Page 5 of 36 Hours

She was just deciding whether to have a snooze in bed or make the jam on toast now when her phone dinged a notification.

Her breath caught. The boss was posting in the team group.

Two words.

‘Okay, hun, I’m off so?—’

‘One sec, Dee, can you give me three minutes and then drop me off at work?’

She fled to the bedroom already knowing what the answer would be. It wouldn’t take her any longer than those three minutes to get ready for the message that simply read:

Station. Now.

FIVE

6.30 A.M.

Every single member of her team entered the squad room and stayed silent when they saw who was sitting at the spare desk.

Although Frost had been of assistance to them in the past, not one of them ever forgot what she was. Kim was sure they were all wondering what she was doing in their office after an urgent call to assemble.

‘I would imagine you’d all like to know why you’ve been called in,’ she said, grabbing the copies of the email she’d sent to the printer. ‘And if you just give me one?—’

‘What the hell kind of game is this, Stone?’ Woody asked, striding into the room. His rigid expression didn’t soften upon spotting Frost sitting in the corner. A raised eyebrow was enough for her to know he was wondering what the hell she was doing in the station.

‘That’s what we’re about to figure out, sir,’ Kim offered, handing them all a piece of paper.

Her request for her boss, DCI Woodward, to attend had contained more words but no less urgency.

The squad room was currently awash with denim and sweatshirts.

‘I’ll give you all a minute to read the email Frost received a couple of hours ago.’

Woody was the first to finish.

‘Is this some kind of joke? You called everyone in on a Sunday morning for this nonsense?’ he asked, waving the paper in the air.

‘Sir, please read it again,’ Kim advised.

She, more than anyone, could understand how on the first reading it appeared to be no more than a hoax. She’d been ten seconds away from dragging Frost out of her house by the nostril, but once she’d moved past the initial dismissal and read it again, the cold formality and lack of sensationalism offered a more chilling perspective.

‘I’m still thinking it’s some kind of prank, Stone,’ he said, although some of the ice had thawed from his voice.

‘But what if it’s not?’ Kim asked, using Frost’s words on her boss.

He considered her response before shaking his head. ‘You know I can’t sanction a full investigation based purely on this.’

She was tempted to ask him if he’d prefer a dead body, but she respected him enough that she would never challenge him in front of the team.

‘You know that authorising this would be a fast track to medical retirement.’

She nodded, knowing he spoke the truth. Their job was to investigate major incidents – murder, assault, armed robbery…not the receipt of a dodgy email. The chief inspector would have Woody’s job. There was no question: he was shutting her down before they’d even begun.

As her team silently glanced at each other, Woody took a look at his watch.

‘And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to collect my granddaughter for a day out. What you choose to do with your Sunday is your own affair, Stone. I’ll see you in my office at 8a.m. tomorrow.’

‘Yes, sir,’ she said with a smile and a nod as he turned and left the squad room.