Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary enters the investigation as a potential partner to the Metropolitan Police: it may be able to supply technical assistance, handle exhibits, or take part in the transfer of a suspect. The SARS quarantine makes each possibility conditional, and the novel leaves the force’s precise operational role unresolved until the immediate need to remove an arrested man from Combe Island arises.

Role in the Investigation

As the investigation strains under isolation, Assistant Commissioner Geoffrey Harkness considers involving the local force. He argues that scene-of-crime officers and fingerprint specialists might provide technical backing if they avoid contact with anyone infected; Home Office authorization would be required. The proposal is not simply a matter of adding personnel: Kate Miskin tells Harkness that she and Sergeant Benton-Smith do not yet know whether they are infected.

Harkness nevertheless plans to speak with the chief constable at Exeter, noting that the force could at least cope with exhibits. He directs Kate and Benton-Smith to continue the investigation for the next three days, while keeping the possibility of further arrangements open. At this point, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary is a contemplated support structure rather than a force already taking over the case.

Support Under Quarantine

The uncertainty about infection turns routine police cooperation into a problem of risk management. Kate’s team needs outside capacity, but technical staff would have to avoid infected people, and the Home Office would need to authorize their involvement. As Kate lies awake fearing that the local force might take over the whole investigation, the prospect is both practical and personal: outside support could relieve a dangerously small team, but could also displace her from command.

The force’s possible contribution therefore remains bounded by competing pressures. Harkness prioritizes the double-murder investigation, while the island’s infection status makes the safety of personnel and the handling of evidence matters that cannot be set aside. The text records discussions and contingency planning, not a completed deployment of forensic staff to Combe Island.

Transfer and Custody

After Kate arrests Dan Padgett, she phones London and then Devon and Cornwall Constabulary to arrange his transfer. The decision requires consultation over infection risks and legal procedures; while she waits, she considers the questions being weighed by those responsible. The call comes back comparatively quickly, and it is agreed that Padgett must be moved. A helicopter is expected in about forty-five minutes.

This practical role contrasts with the earlier, conditional proposals for investigative assistance. The Constabulary becomes part of the response when the island can no longer retain an arrested suspect, even under quarantine. Its presence in the story is consequently defined less by institutional detail than by the boundary it helps manage between an isolated island investigation and the wider police system.