Detective Sergeant Ian Latham was sitting up in his hospital bed when Baxter called to see him. Baxter had waited some days because Julie had told him that after two visits from the police, Latham needed a rest—the first visit had exhausted him, and she’d restricted the second to five minutes.
Latham’s face was a mask of stitches and bandages. His nose had been reset and the cut over his right eye had been stitched. What could be seen of his face relaxed into a grin when Baxter appeared at his bedside and sat down.
‘I’ve been wondering when you’d come,’ Latham said.
‘Julie kept me informed about you. You aren’t a pretty sight. Somebody must have taken a dislike to you,’ Baxter said, returning the detective’s grin.
‘It’s what you can’t see that’s more worrying. I couldn’t piss for days. Blood in the urine. Ever had a catheter stuck in your whatsit?’
Baxter shook his head and winced. ‘Never had that pleasure. I hope everything’s working again.’
‘Yes, but looks like it’s only temporary. They might have to operate again, because that big bugger kicked me and tore something.’
‘He won’t kick anyone else,’ Baxter said.
‘So I’ve been told.’ Latham chuckled dryly. ‘You did a job on those two creeps.’
‘Well, you finished the job when you shot Campanelli.’
‘Blooming miracle. Of course, you’d have probably nailed him, but I couldn’t risk him getting to you with the knife.’
‘You must have kept up your target shooting.’
‘Even with one eye closed he presented as a pretty big target,’ Lathan said with a laugh, ‘and he was quite close up.’
Baxter laughed too, but it was hollow. He was remembering walking into that room and the anger he’d felt at seeing Latham tied up and tortured. ‘So they were hammering you for information?’ Baxter asked, and the detective nodded. ‘How did they tumble to you?’
‘Some cop let it slip to Cross about our man on the inside, so they tumbled to him first. He knew about me, but because he was in such a sensitive position, he didn’t know much about the operation. They would’ve got everything they could from him, then sought me out.’ Latham’s eyes were sad. ‘We’re still hoping to find him alive, but it’s doubtful. He’s probably at the bottom of the ocean.’
There was a silence as both men contemplated this, and Baxter thought about how easily Latham could have met the same fate.
‘There’s some better news, though,’ the detective said, brightening slightly. ‘Cross is out of the picture—he shot himself yesterday. The police raided Campanelli’s house and found a list of payments he’d made to Cross. That settled his hash.’
Baxter nodded, pleased. After his terse conversation with Inspector Daniels, he’d worried that Cross would never get his comeuppance.
‘They found something else,’ said Latham grimly. ‘An underground room fitted out for kinky sex. Nice fellow, that Campanelli.’
‘Like a snake’s nice,’ Baxter said, and Latham nodded.
Then he looked away and seemed slightly embarrassed. ‘Thanks for what you did, Greg. It was a lucky day for me when I first called on you. My wife wants to kiss you.’
‘Well, there’s not much of your face she can kiss, Ian.’
They both laughed.
‘You might not be pretty right now, but I hear you’re an adornment to the police force,’ Baxter said. ‘A little bird tells me you made Inspector.’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Latham said and smiled. ‘No more undercover jobs for me.’
Baxter didn’t think he’d ever seen the detective look so happy.
‘When you recover, be sure and bring your wife and kids to see me,’ Baxter offered. ‘I’ll cook you something special.’
‘Laura will like that, and I’ve got a young fellow who’s dying to meet you. He wants to learn karate on the strength of what he’s been told about you.’
‘Good for him.’
Latham was looking quite worn out, and Baxter realised they’d been talking a while longer than Julie had recommended.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘I’d better push off. I was told not to stay too long.’
‘That sounds like Dr Rankin,’ said Latham with a fond smile. ‘She’s been a tower of strength for me from the day I arrived.’ He paused and gave Baxter an assessing look. ‘But how are things with you and her?’
Baxter sighed. ‘We aren’t in a relationship, though I wish we were. I’d like to have kids and I’d like to have them with Julie. It gets me down some days, but I don’t know what I can do to change her mind. I reckon she sees me as a brother.’
‘That’s a bugger.’ Latham’s eyes moved to look over Baxter’s shoulder and then they widened a little. ‘Speak of the devil,’ he muttered under his breath.
Startled, Baxter turned to see Julie standing at the doorway. In her white lab coat and stethoscope, she looked every inch a top doctor. Baxter wondered if she’d overheard anything, but if she had she didn’t let on. She calmly said hello as she walked into the room, then picked up Latham’s chart and perused it.
‘How do you feel today?’ she asked.
‘A lot better. It’s a big relief to be without that catheter.’
‘We’ll give you another couple of days and then have a look inside you.’
‘The sooner the better, Julie. I’m not used to so much bed rest,’ he said gloomily. ‘And I was hoping to be out of here in a week or two.’
‘Well, I’m afraid to say it does seem you’ll need a second operation to have a look at your kidneys. Better to get all the nasty stuff done in one fell swoop while you’re here. You can have a good long rest after that.’ She paused and half-smiled, giving both men a mysterious look. ‘But you’ll be relieved to hear that it’s not all bad news.’
‘Oh?’ said Latham.
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. She glanced from Latham to Baxter and back to Latham, her professional mask slipping. ‘I’ve just heard that a couple of the top brass will be coming to see you, Ian,’ she announced, beaming down at her patient. ‘You’ll probably get some kind of commendation.’
‘It’s Greg here who should be getting the commendation,’ Latham said, nodding to Baxter, who ducked his head in embarrassment.
‘The only publicity I want is for my book,’ he said. ‘And if I deserve a commendation, so does Julie.’
She laughed delightedly. ‘Thanks Greg.’ She met his gaze and looked as though she wanted to tell him something important, but then her face closed off again. ‘And now I must go. You’re an important patient, Ian, but I do have others.’
‘Be seeing you, Doctor Rankin,’ Latham said. He essayed a big smile but the bandages made a mess of it.
‘Keep smiling, Inspector.’ She grinned. ‘And see you, Greg. I’ll keep you updated on the patient’s status.’ She took a final look at Latham’s chart and left the room.
By what seemed mutual silent agreement, neither man brought her up again.
‘I hear you’re making a very generous gesture,’ Latham said. ‘Inspector Daniels told me that you don’t want any public mention of your part in recovering me.’
‘That’s right. Much better that the police take all the credit. It’s your job to tackle the drug pushers—and after all the time, effort and money you put in, you’re entitled to reap what rewards are to be had from coups like the Campanelli business.’
‘The media would make a hero of you if they knew the full story.’
‘Then let’s hope nobody leaks the full story. The fight against drugs goes on, but I hope I’m well and truly out of it.’ Baxter smiled at Latham and got to his feet. ‘Be seeing you, Ian—and don’t forget about my invitation. I’m going home to have a fish. There’s something remarkably calming about watching a line.’
‘Be seeing you, champ.’