air and a bellyful of strong caffeine. Grabbing her briefcase off the floor, she stowed her papers inside and left.
* * *
An hour later, feeling marginally refreshed from her large takeaway double-shot espresso latte´ and the bite of fresh spring air she’d squeezed into her lungs whilst waiting for her order, Chloe arranged her papers on the desk in front of her and prepared to interview Agent Munro’s boss. When a brisk knock sounded on the door, she buttoned up her black pin-striped suit jacket and bade him enter.
Detective Superintendent Gary Julian was a mountain of a man. Chloe had thought Agent Munro tall, and he was. But he was no match for the man who towered in her doorway, ducking his head as he entered the close confines of the interview room.
Chloe stood and offered her hand. It was swallowed in a brief handshake and then set loose. Her gaze swept over the liberal sprinkling of silver in the man’s closely cropped hair and she noted the fatigue in his world-weary eyes.
According to his personnel file, Gary Julian was a man of some reckoning. With more than thirty-six years as a Federal Agent under his belt, the last ten of which had been spent as head of the Child Protection Unit, Chloe could only imagine what he’d been subjected to and marveled at his resilience.
“Detective Superintendent, thank you for coming in. Please, take a seat.”
The chair disappeared beneath his bulk and Chloe had a fleeting image of it collapsing underneath him. But, it seemed to adjust to the weight and she looked down and opened the file in front of her.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the reason I’ve asked you to meet with me today?”
His lips remained tight. His only response was a sharp nod.
She cleared her throat, a little nervous at the thought of reminding such a seasoned law enforcement officer of basic procedures.
“I’m sorry, Detective Superintendent. Shortly, I’m going to be switching on the video recorder and this interview will be taped. It’s important that you provide me with a verbal response to every question.”
He seemed to take her request in the spirit she’d intended and nodded again. “Of course, I understand.”
Chloe held his gaze. “Thank you. I’m sure you understand how difficult this is for everyone. I’ve already spoken to Agent Stanford and he’s incredibly distressed at what’s happened. I’ve assured him this matter will be resolved as quickly as possible. Agent Munro is also understandably upset.”
“He didn’t do it.”
“I thank you for your opinion, Detective Superintendent Julian and I accept that you know Agent Munro far better than I do, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate I have a job to do and the sooner we get on with it, the sooner this can be dealt with.”
“Fine. But just so you know: He didn’t do it.”
Chloe plunged ahead. “I understand Agent Munro has been under your command for a little over a year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he transferred in August last year. He came to us from the New South Wales Police Service.”
“Do you know why he transferred? I imagine the Child Protection Unit isn’t for everyone.”
Gary hesitated and then replied, “His niece was kidnapped by a pedophile. From what I remember, she was rescued before she was raped, but I’m sure you can imagine how traumatic the whole thing was for her and her family. Declan submitted an application to the AFP a month or two afterwards. Once he’d finished his training, he applied for and was accepted into the CPU.”
“Isn’t that a little unusual? Going straight into a high tech operations group?”
“Yes, most agents don’t commence their careers in a high tech operations group and especially not a group like the CPU, but Declan had a decade or more experience as a senior detective in the State system. He had the ability and, more importantly, the passion to see bottom-feeding scum like pedophiles hunted down and locked away. Besides, he also has a brother
* * *
An hour later, feeling marginally refreshed from her large takeaway double-shot espresso latte´ and the bite of fresh spring air she’d squeezed into her lungs whilst waiting for her order, Chloe arranged her papers on the desk in front of her and prepared to interview Agent Munro’s boss. When a brisk knock sounded on the door, she buttoned up her black pin-striped suit jacket and bade him enter.
Detective Superintendent Gary Julian was a mountain of a man. Chloe had thought Agent Munro tall, and he was. But he was no match for the man who towered in her doorway, ducking his head as he entered the close confines of the interview room.
Chloe stood and offered her hand. It was swallowed in a brief handshake and then set loose. Her gaze swept over the liberal sprinkling of silver in the man’s closely cropped hair and she noted the fatigue in his world-weary eyes.
According to his personnel file, Gary Julian was a man of some reckoning. With more than thirty-six years as a Federal Agent under his belt, the last ten of which had been spent as head of the Child Protection Unit, Chloe could only imagine what he’d been subjected to and marveled at his resilience.
“Detective Superintendent, thank you for coming in. Please, take a seat.”
The chair disappeared beneath his bulk and Chloe had a fleeting image of it collapsing underneath him. But, it seemed to adjust to the weight and she looked down and opened the file in front of her.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the reason I’ve asked you to meet with me today?”
His lips remained tight. His only response was a sharp nod.
She cleared her throat, a little nervous at the thought of reminding such a seasoned law enforcement officer of basic procedures.
“I’m sorry, Detective Superintendent. Shortly, I’m going to be switching on the video recorder and this interview will be taped. It’s important that you provide me with a verbal response to every question.”
He seemed to take her request in the spirit she’d intended and nodded again. “Of course, I understand.”
Chloe held his gaze. “Thank you. I’m sure you understand how difficult this is for everyone. I’ve already spoken to Agent Stanford and he’s incredibly distressed at what’s happened. I’ve assured him this matter will be resolved as quickly as possible. Agent Munro is also understandably upset.”
“He didn’t do it.”
“I thank you for your opinion, Detective Superintendent Julian and I accept that you know Agent Munro far better than I do, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate I have a job to do and the sooner we get on with it, the sooner this can be dealt with.”
“Fine. But just so you know: He didn’t do it.”
Chloe plunged ahead. “I understand Agent Munro has been under your command for a little over a year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he transferred in August last year. He came to us from the New South Wales Police Service.”
“Do you know why he transferred? I imagine the Child Protection Unit isn’t for everyone.”
Gary hesitated and then replied, “His niece was kidnapped by a pedophile. From what I remember, she was rescued before she was raped, but I’m sure you can imagine how traumatic the whole thing was for her and her family. Declan submitted an application to the AFP a month or two afterwards. Once he’d finished his training, he applied for and was accepted into the CPU.”
“Isn’t that a little unusual? Going straight into a high tech operations group?”
“Yes, most agents don’t commence their careers in a high tech operations group and especially not a group like the CPU, but Declan had a decade or more experience as a senior detective in the State system. He had the ability and, more importantly, the passion to see bottom-feeding scum like pedophiles hunted down and locked away. Besides, he also has a brother
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