Little Boy Blue

123

The unmarked car hurtled down the road, sirens blaring and light flashing. Even though she was safely strapped in, Charlie held tight to the armrest. Sanderson was wound tight tonight and driving way too aggressively. She didn’t dare say anything, but she didn’t want to become a casualty of her colleague’s desperation to nail their boss either.

They were heading fast towards Shirley, but as they reached the outskirts, Charlie’s phone pinged loudly. Sanderson gave her an accusing look, as if Charlie had deliberately done this to distract her, before returning her attention to the road. Irked, Charlie pulled out her phone. But as she did so, her finger froze, hovering over the Read button. The message was from Helen.

Charlie glanced sideways at Sanderson, then pressed the button. The message was short and sweet.

‘Western Docks. Quay 42.’

It was timed as having been sent three minutes ago. Was Helen in trouble? Did she need help? Was this her covert way of asking for it, by texting instead of calling? Charlie stared at the message, unsure what to do. Should she text back? Probably – that’s what a good friend and colleague would do – but if it was later discovered that she had been communicating with a suspect on the run, then that would be her career over. She owed Helen so much – her livelihood, her position, her life even – but there was too much at stake now and, if she was honest, there were too many unanswered questions.

Which is why, with a heavy heart, Charlie turned her phone towards Sanderson and said:

‘I think you’d better see this.’