Page 6 of Murder in Shades of Fire and Ash

Charlie didn’t need to answer. Patsy’s face was enough.

“Oh, shit,” he said again, and held his arms out for Patsy. “Come here, love.”

“Next of kin,” Charle said. “And get her somewhere private.”

Eddy nodded. “Will do. But, boss, not that it’s important compared to … Unwin … you need to know that there’s racist graffiti, down the alley by the Town Hall. That’s where I was. It’s been seen. People have taken pictures. I was putting tape up when you called.”

Great. Just fucking great.

Charlie’s phone rang. “Rees,” he said automatically assuming the call related to the fire, the dead body or even the graffiti.

“Charlie,” Tom said, “what’s going on? The girls say there has been a fire in the middle of town. Is everyone OK?”

“I’ll ring you back,” Charlie said, and ended the call. He felt like a jerk, but he didn’t want to talk in front of the others.

The phone rang again, and again, it was Tom.

“Tom, things are seriously hectic. I really can’t talk.”

“Don’t hang up,” Tom said. Charlie didn’t, though it was a close-run thing. “Just ring me, and make it soon, OK?”

“I will, promise. But soon may not be very soon, sorry.” He looked at Patsy and felt the weight of her shock and grief. “I’m fine, love,” he said, “just up to my eyes. I’ll ring you.”

Eddy and Patsy were down to the first-floor landing. Charlie let out a breath and leaned against the wall for a moment. Unwin. What the hell had Unwin been doing in an empty shop? Why was he even in Llanfair when he’d spoken to him at HQ earlier in the day? How could Unwin be dead? There was work to do, and the number of people to do it was shrinking by the minute. Thankfully, when his phone rang yet again, he looked to see who it was rather than snapping “What now?”

It was Alun Evans MP, and he wanted to know about racist graffiti. Apparently, pictures were already on social media, and what were the police going to do about it?

Add it to the fucking list, along with a suspicious death and suspected arson. And yes. I do know it’s important, but so is everything else. Deep breath and get on with the job.

“Sir. I need to tell you, in confidence for the moment, that there has been a fire — probably arson — in an empty shop. The shop was previously occupied by a minority-owned business. In addition, we have discovered a deceased person in the shop. We are treating the death as suspicious.”

Charlie heard a sharply indrawn breath from the other end.

“What?” Alun Evans said abruptly.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell you any more, and I absolutely must insist you do not share this information. I will ensure we keep you updated.”

“Are these things related?”

Charlie wished he knew. “At this stage, I don’t know. We literally found the body within the last few minutes.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? Obviously, I’ll condemn the graffiti and express my support for the police. For now, I’ll let you get on with your job. If you need anything I can provide, just ring.” He ended the call.

Charlie vowed then and there to vote for Evans at the next election. In the meantime, … he ran down the stairs. Eddy was waiting with Jeff Britton, and a white-faced Patsy, who was sitting on a pile of old pallets staring at the ground. The priority had to be informing Unwin’s next of kin, but he also needed to know what Britton had discovered about the fire.

“Mr Britton. I’d like you to go with my colleague, and tell him everything you know about how this fire started, and everything you did since you arrived here this morning. OK?”

Britton nodded, and Charlie looked pointedly at Eddy. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” he said.

Eddy put a hand on Britton’s elbow and steered him into the yard at the back of the shop. “The police station is only a couple of minutes’ walk,” he said, “And I’ll brew up.”

“I know where it is,” Britton said. “I’ll see you there in five. Gotta make a couple of calls.”

Charlie sat next to Patsy on the pallets, putting his arm round her shoulders. They were still in the shade of the building, though it was hot enough that the physical contact with another person was unpleasant.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “This is awful.”

Patsy drew in a shuddering breath. “I love him. We were going to move in together, to get onto the property ladder. Become grown-ups. What am I going to do without him? Charlie, what am I going to do?”

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