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He’d seen the bond between them the moment he’d joined the team, and it had only grown and strengthened in the years since. He knew that the boss would feel betrayed by Stacey’s actions.
None of those things were of interest to him when Stacey walked through the door.
‘Hey, buddy, are you okay?’
‘Don’t be nice to me. I don’t think I can take it right now,’ she said, sliding into her seat.
‘Can’t even imagine what you’ve been going through.’
She held up her hand and shook her head. ‘Penn, I just can’t.’
‘Got it, but I’m here if you need me.’
‘I know,’ she whispered, blinking back tears.
‘Right, let’s crack on and tackle our tasks, eh?’ Penn said, prepared to give her every bit of space she needed.
TWENTY-THREE
‘What part of I don’t want to discuss it do you not understand?’ Kim asked as Bryant headed towards the address she’d given him. He hadn’t stuck around to chat with Penn, just followed her straight out the door to the car.
‘The part where you don’t want to discuss it,’ Bryant answered. ‘I mean, everything else aside, can you even imagine what she’s been going through?’
And that was why she wasn’t open to talking about it. Bryant would guide her towards empathy, and she wasn’t there yet.
‘Did you call Laura yet?’ she asked.
‘Wow, nice attempt at diversion and the answer is no. I haven’t had the time.’
‘The longer you leave it, the worse it’s going to be. If you’re as close as you think you are, she’s going to know there was something off about your reaction last night despite the handshakes, hugs and congratulatory toast. Don’t let that be the thing she remembers about this special time in her life.’
‘Cheers, guv. I’ll think about it. At the same time, I’ll consider whether I should ask you a question when I already know the answer is no, because your mood would be way worse than it is.’
‘Wow, way too early. What are you talking about?’
‘Yeah, I thought not,’ he said. ‘Frost has published an article online. You’re not going to like it, and why I’m telling you this while we’re in the confined space of my car I have no idea.’
She groaned as she took out her phone. It took her less than three seconds to find it. She read it and then read it again.
She switched from the internet back to her contacts and scrolled to the appropriate number.
‘What the fuck, Frost?’ she bellowed when the reporter answered.
‘Morning, Inspector. You’re late. I expected your call five past the second the article went live.’
‘I’ve got two issues here. First is that you’re making the Sentinel sound like a bloody hero.’
‘That’s not true. I’ve condemned his actions.’
‘While asking if he had a reason to take Eric Gould’s life. You use words like “bold” and “confident”, making the readers think he’s out there doing good things. It’s about the tone, Frost, and you bloody well know it.’
‘Luckily my editor’s opinion overrules yours, and he was happy with the tone. What’s your other problem? I’m just dying to know.’
‘Don’t be coy. It doesn’t suit you. You know that when you use words like “lacklustre” and “distracted” in relation to the police investigation, you’re not only going to hit a nerve but also diminish the public’s confidence in us.’
‘It’s my objective observation. You should be thanking me that I didn’t detail just how you found out about the disruption at the crime scene. When were you going to turn up if I hadn’t called you?’
‘Frost, you—’
