scandal. Then, in a couple of hours time, I want you and me to go out and see Ellie Taylor to see if we can pour some oil over troubled waters. Say about eleven?”
“That’ll be fine, sir,” said Ollie and went to his desk to begin trawling the lists that Jeff had requested.
Jeff then turned to Adrian and Joe. “And, if you two boys can promise to play nicely together, I want every bit of CCTV in and around that warehouse where the burned out Mondeo was found. It must have been picked up by something at some point. Also, check out the most direct route between where the petrol station is in Ancoats and where the warehouse is in Cheetham Hill. It was late afternoon and it was starting to get dark. It’s my guess that Sheridan Taylor was assaulted in the car and her attacker probably used the warehouse for seclusion that combined with the fading light to provide perfect cover.” He then turned to Rebecca. “DI Stockton? My office, please.”
“I’m going to stand up for myself,” said Rebecca after she’d sat down in Jeff’s office. “I’m not just going to roll over and take a bollocking.”
“Who says anything about a bollocking?”
“Well, you’re undermining me by taking Ollie out to see Ellie Taylor.”
“It’s about damage limitation, Rebecca. You should be able to rise above it.”
“Yeah, I get that, I really do but … well I thought from your tone out there………..”
“I was angry at the way you three were arguing so openly,” said Jeff. “It would’ve had a negative impact on the team if anybody from outside had seen it. You know how it is in this place. They love to get something on another team.”
“I know and we were being stupid,” Rebecca admitted. “Look, did you have a good holiday?”
“Yes, I did,” said Jeff. “We were spoilt rotten by all of Lillie Mae’s family, as you can imagine, and, wherever we went, everybody made a huge fuss of Toby.” He patted his stomach. “I’ve put on a bit of weight too. Every day there was so much food prepared for us.”
“That won’t do you any harm,” said Rebecca. “You were too thin anyway.”
It was that rare moment when something personal passed between them. Jeff liked the way that Rebecca’s auburn hair dangled around her shoulders and she looked good. Whilst he was away he realised what a damn fool he’d been. It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. He’d always found Rebecca attractive. It was just that he hadn’t been able to find a way to step into the future without Lillie Mae. Maybe it had happened when Lillie Mae’s mother had basically given him her blessing for him to move on with his personal life and find someone to spend the rest of his days with.
“There’s no sign of any stress having got to you,” said Jeff.
“Do you think I made the wrong decision, Jeff?” Rebecca asked. “I need to know.”
Jeff pondered the question for a few moments and tried to see how it would go with the conversation he really wanted to have with Rebecca about their personal lives and whether or not they could be joined up after all.
“You do, don’t you? I can tell by the look on your face.”
“I didn’t say that, Becky.”
“No, but it’s written all over your face that you side with Adrian Bradshaw.”
“I think you took a risk that this time didn’t pay off.”
“Would you have taken it too?”
“Maybe I would, yes,” said Jeff. “But look, Becky, you’ve got to toughen up on this one. All of us have taken decisions that we’ve regretted afterwards but it doesn’t mean we’re bad police officers. Don’t shy away from it. Learn from it. Otherwise, if you’re seen to get a bit tetchy and sensitive over decisions you make that don’t end up going your way, then believe me, the glittering career that I know is yours will be sure to fade.”
“Oh, I know,” said Rebecca. “I’ve already had a similar warning from Chief Superintendent Chambers. She said that if I
“That’ll be fine, sir,” said Ollie and went to his desk to begin trawling the lists that Jeff had requested.
Jeff then turned to Adrian and Joe. “And, if you two boys can promise to play nicely together, I want every bit of CCTV in and around that warehouse where the burned out Mondeo was found. It must have been picked up by something at some point. Also, check out the most direct route between where the petrol station is in Ancoats and where the warehouse is in Cheetham Hill. It was late afternoon and it was starting to get dark. It’s my guess that Sheridan Taylor was assaulted in the car and her attacker probably used the warehouse for seclusion that combined with the fading light to provide perfect cover.” He then turned to Rebecca. “DI Stockton? My office, please.”
“I’m going to stand up for myself,” said Rebecca after she’d sat down in Jeff’s office. “I’m not just going to roll over and take a bollocking.”
“Who says anything about a bollocking?”
“Well, you’re undermining me by taking Ollie out to see Ellie Taylor.”
“It’s about damage limitation, Rebecca. You should be able to rise above it.”
“Yeah, I get that, I really do but … well I thought from your tone out there………..”
“I was angry at the way you three were arguing so openly,” said Jeff. “It would’ve had a negative impact on the team if anybody from outside had seen it. You know how it is in this place. They love to get something on another team.”
“I know and we were being stupid,” Rebecca admitted. “Look, did you have a good holiday?”
“Yes, I did,” said Jeff. “We were spoilt rotten by all of Lillie Mae’s family, as you can imagine, and, wherever we went, everybody made a huge fuss of Toby.” He patted his stomach. “I’ve put on a bit of weight too. Every day there was so much food prepared for us.”
“That won’t do you any harm,” said Rebecca. “You were too thin anyway.”
It was that rare moment when something personal passed between them. Jeff liked the way that Rebecca’s auburn hair dangled around her shoulders and she looked good. Whilst he was away he realised what a damn fool he’d been. It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. He’d always found Rebecca attractive. It was just that he hadn’t been able to find a way to step into the future without Lillie Mae. Maybe it had happened when Lillie Mae’s mother had basically given him her blessing for him to move on with his personal life and find someone to spend the rest of his days with.
“There’s no sign of any stress having got to you,” said Jeff.
“Do you think I made the wrong decision, Jeff?” Rebecca asked. “I need to know.”
Jeff pondered the question for a few moments and tried to see how it would go with the conversation he really wanted to have with Rebecca about their personal lives and whether or not they could be joined up after all.
“You do, don’t you? I can tell by the look on your face.”
“I didn’t say that, Becky.”
“No, but it’s written all over your face that you side with Adrian Bradshaw.”
“I think you took a risk that this time didn’t pay off.”
“Would you have taken it too?”
“Maybe I would, yes,” said Jeff. “But look, Becky, you’ve got to toughen up on this one. All of us have taken decisions that we’ve regretted afterwards but it doesn’t mean we’re bad police officers. Don’t shy away from it. Learn from it. Otherwise, if you’re seen to get a bit tetchy and sensitive over decisions you make that don’t end up going your way, then believe me, the glittering career that I know is yours will be sure to fade.”
“Oh, I know,” said Rebecca. “I’ve already had a similar warning from Chief Superintendent Chambers. She said that if I
Similar Books
Foster Brother's Arms
Penny Blake
Betrayed
Christopher Dinsdale
Lacy (The Doves of Primrose)
Krista Kedrick
The Rose Legacy
Kristen Heitzmann
Irish Journal
Heinrich Böll
The Weight of Numbers
Simon Ings
County Line Road
Marie Etzler
After the Fire
Jane Casey
Dom Wars - Round Four
Lucian Bane