The car journey that afternoon was unusually quiet. Adrian stared intently at the road ahead as they made their way to the construction site that Corrigan was on. The traffic jam added to the tension in the car. Imogen had told Adrian what PC Jarvis had told her. That he had turned the camera off to intimidate Corrigan, and that Corrigan had doubled down and threatened him back. They were going to find out what Corrigan had to say about the incident. As it was a recorded police incident they could say it popped up as part of their investigation into Simon Glover and his contacts, hopefully minimising the risk to Angela Corrigan.
‘Are we fighting?’ Imogen said after twenty minutes of silence, arms folded.
‘No. I’ve just got a headache,’ he lied.
They weren’t fighting, but he was annoyed. He didn’t need to be babysat. He wasn’t blowing this out of proportion. If Imogen had been the one who pulled Angela out of the river, then she might have been reacting in this way, too. Sometimes in the second before he woke, he saw Angela’s bright blue eye swollen and surrounded in blood. He felt her hand on his ankle. That one moment would never leave him.
‘You should follow my lead when we get there,’ Imogen said.
‘You don’t trust me?’
‘Corrigan’s one of those people who finds people’s buttons and pushes them. You’ve got more than a few buttons.’
‘Thanks,’ Adrian said.
‘After what you did to Jarvis, I don’t see how you can disagree with me.’
‘I don’t disagree. It would be nice if you had my back, though.’
‘I do. Always. Please don’t ever doubt that. This is me having your back. Who else is going to make sure you don’t get yourself fired?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means you’re a sensitive guy. That’s one of the great things about you, but it’s landed you in hot water more than once. If the DCI hears about what happened with Jarvis, you will get a serious bollocking. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, either, but you can’t just let people wind you up like that. You make it too easy for them. It’s reckless and it’s going to get you into shit with the DCI.
‘Even bloody Jarvis had the sense to turn his camera off before threatening the guy. We just need to make sure we don’t give Corrigan the rope to hang us with.’
Adrian thought about what she was saying and felt his perspective flip. She was right. If he carried on this way, then Corrigan would get off and they would be left dealing with career-altering disciplinary actions. Imogen was also right about Adrian having a lot of buttons to push. He did need to be smart about this, but could he? Probably not. He reached over and put his hand on Imogen’s, squeezing hard. Imogen wasn’t the enemy here.
‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I will get my shit together. I promise I will. Some things just get under your skin, you know?’
‘I know.’
‘I’ll let you take the lead in this interview with Corrigan.’
‘No. I’ll see if I can get anything useful out of one of his employees or something. I’m now thinking maybe your seething hatred will keep Corrigan distracted. Divide and conquer and all that,’ she said, smiling.
They pulled into the construction site and saw Corrigan standing with Chilton; he rolled his eyes when he saw them. Chilton was obviously one of Corrigan’s confidants; maybe Chilton would be the path to breaking Corrigan.
Adrian got out of the car and walked over to the two men. Corrigan’s smile broadened as they approached.
‘Detective … Miles, wasn’t it?’ Reece said, not looking at Imogen once.
‘Mr Corrigan,’ Adrian replied.
‘How can I help you?’
‘We need to speak to you again about a couple of former employees of yours.’
‘Come over to the office; it’s a bit noisy out here.’
Imogen nodded to Adrian that he should go. Maybe he could distract Corrigan for long enough for Imogen to get something out of Chilton. He gave her the nod and then followed Reece into a Portakabin.
‘Haven’t we discussed this already? I told Ruby to send you over the personnel file. Beyond that, I don’t know what else to tell you. I heard you have been asking around. I haven’t seen those boys for a while.’ Corrigan gestured for Adrian to sit in the chair opposite his desk.
‘You were close with Glover.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘Quick did, just before he killed himself in front of us,’ Adrian said, watching, waiting for Corrigan to react.
But he didn’t; he was eerily calm for a man at the centre of a police investigation.
‘That must have been quite upsetting. Did he tell you why he did it?’
‘No. No, he didn’t. I don’t suppose you have any idea?’ Adrian said.
‘Sorry, no. I didn’t know Leon that well.’
‘But you knew Simon Glover.’
‘I did. Nice guy. Really awful what happened to him. Do you know who did it?’ Corrigan said, the tone of his voice suggesting he was playing some kind of game.
‘What about the call your wife made to the police six weeks ago?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘It was the one where you threatened a uniformed officer. Ringing any bells, now?’
‘That was all a misunderstanding; my wife was just messing around. The matter is resolved.’
‘Let’s cut the shit, shall we? I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth. I’m sure you have people around you who hang on everything you say, but they don’t do it because they respect you. They do it because they are afraid of you. I have met plenty of men like you over the years and you’re all the same,’ Adrian said.
‘I doubt you’ve met anyone like me.’
‘That’s what they all say. You think you’re something special? You think you’re untouchable? You’re not. You’ll get caught. You know why?’
‘Why, Detective?’ Corrigan smiled and leaned back in his chair, amused more than anything.
‘Because you’re complacent and you rely on other people to do your dirty work for you. Not only that, but you also don’t understand that as soon as they all realise you’re going down and they don’t need to be afraid of you anymore, they’ll talk. Once we find those people and get one of them to open up, it will be like dominoes. One by one, they will flip on you.’
‘I don’t know who you think I am, Detective Miles.’
‘I think you’re so insecure that you need to beat up your wife to feel like you matter, but you don’t. You don’t matter, Mr Corrigan.’
‘Big words from a nobody. You should be careful how you speak to people, Detective Miles. I could contact your superior officer and tell him you’re being unreasonable.’
‘Her, and go ahead.’
The amused look had disappeared from Corrigan’s face. His eyes had narrowed and he was studying Adrian, sizing him up. Adrian was well and truly in Corrigan’s crosshairs now and in a way that’s where he wanted to be. Much like when he was a kid, he now wanted to draw Corrigan’s fire away from Angela. The same way he would anger his father to get his attention away from his mother.
Adrian stood. He was surprised by how familiar this feeling of satisfaction with himself was. It would probably seem strange to anyone who hadn’t grown up the way Adrian had, but to him, this was a victory. Corrigan was gunning for him now and that was exactly the way Adrian wanted it.