Young, I’m afraid, looks suspiciously like small-fry.’
‘But what about the fact that Young is relatively new back to the area?’ Pepper persisted. ‘Can the timing really be coincidence? And I did predict that this would happen, didn’t I?’
‘You did, and as I say your contribution is noted and appreciated. And we’ll certainly involve you, and your team, as and when we need help. But the Organised Crime Unit was established specifically to lead the Force’s response to offences like this one, so lead we will.’
‘But….’ Pepper began again.
‘DI Francis is right’, Jane Clark interrupted firmly, and Pepper didn’t think that she’d ever heard her cut across anyone before, even that twat from the DfT who’d gone on about traffic light sequencing for an hour at the senior management meeting the week before. ‘I’m sure that your views are valued, Pepper, and it goes without saying that we all stand ready to assist Jane’s team as and when there’s a specific request for help.’
‘So I’m not being detached to join the team, as local liaison?’
‘That won’t be necessary’ said Jane Francis, quickly. ‘We already have two officers on our strength who have CID experience in this division. One of them actually knew Roberts pretty well, as a matter of fact. So we’ll take it from here.’
‘Look,’ said Sandy Smith, ‘if you lot want to have a domestic be my guest, but I’d like to finish up here so I can go and take a shower. Our forensic suits do a totally shit job of keeping the smell at bay, as you can all probably tell.’
But everyone was too polite to say anything, so Sandy Smith went back to her slides, and Pepper tried to avoid glancing across the table at DI Francis. Pepper had heard that she’d shacked up with a now retired Superintendent who Pepper had only met once, when she’d tried to give him a self-defence refresher. The bloke had fought like an absolute jessie she remembered, he didn’t even try, but DI Francis seemed to be made of significantly sterner stuff.
And Pepper did smile across the table at Jane when Sandy finished, because it was obvious that they’d got sod-all to go on, and that it probably wouldn’t really matter how bloody clever DI Francis was. The investigation would go nowhere, slowly. Because, after all, this was a bad-guy on bad-guy killing, so neither the community nor the bosses would give a shit about it. So as soon as the investigative costs started to mount, and they would, then Jane would get shut down hard, and it would mean a modest, but still visible, black mark on her record.
Pepper said as much to the Super after the meeting, when all that was left in the room were the empty coffee cups and a faint smell of the municipal dump, but it made no difference.
‘Come on, Pepper, take the pragmatic view for once. Because if you’re right and DI Francis gets nowhere with this, and Dai Young does emerge as the key man in terms of organised crime, then you’re in the perfect position, aren’t you? That meeting was minuted, you know, and I’ll make sure that your comments are included. He, or should I say she, who controls the minutes, controls the world. You just remember that.’
‘But that won’t help in the near term, will it? There’ll be more bodies, you mark my words, ma’am. Young will have this place under his control in weeks, I’ll bet, and old school cons like Porter will seem like philanthropists in comparison. We need to get the bastard now, or at least persuade him to go back to where he came from.’
‘I thought he came from Carlisle?’
‘He does. I meant go back to where he’s been for the last ten years.’
‘I’m sorry, Pepper, but I’ve done all I can. It’s DI Francis’s ball, so let her run with it. If she drops it, then that’s her problem.’
‘Maybe that’s the view you take on the top floor, ma’am.’
Mary Clark rarely seemed openly exasperated, but this was one of
‘But what about the fact that Young is relatively new back to the area?’ Pepper persisted. ‘Can the timing really be coincidence? And I did predict that this would happen, didn’t I?’
‘You did, and as I say your contribution is noted and appreciated. And we’ll certainly involve you, and your team, as and when we need help. But the Organised Crime Unit was established specifically to lead the Force’s response to offences like this one, so lead we will.’
‘But….’ Pepper began again.
‘DI Francis is right’, Jane Clark interrupted firmly, and Pepper didn’t think that she’d ever heard her cut across anyone before, even that twat from the DfT who’d gone on about traffic light sequencing for an hour at the senior management meeting the week before. ‘I’m sure that your views are valued, Pepper, and it goes without saying that we all stand ready to assist Jane’s team as and when there’s a specific request for help.’
‘So I’m not being detached to join the team, as local liaison?’
‘That won’t be necessary’ said Jane Francis, quickly. ‘We already have two officers on our strength who have CID experience in this division. One of them actually knew Roberts pretty well, as a matter of fact. So we’ll take it from here.’
‘Look,’ said Sandy Smith, ‘if you lot want to have a domestic be my guest, but I’d like to finish up here so I can go and take a shower. Our forensic suits do a totally shit job of keeping the smell at bay, as you can all probably tell.’
But everyone was too polite to say anything, so Sandy Smith went back to her slides, and Pepper tried to avoid glancing across the table at DI Francis. Pepper had heard that she’d shacked up with a now retired Superintendent who Pepper had only met once, when she’d tried to give him a self-defence refresher. The bloke had fought like an absolute jessie she remembered, he didn’t even try, but DI Francis seemed to be made of significantly sterner stuff.
And Pepper did smile across the table at Jane when Sandy finished, because it was obvious that they’d got sod-all to go on, and that it probably wouldn’t really matter how bloody clever DI Francis was. The investigation would go nowhere, slowly. Because, after all, this was a bad-guy on bad-guy killing, so neither the community nor the bosses would give a shit about it. So as soon as the investigative costs started to mount, and they would, then Jane would get shut down hard, and it would mean a modest, but still visible, black mark on her record.
Pepper said as much to the Super after the meeting, when all that was left in the room were the empty coffee cups and a faint smell of the municipal dump, but it made no difference.
‘Come on, Pepper, take the pragmatic view for once. Because if you’re right and DI Francis gets nowhere with this, and Dai Young does emerge as the key man in terms of organised crime, then you’re in the perfect position, aren’t you? That meeting was minuted, you know, and I’ll make sure that your comments are included. He, or should I say she, who controls the minutes, controls the world. You just remember that.’
‘But that won’t help in the near term, will it? There’ll be more bodies, you mark my words, ma’am. Young will have this place under his control in weeks, I’ll bet, and old school cons like Porter will seem like philanthropists in comparison. We need to get the bastard now, or at least persuade him to go back to where he came from.’
‘I thought he came from Carlisle?’
‘He does. I meant go back to where he’s been for the last ten years.’
‘I’m sorry, Pepper, but I’ve done all I can. It’s DI Francis’s ball, so let her run with it. If she drops it, then that’s her problem.’
‘Maybe that’s the view you take on the top floor, ma’am.’
Mary Clark rarely seemed openly exasperated, but this was one of
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