‘For a while, yes. I’m fine now.’
Devereux tapped his fingers on the desk, giving Hannah the impression that he was choosing his next words with care. It seemed ominous.
‘Is it possible,’ he said, ‘that you knew more about your attacker than you were willing to admit at the time?’
Hannah stared at him as she tried to process this.
‘Wait. Are you asking what I think you’re asking?’
Devereux hesitated. ‘It is being suggested in some quarters—’
‘No, don’t mince your words, Ray. You’re saying did I know it was Carling who attacked me in the flats? And if so, is that why I went to his boozer, so I could provoke him into having another go, giving me the excuse I needed to beat the crap out of him? That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?’
‘It’s . . . a hypothesis that’s been put forward.’
‘It’s bollocks is what it is. And you should be ashamed of yourself for repeating it. You know me, Ray. You know I wouldn’t do something like that.’
Devereux flushed, but Hannah wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger.
‘Look, I don’t for one moment believe there’s any substance to this. But you know what it’s like when rumours start flying round.’
‘Yes, I know what it’s like. And what I expect to happen when they do is for my line manager to quash them before they spread. So let me make this as clear as fucking crystal. I had no idea that the man who attacked me in Erskine Court was Shane Carling. The only reason I didn’t report it was that the young man who chased him away had learning difficulties, and I didn’t see any point in putting him through a legal process that would have gone nowhere. Furthermore, I had no idea that Carling was a regular at the King George. Now, will that do, or do you want me to put it in writing?’
She could see that she had pushed back a bit too hard. Devereux was definitely looking flustered now.
‘All right, Hannah. Point taken.’ He nodded towards the newspaper. ‘But this is still a problem.’
‘It’s only a problem if we don’t ignore it for the trash it is.’
‘It’s not that simple. It raises your profile, and not in a good way.’ He picked up the paper and began reading. ‘“Washington is currently the senior detective investigating the murder of Joseph Cobb, a prominent gangland figure. These latest events have prompted some to question Washington’s suitability for the role, with one close family member of Cobb commenting that they had ‘lost all faith in the police’.”’
‘You know who that’ll be, don’t you?’ Hannah said. ‘Myra Cobb. She’ll be saying that even when we find her son’s killer.’
‘Yes,’ Devereux said slowly, and there was something in his tone that turned that single word into a hundred more.
Hannah shook her head. ‘No, Ray. Don’t say what you’re about to say. We’re making good progress on this case.’
Devereux sighed. ‘It’s been nearly a week now, Hannah. A week. And I’m not convinced we’ve got much to show for it.’
‘We’ve got tons to show for it. We’re hot on the tail of the car that was used to dump Cobb’s body. As soon as we find it, we’ve got our man.’
‘Well, that’s good news. But if that’s the case, it shouldn’t be that difficult for another lead to tie up the loose ends.’
‘Another lead? Why do we need another lead?’
Devereux picked up the paper and dropped it again. ‘This! It’s bad PR, Hannah. We can’t simply ignore it. We have to restore public confidence in our ability to investigate serious crimes.’
‘What are you talking about? Carling attacked me. Not the other way round. What part of that is so hard to understand? If you want to restore confidence, try standing up for your officers. Try issuing statements about what really happened instead of pandering to media hacks. If you remove me from the investigation, you might as well put a huge question mark against the rest of my career.’
‘I’m sorry, Hannah. The decision has already been made. After end of play today, I’ll be taking over as SIO on the Cobb case.’
Hannah stared at him open-mouthed. ‘No, no, no. This isn’t about public confidence. It’s not about that shitty little newspaper. It’s about me. It’s what you wanted all along. This story has just given you the extra ammunition you need to finish the job.’
‘Hannah, I think you should stop there, before you say something you regret.’
‘You set me up for a fall, Ray. You thought I wasn’t up to it anymore, so you threw me in at the deep end, expecting me to drown. But I’m swimming like a fish, Ray, and you don’t like it. That shabby article is your excuse to make accusations of impropriety, even though you know I’ve done everything by the book. I have done everything you’ve asked of me, and more. Admit it, Ray. You’re shafting me.’
Devereux shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ‘Hannah, you have to understand that this wasn’t a unilateral decision on my part. As I said, I’m getting pressure from above—’
‘Fuck you, Ray!’ She jumped out of her chair. ‘Fuck all those above you, too, but most of all fuck you for not having the balls to defend me.’ She stormed away, but paused at the door. ‘Good luck with your next promotion,’ she said, ‘but I hope you remember the people you walked over to get it.’
45
It felt to Scott as though something was gnawing at his insides. Work couldn’t distract him. The only thing on his mind was the upcoming encounter with Barrington Daley. He didn’t know anything about the man except that he was a drug dealer. He imagined a scarred, tattooed, muscle-bound maniac with a gun in each hand, willing to cut down anyone who came within a hundred metres of his contraband.
He tried telling himself it wouldn’t be like that. Barrington would be just an average-looking guy, no bigger than himself. Probably meaner, though. Quicker to resort to violence almost certainly.
Still scary.
Scott had never instigated a fight. He could count on one hand the number of punch-ups in which he’d been involved, and they had always resulted from others making the first move. Like yesterday, for example. And look how that turned out.
Which was another problem. After the beating he’d taken, he was hardly match-fit. He couldn’t afford to allow things to get too physical. His body wouldn’t cope.
Go in fast and go in hard. Overwhelm the opposition. There was no other way.
He’d considered all the alternatives. He’d thought about taking the family and running away, but where would they go? And how would they manage without money? He’d also thought again about Gemma’s advice to go to the police, but he knew he was in far too deep for that now. At best, they’d all end up in prison; at worst, dead.
No, this was his only option. He had to see it through. And he had to come out on top. Then this nightmare would be over.
