out her long legs. “So what
does Lucy Faith have to do with Dmitri, Sir?” she asked, buckling her seatbelt.
“Probably nothing at all,” replied Chase. “But I’ll tell you
why I’m so interested in him.”
“Go on.”
“We’ve had a series of break-ins in the area. Professional
people, away on holiday, mostly. The same MO every time: in through a bedroom
window, take whatever jewellery and money they can find, trash the place, smear
dog muck everywhere, and out the way they came.”
“Charming!”
“Yes. They’re clever, too. They know when the people are
away. They only go into the master bedroom. And then they make it as hard as
possible to work out exactly what’s been taken.”
“Why the master bedroom?”
“Because it’s where people tend to keep their valuables. And
it’s usually the only room in the property without a motion sensor.”
“Don’t the neighbours notice anything?”
Chase chuckled humourlessly. “Neighbours? Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“Because this is Chiltern Park, Halshaw. Nobody knows their
neighbours round here. They may have friends in a dozen different countries,
but the person who lives next door is a total stranger.”
“So Darren’s done some of the break-ins, has he?”
“Yes. Well, sort of. They were copycats. Same MO, pretty
much, except that they tended to be at weekends rather than during the week.”
“How did you catch him?”
“He was unlucky. Last Sunday afternoon, Darren broke into a
garden flat. Trouble was, the owners had put a sensor in their master bedroom
too, and a silent alarm system that notified us directly. We caught him red
handed. When we took him into custody he confessed to four more.”
“Is the burglary at Amy Birkdale’s one of the same
sequence?”
Chase looked round sharply. “How do you know about that?”
“Chief Superintendent Royce told me about it when I
arrived,” smiled Halshaw. “That was why he put me in with Darren, to see if he
knew anything about it.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Why?”
“Well, for one thing, she wasn’t on holiday. She was working
late, so she could have walked in on them at any moment.”
“Any prints?” Halshaw interrupted.
“Nothing useful. Just hers, and lots of smudges. But that’s
not all. She thinks someone’s trying to undermine her at work.”
“What does she do for a living?”
“She’s an IT manager at a multinational logistics company.
Logistical Group, they’re called. Ever heard of them?”
Halshaw nodded. “Why does she think someone’s trying to
undermine her?”
“The project she’s leading is highly contentious. And she’s
received some threatening texts, too.”
“Any idea who from?”
Chase shook his head. “I haven’t interviewed everyone yet.
There’s an ex-boyfriend who’s my current favourite. He’s certainly capable of
it but I don’t understand why he would have started now, over a year after they
split up.”
She nodded again. “So why was the grey-haired man Darren saw
paying Dmitri? Was he a fence or something, do you think?”
“What else could he be?” replied Chase, sourly. Then his
face brightened. “So you see, Halshaw. We’ve got a lot to discuss with our
friend Dmitri. Don’t you think?”
“When we find him, Sir,” Halshaw murmured. “When we find
him.”
Chapter 4.
Faith is no
irresponsible shot in the dark.
Robert Schuller
1
The Chiltern View Estate lay next to the leafy streets of
Chiltern Park, separated only by a disused railway line and £50,000 average per
capita annual income. As Chase drove slowly through the estate, Halshaw noticed
the dilapidated cars, the weed-ridden pavements, the plastic bags blowing like
tumbleweeds, the cramped, pinched houses. Most of all, though, she noticed the
children. There were children everywhere, riding bikes, kicking balls around in
the cul-de-sacs. Many were little more than toddlers, but quite a few
does Lucy Faith have to do with Dmitri, Sir?” she asked, buckling her seatbelt.
“Probably nothing at all,” replied Chase. “But I’ll tell you
why I’m so interested in him.”
“Go on.”
“We’ve had a series of break-ins in the area. Professional
people, away on holiday, mostly. The same MO every time: in through a bedroom
window, take whatever jewellery and money they can find, trash the place, smear
dog muck everywhere, and out the way they came.”
“Charming!”
“Yes. They’re clever, too. They know when the people are
away. They only go into the master bedroom. And then they make it as hard as
possible to work out exactly what’s been taken.”
“Why the master bedroom?”
“Because it’s where people tend to keep their valuables. And
it’s usually the only room in the property without a motion sensor.”
“Don’t the neighbours notice anything?”
Chase chuckled humourlessly. “Neighbours? Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“Because this is Chiltern Park, Halshaw. Nobody knows their
neighbours round here. They may have friends in a dozen different countries,
but the person who lives next door is a total stranger.”
“So Darren’s done some of the break-ins, has he?”
“Yes. Well, sort of. They were copycats. Same MO, pretty
much, except that they tended to be at weekends rather than during the week.”
“How did you catch him?”
“He was unlucky. Last Sunday afternoon, Darren broke into a
garden flat. Trouble was, the owners had put a sensor in their master bedroom
too, and a silent alarm system that notified us directly. We caught him red
handed. When we took him into custody he confessed to four more.”
“Is the burglary at Amy Birkdale’s one of the same
sequence?”
Chase looked round sharply. “How do you know about that?”
“Chief Superintendent Royce told me about it when I
arrived,” smiled Halshaw. “That was why he put me in with Darren, to see if he
knew anything about it.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Why?”
“Well, for one thing, she wasn’t on holiday. She was working
late, so she could have walked in on them at any moment.”
“Any prints?” Halshaw interrupted.
“Nothing useful. Just hers, and lots of smudges. But that’s
not all. She thinks someone’s trying to undermine her at work.”
“What does she do for a living?”
“She’s an IT manager at a multinational logistics company.
Logistical Group, they’re called. Ever heard of them?”
Halshaw nodded. “Why does she think someone’s trying to
undermine her?”
“The project she’s leading is highly contentious. And she’s
received some threatening texts, too.”
“Any idea who from?”
Chase shook his head. “I haven’t interviewed everyone yet.
There’s an ex-boyfriend who’s my current favourite. He’s certainly capable of
it but I don’t understand why he would have started now, over a year after they
split up.”
She nodded again. “So why was the grey-haired man Darren saw
paying Dmitri? Was he a fence or something, do you think?”
“What else could he be?” replied Chase, sourly. Then his
face brightened. “So you see, Halshaw. We’ve got a lot to discuss with our
friend Dmitri. Don’t you think?”
“When we find him, Sir,” Halshaw murmured. “When we find
him.”
Chapter 4.
Faith is no
irresponsible shot in the dark.
Robert Schuller
1
The Chiltern View Estate lay next to the leafy streets of
Chiltern Park, separated only by a disused railway line and £50,000 average per
capita annual income. As Chase drove slowly through the estate, Halshaw noticed
the dilapidated cars, the weed-ridden pavements, the plastic bags blowing like
tumbleweeds, the cramped, pinched houses. Most of all, though, she noticed the
children. There were children everywhere, riding bikes, kicking balls around in
the cul-de-sacs. Many were little more than toddlers, but quite a few
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