Page 56 of 36 Hours

‘Lack of good sense, foolishness,’ Frost read from her screen.

‘Thanks for?—’

‘Or a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park.’

‘What follies are there in the Black Country?’ Kim said, turning to Stacey.

‘Broadway Tower,’ she answered.

‘Alice’s Folly at the Black Country Metal Works,’ Bryant said.

‘Lots of follies at Hawkstone Park and other country homes open to the public,’ Stacey bounced back.

‘Ramble high,’ Kim said. ‘So strike any that are in the gardens of stately homes. Now what the hell is b4? Are we dealing with a teenager who doesn’t use complete words?’

‘He hasn’t done that in any other clue,’ Bryant observed.

‘Hang on,’ Kim said as a sudden thought struck her. ‘There are four stones at the top of Clent, but they’re not a f?—’

‘Oh yes they are,’ Stacey said, reading excitedly from the screen. ‘The mystical site was erected around 1763 by workers for the eccentric Lord Lyttleton of Hagley Hall.’ Stacey paused before continuing. ‘And on a clear day you can see Black Mountain in the?—’

Kim didn’t wait for Stacey to finish before she grabbed her coat and ran.

FORTY-TWO

8.40P.M.

Stacey glanced towards the Bowl before taking out her list of names again.

Penn had turned his back, but she could tell he wasn’t resting from the fingers drumming on the desk.

She just hoped he came out in a better state of mind. She also couldn’t help feeling mortified that his outburst had been witnessed by Frost, whose opinion of her colleague might now be inaccurate.

‘I don’t care,’ Frost said as though reading her thoughts.

‘How’d you know what I was thinking?’ Stacey asked.

‘Your eyes are darting from me to him and I’m not stupid. Plus, as I said, I don’t care.’

Stacey realised that the woman could sit in that seat for a hundred years and she still wasn’t going to warm to her.

She turned her attention back to the list of volunteers who had assisted with the litter-pick what felt like three days ago but had only been that morning.

The names blurred into one mass of scribble. She tried to blink away the weights that were attached to her eyes. For the first time since 7a.m., she felt the seeds of frustration. She’d been at the screen for almost fourteen hours with barely a toilet break. They were all tired. She knew that, but it was starting to feel that no one was looking out for her.

Again, she stared at the names, wondering where to start.

‘Take a break, Stace,’ said a voice from above.

She hadn’t even noticed Penn leave the Bowl against the boss’s instructions.

‘I’m fine. I just need to?—’

‘I know exactly what you need to do. I’m back, Stace. I outrank you, and I’m ordering you to take a break.’

FORTY-THREE

8.50P.M.