‘No. That’s crazy talk. This is murder we’re talking about. They need to find a killer. They need someone they can trust.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘There’s a saying in the police. They call this a shit-on-shit crime. If it decreases the population of scumbags then that can only be a good thing. If I cock up the case, nobody in the force will lose sleep over it. They will, however, have a scapegoat and a ready-made excuse for getting rid of me.’
Ben was silent. Then he said, ‘I think you’re being too hard on yourself. Reading things into the situation that aren’t there.’
Anger flashed through her. ‘For God’s sake, Ben, you don’t work with these people. You have no idea. The internal politics, the backstabbing, the sucking up to bosses, the sexism, the bullying. It’s a fucking cesspit.’
Ben’s response was typically anti-inflammatory. He took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Then it’s just like any other large organisation. That’s why I could never cope with working for one. But you’re different. You’re stronger.’
‘I don’t know if I am anymore. Maybe I should leave. Jump before I’m pushed.’
‘And let the bastards win? No, you’re better than that.’
She pushed herself back into the soft cushions. ‘I used to believe that. I used to have tons more self-confidence. I didn’t make stupid mistakes like I do now. Maybe I should just accept that things have changed, and that I’m not the copper I used to be.’
He placed his other hand on top of hers, cupping it in his warmth. ‘After what we’ve been through, neither of us is the same. Tilly has changed us for ever. When she went out of our lives, she took huge pieces of us with her. But we’re bigger and better and stronger and richer for having known her, and it far outweighs the loss. That’s what we have to remember.’
Hannah couldn’t stop the tears. ‘Then why am I so unhappy, so afraid?’
‘Maybe . . . maybe it’s because you haven’t let her go yet.’
She turned glistening eyes on him. ‘I can’t, Ben. I’m not ready to let her go. Not yet.’
‘Then show her the mother she knew. Prove to her that she can rest in peace, knowing that the memory of her will be in safe, strong hands.’
Hannah bowed her head. She felt destroyed.
But she knew what she had to do.
Tomorrow she would rise up again.
13
In Devereux’s office, Hannah zoned out. There was no point listening. Everything he was saying to her was complete bollocks. All that flannel about her being the best detective for the job. Crap.
She played the game, though. Nodded along to his droning voice, hiding her contempt.
Watch me, she thought. Watch how I run this investigation. Worthless victim or not, I will find Cobb’s murderer if it’s the last thing I do as a police officer.
It was when he led her back out to the CID room that the butterflies took flight. It was like being a kid getting introduced to her new schoolmates by the teacher. She stood at the front, facing a squad she had led many times but still feeling as though she didn’t know them.
When Devereux announced that she would be lead detective on the Cobb case, she noted the surprise, even on Marcel’s face. That was to be expected. What was less reassuring was the palpable sense of unease that rippled through the room. She saw the exchanges of glances, the raised eyebrows. She was convinced she even heard someone tutting.
When Devereux handed over to her, she began to speak, but her words came out in a strangled squeak. She tried again.
‘The first thing I want to say to you is to forget what a nasty piece of work Joey Cobb was. The fact is, somebody has committed murder, and we don’t turn a blind eye to murder, no matter who the victim. We are going to catch whoever did this, and I personally will devote one hundred per cent of my efforts to achieving that aim. I hope that you will give me a similar level of dedication. If you have any qualms about that, come and talk to me. If I make any decisions you don’t like, come and talk to me. I won’t bite your head off, and if you make a good point, I promise to take it on board.’
She scanned the room for a reaction. It felt like a good start. She noted that Devereux was still hovering, and was glad of it. Although she suspected that he would continue to watch her like a hawk, waiting for her to misstep, she wanted him to hear that if she was going down, it wouldn’t be without a fight.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘Where are we up to?’
Marcel – good old dependable Marcel – was the first to speak.
‘It looks like the phone was a burner. We’re getting it analysed now. We’ve also asked the mobile operator for tracking info.’
‘Okay. Stay on their backs. Let me know as soon as you have anything. What else?’
DC Trisha Lacey added her voice. ‘We’re still looking through the rubbish at the landfill site. There are still some body parts missing, but they may never come to the site. Even if they do, it’s a bloody big place. It’s possible we may never find them.’
‘Any chance of working out where the parts were originally dumped?’
‘We’re talking to management at the site. They’re analysing their logs and checking their cameras. We’re hoping they can narrow it down to just a few trucks that could have unloaded their contents there before it got compressed, and then trace it back to the pick-up routes. We’re also sifting through all the crap in the proximity by hand, hoping we find something with an address on it.’
‘That’s a lovely task. Please tell the officers involved that it was on DCI Devereux’s orders, before I took over.’
She got a laugh at this, and even a twinkle in the eye of Devereux, who then turned away and left her to it.
‘Who attended the post-mortem?’ she asked the room.
Another hand shot up. ‘That was me. The pathologist is reserving judgement on that one. There’s extensive bruising to the neck, with damage that looks to have been inflicted while Cobb was alive. There’s also a cervical fracture and pronounced injury to the spinal cord. It looks like he was grabbed hard by the throat, but in the absence of a complete body it’s difficult to be definitive about cause of death.’
‘All right, but whatever the cause, it’s clear that Cobb really pissed somebody off – someone who went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks. Start working up a list of Cobb’s known associates and gang contacts. Find out what toes he may have stepped on.’
Hannah continued to issue instructions and take suggestions, and by the end of it she once again felt comfortable being at the helm. When she eventually retired to her office, she sat and released a long, slow breath of relief.
Marcel Lang came to her within the hour.
‘Marcel,’ she said. ‘Everything okay?’
