Part One: III. Frank

DCI Frank Lewis sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, admiring his wife Liz as she bustled about fixing his breakfast and lunch for the day. Now in their mid-forties, they had been together for more than twenty years, and he still found her wonderfully attractive.

She called upstairs to their children, Mark and Lilly, to come down for breakfast. Upstairs, the kids replied by making thumping sounds.

“Anything interesting happening today?” she asked him.

“This new intern will be in. You know, the one I told you about, over thirty, looks like a teenager; pretty smart guy, I’m told.”

“Well, let’s hope he won’t distract you from your own work too much,” she said. “Interns are nice, but they can be a time-consuming nuisance.”

“Already got something in mind for him,” Frank answered. “I’ll put him in charge of the Musgrave case, if you can call it that. That will give me some breathing space. You remember, the young girl who drowned herself, but her mother cannot accept the idea. I do feel for mum, but she is such a nuisance… Calling the station at least five times a day. Anyway, she is all for Mr Neil Yard now.”

“That’s an interesting name,” Liz said. “Is he from Scotland?”

“Scotland? No, why?” Liz just chuckled. “Ah, I get it…you’re so funny,” he said.