*FIRST DRAFT* The Cover of Darkness (DCI Morgan Chester Series)

Chapter Twenty-One

Red marks formed on her wrists from the handcuffs. Her small hands gently rubbed them, and she winched from the ache from moving them in a circular motion.

Jane was alone in the interrogation room. Her eyes locked on the camera perched in the top corner, the lens directed onto her. Her body shuddered.

She knew she was in trouble. Attacking a police officer was a serious offense, regardless if it was her husband's mistress. The guilt gnawed at her stomach. How long would they keep her in here? Would she go to prison?

The door slowly opened, and Oliver entered. Her eyes assessed Oliver from his smart jeans and shirt, the clean wedding ring on his finger, and to how tidy he kept his hair. He strode over to her and removed the handcuffs from her wrists. She could smell his aftershave. Blackcurrant and apple, she knew it was Creed Aventus. The scent was not overpowering but it lingered.

"A member of my team has notified your husband. He is on his way to take you home." Oliver spoke her as he placed a piece of paper on the table. Jane nodded in response as her hand reached for the document. It was a bail form.

"I don't know what came over me. I just saw her and the next thing I remember is being dragged away." Her throat felt harsh. She signed the document and slid it back slowly to Oliver.

"You're lucky the detective you assaulted does not want to press charges." he spoke softly. Relief washed over her. "Could I ask what that was all about?"

"She is having an affair with my husband. I saw the messages and the dirty pictures she sent him. He promised me he wouldn't do it again, but he lied." Her bottom lip shook, and she closed her eyes.

"I assume he has cheated before?" Oliver cocked his eyebrow.

"He told me I was overthinking, but my gut was telling me otherwise. It was with a student nurse. One night I followed him, and I saw him with her as they walked into her hall of residence."

Oliver's eyes widened. He sat in the chair opposite her and pulled out his phone. He clicked on an image and showed it to Jane.

"Was this the girl?"

Jane looked at the image of the beautiful young woman smiling back at her. The same smile she saw when Martin wrapped his arms around the girl in the street. He used to do that to her when they were in happier times.

"Yes, that was her." she looked away from the picture.

"Do you know how he ended the affair?"

"He told me that he realised he made a mistake and broke it off." She shrugged her shoulders. Oliver sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"When did the affair take place?"

"I'm not sure. He admitted to it a couple of years ago, in March, I think. Why?"

"Mrs. Buck, this girl's name was Emma Davies. In March two years ago, she was murdered." her eyes widened, and her breathing hitched.

"Oh my god. I mean, I hated her for sleeping with my husband. But she did not deserve that. Did you catch who done it?"

"No. We have reopened the case as it ties in with another we are currently investigating."

"How?" she leant forward and rested her elbows on the table.

"A young woman was attacked this morning. She said the attacker called her Emma. This afternoon, she was murdered. The cause of death matched."

"You think my husband had something to do with that?" she accused.

"Mrs. Buck, did your husband disclose that Ms. Davies was pregnant?"

The colour in her cheeks drained. The nauseous feeling crept up her throat. She run her hand through her hair and cupped her chin.

"She was pregnant when she died?" Oliver nodded in response.

"I have a suspicion that your husband found out Emma was pregnant, and she wanted to keep it. He feared you finding out."

"My husband may be a lot of things, but he is not a killer." She spat at him.

Oliver stared at her as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. The dark circles under her eyes tell him that she hasn't slept well for a while. She looked withdrawn and turmoiled with emotions.

"I would like to go home now, please." Jane warned him as she got up. Oliver nodded and took the bail form off the table. As he departed, he heard a sob.

**

"Have you seen Morgan?" Cole panted as he leant against the door. His hand placed on where the stich started to grow.

"She's just popped to the bathroom..." Dakota trailed off as Cole spun his body around and vanished into the hallway. She rolled her eyes and continued typing on the keyboard.

Cole burst through the door to the women's bathroom and received a surprise yelp from a lady washing her hands at the basin sinks opposite the door.

"Morgan are you in here?" he called.

"Talk about catching me with my pants down, Anderson." her irritated voice replied from one of the stalls closely followed with a flush.

"I'm sorry but this is really important."

Morgan unlocked the bathroom stall and walked onto the sinks. She applied a generous amount of soap and started to lather it between her fingers. The scent of lavender filled her nostrils.

"What is so important that you had to barge into the women's loo?" She chuckled.

"We know where Bobby Ryan is." He blurted and she stopped lathering the soap in her palms. Her eyes looked at him.

"There was a lead, a young girl named Laura was found in Bayford this morning covered in blood and terrified. Rowan and I have just been to see her. The house Hallie found on the database for that couple, is the house Laura confirmed she escaped from." He continued to explain as Morgan rinsed her hands and dried them with a paper towel.

"How can you be certain Bobby is in the property?"

"Laura saw her be brought into the cellar. Just before they took Laura to the main part of the building to conduct their insemination ritual."

"They're raping and getting the girls pregnant." She confirmed and shook her head in disbelief.

"Laura did not complete her ritual..." Cole trailed off.

"That means they'll move onto the next girl and that's most like Bobby." She confirmed as she pulled the bathroom door open. Cole followed her and checked his watch.

"It's seven o'clock, the rituals start at midnight from what Laura told us." He sighed.

"I'll go speak to Armed Forces; you go tell Oliver exactly what you just told me. Get the team ready. Let's bring Bobby Ryan home."