Liar Liar

64

‘Tell me exactly what you said to her.’

Deborah Parks stared at her boss, refusing to be intimidated by his aggressive manner.

‘She’s an old friend and she asked me to talk to her off the record. She wanted some background info on certain members of the team, that’s all.’

‘Your team said you were away from duties for over an hour. You must have been in a very talkative mood.’

‘It wasn’t like that!’

‘So what was it like?’

Deborah squirmed in her seat, privately cursing whichever colleague of hers had dobbed her in. Adam Latham was a canny operator, very political and extremely sensitive about both his reputation and that of the Service. He actively encouraged internal gossip and whistleblowing, as long as the matters arising could be dealt with discreetly. He prided himself on being too smart to be duped and his little network of informers helped him justify that bold claim.

‘You left your designated work to sit down with Helen Grace and within the hour one of our own officers is in cuffs. One of your colleagues. What did you say to her?’

‘She asked me a direct question about Richard Ford. And I answered as honestly as I could.’

‘Saying what?’

‘That he was a good officer, but was socially isolated.’

‘And?’

‘And that he’d failed to make promotion.’

‘Jesus Christ.’

‘I couldn’t lie, Adam. She’s a Detective Inspector investigating a double murder and she asked me a direct question.’

‘And what would she have done if you’d refused? Arrested you?’

‘That’s hardly the point. I’m loyal to this place, of course I am, but someone is doing this and we all have a moral duty to help find out who.’

Adam Latham eyeballed Deborah silently, while chewing on his biro. She refused to blink, refused to bow her head in contrition – she had to front this out. But already she could feel the ground shifting beneath her feet. Latham was an old-fashioned guy who prized loyalty and solidarity above all things, and she knew that in talking to the ‘enemy’ she had committed a cardinal sin. There was only one way for Latham – his way – and Deborah knew that she would suffer for her close association with Helen Grace.

‘Grace is clutching at straws,’ Latham said suddenly, jolting Deborah out of her thoughts. ‘Time will show that. For now, we’ll take the line that Ford is just helping the police with their enquiries and that we fully expect him to be back at work protecting the people of Southampton in the very near future. I have talked to our press people and they are drafting a statement, which I expect everybody to read and follow to the letter. Is that clear?’

‘Of course.’

‘No more talking out of school. It’s time for the wagon train to circle, Deborah. If you get my drift.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Good, that’s settled then. Now fuck off.’

It was said with such contempt that for a moment Deborah froze, uncertain if she had heard him correctly. But the way Latham ignored her presence, as he picked up the phone, left her in no doubt as to his opinion of her. She stood quickly and walked out and away down the corridor. With each step, her heart slid a little further into her boots. She had done nothing wrong, but she would be punished nevertheless. Latham would no doubt let it be known that she couldn’t be trusted, that she was a turncoat. Through no fault of her own, she would pay the price for somebody else’s crimes.