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  "You were there when the trench was closed?" Tom asked. Hart appeared uncertain, eventually nodding briefly. "You're sure?"

  "Um …" Hart looked up at the ceiling, his eyes drifting around the room, past Eric and back to Tom. He nodded again. "Yeah. I think so. But, hey, it was a long time ago."

  "Of course," Tom said, reaching into his pocket and bringing out the photograph of Tina Farrow. He passed it across to Hart who took it and examined the picture. "Do you recognise her?" Hart's gaze lingered on the image, his expression unreadable. Tom waited but Hart continued to stare. "Do you recognise her?" he asked again.

  Hart snapped out of his trance-like state, shaking his head vigorously. "No, no I don't."

  "Are you sure because it looked like she was familiar—"

  "I said I don't, all right!" He thrust the picture back into Tom's hand. His tone and expression had changed, no longer distant and vague but turning mildly aggressive and looking more than a touch fearful.

  "You stayed at the Crown in Brancaster for the duration of the dig, didn't you?"

  Hart had his hands in his lap now, fingers interlocked but moving. He was agitated. He nodded curtly. "Yes. We stayed in the old stables out the back."

  "With Julia Rose?"

  Again, he nodded, silently mouthing the word 'yes'.

  "This girl, Tina Farrow," Tom said, holding up the picture to him again. "She often worked at the Crown and was there on the last Friday night before you completed your excavations. We believe it was this night when she went missing. Do you recall seeing her at the pub?" Hart stared straight ahead, not looking at the picture. "Mr Hart, please could you look at the picture."

  "I didn't bloody know her!" He glared fiercely at Tom, his eyes flitting between him and the image of Tina. His expression softened, as did his tone. "I … told you already. I don't know her. If she was there, then I don't recall her. Okay?"

  "Okay," Tom said, turning the picture of Tina towards him and glancing at it before putting it away. "We also understand that the entire dig was quite stressful for you personally."

  "What has that got to do with anything?"

  Tom shrugged. Hart took a deep breath, lifting himself upright and exhaling slowly.

  "You're right," he said, sounding deflated. "It was tough. Things didn't work out." Tom waited for more but he didn't look like adding to the comment.

  "You no longer work in the field?" Tom asked.

  "No. Well, peripherally." He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking infinitely more comfortable discussing this than Tina. "I get some work in television from time to time. Not in front of the camera, obviously, but behind the scenes helping with logistics and so on. I know some people. It helps, you know?"

  Tom cast an eye around the room. The pictures adorning the walls looked like they belonged to a different generation with frames to match. His eyes lowered to the mantelpiece above the open fire where photographs were neatly set out. Tom stood up and crossed over to them. Hart was in all of them, apparently taken at various archaeological dig locations. In his youth he wore his hair long to the collar. In some of them the people present were heavily wrapped up against the elements, in others the weather was far better. One of them might have been taken in the desert because of the arid backdrop. The people in it seemed to be shielding their eyes from the glare of the sun. He pointed at it.

  "May I?" he asked. Hart sucked his lips inward, nodding. Tom lifted the picture, examining it before angling it towards Hart. "Egypt?"

  He shook his head. "The Atacama Desert, Chile."

  "Looks like many of the same people in each of these." A youthful Hart was easily recognisable standing with his arm around a young woman, presumably Julia Rose. He wasn't sure but the man on the far left could be Tim Hendry who also wore his hair long in a similar style.

  "The four amigos," Hart said softly, smiling wistfully. "At university we made a pact to take part in digs on all six continents before we died."

  "Six?" Eric asked, his eyebrows meeting.

  "Not many digs going on in Antarctica that I'm aware of," Hart said, cutting a wry smile in Eric's direction. "Unless you're a conspiracy whacko and looking for a secret alien base underneath thousands of years of ice!"

  "Of course," Eric said, his face flushing.

  Tom smiled, careful not to let either man see. He put the picture frame back and cast an eye across the others. There was one that stood out, taken on an overcast, wet day with a stunning backdrop of steep mountains descending into water. There were only two people in it, and Tom thought this might be a holiday snap of Alex and Julia rather than one of work but he quickly realised his mistake. It was Tim Hendry alongside Julia. He pointed to it. "Did you take this one?"

  Hart stood up and came over, picking it up, his brow furrowing as he spoke. "No. Julia sent this one to me while I was in hospital recuperating from an operation. That was taken a few months before we broke up." He sounded melancholy, slowly putting the picture back and neatly lining it up alongside the others. He looked at Tom, meeting his eye. "Is there anything else?"

  "We would like to take a DNA sample from you, if you have no objections?"

  Hart was taken aback. He looked over at Eric and then back at Tom. "Why … why would you need to do that?"

  "To compare with trace evidence samples found among the human remains. It will help us rule suspects in or out."

  "But … but I told you I don't know her."

  "It's not a prerequisite for a killer to know their victim, Mr Hart." Tom stared hard at him, not offering him any opportunity for an easy get-out. "Will you willingly provide a sample?"

  Hart held Tom's gaze for a few seconds then looked at his feet. He nodded slowly.

  "Good. DC Collet will take it from you now, it won't take a moment." Tom looked at Eric who set off to retrieve the kit from the car. Alex Hart sank back onto the sofa, rubbing at his chin and avoiding Tom's gaze. "How did you get on with the pact?" he asked while waiting for Eric to return.

  "Sorry, what?" Hart said, looking up, eyes wide.

  "The four amigos."

  "Oh yes … we managed three before … well, we managed three," he said glumly, drawing breath. "Europe, an easy one. North Africa and Chile."

  "Just the three left to go then."

  "Yeah. Just the three." Hart nodded, sniffing loudly and looking away, evidently not keen to continue the conversation.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Walking into ops, Tom found Cassie still at her desk with a telephone clamped to her ear. It was approaching seven o'clock in the evening and he half expected Tamara to have sent Cassie home for the day by now. She angled the mouthpiece away from her face and turned her chair towards him.

  "I'm on hold, trying to get a call through a satellite link to Dr Julia Rose. She replied to the message we left for her yesterday and sent me a Zoom link from where she was staying but the connection kept dropping and we gave up. I told Tamara I'd speak to her and then head home." She glanced at the clock on the wall, her face dropping. "That was an hour ago. How did you get on with Hart and Hendry, were they happy to provide DNA?"

  "Hendry was happy to. No problem."

  "Hart was less than forthcoming?"

  "Less keen but didn't put up too much of an argument. Where is Dr Rose?"

  "Svelgen, Norway. She's part of a team from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage who have uncovered a Viking longboat buried near to the mouth of the Svelgselva river. Apparently, it has the bodies of four warriors inside." She yawned, talking through it. “It's quite a big deal as these finds are rare but don't mention it to Eric whatever you do, I can't be doing with the questions."

  Tom laughed. "He likes his history."

  "Yeah, well, I've spent a bit of time with Becca and she's more of a Netflix girl, so he'd better shape up or she'll trade him in for someone who acts like they're in their twenties and not twice their age!" She turned back to her call. "Yes, I'm still waiting. Okay, can you ask her to call m
e back at the mobile number I gave you? Where is Eric anyway?"

  Cassie put the phone down, abandoning the effort to speak to Julia Rose.

  "I told him to head off once he'd filed the DNA samples. I doubt they'll be useful beyond shaking up our potential suspects but we may as well put them in the database. What did you make of her, Dr Rose?" Tom asked.

  She shrugged. "Surprised to hear from us, from what I could tell, but the connection was so bad the video was unwatchable and the sound not much better. She sounded keen to help, though. When she calls back, hopefully, she'll be back in the town. The site is fairly remote, hence the satellite comms."

  A uniformed constable poked his head around the corner from the corridor, his eyes searching the room and settling on Tom.

  "Someone in reception to see you, sir."

  "Who is it?"

  "A lady called Sarah Webber," he said, but evidently he had no further details to offer. Tom nodded and said he'd be right there and the officer disappeared from view. Cassie looked up at Tom.

  "Who's Sarah Webber?"

  "A former work colleague and friend of Tina Farrow's," he said, concentrating. Cassie shook her head, glancing at the information boards but Webber didn't feature. "No, I only heard the name myself today when I spoke to Paul and Louisa Tennant."

  "The owners of the Crown?"

  "Yes, Sarah worked for them at the same time as Tina, lives over in Wells now. They said she was close to Tina but why she's in reception I've no idea. I figured I'd call in on her tomorrow."

  "Word travels fast," Cassie said, looking at the clock again. "Do you want me to come with you?"

  Tom waved the offer away. "You get yourself off home and I'll see you in the morning."

  "Thanks. Lauren was hoping we'd be able to eat together tonight, but I guess I can grab a takeaway on the way home."

  "I expect Becca will say the same about Eric. We need to speak with Julia Rose and then get together and have a recap as to where we are. How did you get on digging into Alex Hart for me by the way?"

  Cassie was shutting down her computer as she spoke over her shoulder. "Interesting. He's got some medical history that might be useful, but I need a magistrate to grant us a warrant to release his files to us. Purely a bureaucratic delay – should come through first thing tomorrow. Anything else before I go?"

  Tom shook his head and she collected her car keys. She set off and he agreed to walk out with her. Buzzing themselves through the secure door and into reception, Cassie bid Tom goodnight as he smiled to the woman waiting for him. She was sitting at reception, hands in her lap and her legs together, as if she were in a dental surgery waiting for a root canal. She rose as he approached and introduced himself. She looked nervous.

  "Is it true, that you've found Tina?"

  He nodded, glancing over his shoulder at the member of the public standing at the desk speaking to the desk clerk.

  "It's a little stuffy in here. Would you like to take a walk?" he asked. She nodded and they left together, Tom holding the door open for her, allowing her to pass through before following. The breeze was picking up now, which was a relief, and he thought he could hear the low rumble of thunder in the distance off the coast. Perhaps the weather was going to break earlier than forecast.

  "What brings you to see me, Sarah?" Tom asked as they walked. He glanced sideways at her. She was in her late thirties with sandy-brown hair hanging to her shoulders. She brushed the fringe away from her eyes with one hand, tucking it behind her ear. She met Tom's gaze, smiling awkwardly.

  "Louisa." The smile faded as she looked away. Tom considered that Mrs Tennant must be quite the gossip to have spread the story to Sarah's ears already. "She's good friends with my current employer, although I don't know why. Louisa's dreadful."

  Tom smiled. "In what way?"

  "You never wanted to be the first person to leave the room, I'll say that much." This pretty much confirmed his first thought. "She drove over this afternoon. I could tell she was talking about me, the snide way she looks at you, you know?" Tom inclined his head. "So, you want to speak to me about Tina?"

  "Yes. I had planned to come by and see you tomorrow. You were friends?"

  "Good friends, yes. Although Tina was two or three years older than me when we worked together, so she was often behind the bar or waiting tables at dinner service and I was clearing up back of house."

  "Do you remember seeing her that Friday night, the last time she was seen alive?"

  She nodded curtly, turning to face him. "Yeah, I saw her, didn't speak to her though. It was crazy busy," she said, sweeping the hair from her face once more. She looked out over the sea. "She was up for it that night. Really, really up for it."

  "In what way?"

  "Tina's way," she said, laughing. "She was on the wind up. She'd do it to some extent every time she was in, working or social, but that night she was spreading it around. Those archaeologist guys were hitting it pretty hard as I remember."

  "Yes, the dig didn't go well, so were probably drowning their sorrows—"

  "Well, that excuses one night but how about all of the others?" Tom looked at her quizzically. She grinned. "I figured they'd all be proper geeks … reading books in the bar, in bed by nine o'clock, that type of thing but believe me, they were anything but! I'd never seen the Crown jumping so much before or since. I guess I should've known having watched Indiana Jones."

  Tom smiled warmly and they set off again. "You said Tina was up for it. What do you mean by that?"

  She laughed again dryly, shaking her head and looking at the ground as she walked. "Tina was such a wind-up merchant. Virtually every bloke she came in contact with was utterly enthralled by her; she was gifted. I mean, she was attractive which gave her a head start on most. Have you seen pictures?" He nodded. "Well, then you'll know why she could draw them in but it was more than that. She … she seemed to feed off their attention and she played up to it." She saw Tom watching her intently. "Don't get the wrong idea, she wasn't a slapper or anything. She didn't go with a lot of guys, at least not as far as I know, but she definitely got off on hooking them and reeling them in. It was like she couldn't stop. I always imagined she'd pop up on one of these daytime TV shows talking about her insecurities or sex addiction … something like that."

  "You think it was compulsive behaviour?"

  Sarah snorted a laugh. "No idea but it was something. Whether it was a power game or a desire for affection, I've no idea. She didn't do it for bragging rights or anything. I mean, she never boasted about it; not to me. It didn't make her popular with the others though."

  "I thought she was popular. That's what the Tennants said."

  "Yes and no. The other girls didn't care for her flirting, even if they knew she wasn't taking it further. And she certainly wasn't with Louisa. She used to ride Tina pretty hard when she was around. Jealous, I thought." Tom asked her to elaborate. She hesitated.

  "There's no reason why anything you say about her should come back to you. Even if Louisa Tennant is friends with your boss."

  She relaxed a little. "Tina had an effect on women too, you know. The men followed her around with their tongues hanging out and the women … they were jealous, I imagine. That includes Louisa."

  "Not you?"

  She laughed with genuine humour at the question. "I was sixteen, Inspector, and as green as grass. Tina was a legend to me! I figured if I could have half the effect on boys that she had then I'd have been winning. Not that I ever would have had the confidence to do the stuff she did."

  "Such as?"

  She shrugged. "The accidental touches, flashes of a sultry smile in passing. The kind of thing that made any guy think he was the one; he was the one who she'd chosen." She shook her head again. "Even if they were the second or third person she'd done it to that evening, they'd all think they were special. This time they would be the one that it'd be different for. She really had a talent for making guys feel special. Men are so pathetic." She shot him an apologeti
c look, fearing she'd overstepped the mark. He smiled and waved it away.

  "Many of us are suckers for a pretty face, it's true."

  "Especially if you think you're in," she said, smiling a knowing smile.

  "What about that night then, the Friday? Who was Tina … how would you put it—"

  "Flirting with?" she asked. Tom nodded. She concentrated hard, trying to remember. "Pretty much the whole bar at points, as far as I could tell. The archaeologists were wrapping things up the next day, so they were off. They were hell bent on having a blow-out to finish off on, and I reckon a couple of them thought they'd have a last crack at Tina. I don't remember their names but there was a group who I think were in charge; one guy in particular quite fancied himself, always flirting with the girls, especially Tina. I think he was married. At least, someone shouted at him across the bar that his wife wouldn't be happy if he didn't calm down. I saw him with his arms around Tina at one point."

  "How so?" She looked at him, puzzled. "Aggressively, friendly, warmly appreciated or was she pushing him away?"

  "Oh, it was in the main bar in front of everyone. Music was playing and he wanted her to dance with him. He was absolutely hammered. She looked to have him under control. She was flirting a lot with one of the others too. Now he was interesting." She smiled at the memory.

  "Interesting how?"

  "Because he hadn't shown much interest in her before. Tina said so. I think she saw him as a challenge; said she was going to have a go at breaking him in. I thought she was half joking, but maybe not."

  "Was he immune to her charms or merely not interested?"

  "More likely he didn't want to do anything in front of his girlfriend! They were staying together in the stables," she said, smiling. "I know she didn't appreciate Tina's attempts at flirting with her other half." Tom figured she could only be referring to Julia Rose and Alex Hart.

  "Do you know if she had success with him?"

  Sarah shrugged. "Not as far as I know but I saw the couple having a proper ding-dong in the rear reception. He was stumbling around half cut and I think she'd had a few as well. I was in the kitchen, just the other side of the door but could see and hear everything; it was a really unpleasant exchange."