The Eustice Murders (Complete)

*Chapter 16*

For Sam and Hank, Monday had been a rather frustrating day. Unfortunately, Tuesday was showing no signs of being any better. Sam was just about to wrap up his investigation into the shareholders of the Blue Coast Inn, and other than the hotel itself he had been unable to find any links between any of them.

Hank, meanwhile having been sidetracked by several different projects himself, had finally completed his search into the staff at Apex Cleaning. He had even obtained details of the staff employed by the company fifteen years previously when this case had first become of interest to the department. But once again he was unable to find the answers he was looking for. If Anthony Drummond was working with someone Hank was confident it wasn't another Apex employee, be that either current or former.

They were both also becoming increasingly agitated at the lack of information coming back from the uniform division who were supposedly following their main suspect. It had been well over twenty-four hours now since the operation was due to begin and they hadn't heard a single word from them. Hank decided enough was enough and went to see the captain to find out what was going on. He arrived at the office to find it empty and the door locked, giving Hank a moment's pause.

'Strange must be in a meeting or something,' he thought to himself. Purely out of habit he looked around to see if anyone else was around. Not that it would have helped if there were bad feelings and ongoing hostilities between them and the locals would have meant that he couldn't have asked anyone anyway. They wouldn't have told him even if they did know where he was. He went outside the main building and checked the parking lot. Hank's brow came together in confusion as the parking spot reserved for the captain remained empty so Hank trudged back to the office to tell Sam.

"How strange," Sam agreed. "He never said anything about taking a day off. Unless he's gone sick and of course, it happens to us all at some point." They had his cellphone number if needed so they could contact him that way but this was hardly an emergency. And furthermore, if he was sick or in the middle of something urgent then a "where's our reports" call wouldn't have been very well received. Instead, they both decided to make the most of the opportunity and head off into town.

They were both beginning to find their way around now but they were still largely unaware of what the town had to offer so it seemed like the ideal time to head out and have a look around.
They headed down to the seafront and drove around for a little while before eventually parking up and having a walk along the beach. Hank took several photos with his phone which were promptly forwarded to Beverly. Her responses to which had provided them both with high levels of amusement. Eventually, they came to a small but rather inviting-looking cafe on the beachfront so they decided to stop for some refreshments. Sam placed their order while Hank pulled up a table under a balcony looking out to the sea.

"Detective Johnson I do believe," came the familiar voice. Sam turned around to see the smiling face of the coroner behind him.

"Coron....," Sam started but she immediately held her hand up stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm off duty now, please call me Emily."

"Ok Emily, lovely to see you again. And likewise, call me Sam," he told her. Hank leaned back in his chair and scanned his eyes across the beach while Sam and Emily exchanged pleasantries. The server appeared and placed their order on the table and Emily returned to her friend.

Hank looked at his partner with raised eyebrows. "What were you saying yesterday about finding someone to impress?" Hank asked, remembering the conversation they had back in the office regarding the restaurant he had taken Beverly to the previous night. "Although saying that judging by the look in her eyes you've already done that," he joked.

"What? She....no....the coroner.... I mean Emily...she." Sam was trying to dismiss Hank's comment but even he could see that he had a point. His mind also flashed back to captain Beesley's comments about how they had never gotten a report back so quickly.

At the time he had assumed it was the personal touch. Meeting her at the crime scene and being polite and friendly but now he began to wonder and he had to admit that felt rather good. They finished off their snacks and left the table. Hank headed straight back out towards the beach while Sam went over to the table where Emily and her friend were sitting to bid them farewell.

"Remind me to check the coroner's report when we get back," Sam told his partner as he caught up with him. Hank gave him a puzzled look as he had gone over every single detail in that report; what could he have possibly missed? Sam raised a single brow as he continued, "Apparently she left her phone number on there for me." Hank stopped in his tracks and smiled to himself as he watched Sam slowly make his way across the beach.

They got back in the car and headed back to the station just in case the situation had changed. Although, as soon as they arrived they could see that captain Beesley's parking spot was still vacant so rather than go in they decided to knock off for the day and headed off home. They arrived bright and early the following morning and had been in the office for less than an hour when captain Beesley finally appeared.

"Morning guys, can I see you both in my office please?" he asked before either of them could even return the greeting, let alone ask him anything. They looked at each other, unsure what to make of this before getting up and following him down the corridor. The intrigue increased considerably when they entered the office to see detectives Brookes and Moorland already seated. Their expressions suggested that they had no clue what this was about either and were just as unhappy about being there as Sam and Hank was.

There was also a man who neither Sam nor Hank had seen before dressed in what seemed to be a rather expensive-looking suit standing in the corner of the office. "Well you four know each other already," captain Beesley began. "So all that's left to do now," he continued extending his arm out towards the man in the corner, "is to introduce you all to agent Masters of the F.B.I."