‘It’s just that Miss Malcolm said most of the girls in your line of work were from Eastern Europe.’
The woman’s frown deepened. ‘Who do you think I am?’ she said.
‘You’re from the agency? The au pair?’
Now the woman’s eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘You’ve been giving me the runaround for the past week.’
Shepherd groaned. ‘The psychiatrist?’
‘Psychologist.’
‘I’m sorry, but I’m busy.’
‘I just want a few minutes of your time, DC Shepherd.’
Shepherd glared at her. ‘How long have you been with Hargrove’s unit?’ he asked.
‘Six months.’
‘Okay, first rule of this business, we never use ranks or honorifics.’
‘We’re in your home.’
‘It doesn’t matter where we are. You get in the habit of using ranks or saying “sir” and one day you do it in front of someone who gives a shit and puts a bullet in my head.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said.
Shepherd looked at his watch.
‘Really, this won’t take long,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to ask you to lie on a sofa and talk about your mother. I just want a quick chat.’
‘You want to evaluate my mental state to see whether or not I’m suitable for undercover work,’ said Shepherd. ‘I don’t mean to sound paranoid,’ he added.
‘Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean we’re not out to get you,’ she said. She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. ‘Dan – it’s okay if I call you Dan, is it?’
‘Anything’s better than Detective Constable.’
One of his mobiles rang. It was Hargrove. ‘I’ve got to take this,’ he said. ‘Can you wait for me in the sitting room?’ He went out into the garden before he took the call. ‘If you’re calling to check whether she’s here, the answer’s yes,’ he said frostily.
‘Excuse me?’ said Hargrove.
‘The psychologist. She’s here.’
‘Ah,’ said Hargrove. ‘That’s not why I’m calling, but I’m glad you two are talking.’
‘Because you don’t think I’m up to the job?’
‘Because we all deal with stress in different ways, and she can help you cope with what’s going on in your life.’
‘And what if I refuse to talk to her?’
‘That in itself is a sign that something’s amiss,’ said Hargrove. ‘It’s like a guy with cancer refusing to see a specialist. Denial doesn’t solve anything.’
‘I don’t have cancer, and I’m not in denial,’ said Shepherd.
‘Spider, will you cut me some slack here? You have to see a certified psychologist at least twice a year. You know that. All agents do.’
‘This is different, and you know it is. She’s here to see if I’m firing on all cylinders or if I’m a few sandwiches short of a picnic. And I know I’m mixing my metaphors.’
Hargrove chuckled. ‘Just have a chat with her, and that’ll be the end of it.’
‘Unless she discovers I’m suicidal.’
‘Are you?’
‘Of course not,’ said Shepherd, then flushed as he realised the superintendent was joking. ‘If you’re not calling about her, then what’s up?’ he asked.
‘Angie Kerr,’ said Hargrove. ‘Good news, bad news. The good news is that the CPS wants to do a deal with her.’
‘And the bad?’
‘They want you to make the approach. Because you were on the original case, the Hendrickson one, they want continuity of investigation. If someone else takes over now it’ll be harder to show the chain of the investigation down the line. Charlie Kerr could scream entrapment if a new officer makes the approach. If you do it, it becomes part of the ongoing investigation. You were pursuing the case against her but offered her the option of giving evidence against her husband.’
‘I hope you told them no,’ said Shepherd. ‘There’s no way I want a gangster like Charlie Kerr knowing I was on his case. And it’ll all come out in pre-trial disclosure if I make the approach.’
‘I’m ahead of you, Spider,’ said Hargrove. ‘I told them in no uncertain terms that your security is paramount.’
‘They actually thought I’d go to Angie Kerr and tell her I was an undercover cop? How stupid are the CPS?’
‘They just want to make the best case they can,’ said Hargrove. ‘You can see their point. I’ve suggested we fix up another meeting, then we move in and arrest you and her at the same time. She’ll think we have you in custody and that you’ll roll over on her. We give her the out of rolling over on her husband and that should be that.’
‘I’m due to start with SO19 on Monday,’ said Shepherd. ‘You know how hard it is to stay in character on a job. Am I supposed to hold down two now?’
‘It would just be a meet. You can say you want to go over a few details.’
‘I’m not sure about this,’ said Shepherd. ‘We already have the evidence against her. Manchester CID can bust her for conspiracy to murder on that, and they don’t have to tell her I was undercover. Bearing in mind what her husband will do to her, she’d be a fool to turn down any deal.’
‘If she sees you arrested, she’ll know it’s over.’
Shepherd sighed. ‘Okay. When? I’m on duty all next week, two until ten every day. I can hardly tell them I’m taking a day off to go to Manchester.’
‘What about this afternoon?’
Shepherd cursed. There was time to fix up a meet in Manchester, but it was a long drive and the weekend traffic would be a nightmare. ‘I’ll phone her and get back to you,’ he said.
‘Thanks, Spider. I’ve got your SO19 legend ready and a vehicle. I’ll get them to you this afternoon.’
Shepherd cut the connection, left the mobile on the kitchen table with the two others and went through to the sitting room. The woman was sitting in one of the armchairs. She had taken a clipboard out of her briefcase and was sitting with it on her lap. Her coffee was on a side table. Shepherd headed for the sofa, then stopped himself and sat in one of the armchairs instead. ‘Don’t read anything into my choice of seat,’ he said. ‘I can let you finish your coffee but then I’ve got to drive up to Manchester. Hargrove’s orders. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him.’
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘By the way, I’m Kathy Gift. It’s Dr Gift, actually, but I take your point about not using honorifics.’
‘Gift?’
‘As in present,’ she said. ‘It used to be longer. My great-grandparents were German. They cut off a few syllables when they moved to England.’ She crossed her legs. She was wearing a dark blue skirt that rose above her knees, a matching jacket and a cream shirt. There was a gold necklace with a Star of David round her neck. ‘Did you meet my predecessor?’ she asked.
The previous psychologist had been a sixty-yearold man who wore tweed jackets and smoked a briar pipe. He had a clutch of professional qualifications and was one of the most humourless men that Shepherd had ever met. ‘Only when I had to.’
‘And you weren’t impressed?’
‘He was a clever guy, but unless you’ve done what we do it’s hard to understand what’s involved.’
‘The pressures?’
‘I’m not saying you can’t empathise, because of course you can. But that’s a world away from understanding what we go through.’
‘Is it possible to explain what it’s like?’
