Page 3 of M for Murder

‘Believe me, sweetheart, the possibilities are endless.’

Following in the kid’s footsteps, they found themselves in a longer alleyway, this one wider and littered with several large dumpsters. Another fence separated them from the only apparent exit, which meant he was probably hiding somewhere.

Her eyes trying to cover all possible hiding places, Rebecca removed her baton from her belt.

Behind her, Vic was trying to sound disappointed. ‘Oh, well. Looks like he got away.’

‘I don’t think so.’

He looked at her incredulously. ‘Are you crazy? So where the hell is he then?’

‘I think he’s hiding.’

‘Sure he is, Angell. Like he wants to hang around and play games with his cop friends.’

Rebecca ignored the sarcastic comment. ‘He didn’t have time to get away and we’d have heard him if he’d climbed the fence. If we check the dumpsters…’

‘Hey! Wait a minute, wait a minute. What’s all this we?’

‘We’re partners, right?’

‘Yeah, sweetheart, except I’m the senior officer here and I say we go back to the car.’

‘We can’t just give up without checking,’ Rebecca rationalised, feeling her temper rise a notch. She didn’t take kindly to being called sweetheart.

‘Okay. You want to look? Go ahead. I’ll stay here and supervise.’ Giving her a broad grin, he leaned back against the wall and folded his arms.

Rebecca glared at him, refusing to give in. ‘Okay, fine.’

Baton in hand, she defiantly made her way towards the nearest dumpster, her temper close to snapping.

Keep it together, Angell.

She was the newest recruit in the department and couldn’t afford to start making enemies. Vic was popular with many of the officers on her shift and she didn’t doubt that, if he chose to, he could make her life a living hell.

Just bide your time, Angell. Keep him sweet for now and sooner or later you’ll get your chance for revenge.

Her father wouldn’t approve of her thought process. He was a firm believer that two wrongs never made a right.

Remember, Rebecca. Forgive those who trespass against us.

Maybe he was right, but the thought of somehow getting even with Vic Boaz was the only thing keeping her temper in check right now.

She approached the first dumpster cautiously, half expecting the boy to leap out at her with a gun or something. Maybe she should un-holster her own weapon.

Yeah, sure, you idiot. He’s just a kid, just a pickpocketing kid.

Although she scolded herself, she held on tightly to her baton. Just in case.

The dumpster stank of rotting eggs and cabbage. He wasn’t hiding down the side and, although she couldn’t imagine anyone choosing to get inside it, she checked, just to be certain.

As she suspected, the kid wasn’t there.

Moving on to the second dumpster, she hoped to hell that her hunch was right. She could just imagine the stick she would get from Vic if she was wrong.

The second dumpster also proved to be a futile search.

She could picture it now: Vic back at the precinct with his buddies, having a good laugh at the new girl’s expense.