O'Brien, had shaken the senator by the hand after they'd shown him their identification. The questions were routine, O'Brien had said, and he didn't expect to take up too much of Burrow's time. They'd rejected his offer of coffee and O'Brien's partner had taken out a pen and notebook after they'd seated themselves in front of the senator's desk.
'How long had Kristine Ross been working for you, Senator?' asked O'Brien.
'Just under two years.'
'As your secretary?'
'As one of three secretaries. Four, if you include my office manager, Sally Forster.'
'Did she seem depressed?'
Burrow leaned forward. 'I thought it was an accident? She tripped, I was told.'
O'Brien made a patting motion with his hand and shook his head emphatically. 'These are standard questions, Senator. Whenever we get an accidental death, we have to rule out any other possibilities. I wouldn't be doing my job if I did otherwise.'
Burrow sat back again. 'I understand, Officer, but Kristine was a delightful, high-spirited, wonderful girl, and I wouldn't want it to get around that she might have killed herself. No, she was most definitely not depressed.'
'To the best of your knowledge, did she have a drinking problem?'
'A drinking problem? Absolutely not. Why, was drink involved?'
'She'd drunk a bottle of wine before she fell.'
Burrows shrugged. 'That surprises me,' he said.
'Was she under a lot of stress here?'
'No more so than the rest of my staff. We all work long and hard here, Inspector O'Brien, but it goes with the turf. Kristine knew what was involved before she joined. She didn't appear to me to have any trouble coping, but Sally would know better than me. You should speak to her.'
'We have, Senator, and she agrees with you.'
Burrow held his hands out, palms upward. 'There you are, y-,then.' He stole a glance at O'Brien's partner. The detective was scribbling in his notebook. He finished writing and looked up. Burrow flashed him a confident smile.
O'Brien stood up and held out his hand. Burrow shook it again and looked the detective in the eye. The senator knew how important eye contact was: it demonstrated sincerity and openness, qualities that Burrow was a master at projecting.
'Terrible business,' said Burrow.
'Accidents happen,' said the detective. His partner put away his notebook and nodded a farewell to the senator. 'Did you know that more accidents happen in the home than on the roads?' O'Brien asked.
'Is that so?' said the senator. 'I had no idea.'
He walked the two detectives to the door and showed them out. Sally Forster was waiting to escort them out of the main office. Burrow closed the door and sighed deeply. His heart had been pounding throughout the interview, even though he knew that Jody Meacher would have left nothing to chance. There wouldn't be anything to connect Burrow to the murder, and it was a murder, he was sure of that. Meacher hadn't said what he was going to do, or when it would happen, but Burrow knew that Meacher was behind Kristine Ross's death. More than that, Burrow didn't want to know. All that mattered was that Meacher was taking care of things, just as he'd promised.
Nick Wright spent the afternoon methodically working through his list of missing persons. The list had been generated by the Police National Computer after details of the corpse had been fed in: height, weight, eye colour, age, and distinguishing features. The wide age bracket was the main reason that the list was so long, but he hadn't wanted to narrow it any further. Each missing man had his own page giving physical details, the name and telephone number of the investigating officer and a PNC code that identified the police station involved in the enquiry. What the PNC didn't supply was a photograph, or details of next of kin; for that Wright had to contact the officer handling the enquiry. It was slow, methodical work. Often the officer involved wasn't available, so Wright had either to leave a message or find someone else who could
'How long had Kristine Ross been working for you, Senator?' asked O'Brien.
'Just under two years.'
'As your secretary?'
'As one of three secretaries. Four, if you include my office manager, Sally Forster.'
'Did she seem depressed?'
Burrow leaned forward. 'I thought it was an accident? She tripped, I was told.'
O'Brien made a patting motion with his hand and shook his head emphatically. 'These are standard questions, Senator. Whenever we get an accidental death, we have to rule out any other possibilities. I wouldn't be doing my job if I did otherwise.'
Burrow sat back again. 'I understand, Officer, but Kristine was a delightful, high-spirited, wonderful girl, and I wouldn't want it to get around that she might have killed herself. No, she was most definitely not depressed.'
'To the best of your knowledge, did she have a drinking problem?'
'A drinking problem? Absolutely not. Why, was drink involved?'
'She'd drunk a bottle of wine before she fell.'
Burrows shrugged. 'That surprises me,' he said.
'Was she under a lot of stress here?'
'No more so than the rest of my staff. We all work long and hard here, Inspector O'Brien, but it goes with the turf. Kristine knew what was involved before she joined. She didn't appear to me to have any trouble coping, but Sally would know better than me. You should speak to her.'
'We have, Senator, and she agrees with you.'
Burrow held his hands out, palms upward. 'There you are, y-,then.' He stole a glance at O'Brien's partner. The detective was scribbling in his notebook. He finished writing and looked up. Burrow flashed him a confident smile.
O'Brien stood up and held out his hand. Burrow shook it again and looked the detective in the eye. The senator knew how important eye contact was: it demonstrated sincerity and openness, qualities that Burrow was a master at projecting.
'Terrible business,' said Burrow.
'Accidents happen,' said the detective. His partner put away his notebook and nodded a farewell to the senator. 'Did you know that more accidents happen in the home than on the roads?' O'Brien asked.
'Is that so?' said the senator. 'I had no idea.'
He walked the two detectives to the door and showed them out. Sally Forster was waiting to escort them out of the main office. Burrow closed the door and sighed deeply. His heart had been pounding throughout the interview, even though he knew that Jody Meacher would have left nothing to chance. There wouldn't be anything to connect Burrow to the murder, and it was a murder, he was sure of that. Meacher hadn't said what he was going to do, or when it would happen, but Burrow knew that Meacher was behind Kristine Ross's death. More than that, Burrow didn't want to know. All that mattered was that Meacher was taking care of things, just as he'd promised.
Nick Wright spent the afternoon methodically working through his list of missing persons. The list had been generated by the Police National Computer after details of the corpse had been fed in: height, weight, eye colour, age, and distinguishing features. The wide age bracket was the main reason that the list was so long, but he hadn't wanted to narrow it any further. Each missing man had his own page giving physical details, the name and telephone number of the investigating officer and a PNC code that identified the police station involved in the enquiry. What the PNC didn't supply was a photograph, or details of next of kin; for that Wright had to contact the officer handling the enquiry. It was slow, methodical work. Often the officer involved wasn't available, so Wright had either to leave a message or find someone else who could
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