"Happy Valentine's Day!" River twinkled as she passed Carlton a bouquet of fragrant red roses.
He raised a eyebrow, passing them with distaste into an evidence bag. "Crime scene," he warned her. "A little respect?"
River was more subdued than she cared to show. "Oh, come on," she smiled. "I'll find the romantic inside you one day."
Carlton rolled his eyes. "At the moment, you seem to be searching hard for the 'shut the hell up' inside me. Come on, let's get on with this."
He assessed the room. A young man was lying slumped in his bed, only the lack of a gentle snore giving away that he wasn't asleep. Another bed, pushed up against the opposite wall, hadn't been slept in. The occupant had decorated the walls with photos of himself and a pretty, dark-skinned girl.
The room was a mess. Although the litter bin was empty, two empty beer cans rolled around on the floor, along with an unopened card and some torn and discarded red wrapping paper. An empty chocolate box lay in the centre of the spread.
Carlton pushed through the photographers and uniforms sweeping the scene and greeted a grey-haired man bent over the body.
"Morning, John."
The pathologist smiled up at them. "Romantic idea of a date, Detective Inspector."
Carlton's face lapsed into its regular scowl. "You know perfectly well this isn't a date. What have you got?"
"His name's Danny Fordham, he's twenty years old. His room-mate's name is Benjamin Kirk, the same age. Danny died in the late last night from heart failure, probably brought on by a poison mixed with the alcohol he appears to have drunk. I'll be able to tell you more when we get him back to the lab."
Carlton pulled back an eyelid and then sniffed the corpse's lips. "Atropa belladonna," he commented.
"Very good."
He continued to examine the corpse in silence for a few moments, leaving River feeling like a spare part. She picked up the empty tray of chocolates from the floor.
"So, I'm guessing someone gave him something less than love for Valentine's day?" She asked.
John nodded. "I'm pretty sure there was something in the chocolates, though I must confess this isn't my area of expertise."
"So who gave them to him? Did he have a girlfriend? Boyfriend?"
Her question was answered from a hysterical shriek coming from outside the door. Danny's girlfriend was attempting to push her way through the lines of officers guarding the room.
"What's going on, where's Danny?" She sobbed at River, as soon as she had caught sight of the two detectives.
"What's your name, miss?" Carlton asked, patiently. Only River could catch that he was gritting his teeth. He hated any sort of weeping.
"Tina Adams. I'm Danny's girlfriend. Please, tell me what happened to him! Is he in any trouble? Don't arrest him, he's a good guy, honestly!" Tina was crying fluently now, her words becoming less and less coherent.
River gently explained what had happened. "Did you give him anything for Valentine's Day?"
"Sure." She blew her nose. "A box of chocolates and a card. Danny loved chocolates. I sent them in the post to arrive today... I didn't know if he'd be okay with seeing me. We'd had a few ups and downs lately, you see, and..."
She began to cry again. "I had to come and see him, I just had to!"
"What do you mean, 'ups and downs'?" asked Carlton, sharply.
Tina looked up at him. "Doesn't everyone?"
His lips twitched faintly. "What were the downs?"
"At his best he was lovely, but at his worst... he was unfaithful. Arrogant. He was arrested once for shoplifting. But despite all that, he was a good guy!"
"Did other people like him?"
Tina nodded. "Mostly. He was a laugh. I know he annoyed some people... he would flirt outrageously with all the girls, even if they had a boyfriend. Always drank a bit too much. But at the end of the day... he really was a people person."
Leaving River to calm the tearful Tina, Carlton headed back to the bedroom. He sniffed the chocolate box, and then tore open the red envelope lying amongst the mess.
Darling [the card read]
Let's put all this behind us. Stop fighting, start loving again.
I love you
xxx
Carlton bit his lip, his mind working furiously.
Answer (highlight to read): Danny died on the night before Valentine's Day, certainly before Tina's chocolates had arrived. Danny had in fact stolen and eaten the poisoned chocolates his room-mate Ben had bought to give to his girlfriend, who had cheated on him with Danny.
