AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Hang on, I thought you said things with Devon were okay.’
‘They are…they were…I mean…’
‘What did you say when she told you about the boss’s suspicions?’ Alison asked, narrowing her gaze.
‘Nothing, we just talked and—’
‘You asked her if she did it, didn’t you?’
Stacey nodded.
‘Oh shit, Stace. Talk about opening your mouth to change feet. Are you really on a mission to see how many of your closest people you can piss off in one week?’
Stacey couldn’t argue. She’d known the minute the words were out of her mouth that she’d overstepped the line. Devon had showered and left for work before any more words could pass between them. A curt text this morning had informed her that she’d gone to her mum’s for some kip between night shifts.
‘You gotta put it right, girl,’ Alison said. ‘There are some things said in arguments that don’t wear away with time.’
‘Alison, with all due respect, shut up. Jeez, it’s annoying having a profiler for a best mate.’
‘Yeah, true. I once dated a nutritionist who detailed every harmful ingredient in a bag of smoky bacon crisps. No fun.’
Stacey smiled, turning back to the board.
She loved Alison to bits, but right now she just wanted time in her own head while she completed the first task of the day.
She’d expected the conversation with the boss to get heated. Stacey was caught between the woman she loved with every ounce of her being and a woman who had her loyalty, trust and respect.
Despite their words the night before, Stacey knew Devon hadn’t been involved in TerenceBirch’s death. She knew the boss would discover that soon enough. Any other option just wasn’t possible.
What had shaken her during their conversation was the depth of rage the boss had shown.
She was beginning to understand just how poorly she’d judged the people around her. She knew her work performance had suffered the last couple of months and yet the boss had had her back, checking on her, covering for her.
She was sick to death of this feeling inside – powerlessness, weakness, a lack of control. He was dead. He was gone. He didn’t have the power to hurt her any more.
She wanted her life back. She wanted herself back. She wanted to feel joy again when she walked in her own front door. She wanted to earn back the boss’s respect. She wanted to be the person that the boss always called.
It was time to remove and burn the victim tee shirt she’d been wearing for way too long.
And her first move was to show the boss that she was able to do her job.
SIXTY-SIX
Kim was still trying to wrap her head around Curtis Jones’s involvement with the Black Country Angels when Bryant pulled up at the address of their most recent victim.
She suddenly remembered Rufus saying something about Curtis not having had it easy as a child. A fact that hadn’t mattered much at the time but mattered a whole lot more now. It was something she’d be asking him to explain once they’d spoken to the woman widowed in the last few hours.
The door was answered by a woman dressed in jogging bottoms, trainers and a tee shirt.
Her eyes were red but not deadened or numb. This wasn’t Mrs Yates.
Both Kim and Bryant held up their IDs.
‘Come in. I’m Amy Petracek, Katie’s sister.’
Amy pointed to the hallway, indicating her sibling was at the rear of the house.
Kim found Katie Yates sitting at a picnic bench table that was too big for the small kitchen.
