The light was starting to fade. The daylight streaking through the windows of the MIU office, weak and dirt-filtered at the best of times, was slipping away. The overhead fluorescents were taking over.
Phil arrived at the office in a bad mood. Marina, Gwilym and Sperring couldn’t have given him a worse day if they had got together and conspired against him. He wished he could have just gone home, spent some time with his wife and daughter. Relaxed. Enjoyed life. He remembered the way Marina had been when he left. He doubted that would happen.
Elli was waiting for him.
‘Got the list,’ she said, smiling.
He stared at her, mind still on the past, not yet on the present. ‘List?’
‘Local deviants. Cross-referenced and checked, like I said I would. Yeah?’
Phil shook his head, tried to dislodge his memories, bring himself back into the present. ‘Right. The list. Yes.’ He rubbed his face, his eyes. ‘Sorry. Been a long day. A long few days.’
He looked at her. Noticed dark circles beneath her bloodshot eyes. Naturally brown skin turned pale. He knew she would have been staring at the screen all day, pulling down leads.
‘For everyone.’
She nodded. ‘You’re not wrong there. So, you want it? I’ve broken it down geographically to make it easier for the assigned teams to work on.’
‘Yeah. Thanks.’ He took the proffered printout. Elli was still standing there, staring at him. She looked about ready to drop. Phil glanced at the printout. There was a lot of work there. Good work too, by the looks of it. He knew what she was waiting for. He didn’t blame her. ‘You’ve done a great job,’ he said. ‘Really. Great job. Appreciate it.’
She gave a small smile. ‘Let’s hope it works,’ she said, nodding, taking the offered praise.
‘You been doing this all day?’
‘Mostly. Imani – DC Oliver – and me have been going through the DVDs. What larks.’
Phil clocked the look that passed over her face. The dark things flitting behind her eyes. ‘Find anything?’
‘Apart from the fact that he was a grade A sexual deviant? A few things. May take a bit of finessing to make them into something.’
‘Such as?’
‘Well, the acts are bad enough. I mean, some of them. Some of them aren’t too bad. You know. Fifty Shades, and all that. Open mind, consenting adults. Not a crime.’
Phil looked at her. Was she blushing? She had looked away from him. ‘Right. Was there something else?’ he said.
‘Yeah,’ she said, not quite making eye contact. ‘I think so. I don’t know. Well…’
Phil waited.
She looked up at him. ‘I’ve got an idea. Just… an idea.’
‘Do tell.’
She began to look uncomfortable. ‘I’m not sure I should. Like I said, it’s just an idea. Something I want to work up from the films we’ve been watching. I don’t want to tell you what it is yet in case I’m wrong and I get your hopes up. And I wouldn’t want that. No.’
Phil smiled. ‘OK. You do what you feel you have to.’
‘Thank you, boss.’
She looked uncomfortable once more, as if she’d found the physical interaction taxing and overwhelming. ‘I’d better…’
‘Don’t let me stop you. Look forward to hearing from you.’
‘Yes. Right. Oh,’ she said, nodding at the printout in his hands. ‘The teams.’
‘My next job.’
‘Right.’ She nodded, gave an embarrassed smile and disappeared.
Phil turned. Cotter was standing there grinning.
‘What?’ said Phil.
‘Elli’s a one off,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you’re discovering that.’
‘Every office has one, I think.’
‘True.’
‘She’s got a hunch she wants to work through. But she won’t tell me about it until she’s got results.’
‘That’s Elli,’ said Cotter. ‘She’s good, though. Her hunches are usually right too.’
‘I look forward to it.’
Cotter glanced round before speaking again. ‘How is everything?’
Phil’s eyes narrowed. ‘How d’you mean?’
‘The case. The team. How are you settling in now we’re in the middle of a big investigation?’
‘Fine,’ he said, aiming for circumspection.
‘No conflict?’
‘A few feathers ruffled,’ he said, ‘but nothing I can’t handle. We’ll see how it turns out.’
Cotter nodded. ‘We’ll see.’
They both stood there, silence speaking volumes between them.
‘Right,’ said Phil. He looked at the papers in his hands. ‘I’m off to organise the teams.’
He turned and left. Feeling Cotter’s eyes on him, watching him go.
Judging him still.