The Killer Inside: A gripping serial killer thriller (Detective Jessica Daniel thriller series Book 1) by Kerry Wilkinson
Authors: Kerry Wilkinson
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other side. Reynolds was standing and, as there were no seats left, Jessica waited near the door.
The two officers she didn’t know looked up at her, then back down before she could make eye contact. They were fairly young: the male maybe early forties; the female around the same age, with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail.
Aylesbury greeted her presence with a, ‘Sergeant Daniel.’ He paused to let her settle and then continued, acknowledging the two people sitting next to his desk.
‘As some of you already know, these are officers Finch and McNiven. They work for Internal Investigations and will be speaking to everyone today about the information leaked to the media. I’m sure you are all aware of what has been in the papers…’
He held up a copy of that morning’s Herald to emphasise his point. He was speaking calmly, but from the way his eyes were twitching, Jessica could see anger bubbling below the surface. He was probably holding back because of the presence of the Internal officers. She wondered whether the anger was aimed at the leaker or at the people brought in to investigate his officers. She had never quite seen eye to eye with the DCI but, when it came to fellow colleagues, most officers would back them over the Internal team.
‘We all know the value of using the media,’ Aylesbury said, ‘but whoever leaked this information has not only made the force look incredibly stupid but put the investigation at risk. We have not been able to speak to Sandra Prince yet, and headlines like this are hardly going to help her condition if she were to see them. People need to feel safe in their homes and to trust us. Recklessly giving information like this out helps no one .’ He made a special point of emphasising the last two words. ‘During the day, officers Finch and McNiven have been given one of the offices down the hallway from here. They will be talking to more or less everyone in the station, but you three will be spoken to first. At least it will allow you to get on with the rest of your jobs afterwards. You know how these things work.’
No one said anything, not that there was much they could add. Jessica didn’t know which was Finch and which McNiven but, as the DCI finished speaking, the female of the two looked up from a sheet of paper in front of her and said, ‘We wanted to start with DS Daniel, if that’s okay?’
It was exactly what Jessica had suspected.
Cole and Reynolds filed out of the room back towards the stairs, while Jessica headed along the hallway with the two other officers. The male officer led the way, the female walking in between him and Jessica. The final room at the back of the building was an area that Jessica had never been to before. As far as she’d known, there were only storage rooms back there. The male turned the lights on and Jessica could see it was largely storage. Boxes with files sticking out of the top had been shoved to the back wall, and someone had brought up a table from what looked like the canteen. She noticed a dusty, stale smell as the male officer offered her the seat across from them.
The woman started talking first. ‘I’m Sergeant McNiven, this is Inspector Finch. We’re from the GMP’s Internal division. Can I start by asking if you know why you’re here today?’
To be bollocked by you lot , was what Jessica thought. What she said was, ‘So we can all work together to stop information getting into the papers that could harm the case I am working on.’
She made special point of stressing the word ‘together’.
Officer McNiven smiled. ‘Something like that.’ She paused and shuffled through her papers, before continuing. ‘Okay, tell us about your relationship with Garry Ashford.’
Jessica told the investigators that she had spoken to him three times on the phone: once on the Saturday after the first victim had been found, when he had phoned her ; once the day after to ‘clarify’ the article she had seen on the
The two officers she didn’t know looked up at her, then back down before she could make eye contact. They were fairly young: the male maybe early forties; the female around the same age, with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail.
Aylesbury greeted her presence with a, ‘Sergeant Daniel.’ He paused to let her settle and then continued, acknowledging the two people sitting next to his desk.
‘As some of you already know, these are officers Finch and McNiven. They work for Internal Investigations and will be speaking to everyone today about the information leaked to the media. I’m sure you are all aware of what has been in the papers…’
He held up a copy of that morning’s Herald to emphasise his point. He was speaking calmly, but from the way his eyes were twitching, Jessica could see anger bubbling below the surface. He was probably holding back because of the presence of the Internal officers. She wondered whether the anger was aimed at the leaker or at the people brought in to investigate his officers. She had never quite seen eye to eye with the DCI but, when it came to fellow colleagues, most officers would back them over the Internal team.
‘We all know the value of using the media,’ Aylesbury said, ‘but whoever leaked this information has not only made the force look incredibly stupid but put the investigation at risk. We have not been able to speak to Sandra Prince yet, and headlines like this are hardly going to help her condition if she were to see them. People need to feel safe in their homes and to trust us. Recklessly giving information like this out helps no one .’ He made a special point of emphasising the last two words. ‘During the day, officers Finch and McNiven have been given one of the offices down the hallway from here. They will be talking to more or less everyone in the station, but you three will be spoken to first. At least it will allow you to get on with the rest of your jobs afterwards. You know how these things work.’
No one said anything, not that there was much they could add. Jessica didn’t know which was Finch and which McNiven but, as the DCI finished speaking, the female of the two looked up from a sheet of paper in front of her and said, ‘We wanted to start with DS Daniel, if that’s okay?’
It was exactly what Jessica had suspected.
Cole and Reynolds filed out of the room back towards the stairs, while Jessica headed along the hallway with the two other officers. The male officer led the way, the female walking in between him and Jessica. The final room at the back of the building was an area that Jessica had never been to before. As far as she’d known, there were only storage rooms back there. The male turned the lights on and Jessica could see it was largely storage. Boxes with files sticking out of the top had been shoved to the back wall, and someone had brought up a table from what looked like the canteen. She noticed a dusty, stale smell as the male officer offered her the seat across from them.
The woman started talking first. ‘I’m Sergeant McNiven, this is Inspector Finch. We’re from the GMP’s Internal division. Can I start by asking if you know why you’re here today?’
To be bollocked by you lot , was what Jessica thought. What she said was, ‘So we can all work together to stop information getting into the papers that could harm the case I am working on.’
She made special point of stressing the word ‘together’.
Officer McNiven smiled. ‘Something like that.’ She paused and shuffled through her papers, before continuing. ‘Okay, tell us about your relationship with Garry Ashford.’
Jessica told the investigators that she had spoken to him three times on the phone: once on the Saturday after the first victim had been found, when he had phoned her ; once the day after to ‘clarify’ the article she had seen on the
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