Rob stopped his car short of the security barrier and wound down the window of his Ford Capri. The man on security duty stepped out of the small boxy building and wandered over. He looked the car over, nodding with a pouting bottom lip as he approached.
“Nice car,” he commented.
“Thanks,” Rob replied, his voice guarded, wondering where the guard was going with this, if anywhere. In an attempt to keep him from passing any further comment, Rob held up his ID. “Here you go.”
The guard peered at the warrant card and then nodded. “Very well, Inspector. I take it you’ve been here before?”
“A few times.”
“Then you know the drill. Sign in at reception. They’ll tell you where to go.”
“Thanks,” Rob replied as the guard nodded to someone behind the tinted glass. A second later, the barrier rose up, wobbling in its housing. It looked like it had seen better days, but then, that was most police buildings, wasn’t it?
Rob drove in, and as he navigated his way into the car park, he spotted Scarlett leaning against her purple Polo with her arms crossed. She saw him and waved. Rob turned into a parking space close by. A glance in his mirror revealed Scarlett walking over.
Gathering his things, Rob climbed out of his Capri, he smiled at Scarlett as he inserted his key and locked the door.
“That must get annoying,” Scarlett commented, nodding to his hand.
Rob shrugged. “You get used to it.”
“Mmm, give me central locking any day of the week.”
She had a point, but it was part of the charm. Something which Belle had in spades compared to the bland, all singing, all dancing, modern cars of today. “You’ve scrubbed up,” Rob commented, noting her freshly pressed skirt suit, heels, neatly arranged hair and the make-up she wore.
She raised an eyebrow. “It’s our first day here. I want to make a good impression.” She nodded to him. “Unlike some.”
It was Rob’s turn to raise an eyebrow at Scarlett’s good-natured dig. “I’m setting expectations low, so they underestimate me,” he answered in a conspiratorial tone.
She gave him a hasty up-and-down inspection, tilted her head and said, “I see. Consider my expectations set.”
Rob had been here many times before and didn’t see a need to try and make any kind of impression. Quite the opposite, he wanted to blend in. It turned out that Bill Rainault had been right. Busting his own DCI had painted something of a target on his back in the weeks since making the arrest.
“I’ll enjoy watching you chase down some local scrotes in those.” Rob pointed to her impractical heeled shoes, something he’d not really seen her wear before.
She seemed to stiffen as she took in his comment. “Why would I run anywhere in these, when I can get you to do the running for me?”
Rob shrugged. “Fair enough.” Her heckles were clearly raised, so he decided not to pursue this line of banter.
“Also, piss off. I’ll wear what I want, and I doubt we’ll be banging any heads together today.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Don’t disrespect the shoes.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t.”
“Good.” Her tone was clipped. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them as they walked towards the nearby building, following the signs for the reception. “Besides, I have some flats with me,” she quipped.
“You’ve come prepared.”
“I take this job seriously, you know.”
“Oh, I know. Unlike some,” he commented. “Curby’s due before the courts in a few weeks by the way, just after Orleton.”
“I heard,” Scarlett replied. “Hopefully, they’ll both be sent down for a long time.”
“One can hope. Christ, it’s early. I hope Nailer doesn’t make a habit of these early starts.”
“We’re meeting Nailer now, right?”
“We’re meeting the whole team, I think. Nailer made his choices as to who he wants on it,” Rob explained, having heard from Nailer recently while they were finishing up the Sherwood Murder case.
The case had been one of the most intense Rob had ever taken on, not least because he’d been seconded to the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, which deals with the most serious and violent crimes in the area. His former boss, Superintendent Landon, who was now running the Nottinghamshire arm of the Unit, had brought Rob in after he’d responded to a call where a body was discovered in Sherwood Forest. That case led to the eventual discovery that his boss, DCI Peter Orleton, had been the murderer. He’d been corrupted by a local gang, and after the arrest of Peter, they eventually tracked down and arrested Curby, the gang leader, following a tip-off.
“I take it I’m on the team, then,” Scarlett stated.
Rob smiled. “You’ve made something of an impression, I think.”
“Maybe I’ll make another impression today.”
“I’m saying nothing. You look very nice.”
“Once bitten, twice shy?”
Rob grunted in reply.
Scarlett smiled. “Well, thank you. It’s good to see that you can be a civilised human being when you want to be.”
“It takes a lot of effort.” Rob sighed dramatically and then pulled open the main door into reception for her. He followed Scarlett in, taking in the space with its main reception desk and the Nottinghamshire Police logo inlaid into the floor.
Rob held out his ID to the uniformed receptionist, and Scarlett did the same. “I’m DI Rob Loxley. We’re here to meet DCI John Nailer.”
“DCI Nailer?” the woman asked.
“That’s right.”
“And you are?” She looked up at Scarlett.
“DC Scarlett Stutely,” she answered, while the receptionist looked over her screen.
“Okay, can you both sign in please?” She tapped on the signing-in book as she checked the screen of her PC. “I see. Okay, so you’re being transferred here. Alright. Well, DCI Nailer is due to meet you at the EMSOU office this morning. So if you go through that door to the end, turn left, head upstairs and come back this way, you’ll find the office. It's sign posted. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you,” Rob replied, and with a glance at Scarlett, they made their way across reception to the door, and opened it with their IDs.
As Rob went to step through, a uniformed officer appeared in the doorway from a side corridor. “Oh, sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay,” Rob replied but noted the frown that had suddenly appeared on the officer's face. The frown turned to a look of disgust.
“Grass,” the officer muttered under his breath and made sure to bang his shoulder into Rob's as he stopped waiting and barged through the door, past Rob and into Scarlett. She yelped and grabbed the frame to steady herself as the man strode through.
“Bloody hell,” she gasped.
“I think he recognised me,” Rob said, watching the man walk off. This was far from the first time he’d encountered other officers who disagreed with what he’d done, and he guessed it wouldn’t be the last, either.
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“You okay?”
“I might be reconsidering my choice of footwear, but other than that, I’m fine.”
Rob smirked. “Come on.”
They set off along the corridor, passing other officers going about their morning’s work. These strangers nodded or smiled at them, but Rob felt sure he caught a couple who recognised him as their smiles turned to frowns, which were followed by whispers that he struggled to make out.
But this was hardly a new thing for him, and although he noticed it more since putting Peter away, it was a familiar feeling that he was very much used to.
“Rob?”
The female voice came from a side room he’d just passed. Feeling on guard, he considered ignoring it, before finally slowing and looking back.
Scarlett caught his eye and gave him a questioning look.
Rob shrugged. A moment later, a woman dressed similarly to Scarlett appeared. She was a little shorter, though, with softer features and mousy hair rather than Scarlett’s blonde.
“Rob! I thought it was you.”
“Matilda.” Rob recognised her and relaxed. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“I could say the same,” she replied with a raised eyebrow.
“I’ve been transferred. I’ll be working here from now on with EMSOU.”
“Oh, congratulations. I thought for a moment that… well, maybe you’d been shunted off to some desk job, somewhere.”
“Nope. Not yet anyway. There’s still time, I guess. But no. What about you? You’re here early… or should I say, late?”
“Early,” she confirmed, flashing her smile at him.
“I didn’t know you came out here?”
“I get around.” She smiled. “I’m out here a fair amount. I’ve been to most of the stations around the city by now.”
Rob nodded approvingly. “Excellent…”
Beside him, Scarlett coughed.
“Oh, sorry. This is Scarlett?” Rob asked. “This is Matilda, Duty Solicitor to the stars.”
Matilda scoffed. “Hardly. Nice to meet you, Scarlett.” She shook the DC’s hand.
“Likewise. Should I continue on and leave you two to it?”
“No, no.” Rob glanced at Scarlett, who was giving him a curious look. He wasn’t sure what she was trying to tell him but guessed she wanted to get a move on. Rob turned back to address Matilda. “Sorry, we’re due to meet our new DCI upstairs.”
“Well, I’d better not keep you,” she said with a smile. “I’ll see you around?”
“Sure,” Rob replied. “See ya.”
He walked up the corridor with Scarlett in silence until they turned the corner and made their way toward the stairs. He could sense the pregnant air around them as if Scarlett wanted to say something but was holding it in. He was about to ask about it when she suddenly spoke up.
“Well, she was certainly flirting with you.”
“What?” The comment surprised him. “No. She was just being friendly. We’ve sat across from each other in interviews, and she’s joined us on some pub nights before. That’s all.”
“No, no, no, no. Trust me.” Scarlett looked him in the eye. “She wants a little more from you than that.”
Rob held Scarlett's gaze for a few moments as he considered her words. He wasn’t sure what to think about that at all. “You think?”
“Oh, I’m certain,” Scarlett deadpanned, adding an unnecessary eye roll.
Rob pulled a face as he thought about it. She could be mistaken, of course, but Scarlett did seem to be a good judge of character. He sighed, fully aware of his singleton status, which was at least partially by choice.
He’d had relationships before and wasn’t necessarily against the idea, but he had reservations. They were a tie for a start. He also knew far too many officers who ended up single due to the demands of the job, and then there were the ever-present shadows cast over him by his family.
It might have been years since he’d had any serious communication with them, apart from occasionally and accidentally running across them, but they still played on his mind more than he cared to admit. They knew what he did for a job, and he knew their interest in the police was… Well, it was complicated, and Rob’s position as a detective presented them with a potential opportunity. An opportunity that he suspected his family had tried to exploit on more than one occasion, including through one girlfriend that he believed had been more than what she appeared.
Did he want to take the risk of exposing himself to that again, or worse still, exposing an innocent woman to the potential dangers that would come with getting too close to him?
For years his answer to that had been a resounding no, and as of right now, he had no desire to change that.
“Okay, well, I appreciate your insight.”
Scarlett eyed him as they climbed the stairs, clearly curious. “You’re not interested?”
Rob shrugged. “I dunno. I’m… I have a lot going on right now.”
“Don’t we all.”
“Mmm.” It was a poor excuse, but he did not want to get into this now. Luckily, she seemed to pick up on his hesitancy.
“Alright, well, it’s none of my business, I suppose.”
“Yup.”
They reached the upper floor and set off along a corridor. Following the signs that pointed towards the EMSOU offices, Rob spotted DCI Nailer and DS Nick Miller chatting in the hall.
“Aaah, Rob, Scarlett, you made it,” Nailer called out as they approached. He smiled at them, beaming. “Sorry for the early start, but we have a busy day ahead.”
“That’s okay,” Rob lied. He heard Scarlett quietly scoff beside him. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world. We’re ready and raring to go.”
“Are you indeed?” Nick asked. “So, you’re ready for a day of hard graft as the newest members of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit? You’re ready to get your hands dirty?”
Rob frowned at Nick’s curious tone and decided to throw it back to him. “Are you?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I am too.”
“Excellent.” Nick sported a shit-eating grin. He knew something Rob didn’t.
“What are we missing here?” Scarlett asked, giving voice to Rob’s suspicions. Nick seemed entirely too pleased with himself for Rob’s liking. “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Nailer began and reached out for the handle on the door beside him. “Welcome to our new office.” He opened the door and walked in.
Nick waved them in, suggesting they should follow Nailer.
With a suspicious frown, Rob did as Nick suggested and stepped through the door with gritted teeth, expecting a surprise of some kind.
The lights flickered on, illuminating the shadows the outside light didn’t reach through the closed blinds. The room was modest in size, but beyond a general impression of its dimensions, it was tough to make out the layout, because the room had been filled with boxes. Filing boxes had been piled up throughout the room, with a few winding pathways between them that seemed to have been made entirely at random. Dust floated in the shafts of light, and there was a musty smell that seemed to hang in the air.
Rob stared at the clutter in silence for several seconds. “What the hell’s all this?”
“Don’t tell me that’s our caseload,” Scarlett asked.
“Um, no. Well, not all of it anyway,” Nailer replied. “From what I understand, after the temporary disbanding of the Nottinghamshire Unit, their unused office became a dumping ground for files and evidence.”
“So, guess what,” Nick asked, “we get to do on our first day here.”
Rob rolled his eyes. “Oh, crap.”
“I knew I’d worn the wrong bloody shoes for this,” Scarlett groused.
“They’re very nice shoes,” said a voice from behind them. Rob turned to see three more people walk in, led by a woman in a trouser suit with short hair. Behind her, two men followed and fanned out.
Rob recognised the female officer, DC Ellen Dale, and DC Tucker Stafford, a short, stocky man who was carrying a little extra weight. The third man Rob hadn’t seen before, but he had a trim physique, a shock of light brown hair and wore by far the trendiest suit of them all, complete with waistcoat.
“You know Ellen and Tucker,” Nailer began.
“I do.” They’d been working with Nailer for a while, so he was familiar with them.
“Morning Rob,” Ellen said with a smile, offering her hand. Rob took it. “Congratulations on your promotion to DI.”
“Thanks.”
“Likewise,” Tucker added, also shaking his hand. “Congrats.”
The third man also offered his hand. “DC Guy Gibson. Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Not too much, I hope.”
“Only what John and these two have told me…” He indicated Nailer and the others. “Plus the general talk about the station, of course.”
“I see,” Rob remarked guardedly, and glanced at John Nailer.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hold it against you. Your boss was clearly a bent copper and needed dealing with.”
Rob nodded, feeling himself relax again. “Thanks.”
“So this is the full team,” Nailer announced, gesturing to them all. “We’ll be working under Superintendent Landon with this office as our main base of operations, although our work will take us all over Nottinghamshire and possibly beyond into the other counties of the East Midlands. So we might need to set up temporary hubs to deal with each case, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, as you can see, we have some work to be getting on with.”
“We’re shifting all this crap?” Tucker asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Nailer confirmed. “We need to make space to work, which is why I got you all in so early, before we get called out. Some of it will stay up here, but we’ve arranged another room to move it to for now.”
“Remind me, what happened to the previous unit?” Scarlett asked. “I’ve heard talk but…”
Nailer grimaced as he shuffled on the spot and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “That’s a long story…”
“So, tell the short version.” Superintendent Evelynn Landon walked into the room. “They deserve to know.”
“Fair enough, ma’am,” Nailer replied before turning to address the group. “I just wondered if perhaps you should be the one to talk about it.”
“No, no. Please, you go ahead.” Landon waved dismissively at his comment.
“Okay. Well, the previous branch of the Notts EMSOU had embarked on an operation that targeted an Organised Crime Group and one of their drug supply lines. The gang had a few simultaneous shipments coming in, and it was decided to hit them all at once. This was after months of surveillance. Phone tracking and tapping, undercover work, the works. If they pulled it off, it could have crippled the gang’s drug operation for weeks, or even months. But what they didn’t know was that the gang knew they were coming. They were walking straight into a trap.” Nailer sighed. “Four officers were killed during the course of the operation, and many more were injured.”
Evelynn Landon stepped forward. “It became clear that we had a mole in the force, perhaps more than one, who were feeding information and intel back to the gang. The gang knew we were coming. They’d prepared, and we paid a heavy price. An internal review concluded that the Nottinghamshire EMSOU needed to go through some changes. It could not continue as it was. So the remaining officers were reassigned, and the office mothballed while the brass consulted about what to do. They eventually assigned me to resurrect the unit, and I was tasked with building things back up from nothing.”
“That’s why you seconded me to the EMSOU?” Rob asked.
“That’s right,” Landon confirmed, looking over and smiling. She was a short and stern-looking woman. Her white and black uniform only served to enhance her official aura. “I’d already recruited Nailer, and when you took the Sherwood Murder case, he suggested we allow you to run it. We wanted to see how you got on.”
“I take it we passed your assessment,” Rob asked.
“You did indeed. You went above and beyond, actually. I was impressed, and I’m looking forward to having you on the team. You too Scarlett. Your first case with the Notts force really saw you thrown into the deep end.”
“Thanks. I did my best to follow my instincts and see the case through to its logical conclusion. No one is above the law, not even a DCI.”
“You hear that, Nailer?” Tucker asked with a wry smile. “She’s got your fuckin’ number.”
Landon smiled. “All this does mean, however, that we need to clear the office of all this…” She waved her arms at the piles of boxes.
“Wonderful,” Rob moaned.