DI Michael Robinson was feeling rather pleased with himself. The start of his working day had unexpectedly become more interesting after he’d himself been selected to co-ordinate the North Lincs search for the pantechnicon in response to the call Superintendent Thornton had put out to all adjacent police forces. It got better: twenty minutes later he received the message that one of the North Lincs squad cars had apprehended the vehicle as its driver tried to manoeuvre it down a narrow lane. Robinson anticipated that he would be rewarded with much kudos, even though the effort he’d expended had been modest. He was looking forward to the conversation with Dennis Thornton as he picked up the phone.
‘Dennis? It’s Michael here. I think we’ve got your lorry. And the driver. His name’s Aaron Buckland. He’s got form, though it’s not recent. We nabbed him in twenty minutes. Not bad, eh?’
Superintendent Thornton was worried about Tim and Juliet. Usually he appreciated DI Robinson’s larger-than-life bumptiousness, but under the circumstances he thought such joviality more than a little uncalled-for.
‘Did Buckland come quietly?’ Superintendent Thornton asked, deliberately refraining from showering DI Robinson with the gratitude he was so obviously angling for.
‘Relatively quietly, I believe. I daresay he realised the game was up. But really, Dennis, how could your lot lose such a thing as that lorry? Wasn’t it big enough for them to be able to see it properly?’ Robinson chortled down the phone.
‘My ‘lot’, as you put it, are out risking their lives to catch a murderer who’s been operating on your patch. I’m grateful for your co-operation, Michael, but you’re forgetting it’s a two-way street,’ said the Superintendent stiffly.
‘Ouch! Sorry, I’m sure!’ said DI Robinson, in a tone that suggested otherwise.
‘Yes, well, I’m busy now, Michael. I’ll call you later. We’ll want to interview Buckland as soon as possible. We may need you to have him brought here.’
‘No problem,’ said DI Robinson, ‘We can…’
Superintendent Thornton had already put down the phone.