CHAPTER 81
Rhod may have been glad to see me, but he had an odd way of showing it, which consisted of dumping the cat into my lap after I had slumped into the settee, followed by recounting what seemed like a century of playground gossip, largely involving children I had never heard of. Blake was at work, so Dad and Mam had driven boy and beast back to our place, together with a big pot of cawl. My larger boy was home at six, and after we had worked our way through a chip supper (I was willing neither to cook nor let Mam do so), the three of us were alone. Three, plus Fritz, who was snoring. Blake set a video going, something about climbing in North Wales he had picked up on our trip, and left boy and cat to their own devices.

“How’s the girl, love?”

“Tired, when we took her to Annie’s. Sore, still, I would think, but she’s got some very good people to watch over her. Annie even sent a doll with a nurse’s uniform to the hospital. I seem to have inherited a lot of good friends, love”

“They probably see what I saw, woman. Though hopefully I get to see a bit more than they do, if you see my point”

I snuggled up to him.

“Could be arranged, if you play your cards right”

“What cards are those, then?”

“Whatever you happen to have, of course! Hang on… what with the boy’s epic stories of adventure, and an animal dumped in my lap, I nearly forgot. Pass the phone?”

It only rang twice before the near-shout of “Powell!”

“Hiya, Lainey. How’s you?”

“Fine, all four of us, aye? How’s the new girl?”

That chimed so well with my earlier thoughts about that I felt my eyes sting, just a little. It seemed that when I took on a friend, so did all those already there for me.

“Fine, Lainey, but would I be right in thinking Annie has been keeping you up to speed?”

She barked out a laugh, so much more at ease than she had been in the dark days of her breakdown.

“You know us too well, woman! Not the reason for the call, is it?”

“Ah, I is plotting sneaksily, just as you taught me. What are your Summer plans?”

“Summer? Oh! You up for another invasion with Kev and Vicky?”

“Oh, most definitely. Two secs”

I turned to Blake.

“Before I cause a mass family argument, this Summer? Kev and Vicky and a villa?”

He used the godbox to pause the video, and our son looked round sharply.

“Want to go to the beach again for Summer, son?”

“With the silly toilets and Sassy and Tone and Taz and---?”

“Yup!”

“Yay!”

Blake turned back to me, grinning and nodding, as I resumed my own chat.

“Man and boy have said yes, so let Kev know, if you haven’t already”

Lainey’s voice was warm.

“Ah, no need. He was already asking, so it’s just a confirmation, aye? Vicky it is, she has a real nose for these places. Ought to be doing our job. Now, what is it on your mind? What exactly are you sneaksily plotting?”

“Camping, in June. Out to Annie’s place. They do a music thing, bit like the one at Christmas, just with more people and nicer weather”

“Ah again. I know the thing…”

She paused, and when she spoke again, her tone was a lot softer.

“Di, love: you do know what that weekend is all about? With Annie, as well as Steph? That killing? Melanie Stevens?”

I found myself nodding, which was always stupid.

“Yes. I am aware, Lainey. It’s one of the reasons I would like to go. With the team, if you get me. We had a bloody good break up in the North, and I would like to see that momentum kept going”

“When are you putting yourself up for them, Di?”

“Um?”

“Your sergeant’s, for starters. Several on your team should be thinking about it, aye?”

“And leave the team?”

There was a much softer laugh.

“Afraid I have been a little ahead of you there, woman. Or at least Sammy has. And Bevan Williams. You are not the only sneaksy plotter, and it has been noted in High Places that the rank structure is a little skewed. Comes from the way it was set up, aye, but there should be at least a couple of sergeants in the mix”

“Yeah, but they would have to open it out to others, people outside the team. I might not get the post, and if I get the stripes, I’ll be moved out”

“Trust in Bev and higher up, woman. I will let you into a secret here: they have asked me to draft the job description. I may just be slanting it, just a little. There’ll be two posts, and one of them will be tailored for you. The other one’s for Rhys. Keeps their diversity box ticked, aye?”

I sat for a few seconds as I chose my words as carefully as possible.

“Is this… Is this fair and open competition, Lainey?” Really?”

“No. Not in any way. What it is, to be blunt, is common bloody sense. So listen to me, go and start your studying, get the qualifications done, and take your present. Frankly, I am surprised at how you picked your career path. With your background, you should have come in Fast Stream, aye?”

“I had my reasons, Lainey”

Another pause, and this time, as she spoke again, there was almost a purr of threat.

“I do know, woman. Two arseholes in particular, am I right?”

Stop nodding, DC Sutton.

“You know it, Lainey”

“Indeed I do. I could have been there too, but my bosses pushed a bit harder. My turn to push now, aye? Do it for me? As well as yourself, of course”

Suddenly, she was laughing, and it was pure, genuine.

“It’ll sort one problem out, anyway! Lot less confusion when someone asks for DC Sutton! Speak to Bev, Di. Please. Now: Horley? Who do you have in mind?”

Subject changed, which relieved me.

“A mixture, Lainey. I want the team along, but I also want the girls. Deb’s girls, those that feel safe enough. I have been doing a lot of thinking, especially watching Annie’s lot, and it’s all about acceptance. Deb does a wonderful job, but it’s all a bubble. This would be a chance to show them there’s a world out there, one that can see them as who they really are and not get snarky about it”

“I see exactly what you mean, woman. With Sarah and that, I have a bit of an insight, aye? Now, just thinking it through, I have a suggestion…”

I listened to her plan. I liked it rather a lot.

Two days later, I was back in work, and as always it was a bit of a culture shock. Sammy had been true to his word, again ‘as always’, and we were working normal office hours for once. I gave the obligatory feedback on what Alun insisted on referring to as “woman and fanny”, before Sammy called a halt to the ensuing ribaldry.

“You lot manage to surprise me. Just when I think you couldn’t possibly get any worse, you do. It makes me proud, I tell you! Proud! Rhys, Di: you two got a moment? Interview room down the corridor? Bring a brew”

I was glad that Elaine had given me the heads up, because it was exactly what she had predicted, as Sammy rambled for a few minutes before getting to the point.

“I think we have turned a corner, mates. This team was initially set up for a specific case, but you have all done more than enough to make it a fixture now. That brings us to a crunchy point in proceedings. Chain of command. We have a gap here. It needs filling”

Rhys looked hard at me, and I gave him a little go-ahead nod to show I understood, and he took the lead.

“Why us two, Sammy?”

“What do you mean, Rhys?”

“Come off it, Sammy. Just us in here, as you planned. Stop teasing, OK? You are on about stripes, aren’t you?”

“Yes”

“Then why us two? I think we both--- I know why Diane, and she won’t admit it, but so does she. But I would like to hear it from you. We both would. Am I right, Di?”

I gave just enough of a nod to register, keeping my eyes on Sammy, then asked the killer question.

“Why us and not some of the others? I think that is what he is asking”

For the first time I could remember, I watched our boss as he showed classic displacement activity, before he caught himself at it, putting his mug down.

“Truth? Because you are both the best of the bunch, and I do not want… Fresh meat is the wrong name. I am murdering a metaphor here, but I don’t want meat that someone else has cooked, if you get me. Not going to make jokes about game birds, well-hung, no shit this time. I want, we need, a couple of sergeants. I want continuity, I want people I know, and I want sergeants who know the team. I am going to trust you two here, but who else on the team do you think would be able to pull it off. Apart from the other DC Sutton, and he is only out of the frame because I need two, two only, and he is not quite ahead of you two. There would also be problems if you were the only two selected”

Rhys pushed, once more.

“Candice? Ellen? Rob? Alun?”

Sammy shrugged, and once more I could see how deeply tired he was.

“Mate, I am not going into details about colleagues, and you should understand why, but there are very good reasons. Now, I think we’re done, so if we can get back to the room, I have another announcement to make, one a bit less personal”

“Can I run another one past the team? Afterwards?”

“Heavy?”

“No. not really”

“Then you first, OK?”

We made our way back to the others, and Sammy called for attention.

“Mrs Blake here has some words of wisdom to share. Di?”

“Um, right. Straight to the point, then. Anyone here not enjoy the week away? No? How about the music down the pub?”

Some muttering, then Lexie shouldered the role of spokeswoman.

“It was great, wasn’t it? What are you offering, Di? We all know that look!”

“Ah. I was camping at Christmas, and no, Candice, I do not ever want to, not with you, as I am a happily married straight woman. Yes it was cold, but there is a warmer version this June. I would like to see about a team run over to England”

Lexie grinned.

“Would this be the home of that tall redheaded woman? The nutter?”

Where did that bit come from? Steph had been very restrained that night.

“You talking about her climbing or her playing, Lexie?”

“Both, really. Enfys says she gets really over the top sometimes, when she plays, that is, not the walking up walls stuff”

Alun was the one to laugh, and comment.

“You still in touch, then? Just in case things… ooh, look at the colour!”

“Oh, bugger off, all of you! I liked her! I am allowed to talk to other women, you know—at least I’m not married!”

Several people together called out “Yet!”, and I did a Sammy, holding up both hands.

“Enough, you sods! It is a charity event, and yes, it is camping, but there are loads of B&B’s nearby. I thought we could go as a team, just a couple of nights, and I was also going to see if some of Deb’s lot wanted to go along. Elaine Powell’s lot are heavily involved, along with Annie Johnson’s family”

Alun looked a little puzzled.

“Who?”

“Annie Price. Used to be a sergeant here, married name”

“Oh. Ah!”

“Ah indeed. I think you know who I mean. Am I right? And it is all level, for those who might need a bit of a hand”

He nodded, and I softened my smile along with my words.

“Get Lynne out of the house with you for a bit? Anyway, everyone up for it?”

I got their agreement, and handed over to Sammy, who answered the unasked question.

“I will square it with the brass, but I will guarantee their support for this one. Start sorting out a tent and stuff, or book a room. Di will let you have date and place. Now: back to work. We have a new job”

There were a few groans, but I was watching Sammy carefully, and his smile had slid smoothly from Cheeky to Feral. Something was brewing, and I suspected he liked the idea of the new case. He didn’t disappoint me at all.

“Mates, I really, REALLY hate to leave loose ends, so I have been doing a little moving and shaking. This is connected to a certain Charlie Cooper”

I saw Jon turn pale, Rhys reaching across to take his hand in comfort, but Sammy had his own hands up.

“No, nothing like that. No more kiddy fiddlers, which is actually the point. I have been doing my own excavations, and they concern one of our witnesses. Ben Nicol-Clements”

He let the muttering build just long enough before he went hands-up once more.

“Cut to the chase, I will. I have been looking into his record, and it does not sit easily with the man we saw at Cooper’s trial. The offences that put him on the Sex Offenders’ register for life were predatory crimes, the sort of thing I’d have expected from someone like the Evans clan, and that is not what I have seen and heard about this man. Accordingly, this will be exactly what this unit is officially for, what the Yanks call cold-case work. My instincts, my nose as a copper, smell a stitch-up. While we are on normal office hours, I would really like that stitching undone, and whoever it was that held the needle introduced to the idea of actions and fucking consequences. Case files are on the table by the urn. Dig in, divvy up the roles, and let’s earn our pay”