Chapter Twenty-Four

 

Emma was back in Rob Haines' front room. As usual Jem had provided tea and biscuits and withdrawn. Rob was kneeling beside the TV cursing at the large, unorganised piles of DVDs. 'I was looking for Moonraker – would you believe it, there's a box here but no sign of the disk.'

'Listen, boss, there's something I need to tell you before we settle down to watch a film.'

Rob straightened up and went back to his armchair where he settled in with a sigh. 'Well this sounds serious. I'm not your boss any more, but I can still tell when you think you've fucked up. What's on your mind?'

'I went to Kev Slater with an idea. I half expected him to either shoot it down or give it time to think it over.'

'Okay,' Rob was nodding. 'What's it got to do with me?'

'I asked him if you could help us on the case.' A look of panic momentarily flickered across his face. 'It's okay. You wouldn't need to go back into the office. With the Internet now, you could get a laptop connected up to the police computer. You still have your access rights so you could keep an eye on the case. Maybe give us some insights?'

Rob laughed, a low, throaty chuckle. 'Christ! Poor old Kevin Slater. He must be proper stuck on this case if he's even considering bringing me in. I wonder how he'll square that away, what with me being under investigation and all?'

'Well, you wouldn't be operational. No going out there and meeting the public. You'd just sit here with your laptop and tell us where we're going wrong.'

'You're really that stuck?' Rob sounded concerned now.

'Well, we've got two murders. Absolutely no connections between the two victims, different locations, possibly different methods of death and yet we're certain that we're only looking for one killer.'

Rob sucked in through his teeth. 'And if he's already killed twice, then he might carry on.'

'I have a feeling someone like this will carry on until he's caught,' Emma admitted. 'And so far we have no idea how he's choosing his victims or how he's picking the places he leaves them, nothing.'

'Right. So, do I expect a phone call from Kevin at some point in the next few days?'

'Not exactly. It's all been agreed by him. Just needs a phone call to the IT department and you'll be all set and ready to go. Something should happen by the end of Monday?'

'And it needs my approval,' Rob said darkly. 'You did all this without even running it by me?'

'Well, I thought he wouldn't buy it. Or he'd talk to you.' Emma was flustered. 'I never imagined he'd roll over and just say yes. And then I could hardly back down and say I hadn't checked with you.'

'And now you'll be properly snookered if I turn around and say no, won't you?'

A silence fell between them. Finally, Emma said, 'What are you going to do?'

'I'm wondering if I could go back to work. If I'd make a difference? Would I still be any good? And how would it sit with the whole mess that is the medical case and the corruption case that are hanging over me? It's going to be hard to argue that I can't work while I'm still helping.

'On the other hand, it'd be good to get my feet back under the table, even if it's only for one case. Remind myself that I'm still useful. To be honest, I'm tempted to just accept, sign whatever I need to and sod the consequences. Then I could have my swan song.'

'It was just a feeling. Even killers who try to be random have a reason. There could be anything linking those two. A drinking den that you shut down years ago, or some old scandal in Bradwick's history. If we knew what you'd find, we wouldn't need to ask, would we?'

'Well, I suppose that is true.'

'And I've seen you work your magic before. You know just who to phone and what to ask.'

'If you're going to flatter me, then I suppose I've no choice. Make the phone call and get the ball rolling.' He stopped for a minute, unsure how much to reveal. In the end, as he always had, he just charged ahead and hoped for the best. 'I made a proper mess of that crime scene though, didn't I? I am sorry about that, causing trouble between you and your boss.' He tapped his head. 'It is getting better. I'm not as tired and the headaches are happening less often. But I probably had better keep my head down for a bit. I honestly can't believe I did that. I went to the crime scene without checking in with the SIO, no rubber gloves or overshoes. Just blundered straight in like a civilian.' He shook his head in bewilderment. 'So, this could be a good thing. Get me back in with the higher-ups at the station and hopefully stop me doing any more damage.'

'Well, let's just take it one step at a time. Get you set up and see what you can do when you have access to all the case files.'

After that, Emma relaxed and actually enjoyed spending time with Rob and his dodgy taste in films.