3
Detective Superintendent Liam Moore was a creature of habit. He liked being a Super. It meant that he didn’t have to do the legwork any longer. He could work a solid nine to six most days and leave the late nights to his team. He’d put his shift in when he was younger. He was respected and maybe a little feared. Fear was a good thing for a boss to instil in his team.
Which is why when his wife shook him awake in the middle of the night and stuck the phone on his ear he was not happy. He was less happy when he heard DC Irvine’s voice.
She was such a hard charger. Which was good. And bad.
Bad like now.
‘Sir, I’m sorry to wake you but-’
‘Get to the point.’
‘I have a situation with this drug case.’
A situation. This didn’t sound good. Not one little bit.
‘The thing is, the stuff here looks like it might be the other end of a bigger operation. Run out of Colorado.’
‘The Colorado in America?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did this come up?’
‘It’s kind of a long story.’
‘Can’t you just tell me?’
‘The FBI are involved.’
Moore sat up in bed, pulling the covers off his wife and causing her to grunt at him.
‘Have you spoken to the SCDEA about this?’
‘No. I only just found out.’
Moore looked at the clock by his bed. Whatever time it was, and he wasn’t quite sure, it was too early.
‘The FBI are meeting about it right now.’
‘How do you know this?’
‘Uh…’
Moore waited.
‘That’s part of the long story, sir.’
‘Becky, just tell me, okay? I’m going to find out eventually.’
She told him.
‘We’re not doing anything about this right now,’ he said when she finished.
‘Sir?’
‘It’s the middle of the night and it sounds like the Yanks have their end of things under control.’
‘What about ours?’
‘We can do it better in the morning. I mean, the real morning. When normal people are awake.’
‘Shouldn’t we at least make contact with the FBI? I mean, like, now.’
‘No. I want the SCDEA on board first.’
‘But-’
‘No. Meet me at the office at seven-thirty. Then we’ll work out what to do.’
He didn’t wait for a reply.
4
Cooper Grange glared at Logan and came back to his seat, Logan thinking: What did I do?
‘Have you been holding back any other information?’ Grange asked Cahill.
‘Were you not listening?’ Logan replied. ‘We only just found out.’
‘That’s what you say.’
‘What? You think there’s some conspiracy of silence?’
Grange leaned forward to speak again but Webb held up a hand, cutting him off.
‘The important thing,’ Webb said, ‘is that we have the information now. We’ve got an opportunity to break up an international operation so we need to make sure we’re all on the same page as to where we go from here. If one of us goes too soon it might tip them off.’
Logan nodded.
‘Can you call over there now?’ Webb asked. ‘So we can make some kind of contact.’
Logan picked up his mobile to dial.
‘No,’ Webb said, pushing the conference phone on the table over to Logan. ‘Use that. The speaker will be much better than on your cell.’
‘Hello?’ Irvine’s voice sounded hesitant when she answered the call.
‘Becky, it’s me again,’ Logan said.
‘Hi, listen-’
‘I’m with the police and FBI agents here in Denver.’
‘Detective Irvine, this is Special Agent Randall Webb of the FBI. I head up the Denver field office.’
‘What can I do for you, Agent Webb?’
‘Mr Finch has explained the connection between our investigations and I thought it would be appropriate if we co-ordinated our activities.’
‘I agree. But the drug investigation isn’t my thing. I mean, I’m just helping out over here.’
‘I see. What do you suggest, then?’
‘I’m going to head into the office now. My boss, Liam Moore, wants me to brief him and then we’ll talk to the SCDEA. The drug squad.’
‘I should probably speak with Detective Moore.’
‘Detective Superintendent. Yes.’
Webb looked at his watch.
‘It’s early for you, Detective Irvine. When should we arrange to speak?’
‘If it’s early for me, it’s late for you.’
‘We work as long as we have to. As I’m sure you do.’
‘Of course. I’m going to get ready and go see my boss. Can I speak to him first and call you back to set something up? We need the SCDEA to be in on the call as well.’
‘Of course. We’ve got, ah, other things to occupy ourselves with in the meantime. Speak soon, Detective.’
The room was quiet after the call. Webb sat back in his seat and looked at Hunter and Collins and then across the table at Logan and Cahill.
‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask both of you to leave again,’ he said, fixing his gaze on Cahill. ‘You understand.’
Logan knew for sure that Cahill would not understand. He waited for his friend’s retort.
‘I mean,’ Webb continued, ‘we have an operation to plan for first thing tomorrow morning and we don’t have much time.’
Cahill stood and Logan thought that, for the first time, his friend was going to go quietly. He started to get up and felt Cahill’s hand on his shoulder pressing him back down into his seat.
So much for that thought.
‘You’re going after a soldier, am I right?’ Cahill asked Webb.
‘Correct.’
‘Do any of you have military training or experience?’
No one answered.
‘That’s what I thought.’
