Little Boy Blue

45

Helen pushed the door to and tossed her jacket on to the sofa. She felt drained and dispirited, her high hopes of the morning dashed. She needed time and space to gather her thoughts – gather herself – but she had only just made it back to her desk when she heard Charlie’s angry voice:

‘You could have spoken to me first…’

Helen turned to see Charlie shutting the door behind her. Helen stared at her, then at the door, irritated by this act of insubordination. She was not in the mood to be crossed today.

‘I wasn’t under the impression I had to run my decisions past you,’ Helen replied, just about holding her anger in check.

‘Jackson is a good suspect.’

‘I agree, but you were in that interview room. Do you think he’s guilty?’

‘It’s too early to say. We have to go at him again.’

‘He’s being released as we speak.’

‘Why, for God’s sake? We’ve interviewed him once. We can hold him for at least another forty-eight hours -’

‘Because if he is an innocent man, I don’t intend to ruin his life completely. He has already been the subject of some pretty vile speculation in the press -’

‘I appreciate that -’

‘Do you? There are people out there who, for valid reasons, want to keep the different parts of their life separate, who’ve committed no offence -’

‘But Elder rejected him. Jackson told us as much. He wanted sex with him and he was rejected. He has a strong motive -’

‘So strong that two weeks prior to this murder, he ordered a collection of bondage items with which to commit the crime. This was not a crime of passion and you shouldn’t dress it up as one.’

‘You don’t know that for sure,’ Charlie threw back at her, her anger flaring now. ‘He could have bought those items discreetly, intending to use them recreationally, but on that particular night he was angry and rejected -’

‘Put him in the room then,’ Helen spat back, ‘put him at the crime scene and then we can have this conversation.’

The two women had now squared off against each other. Helen’s eyes flitted to her office window. She could tell the rest of the team were listening to their argument and she was keen to bring it to a conclusion.

‘I think we’re making a mistake,’ Charlie said defiantly.

‘Noted,’ Helen replied. ‘But ask yourself why you’re so hot on Jackson as a suspect. Could it be because you want to prove something to Sanderson?’

‘He was my collar and she brought him in.’

‘And now he’s “yours” again you want to see it through, one in the eye for your fellow DS.’

‘That’s not true. Yes, Sanderson was out of line -’

‘I told her to bring him in – because you weren’t here.’

This time Charlie said nothing in response, stung by the implication.

‘You were late and I will not let anyone’s lack of professionalism hamper this investigation.’

‘That’s completely unfair,’ Charlie said, stunned by this personal attack. ‘I work harder than anyone else -’

‘It’s a statement of fact. You weren’t here when you should have been.’

Charlie stared at Helen, speechless.

‘But I’ll tell you what. As you’re so convinced Jackson is guilty, you can take the surveillance detail.’

‘Oh, come on, that’s a DC’s job at best -’

‘It’s yours now,’ Helen asserted.

Charlie opened her mouth to protest, but Helen continued:

‘Bring me evidence of his guilt. Show me I’m wrong and I’ll eat my words.’

She crossed the room and pointedly opened the door of her office.

‘But know one thing, Charlie. This case is not about you. You may think it is, but it’s not. It’s about an innocent man -’

Helen’s voice faltered as Jake’s lifeless corpse once more sprung to mind.

‘- an innocent man who deserves justice.’

‘Why are you being like this?’ Charlie said, emotion suddenly ambushing her.

‘Because it’s my job. You’d do well to remember yours.’

Helen stared at Charlie, challenging her to respond. But this time she didn’t. Instead, she turned and walked straight out of Helen’s office and towards the exit without saying a word to anyone. Helen retreated quickly to her desk, keen to busy herself with her case files. She could feel her face burning, as if she were the one in the wrong. She needed to regain her composure.

Silence reigned in the incident room beyond but Helen knew that that was just show. They were all trying very hard to look busy and engaged, but as Helen distractedly turned the pages of the case file in front of her, she knew instinctively that all eyes were on her. Everybody was watching her, but nobody was saying anything.