‘Well, if you ever need anyone or anything, you know who to speak to.’
‘Nick?’
‘Fuck you,’ she said, stifling a chuckle. ‘Me. I’m happy to talk if you need anything. I’m also here to help you work on the improvements you can make to be a better inspector.’
Tomek’s gaze fell to the table. ‘About that…’ he began. ‘I’ve been doing some thinking.’
About that and everything else.
‘And?’
‘And I don’t think I’m ready to be an inspector. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the opportunity you gave me, but I’ll have to pass for now. I nearly put an innocent person in jail, and I don’t think I could live with the possibility of making that same mistake again.’
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Tomek was sitting in the corner of The Fork and Spoon, spinning his pint glass in his hand, staring up at the football on the television. At the bar, two blokes wearing jeans that looked as though they hadn’t been washed in years were nursing their drinks slowly, shouting and swearing at the players on the pitch, as though they could hear them from several hundred miles away.
Tomek finished the last of his drink, then made his way to the bar.
‘Fucking pass the ball, you cunt!’ the man nearest to him yelled. Then a moment later: ‘Fucking pass it! You earn a hundred grand a week and you can’t pass the fucking ball!’
Tomek ignored him and waited for the owner, Jim, to come over. A few seconds later, he arrived, reaching out for Tomek’s glass.
‘Same again, mate?’
‘Please, Jim.’
Ian took the glass from him, then began pulling his pint. Tomek watched as the thick, yellow liquid slowly rose in the glass, bubbles streaming to the surface.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Jim asked as he set the drink in front of him.
Beside Tomek, the football fan continued to scream profanities at the screen.
‘You wouldn’t want to know,’ he replied, then turned to the space in the pub where the vending machine had once been. ‘Unsuccessful business venture, was it?’
‘Like you wouldn’t believe,’ Jim answered. ‘I swear to fucking God, I ever catch the fucker who sold it to me, I’ll break his fucking kneecaps.’
‘Not the sort of thing you admit to a copper, Jim. But I’ll let you off this time.’
‘You’re a copper?’ the football fan screeched as he spun the top half of his body towards Tomek.
‘Unfortunately so,’ Tomek replied. ‘Someone somewhere along the line decided it was a good idea to make me one.’
At first, Tomek had been expecting the man to swing for him, or to start an altercation, but the reality was much different. The man set his beer down on the counter, then patted Tomek on the back. ‘Nice work. My dad used to work with the dogs in the seventies and eighties. Got a lot of respect for you and the work you do.’
‘Cheers,’ Tomek replied, feeling slightly dumbfounded.
‘You been working on that murder with the young girl in the church?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I saw you got an arrest. Nice one. Fucking awful what happened to that girl.’
‘Thanks,’ Tomek said. ‘I was the SIO for a time.’
The man held out his hand. It was sweaty and clammy, but Tomek didn’t mind.
‘Good job. The world could do with a lot more people like you.’
Tomek smiled awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t often he received praise, let alone from an outside voice.
A moment later, Jim placed the card machine in front of Tomek.
‘Ready when you are,’ he said.
As Tomek reached into his wallet for his card, the man stopped him and said, ‘This one’s on me, all right?’
‘No, I couldn’t.’
‘Nonsense. It’s the least I can do.’
At that moment, Tomek felt truly humbled. To have a complete stranger appreciate the work he did, to understand and acknowledge the toll it took on him, was something he’d never experienced before. And after letting the man reach into his pocket and hand some cash across, Tomek stayed at the bar, watching the football with him. He joined in with the man’s frustrations at the players’ total lack of passing ability, and together they screamed at the television for ten minutes until half time.
Just as the whistle blew, Tomek felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
He held a finger up to his new friend, apologised, and stepped away. He answered the call without checking the caller ID and held his phone to his ear.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence.
