory, sir.’
His gaze snapped back to her bespectacled eyes. ‘I can’t wait.’
She pushed back strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. ‘Well, the blue paint on Sheriff's and Farrow’s faces was put there deliberately, and because it occurred at both scenes we
Similar Books
