Chapter Twenty-Six

 

Emma had found herself relying more and more on Margaret Watts' advice. Having the second body and crime scene to process had taken some of the focus off the drug problems. The Seaview Estate had gone from threatening to boil over back down to its usual simmering resentment. As often happened, the resentment following the death of Jordy had settled down. Members of the family had repeatedly appealed for calm and there had been a memorial service. On the police side of things, the arrest of a dealer had helped as well. He had not been a master criminal – a search of his house had turned up a range of different drugs, a selection of weapons and a list of contacts. This last item had been a goldmine for the drugs squad and had led to a major operation. It had done the police a lot of good as a whole to be seen to be arresting people on the estate.

Emma's last visit to Mrs Watts had been awkward. She had fled from the bad feeling on the estate and probably shouldn't have been there at all. She was glad she had the chance to make amends when she pulled up on a sunny afternoon.

'Emma,' Mrs Watts said as she opened the door. 'I am so glad you stopped by. I've been feeling awful about the last time you came round. I was rude to you and I hope you'll accept my apology.'

'Really, it was thoughtless of me to impose at such a time. I should've known that you would have contacts with Jordy's family. And I can come round here for a cuppa and go away again. But you have to live here, it's a different thing. You did the best that you could.'

'Well, least said, soonest mended. Come on in and I'll put the kettle on.'

Emma knew that was the beginning of a sequence that was far more complex than her own habit of putting a bag in a cup. She followed Margaret through to the kitchen and watched her warming the pot as the kettle boiled.

There was the obligatory small talk – Emma learned that nothing much had changed in her sons' lives. Greg had produced another grandchild, a beautiful boy in her opinion.

'What's going on with you then, Emma?' Margaret asked. 'You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders.'

Emma sighed, she wasn't really sure where to start. 'You know when I came over here to talk to you after Jordy died?' Margaret nodded. 'I really thought I could come in here as a shining knight and fix everything. Calm down the tensions on the estate, arrest the dealers, sort everything out.'

'You know what I've learned over the years, love? Doesn't matter what you do, the dead are still dead. You could've done all that and while it would be a big comfort to the parents and would've stopped someone else going through the same, it wouldn't have brought Jordy back. Nothing would. I know when something like this happens all of us feel that there's something more we could've done, we all want to do something. It's natural isn't it.'

'Yeah, I know what you mean. I should be used to it, but a fourteen-year-old boy, it's so senseless. Such a waste.'

'I kind of hope you don't get used to it. I've never done any kind of emergency services job but I can't imagine anything worse than not being upset by the death of a child.' She paused and studied Emma. 'So, why the long face? The news is all over the estate. There have been a series of dawn raids. People have been arrested, drugs and weapons off the streets. Surely that's a good thing?'

'It's just me and the people I work with. I got the call and thought that it was my problem to solve. But when I tapped up all my contacts, tried to see what was going on, I found nothing. And to make it worse, one of my people, well, really a friend, I found him in hospital.'

'Oh no! What happened?'

'Same as Jordy by the sound of it. But Lukas got lucky this time. He dodged it and is now recovering.'

'And your nose is out of joint because someone else solved the case? I thought you lot all worked as a team?'

'Well, we should, but everything kind of fell apart a few months ago. Most of the team were suspended pending an enquiry and they cobbled together a new group of people. But we haven't really bonded as a team.'

'And how much have you done to help that?' Margaret asked.

'I know you're right. I've got reasons to dislike each of them. I don't trust them or their motives.' She paused, unsure of how much to reveal. In the end she decided to push on. 'All my annual performance reviews say that I'm not a team player. I'm happiest going off on my own and fixing things. I don't like relying on other people.'

'Emma, why did you join the police? I mean really?'

'Really? In truth I did it at first because I was having a row with my parents and it was the one thing that I knew would piss them off. And it worked, they don't talk to me at all.' She paused, lost in the memory. 'And then I found out that I was good at it, and I enjoyed it. I know it can be a crappy job but it's my job.'

'I see you and I can tell that you've set your path to be in the police. But you've got to work with people. Give the others you work with a chance to show what they can do. I mean, they caught this dealer so they're not all bad.'

'Change the habit of a lifetime you mean?' Emma said with a laugh.

'Yeah. I know that people, especially round here, have a low opinion of the police, but they do have training and selection procedures and everything. Those guys that you don't want to trust or work with are police officers. As I said, you'll have to take a step or two towards them first.'

'I suppose I know you're right. And, they did catch the dealers and calm down the estate.' She was downhearted and couldn't really explain why. Rob had changed and wasn't the same man she'd known three months ago. Lukas was in hospital and threatening to change. Her team at CID were all different. And they had a killer on the loose who was targeting people where and when he wanted.