The Cold Road (Book 1)

Chapter Five

The Damascus police station was a squat, unassuming two story building that sat back to back with the fire department. Its design was of grey brown brick, with grey windows on the second level, two glass doors on the front flanked on either side by glass windows that reached from floor to ceiling. Blue carpet raced across the floor towards the sergeant's desk that sat in the middle of the floor, separating the waiting room from the offices and holding cells in the back by a cream wall. The rest of the walls were painted white.

Two worn, polished benches sat against the wall closest the door. On the ceiling sat a fluorescent bulb that flickered as James let the glass door behind him slam shut.

The sergeant's desk was spotlessly clean as James unlocked the door and entered the back of the station. Nothing had changed, except the painted concrete floor was a bit more worn than it used to be. A thin corridor ahead of him led to the holding cells, cramped little compartments rarely in use. The larger cell, used for interrogations was affectionately referred to as the nook.

The whole place had a warm, musky smell to it, from the radiators that worked furiously to provide heating to the building. A door in the hallway led to the toilets. Next door to that was a set of stairs that led up to the second floor. They had been repainted, with white strips along the ledge of each step for safety.

James reached the top and stepped out onto the second floor. A large, open space that the major crimes department occupied. There were three desks, split apart from each other by office walls. A larger room had been sanctioned for the captain's office. The room next to that held some of the records, the rest were kept secured in the library.

Seating himself at his desk, James took the next half hour to unpack the box of belongings that sat on his desk. After arriving that morning he had picked up the notice to meet Franks at the Perette's and gone straight there.

'Ah, James, I see you're still unpacking.'

James's head snapped up, eyes widening as he calmed his breath. Captain Rupert Plant stood in the doorway of his office.

'I didn't know anyone else was in here,' said James, relaxing.

'I was working quietly,' said Plant, walking over and seating himself on the edge of James's desk. 'Settling in all right?'

'Uh, yeah,' said James, looking at the bare top of his desk. Everything else was in the drawers. 'Desk's still pretty empty, but I'm sure it'll fill soon enough.'

'I'm sure it will.' Plant was a tall man, six foot two inches, and stick thin. He looked like a scarecrow that had lost all of its stuffing. His slicked back hair glistened under the lights; his charming, handsome face clean shaving. A pair of half-moon spectacles poked their way out of the left breast pocket of his peach coloured shirt. James was surprised to see them, the last time he had seen Rupert the man had seemed a decade younger.

'Are you settling in okay?' asked Plant.

'Eh,' grunted James. 'I feel a little out of place. When I got the promotion to detective I was not exactly thinking I would be sent out here.'

Laughing, Plant slapped James on the back. 'A brand new inspector, yes. I remember you as just a beat officer, and three years later look you at.' Smiling at the memory, Plant rose from the corner of the desk. 'Now look at you,' he repeated. 'Leading one of the most shocking cases this town has seen. How is the investigation going?'

James shrugged, dropping the empty box on the ground next to his desk. 'Forensics found a note, no demands on it, just a threat that they'll act on the full moon in a few days' time,' said James. The note said they would water the crops with Lindsey's blood, but James found his mouth drying at the thought of it. It was too soon to even begin contemplating the possibility. But the possibility was there. 'I interviewed the parents,' he continued, 'not much there. Then I went to the school and talked to Lindsey's principal and her teacher. The teacher, as Ms Jackson, said Lindsey had been acting strange, distant, lately, but she reported nothing out of the ordinary apart from that. Oh!' exclaimed James, slapping his forehead. 'Mrs Perette mentioned a name, Catherine White, and Ms Jackson told me that Geoff White works as a groundsman at the school. It might be worth checking it out.'