A few minutes after the morning briefing ended, Caroline invited Elijah into her office for a quick word. Although Operation Titan was officially Dexter’s, he and Elijah Drummond were both Detective Sergeants, and Caroline had detected a friendly warning from Dexter might not go down quite as well as a word from a senior officer. She’d detected Elijah’s lack of respect for Dexter early on in his secondment, and she felt that now was the time to nip it in the bud — in the most official way possible.
‘Ma’am,’ Elijah said as he entered the office and closed the door behind him.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long,’ Caroline said as she rounded her desk and sat down behind it. ‘I just wanted a quick word, as I’ve noticed there have been one or two comments and moments that haven’t gone down well over the past few days.’
‘Sorry, ma’am. What sort of comments and moments?’ Elijah asked, as if this was the first time he’d ever heard either of those two words.
‘For one, the comment you made towards the end of DS Antoine’s morning briefing a short while ago,’ she replied, her voice a little louder and more forceful than before. ‘I was standing right behind you, and I could see full well that DS Antoine heard it from the front of the room as well. Off the back of your snarky comment about sieves and colanders, I thought someone should break it to you that it didn’t exactly go down well.’
Caroline locked eyes with Elijah. His brash nature was quickly disappearing, and seemed to be replaced by a look of real shock and worry.
‘I mean… I didn’t mean anything by it,’ he said, his voice stumbling. ‘I guess I was just trying to inject a bit of humour, bring the team together a little bit, maybe.’
‘The team is just fine together, Elijah. We’re a tight-knit bunch. We’ve been working closely with each other for quite some time. You can’t just waltz in and start making sarcastic remarks about colleagues and expect that everyone’s going to start laughing at the expense of someone they’ve spent almost every waking hour with for the last however many years. That’s not how it works.’
Elijah looked down at the desk, then back up at Caroline. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. Maybe it’s just taking me a bit of getting used to. We don’t have that sort of closeness at EMSOU. I mean, there are people you work with closely, or colleagues who’ve been on a few jobs together, but not like this. Not where it’s the same team on each job. It’s a finely tuned machine, I can see that.’
‘It’s a bloody overworked machine that’s creaking at the seams and on the verge of blowing a gasket. That’s what it is. You were meant to add another cylinder to our engine. From where I’m standing, you’re turning out to be more of a dipstick. You’re here to help solve problems, Elijah, not create them. Listen, I know how hard it is trying to fit into an established unit. Trust me on that one. But do you know what I found was the biggest thing that helped me integrate? Talk less, listen more. You’ve got one mouth and two ears. Don’t come bulldozing your way in, expecting everyone to come round to your way of doing things. We all want you here. We need you here. But you have to slot in comfortably, not jam yourself in with a sledgehammer.’
Elijah nodded slowly. To Caroline, he certainly looked as if he’d been knocked down a few pegs.
‘You’re right. I’m sorry. If I’m honest, I think I’m probably just trying too hard.’
‘It’s often the way. I know it’s not easy, Elijah. Especially when you’re only here for a short while. But you’re here to help us do a job. And while you’re here, you’re a part of the team as much as anyone else. The success of the team is as much your responsibility as everyone else’s. We share the load, we work together and we treat each other with dignity and respect. That goes in all directions. For now, I think it’s best if you just keep your head down for a while. Keep quiet in briefings, don’t speak unless you’re spoken to, and focus on following the information trails Detective Sergeant Antoine mentioned. Research, reveal, link. And let me know if you find anything.’
Elijah took a deep breath and gave one final nod. ‘Got it.’
Caroline sighed and waved her hand towards him. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘Off you go.’