‘Will do,’ said Carys.
‘Finally, security,’ said Sharp, and waited until he had everyone’s attention. ‘Based on what happened last time, and so no-one has to go through what Kay did with the Professional Standards investigation, this incident room will now be locked down. No-one will take work home with them. The room will be opened by me at seven o’clock in the morning, and I’ll be locking it at seven o’clock every night. All evidence will be logged by Debbie, who reports directly to me. You want something out of evidence to review, you see me first, got it?’
A murmur of agreement swept through the room.
‘We are going to get this bastard,’ said Sharp. ‘But he’s cunning, and dangerous. If anyone has reason to believe that they are in danger, or you are threatened by anyone in any way, you come to see me immediately. Is that understood?’
‘Guv.’
Sharp turned back to Kay. ‘We tread carefully. We’ve got one shot at this.’
She nodded, fighting down the adrenalin that had started to course through her veins.
‘Don’t worry, guv. We’ll do this properly. I want Demiri put away – for a long time.’
Chapter Nine
Kay pulled her car out of the police station car park, indicated right and merged into the remains of the late afternoon commuting traffic.
As she turned left and drove past the large multi-storey car park and adjoining supermarket, her mind returned to Jozef Demiri.
He had been almost within her clutches once, nearly two years ago.
She and her colleagues had gathered enough evidence to support an investigation into Demiri’s business dealings, and everything pointed to him running an extensive drugs operation between the Continent and his base in the south-east corner of England.
However, while a surveillance team was waiting for Demiri’s return from the Continent, a gun seized from a routine traffic stop and which they all thought had Demiri’s fingerprints on it went missing from the evidence locker at the police station.
The aftermath had been shocking, starting with a Professional Standards investigation that accused Kay of taking the weapon.
It had devastating consequences on her health. She had miscarried the baby girl she had only found out weeks before she was carrying and despite her best efforts, her career had never fully recovered.
She’d vowed revenge on Demiri ever since.
She fought down her excitement as she turned into the lane that led to her house, and twisted her hand on the steering wheel to check her watch.
Adam had left the house early that morning, keen to get to the clinic to catch up on paperwork before the morning’s appointments began to filter through the doors, and she hoped he’d be home at a reasonable time.
They had another day together before he flew to Aberdeen for his conference, and she wanted to make the most of her time with him.
As the car passed their local pub, a smile formed on her lips.
Pulling into the driveway of the house she locked her car and hurried to the front door.
‘I’m home!’
‘Upstairs.’
Kay bounded up the stairs and into their bedroom at the front of the house. ‘The pub looks quiet – fancy a drink?’
Adam appeared from the en suite bathroom, towelling his hair. He grinned. ‘Sounds like a great idea.’
‘Good – I’ll get changed and we’ll go straight away.’
Twenty minutes later they had grabbed a small table in the corner of the public bar at the front of the pub, each with a pint of real ale in front of them.
‘Cheers,’ said Adam, clinking his glass against hers before taking a long sip. ‘Oh, I needed that.’
Kay savoured the beer, licked a trace of froth off her lips and sank back into the soft leather of her chair. She craned her neck to look through the bar to the lounge area, but only two people sat on bar stools chatting to the landlady.
The rest of the pub was deserted; the regular evening crowd would be in later.
Kay relaxed. The only problem with being a police officer in a town rather than a large city, was that sometimes she’d see someone she’d arrested in the past walk through the door of a pub or pass her in the supermarket.
She’d given up diving behind displays of soup tins or the latest book offerings years ago and instead glared back at the offenders, but it was still a welcome relief to find none of her past encounters from successful arrests yet drank in her local pub.
She pushed her hair behind her ear and took another sip of her beer.
‘I might have to stay in Aberdeen a bit longer,’ said Adam, his voice breaking into her thoughts.
‘Problem?’
‘No – one of the other guys going to the conference has a practice specialising in the horse racing industry. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with him while I’m there, that’s all. Okay with you?’
‘Of course.’ She smiled. ‘It’d be a great opportunity for you.’
Adam’s busy clinic was popular with the local community, and he was one of the few local vets experienced with racehorses and their foibles.
He placed his half-empty pint glass on a cardboard coaster and reached out for her hand. ‘I’m thinking of expanding the business. Taking on someone else to deal with the small stuff so I can concentrate on networking more. There are some speaking opportunities on the Continent I’d like to explore.’
‘Wow.’ Kay twisted in her seat to face him.
A hopeful expression crossed his features.
She knew how good he was at his work; until a few years ago he’d been a regular contributor to veterinary journals and had participated in conferences up and down the country. Then, the business had
