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She wondered how much patience she was going to be able to muster for these two timewasters. After her early morning call, it was already feeling like a very long day.
‘So, Mr Drury, there’s something you’d like to share with us?’
‘A-am I going to lose my job?’
Fair play to him. He was really taking on the part. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow, and he was wringing his own hands like a dish cloth.
‘My colleague out there tells me you killed a man,’ she said, trying to keep the boredom out of her voice.
‘I d-didn’t mean to. It happened so quickly.’
Speed wasn’t a factor she’d considered. Had he been running, tripped over and accidentally injected someone with a lethal dose of fentanyl on two separate occasions?
Suddenly the man burst into tears and buried his face in his hands. ‘I’m going to lose everything; my girlfriend, my job.’ He raised his head, his face contorted with fear. ‘Will I go to prison?’
He was either an Oscar winner or genuine, Kim thought, sitting forward in her chair.
‘That depends, Mr Drury. What exactly did you do?’
‘I hit him with my van. The man on Gornal Road. It was me that killed him.’
Kim couldn’t help the quick surge of elation that surged through her as she headed for the door.
THIRTY
‘Forget something, Bryant?’ Penn asked as he entered the squad room. Alone.
‘Damn, I knew I’d left something at the crime scene,’ he said, removing his jacket. ‘Talking of which, did you get the photos the guv sent?’
‘Just printing them now.’
‘Got some updates on Eric and Paul for the boss,’ Stacey said as Penn retrieved his sheets from the printer.
‘Got a bit of a traffic jam downstairs,’ Bryant said, noting the tension in Stacey’s face. ‘She’ll be up once she’s sent a couple of timewasters on their way.’
She visibly deflated with relief, giving him a clear answer on how she was dealing with the tension between the two of them.
He wasn’t sure that he and Penn were dealing with it any better. The normal axis on which their team dynamic relied was off kilter. The rift between his boss and Stacey affected him more than if it was with himself. He’d watched the bond grow between them, and it had been based on trust and respect. One of those had been totally obliterated.
He was in agreement with the guv that Stacey had dropped the ball a few times, but if you weighed her contribution to the team over the years, she had credit in abundance. There had been cases that would never have been solved had it not been for the constable’s tenacity and skill in data mining. Her gut instinct was pretty reliable too.
He knew that Stacey put in so much effort not only because of her faultless work ethic but to maintain the boss’s approval. She enjoyed being MVP, and she deserved the accolade because she oftenwasthe most valuable player on the pitch. The guv’s faith in her only gave her more confidence and enthusiasm to do her job even better.
Being sent to Siberia would be a heavy cross for her to bear, and knowing the guv as he did, he couldn’t see her warming up any time soon.
He couldn’t solve it, so damage limitation was the best he could bring to this particular party.
He wheeled his chair across the office and leaned on the desk right next to her. ‘You okay?’
She turned and nodded.
‘Anything I can do to help?’
She shook her head.
He touched her arm lightly. ‘We care about you. All of us. If there’s anything—’
‘Bryant, come and take a look at this,’ Penn said, looking up. ‘Oh, sorry.’
