Pop Goes the Weasel

100

It was past midnight and the incident room was deserted. Those officers who weren’t chasing up leads were asleep in bed, aware that another punishing day awaited them tomorrow. Helen had gathered up the case files and was looking for something to put them in. It wasn’t good practice to remove them from the station but she wanted to take them home and pore over them once more with a fresh pair of eyes. Once again, she cursed herself for having been led so easily down a blind alley.

Clip clop. Clip clop.

Someone was coming down the deserted corridor.

Detective Superintendent Ceri Harwood. Immediately Helen’s defences were raised. She hadn’t seen or heard Harwood for a while and that suddenly made her very nervous.

‘Working late?’ Harwood asked.

‘Just finishing. You?’

‘Yes, but that’s not really why I’m here so late. I wanted to talk to you alone and it seems the witching hour is the best time to find you.’

A little insult casually thrown in. Helen had a nasty feeling she was being ambushed.

‘I didn’t want to do this when the team were here. These things are best done… gracefully.’

‘Meaning?’ Helen replied.

‘I’m taking you off the case.’

There it was – out in the open.

‘On what grounds?’

‘On the grounds that you’ve ballsed up, Helen. We have no suspect, no one in custody and five bodies on the slab. And I have a chief investigating officer who’s been so distracted protecting her bad-seed nephew that she failed to spot that her own deputy was fucking a key witness.’

‘I think you’re being unfair. We’ve made mistakes but we are closer than we’ve ever been to finding her. We’re in the endgame now and with the greatest of respect, I would sug-’

‘Don’t pretend you’ve ever had any respect for me, Helen. I know what you think. And if you’d even vaguely tried to hide your… contempt, it might not have come to this. But the truth is that you’re bad news, Helen. You spread contagion wherever you go and I have no confidence in your leadership of this investigation. Which is why I was forced to go to the police commissioner.’

‘Who’s taking over?’

‘I am.’

Helen smiled bitterly.

‘So just as we are finally getting close you climb on board? Is this how you work? Is this how you’ve climbed so high without ever actually doing anything?’

‘Be careful, Helen.’

‘You’re a glory hunter. A parasite.’

‘Call me what you will. But I am now in charge and you are out.’

Harwood paused, enjoying her moment of victory.

‘I’ll handle the press -’

‘I bet you will.’

‘And I’ll tell the team tomorrow morning first thing. Why don’t you tidy up here and take a week’s leave? We’ll find something else for you when you come back. Perhaps you can tidy up the Alexia Louszko murder?’

‘You’ll be lucky if you see me here again.’

‘That’s entirely your decision, Helen.’

Having said her piece, she left, flinging a cursory ‘goodnight’ over her shoulder. Helen watched her go, a riot of emotions firing through her as she realized the comprehensive nature of her defeat. She had been routed. The investigation and her career were now in ruins and there was nothing she could do about it.