by M A Comley
“No, no one, not to my knowledge.” She searched her mind, reflecting on what had gone on in the past few months, for any hints some of her team might have dropped, and shook her head. “Nope, nothing is coming to mind. I’d better get up and start my day. Thank you for listening and trying to help solve the issue.”
He pulled her in close for a kiss. “You’re welcome to use me as a sounding board any day, you know that.”
“What would I do without you in my life?”
“You’d cope. You’re more resilient than you give yourself credit for.”
Her mouth dropped open for a moment. “No way. I’d be lost in this unforgiving wilderness called life, if you weren’t by my side for the ride.”
“I doubt that’s true. Shoo… you’re going to be late. Or is that your aim for the day?”
She chuckled. “Damn, you’ve seen through me yet again. I love you, Mark, don’t ever forget how much you’ve changed my life since we first met.”
“Hey, right backatcha. If Misty hadn’t been poisoned, I’d still be a lonely bachelor vet eating takeaways every night and sharing my bed with dozens of bed mites instead of a beautiful woman.”
She wrinkled her nose at the thought. “Eww… thanks for sharing that ghastly image.”
“Sorry. Go. I’ll make some breakfast while you’re in the shower.”
“I knew I married you for a reason.”
She darted out of the bed before he could take a swipe at her backside. She took a longer, hotter shower than usual, while she contemplated what lay ahead of her. Maybe a new crime will have landed on my desk and help me to prolong the decision further. Nah, the chief would come down on me like a ton of bricks if that happened, again. Today is the day, whether I like it or not.
After going through her usual morning routine, she dressed in a navy-blue suit and descended the stairs, the inviting smell of cooked bacon drawing her to the kitchen. There, sitting on the table, steam wafting from the plate, was a cooked breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans and a slice of toast. “Crikey, I swear you’re trying to make me fat.”
“Nonsense. You’re as skinny as the day I first met you, in spite of my efforts to get you to put on an extra few pounds.”
She turned sideways and stuck out her stomach, not that there was much to stick out. “Now I know you’re telling porkies.”
“Sit, stop trying to push your stomach out of shape.”
“I won’t need to after eating this lot.” She took a final glance at the clock. It was eight-fifteen, no need to rush breakfast, it would only take her twenty minutes to drive into work.
Mark sat opposite her with a slightly bigger breakfast. They ate in silence, apart from the odd moan of satisfaction that seeped out now and again. Sara washed her breakfast down with two cups of coffee, kissed her wonderful husband goodbye and left the house.
She pulled up outside the station with ten minutes to spare. She groaned when she saw DCI Carol Price waiting beside her car as Sara parked next to her. Smile pinned in place, she exited the vehicle. “Morning, ma’am, lovely day. I just hope it’s not going to be too hot today.”
Carol raised an eyebrow. “Why do we Brits always resort to discussing the weather when something is playing on our minds or we’re trying our best to avoid a certain subject?”
“I wasn’t aware that I was,” Sara replied, her smile never wavering.
“You think you know me, Sara Ramsey, the trouble is, you don’t. I, on the other hand, can read you like a damn book. Don’t try and pull a fast one on me again.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Have you made your decision yet?”
“Kind of.”
“What? You’re cutting it close to the wire. You have until midday to give me your answer, or did that particular fact slip your mind?”
“No, I’m fully aware of the time restraint you have laid at my door, thanks, boss.”
Carol narrowed her eyes. “Bollocks, it’s not me and you know it. We’re in this together, Sara, you’d be wise to remember that.”
“I know. I hope we don’t fall out about this. I’ve sensed a little tension in the air since this issue was first discussed.”
“Nothing on my part, I can assure you. We all have responsibilities we need to overcome and deal with as necessary. Some are more pleasant than others. It sucks that I’ve had to force your hand with this one, I didn’t mean to, but you kept dodging the bullet, so to speak, and did your best to avoid dealing with the issue head-on.”
“So, I’m to blame for headquarter’s failings now, is that it?”
“Don’t talk shit, Sara. No one is to blame. It’s to do with making the job viable for all of us.” She opened up the main entrance door and held it open for Sara to follow her into the building.
“If you insist,” Sara bit back, her mood darkening since she’d arrived in the car park.
The chief stared at her and shook her head. Without saying a word, Price stomped up the stairs ahead of her. Sara gulped, annoyed that she had vented her anger on her superior, not for the first time over the last few weeks.
“Sorry,” she called after her boss.
Her apology was ignored. She stopped off at the ladies’ toilets to check her appearance in the mirror and to give herself a pep talk at the same time. “Get a grip. Stop snapping at people and get a frigging grip, for everyone’s sake.”
The toilet flushed in the locked cubicle behind her, and she cringed as the door opened and Carla emerged.
“Talking to yourself again? Should I be concerned about you?”
“Good morning. No, not yet.” She held her arms out to the sides and slapped them against her thighs. “Today is the day.” She took a moment to check the other cubicles were not in use. “I’m a wreck already. Just had a run-in with the chief in the car park, which has pissed me off.”
“You’re putting too much pressure on yourself, Sara. Give yourself a break. This isn’t down to you. Yes, you’re the one who has been instructed to fire the bullet but you’re quite within your rights to pass the buck on this one. Blame headquarters, it’s their fault after all, not yours. You hear me?”
Sara appreciated Carla’s insightful words, but it would never put a different spin on things. “I hear you. The countdown has begun anyway, I’m going to announce it to the team this morning. They can discuss it between themselves until eleven-forty-five. After that, I need a definitive name to present to the chief so that she can issue the chop and give the unlucky person all the details. I genuinely hate my job at times. I’ve never, ever had to deal with something as major as this in my life before, not professionally,” she added, after her first husband’s murder back in Liverpool fleetingly shot through her mind.
“You haven’t had it easy over the years and, believe me when I say this, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now. I’m glad you confided in me, I feel it has eased the burden on your shoulders slightly.”
“It did. Just not enough to prevent the guilt surfacing once more. Okay, deep breath, I guess I’m ready for the shit to hit the fan now. Stand well back when it does, act surprised, as though this is the first you’ve heard about the issue, okay?”
“Right, if that’s what you want. Would you like me to grill you? Kick off a little? How do you want me to react to the news?”
“It would be better if most of the verbal assault came from you, I suppose.”
Carla winked at her. “I promise not to hold back.”
Sara slapped a hand to her face and shook her head. “Shit! What have I let myself in for now?”
Carla then did something Sara hadn’t been expecting. She hugged her and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Have confidence that the outcome will be for the best.”
“If you say so. Let’s go and see what lies in store for us as we enter the lions’ den.”
Carla chuckled. “Slight exaggeration there. You’re the boss, you have orders just like the rest of us. The team will unders
tand and appreciate that, I promise you.”
“They’re the best team around, that’s why I’m so hesitant to tear them apart.”
“Have faith. Something might rear its head that will make the chore a little easier to swallow, for all concerned.”
“I hope so.”
They left the ladies’, and Carla pushed the door to the incident room open ahead of her. “Coffee?”
“Silly question.” The team were all at their desks. “Morning all. As we don’t have an open case at the moment, now is the right time to run something past you that I’ve been dealing with for the last month or so. Carla will be handing out the drinks; put your orders in and then gather around, if you will? Christine, maybe you can lend her a hand, distributing the cups?”
“On it, boss.” Christine left her seat and joined Carla.
Before long, the two women had bought and dispensed the coffees.
Sara pulled a chair out from the nearest available desk and sat down. She crossed and uncrossed her legs a number of times until she found a comfortable position to begin. “Okay, what I’m about to say will come as a huge shock to most of you, if not all of you.”
“Are you leaving us?” Carla demanded.
Sara shook her head. “That would be wishful thinking on your part, I believe, DS Jameson.”
“That’s a tad unfair,” Carla bit back, folding her arms.
“Sorry. This is a hard enough undertaking as it is, please don’t make it any harder than it needs to be.”
“I’ll try not to. Sounds ominous. Let’s have it, boss,” Carla replied, the look in her eyes telling Sara everything was going to be all right.
Sara smiled and let out a long sigh to prepare herself. “I was instructed by the DCI, who was only following instructions from headquarters, to cull a member of staff. Sorry, that’s laying things on the line, rather than sugar-coating it, I owe you that much.”
“What?” Carla shouted. “Cull? As in give one of us the boot? How come? We’re such a successful team, why would they even consider breaking us up?”
“Believe me, I’ve been battling this stupidity for a full month now. Today we have reached the ultimate deadline, where I have to provide a name for the chop, for want of a better word. Does anyone have any thoughts?”
“For what? Giving up our pension at the drop of a hat?” Carla shouted back. “They’ve got to be bloody joking, pulling your leg, boss. They have to be. Why on earth would they even consider breaking up an experienced team like ours?”
“It’s the cuts, Carla. I promise you, I’ve done all I could. Every waking minute of the day we haven’t been chasing criminals, I’ve been proactive, trying my very best to fight for everyone’s job. At one point I even spoke about handing in my own notice, if it would help. I was chastised for being childish. Not how I’d anticipated that conversation going, I can assure you. So, what do we think, guys?”
The team all looked at each other and shrugged. Everyone kept their mouths shut. An awkward silence descended until Christine raised her hand to speak.
“Go on, Christine. What’s your take on this scenario?”
“I suppose, if push came to shove, boss, I could hand my notice in. Scott and I have been talking about having a baby recently, anyway.”
“Really?” Sara asked, her mood lightening with the prospect of a successful outcome until it dawned on her she’d be losing one of the team’s greatest assets. Christine was their shit-hot computer expert. “But wait, that won’t do. You’re far too experienced to consider being without. You have excellent skills we mere mortals are lacking.”
“Oh, yes, I hadn’t really thought about that, boss.”
Sara smiled at the constable and scanned the other faces staring at her. Each of them wore a pained expression, which chipped away at her heart. “Anyone else?” she asked timidly.
Again, the silence jarred with her. Until Sara glanced in Will’s direction. He was fidgeting in his seat and fiddling with his tie. Will was forty-six now, a detective sergeant with over twenty years on the force. Hmm… close to retirement age. Closer than anyone else on the team, I suppose. She took a gamble. “Will, do you have anything to say on the subject?”
“As it happens, plenty, ma’am.”
Sara cringed, hating the word. “Care to share with us?”
“Well, I suppose my age would count against me, if you were to carefully scrutinise each and every one of us. Why don’t I make it easy for you?”
Sara uncrossed her legs and sat forward, her elbows digging into her thighs for a moment until she relaxed her position. “What are you saying, Will?”
“I’m saying I would be willing to hand in my resignation, if it came to the crunch. Let’s face it, I’m an outsider really, compared to the rest of you.”
Sara shook her head. “You’re no such thing, Will. You’re just as valuable to this team as the rest of us are.”
“Whatever.” He shrugged, and his gaze fell to the floor.
“Are you serious about resigning?” Sara prompted, her pulse racing. She hadn’t expected the dreaded undertaking to be as easy as this, never in a million years.
Will stretched his legs out in front of him and placed his hands behind his head. “The more I think about it, the more the idea is growing on me. Hey, I’d like to make one thing clear, though, if I may?”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m going to miss you guys if I do go. Anyway, it would stop the missus nagging me about not being able to take off at a moment’s notice to go on a bargain holiday when they crop up. And there’s the added bonus of having a lie-in, of course.”
The team all laughed, and Craig threw a screwed-up piece of paper at his colleague. “Idiot, you’ll be missed, Will. I agree with the boss, you are a valued member of the team. Although, one thing I won’t miss is the dreadful jokes you bombard us with daily. I’m sure your wife will appreciate hearing them all day long.”
“Shit! Never thought about that. I bet she’ll end up on a murder charge before long, being forced to put up with me twenty-four-seven.”
The team all laughed, even Sara cracked her face as the relief flooded through her that a solution had been found at last. Had she seriously considered each of the team members and their different attributes, she supposed she would have come to the same conclusion Will had come to in the end. “Are you sure, Will? Wouldn’t you rather discuss the situation with your wife first before you hand in your notice?”
“Not really. It’s about time I grew a pair and made a decision of my own without her sticking her oar in. Nope, I’m definite about my decision, ma’am. When do you want me to leave?”
“Crikey, I haven’t thought that far ahead. Let me have a word with the chief and get back to you. Bugger, I’m stunned by how quickly this issue has been resolved, given the length of time I’ve been fretting about it.”
“I’ve felt a tad stale for a while, if I’m honest,” Will replied.
“You should have spoken up,” Sara said. She rose from her seat, itching to get on the phone to the chief to break the news she was anticipating.
“You know me, I plod on regardless.”
“Well, we’re going to miss your smiling face around here, Will.”
He snorted. “Now I know you’re fibbing.”
Sara approached him, stuck out her hand, and he slipped his into hers. “It’s true. You’re as much a part of this team as anyone else, and I’ve never had any reason to doubt your abilities during any cases we’ve worked on together.” She turned to face the rest of them. “That goes for everyone. Which is why I’ve been going through hell for the past few weeks, since the chief first raised the issue with me.”
Will smiled. “Your problem, ma’am, is that you’re too sensitive. You had a job to do, you should have asked the question and left it up to us to decide. As Christine stated, everyone likely has something going on in their lives that could have been considered.”
“You’re right. I appreciate yo
u guys more than you’ll ever know.” A large lump appeared in her throat, and before the others could see the tears pricking her eyes, she coughed slightly and rushed into her office. There, she sat behind her desk. Trying to compose herself for the next five minutes, she tinkered with the post vying for her attention until she felt ready to place the call the chief was expecting.
Finally, she felt calm enough to ring the chief.
“Yes.”
“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am. I thought you’d want to hear the news right away.”
“Well, don’t leave me hanging, DI Ramsey. What news are you referring to?”
Sara inhaled a large breath and let it out as she spoke. “The news that has been a thorn in the side for both of us over the past month. Someone has volunteered to resign from their post.”
“Oh, I see. And who might that person be? And don’t tell me it’s you.”
Sara laughed. “I’ve already tried that one and got nowhere. No, it’s Will Rogerson I find myself indebted to.”
“Will Rogerson,” the chief replied quietly, as if mulling over who that could be. “Ah, yes, I recall him now. That’s good news then, he’s not far off retirement, so won’t be much out of pocket, you must be relieved by the decision, Sara.”
“Not really, ma’am, it amounts to the same thing, more stress on the rest of us, what with being a man down.”
“I know it’ll take some getting used to, but you and your team will do it. I’m confident about that. You’re a competent bunch.”
“Okay, now the who is out of the way, I suppose the next step would be to obtain the when from you. How long will I have his services for before he leaves?”
“He’ll need to work another month, so make sure you get your money’s worth out of him.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say, ma’am.”
Carol Price laughed. “Sorry, my wicked sense of humour coming to the fore there. Will you send Will my regards and thanks for stepping up to the plate?”
“I’ll do that. I’ll try to organise a farewell party for him as well, near the end.”
“Good. I’ll even chip in twenty quid, how’s that?”
“Generous to a fault as usual, ma’am.”