Millwood grunted. ‘That’s one less thing for us to worry about. OK, then. Once DVLA have given you the list, send your lads up with it. We’ll give them a hand.’
It wasn’t quite what Patterson had had in mind. He’d thought his detectives would be giving Millwood’s officers a hand, not the other way around. But at least it felt like a small step in the right direction.
Tony was amazed that Carol had actually agreed to meet him for a late lunch. Normally in the heat of a murder inquiry, she barely made time to snatch a sandwich at her desk. But after Sam had left, having avoided telling him anything useful about the live case, he’d rung and suggested it. She’d sighed and said, ‘Why not? The Thai on Fig Lane’s usually quiet on a Saturday, it’s all offices round there.’
She was, of course, late. He didn’t mind. He understood the pressures and knew she would be here as soon as she could be. He sat by a window in the upper section of the restaurant and watched the quiet street below, sipping a Singha beer. There were worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. And the football didn’t kick off till four, so he wasn’t even going to miss that unless she was horrendously late. As that thought crossed his mind, he spotted Carol striding down the street, her coat flaring out like a superhero’s cape with the speed of her movement. Something inside him quickened at the sight of her. A swift glance over her shoulder as she approached, and then she disappeared under the restaurant awning.
She emerged from the stairwell in a burst of cold air, leaning across to brush her lips against his cheek. Her skin was cold, but flushed with the sudden heat of the restaurant. ‘Good to see you,’ she said, tossing her coat over the chair and sitting down. ‘How was Worcester?’
‘I nearly got arrested,’ he said.
Carol laughed. ‘Only you!’ she said. ‘How did you manage that?’
‘Long story, later. The job was—’ he held a hand out flat and waggled it. ‘Sort of OK. Not straightforward in terms of profiling. They’re going to struggle with this one. And he’ll kill again if they don’t close in.’
‘That’s disappointing. I know you like to feel you’ve made a difference.’
He shrugged. ‘Sometimes it’s not up to me. But what about you? I heard you on the radio this morning. Sounds like you’ve got plenty on your plate.’
‘No kidding.’ Carol picked up the menu. ‘I don’t know why I look. I know I’m going to have spring rolls and Pad Thai Gai.’
‘Me too.’ He waved a hand at the waitress and they both ordered, Carol adding a large glass of wine to her food. ‘How’s it looking?’ he said.
‘Like your guys in Worcester, we’re going to struggle with this one. Damn all to go on. We’re just praying forensics come up with something.’
‘I know Blake says I’m off-limits. But we can talk unofficially, surely? I’ll give you all the help I can,’ Tony said.
She looked down at the table and fiddled with her chopsticks. ‘I appreciate that.’ A pause, then she met his eyes, her expression unreadable. ‘But I can’t accept.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s wrong. If we’re not paying you, we’ve no right to your expertise. I’m not prepared to exploit our friendship.’
‘That’s precisely why it’s not exploitation. Because we’re friends. Friends help each other. Friends are there for each other.’
‘I know that. And I hope you’ll be there for me personally. I want your support, I want to be able to come and sit with you and have a glass of wine at the end of the day and say the things I would be able to say to someone who cares about me. But I can’t tell you the stuff you want to know as a profiler.’ Her wine arrived and she took a long drink.
He couldn’t deny he liked that she thought of him as the shoulder to lean on. But he struggled with the logic of her professional position. ‘That’s daft. If I thought it would help me with my profile for West Mercia, I’d run it all past you. Because you’re the best detective I’ve ever worked with. I don’t care where I take help from. I’ve already picked Fiona Cameron’s brains on this one, and she’s not being paid,’ he protested.
‘That’s up to you and Fiona. Tony, if Blake thinks that taking you off the payroll means he gets the product of your brilliance because of our relationship, then he’s got to be shown he’s wrong. Until he understands that, I’m not talking to you about the details of these cases. You’ll have to be like everyone else and read about them in the papers.’ She placed her hand over his and her voice softened. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘I mean, I get your point about not wanting to take advantage of our relationship. Not wanting Blake to get something for nothing. But this is people’s lives we’re talking about, Carol. This is a killer who is going serial unless you can stop him. Surely we have to do what we can to stop that? Isn’t that more important than making a point?’
For a moment, he thought his appeal to her finer instincts had won her over. She bit her lip and fiddled some more with her chopsticks. Then she shook her head. ‘This isn’t about cheap point-scoring. It’s about a bigger picture. It’s about making sure my team is properly resourced. It’s not just a question of what happens in this case. If we don’t settle this nonsense now, a lot more people are going to die and not have any kind of justice. I can’t work with one hand tied behind my back for ever, and Blake has to be made to see that. You’re right, there are lives at stake. And that’s why I have to take a stand here.’
He remembered that he wasn’t supposed to know about Tim Parker. He thought for a moment about how he’d have reacted if he’d genuinely been ignorant. ‘So you’re doing this without any outside help? A potential serial and you’re going back to the old ways of thinking only coppers know how villains think?’ He aimed for disbelief and annoyance, not sure how hammy he seemed.
Carol looked away. ‘No, we’ve got someone from the faculty doing a profile.’
Tony groaned. ‘I’ve done myself out of a job, haven’t I? So who is it? Tell me it’s one of the better ones.’
‘Tim Parker.’
He put his head in his hands. His voice came out muffled. ‘And what did you make of Tim?’
The waitress shimmered up in her tight satin kimono with a platter of spring rolls and placed it between them.
