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

Chapter One

The child three aisles down had grown tired of his mother gossiping to her friend and not giving him enough attention. He decided to let out an ear-piercing scream accompanied with a stream of snot and tears.

Spoilt brat.

Morgan sighed as she grabbed the second bottle of red wine from the top shelf. The commotion had brought a throbbing headache to her. She used her index finger to run her temple in a circular motion until she reached the self-service checkout. She mentally reminded herself to bring her noise cancelling earphones on her next shop. At the age of thirty-five Morgan had no children and planned on not having one anytime soon. She paid for her items that would last until tomorrow – maybe stretch until Sunday, and the left the supermarket.

She jumped as a car horn blared beside her. The culprit was a black BMW new series that hitched up the kerb. Annoyed, she tapped her cold knuckles against the tinted windows. A beautiful blonde with flawless makeup appeared as the window wound down.

"Hi Detective!" The blonde chirped. Morgan had noticed her Liverpudlian accent had started to weaken after spending seven years in London.

"Evening Layla." Morgan responded and bent down further to see the driver and muttered. "Silas."

"Detective." His deep Romanian accent spoke. "Layla my dear, are you okay from here? I need to have a word with the Detective."

"Charming as ever." Morgan rolled her eyes and checked her watch.

"I won't keep you long Detective, just need to discuss some business with you. It looks as if you are expecting company."

"Yes, with paperwork. Park down the street next to my building and I will let you into the lobby." She ordered as Layla climbed out of the car. Morgan carefully assessed the girl's attire: a tight electric blue dress with a cream fur coat, no tights, and silver high heels. Her long hair usually styled in a high ponytail was down and in loose waves. She must have been awared employee of the month.

"You best get in Detective, it's freezing tonight." Layla offered politely. Morgan smiled at the small gesture and looked at Silas who beamed with pride. She thanked Layla and climbed into the warm passenger seat.

"I will see you in the morning Silas. Phone is on full battery." She reassured him before she softly gripped Morgan's forearm. "It is so good to see you again Detective." And she vanished in the crowd of people lingering on the high street.

Silas helped Morgan with her shopping once they parked in her building's underground carpark. She kindly waved to the concierge and he greeted Silas with a nod.

Morgan has previously helped him with a personal case. She noticed for weeks he had been nervous and on edge. He finally plucked the courage and stopped Morgan in the lobby when she returned home one night. She took his case and investigated in her own personal time using some resources from her office. Now every night he could tuck his son safely into bed while the groomer rotted behind bars.

"I see nothing has changed." Silas whistled in admiration when Morgan unlocked the door and invited him inside. She rolled her eyes and locked the door behind her.

Her flat was spacious and expensive. Money had been no object to Morgan, in childhood her parents brought her everything she wanted. Her career in the Serious Crime Unit had paid for her flat with ease with extra left. She placed this in the savings account she had opened during her days in the Army. Her extra income – that she had kept a secret for years, was hidden in the safe locked in her study.

"Drink?" Morgan offered. Silas politely declined. "How is business?" She asked as she reached to get a wine glass from the rack above the kitchen island and poured the crimson liquid in to it.

"New shop opened in King's Cross. Word on the street is the stock is more exotic." He muttered and took a seat on one of the stools.

"I'll do some digging. You keep your head down, the last thing we need three weeks before Christmas is a turf war." She assured him as she took a mouthful of wine.

"Stock is low too." Silas blurted out and Morgan placed her glass on the counter.

"What happened to the supplier you had a contact with?"

"Deal in Waterloo was a set up. Feds were tipped off. Poor bastard is banged up."

"Fucking idiots. What have you been giving punters?"

"That is why majority of the punters have left; we have nothing." He shrugged.

"I will get you in contact with Teddy. He will cover a small amount until a plan comes into action." She grabbed a disposable phone from the drawer underneath the microwave.

"You know Teddy only supplies in the hard stuff. You of all people know how hard that shit is to shift. Punters want to glorify the experience, you know, with no complications. Plus, I have to think of my girls."

"You really are the gift that keeps on giving." Morgan mocked as she started to write on her notepad. "I will contact Mason and see what he can do."

"You are the best." He paused and reached his hand towards her. "Say, you are too pretty to be working as a police officer."

"Detective." She corrected him and cocked her eyebrow. She put the phone to her ear. The call was short, supplies arranged to be picked up the day after tomorrow.

"Layla and Ruth watched some American cop show last night, they said it's what you do?" Silas asked.

"It's not as glamorous as it's shown on TV." She replied agitated. She detested the comparison between factual and fictional criminal profiling.

"How come?"

"Am I being interviewed by a drug-selling pimp?" She raised her eyebrow and took a sip of her wine; almost finishing it.

"Rich coming from a DCI who has shares in brothels and arranges the supplies of drugs for said pimp who runs the business for her?" He smirked wickedly at her and she bit her lip in amusement.

"The last case I solved involved a global trafficking ring. One girl we kept a close eye on was murdered by someone nicknamed Stitches. She had just turned fifteen." She swallowed the rest of her wine.

"Fuck." He muttered and ran his hands over his ash blonde buzzcut hair. "I heard of him, he started on prostitutes around Soho. Scared the crap out of the girls, we had to put in more security. Almost killed our business."

"Well he accelerated and started moving onto trafficking websites for young girls."

"Did you recover the girl's body?"

"Her remains were found in Epping Forrest with two others he brought from different auctions." Morgan muttered and shook her head.

"Did you catch him?"

"We caught him." Silas looked at her with amusement. "After the raid, we gained access to their website and located the buyer. Idiot didn't bother trying to hide."

"Fuck." Was all he could mutter.

"Silas, I want you to promise me something. Keep an eye on those girls. This line of work is dangerous, and I've studied enough sadistic criminals to know what they are capable of."

"You can count on me Detective." He got up from the stood. Morgan walked around the island and Silas put his hand up towards her. "No need to see me out Detective. Relax, put your feet up and enjoy your wine." He smiled and left her apartment.