Gabe

‘That’s it.’ Juliet tapped her mouse and pushed away from her desk. ‘Armed assistance is confirmed.’

We’d wolfed down chips while staring at our computer screens, wading through the reams of virtual paperwork necessary for a last minute and potentially volatile operation. I’d spent the last ten minutes clicking through transcripts of Dunlow’s interviews, hopeful I’d find something to conclusively prove his guilt so I could stop all of this.

If one of our suspects didn’t arrive tomorrow, this case would be over. Angela would order us to shelve it, placing it at the same priority level as other cold cases while we moved onto solving fresh crimes. My first time leading would be a failure.

If any of them did arrive, then my instincts would be proven wrong. My past, as much as I tried to forget it, would have intruded. My softer side would have won over hard logic.

I would rather catch Melanie’s killer than be vindicated. If someone did appear tomorrow morning on that Bronze Age burial mound, then I’d push down all my fears and doubts. This wasn’t about me. I would deal with my own inadequacies once we’d brought Melanie’s killer to justice. It didn’t matter if her murderer was a groundskeeper I pitied, an arrogant yet scared older son, or a young man who had let his jealousy overcome him.

Jordan may have already taken the bait. I didn’t know if he was desperate to stop Leo from blabbing, or if he’d spotted a good chance to terrorise him.

Juliet and I shrugged our coats on. I jumped at my name being called as we walked out of our office.

Paul leant against his doorframe. ‘Do you have a minute?’

‘What do you need her for?’ Juliet snapped.

‘Are you Gabe’s keeper?’

Juliet glared across the open plan floor. ‘I hope you’ve not been working his case as well,’ she hissed at me.

‘What?’ I resisted the urge to elbow her. ‘When would I have had time for that?’

Juliet’s expression didn’t soften. ‘Don’t let him keep you too long.’

She stalked off towards the lifts, leaving me to walk between abandoned desks to the other side of the floor. Paul’s office was a mirror of mine and Juliet’s, but the similarities stopped at the worn carpet and beige walls. Whereas ours was crammed with two desks and long lines of filing cabinets, Paul’s office was spacious and light. His desk faced the door and a window looked out over the main floor space. I didn’t know if mine and Juliet’s office originally had a window, but that wall was covered by a huge corkboard. A filing cabinet stood in one corner of Paul’s office, the top crowded with flourishing plants. Opposite his desk, comfy seats made any visitor welcome.

‘Sit, sit,’ Paul urged distractedly while he rifled through his desk drawers.

I took the seat nearest the door, trying to work out why he’d called me in. Juliet would roll her eyes if it was to show me the latest exploits of his sons. They both wanted to be police officers like their dad, so had been uncontrollably delighted when I’d let them play with my handcuffs the last time Paul had me over for dinner.

‘There it is.’ He straightened, holding a Twix. He unwrapped it and took out one bar, holding the other over the desk.

I took it automatically. ‘Thank you?’

‘Clink, clink.’ He shook his section of the chocolate bar at me.

I raised mine to tap his, familiar with his post-case ritual. ‘Paul, I have no idea what’s going on.’

He took a healthy bite from his half of the Twix. ‘I’m sensing that.’

I frowned at him before nibbling off a section of chocolate-covered biscuit. It would be rude to refuse.

Paul shoved the rest of the chocolate bar into his mouth and hummed happily. ‘We caught the Barretts.’

I covered my flinch by taking another bite of caramel and biscuit. Habit had numbed me to the sight of Krystal’s face as I walked across the main floor. I should have realised that the only case Paul would be celebrating closing was hers.

I swallowed. ‘Congratulations. Where did you find them?’

‘Where do you think?’ Paul nodded at the chocolate bar melting over my fingers. ‘Why else would I invite you to share the Twix of Glory?’

I racked my brain and came back empty. ‘I’m not following.’

‘Your tip about warehouses,’ Paul crowed. ‘Even when we’re not working together, we’re a dream team.’

I was unendingly glad Juliet had left without me. If she’d heard Paul’s claim that we’d been working together unofficially, I would have been on her shit list for weeks.

I popped the last bite of Twix into my mouth and licked the melted chocolate off my fingers. ‘That was not a tip, more like a throwaway comment.’

‘Throwaway or no, it was a good shout.’

I tried to smile at him, but even the chocolate crowding my belly couldn’t raise my spirits. Paul tipped his head to one side. ‘I hear you haven’t closed your case?’

‘Yeah.’ I tucked my hands under my legs. ‘We thought we had the guy who did it, but there isn’t enough to charge him. And new evidence has thrown other suspects back in the ring.’

‘Those cases are the worst.’ Paul pulled his face into an exaggerated frown. He’d done the same when his youngest son complained of the epic unfairness of his brother staying up for an extra half hour while he had to go to bed. It was hard not to let my lips curve into a small smile.

‘I followed my gut, and it didn’t get us anywhere. In fact, it probably led us in the wrong direction.’

Paul stood and limped around his desk, taking a seat in the chair beside me. He gripped my shoulder. ‘Hey.’ He waited for me to look at him before he dropped his hand to a knee that would be twinging after he’d neglected to use his stick for even such a short distance. ‘You’re still getting used to this, I forget that sometimes. You have to remember; we’re all working with the information we have. Some of that is facts from the case and some of that is the experiences we’ve had that inform how we feel about the things and people we encounter. Your gut was invaluable on my case, and it might have slowed things down on yours. That’s okay. It’s not something that will go away, but you’ll learn to refine it with time.’

He wrinkled his nose. ‘It doesn’t help that you’re working with the automaton over there. She’d make anyone feel inadequate for being so human as to feel things and make mistakes.’

I looked down at my lap. It wasn’t Juliet’s fault I’d messed up, but Paul wouldn’t appreciate any attempt to defend her. I wasn’t sure everyone else was as affected by their past as me, but I’d take all the comfort I could get. I wouldn’t let it get in my way again.

‘A good night’s sleep, and you’ll feel better.’

I stood, recognising a dismissal when I heard one. ‘Thank you for letting me know about the Barretts.’ I paused at the door. ‘Have you told anyone where the tip came from?’

Paul was back behind his desk. He might have shared his post-case Twix with me, but his job was far from over. To make sure the Barretts faced justice, he would be filling in forms and fielding emails for a while to come.

‘Not yet.’

‘Could you not?’ I leant against the door frame. ‘Only, Juliet will get pissy with me for working any other case but ours.’

Paul saluted. ‘Got to keep the evil overlord happy.’

‘Thanks.’

I walked across the quiet floor to the lift. Paul might think my intuition was to be trusted, but I knew better. I’d gotten lucky with the Barretts. Someone not so inclined to think well of me would be able to see that. It would be all too easy to link my incompetence in Melanie’s case to random chance with Krystal’s. They would only have to take a quick look at my file to discover why I was so preoccupied by warehouses and people with tragic pasts.

I pressed the lift button and took a deep breath. At least part of this would be over tomorrow. Someone would turn up in the woods, or we would be left waiting. I had to hope for the former, even if it sent the chips and chocolate in my stomach churning.