‘The usual format for this is that I ask Victoria the questions, and she has all the answers. Sometimes she knows the meeting’s happening, sometimes she doesn’t, but I expect her to know the answers all the same. Do you see what I’m saying?’
This was a completely different Nick to the one Tomek had known and dealt with for the past thirteen years. Sure, he’d been in confrontational meetings with the chief inspector in the past, but nothing like this. This was on a different level to anything he’d ever been used to. And now he was beginning to get a flavour of what it had been like for Victoria since she’d come in; his respect for her grew a few fractions.
‘I see what you’re saying, yes,’ Tomek answered.
‘Great, because if you do eventually become an inspector, then this is the sort of standard we will hold you to. Do you understand?’
Tomek swallowed deeply and dipped his head.
‘Excellent. Victoria, he’s all yours.’
Nick returned to the wall and folded his arms again. Clearing her throat, Victoria switched off the computer and looked down at some notes in front of her.
‘What’s the latest with Operation Butterfly?’
Tomek told them, starting with the discussions he’d had with Angelica’s family, through to the post-mortem, all the way up to his meeting with Cole Thompson less than an hour before. They gave nothing away in their expressions, nodding gently as he spoke.
So far, so good. He hoped.
Then Victoria’s intonation dropped a few levels. ‘Where are you with your budget estimates?’ she asked.
‘Budget estimates?’
‘Yes. How much of the money allocated to this investigation have you apportioned to the respective expenses?’
Tomek’s face had never fallen faster. He opened his mouth, but it fell shut again.
‘How much do you expect forensic analysis to cost? Do you anticipate you will be over budget or under?’
More opening and closing.
‘Do you expect there to be a lot of overtime? I noticed the team were working till late last night, including yourself. Has that been agreed with the staff?’
Tomek opened and closed his eyes, hoping that the answers might materialise in front of him. But they didn’t. Instead he was looking at two deeply unimpressed seniors, their disappointment growing with each unanswered question.
For a few moments, he didn’t say anything. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he was breathing. Time seemed to slow, and the world came to a gradual, steady halt. The sound of brakes screeching reverberated in his skull. A heavy weight descended on his chest, and he felt his pulse quicken.
‘I… I don’t know,’ he said, his voice broken, coming out as a whisper.
‘What don’t you know?’
‘Any… any of it,’ he said. ‘Neither Chey nor Rachel have come to me about overtime requests.’
‘So they’re working for free?’
‘I…’ He tried to think back to the last time Nick had discussed overtime with him and how the conversation had gone. He drew a blank. ‘No. I’ll… I’ll make sure they’re paid, but…’
‘But what? How much is that going to cost us?’
Tomek said nothing, continuing to stare blankly at Victoria. Now he understood how Cole Thompson had felt: lost, empty, devoid of any comprehensive thought.
‘I don’t know.’
‘And what about the cost for forensics? What tests have you done so far?’
‘The… the…’
Come on, you know this!
‘We did… we did…’
Fucking think!
‘Angelica’s body,’ he said, stuttering. ‘We sent some blood away for analysis. We… we want to see what’s in her blood. And… and we’re looking at fingerprints on the church door, and…’ There was something else, something important, but it had slipped his mind entirely.
‘What else are you going to need to analyse?’
‘What else?’
‘Yes. What else, based on your recent investigations, do you think you’re going to need to send off?’
Tomek just shook his head. Instinctive, muscle memory. The best thing he could think to do.
Victoria sighed and looked at the piece of paper in front of her, the list of things she had left to grill him on.
‘Moving on – your team’s work ethic. How would you say it is so far? Any bottlenecks? Any causes for concern?’
Tomek had none, but was unable to articulate that in a cohesive response.
