Copycat

by C. S. Barnes

  ‘I hear Oliver Lane is blowing a fuse about representing Eleanor,’ Edd said, stepping into the office and dropping himself into the chair opposite Melanie’s.

  ‘Can you blame him?’ the DI replied.

  ‘It’s going to be a rough one. There’s no doubting that she did it, is there.’

  ‘Like I told Mrs Gregory, even without the confession, Eleanor left enough evidence lying around for us to put a strong case together. Plus, whether the confession stays in the police transcripts or not, I think Lane will have a hard time convincing the girl not to confess again,’ Melanie answered.

  Chris followed Edd’s lead and crossed the boundary into the office, coming to a stop behind her seated colleague. ‘They’ll try her as an adult, won’t they? Diminished capacity, though?’ the DC asked, her tone somewhat worried.

  Melanie shrugged. ‘Unfortunately, that’s not our job, Burton.’

  Chris gave her boss a thin smile and Edd reached behind him to give his colleague a squeeze on the hand. Something about their closeness warmed Melanie again and, quite suddenly, the DI decided that she’d really done enough paperwork for one late afternoon. She filed away the documents that she’d been working on in a lockable drawer and stashed the key in her suit pocket before standing from her desk.

  ‘Anyone hungry?’ Melanie asked. Edd and Chris shared a look. ‘I’m pretty sure I owe you two a Chinese.’

  The End