‘Rasta Joe never mentioned you. He was a cautious man, careful in what he said, and besides, who are you? Should he have mentioned you? Have you done anything that the police should be concerned about?’
‘Not me,’ Negril Bob said. He was looking at Larry, attempting to get the measure of the man, attempting to ascertain how far he could push him.
‘Then how do you make a living?’
‘Honest graft, that’s all. Has anyone told you different?’
‘We rely on our own investigations. As far as we are concerned, you’re a criminal, unproven bar a few minor offences.’
‘And that’s the way it’ll stay. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Now that’s a threat.’
‘It’s not a threat, but if I find you hanging around me, I’ll get my lawyer to issue a writ against you for police harassment, and that goes for Isaac Cook as well.’
‘You know him?’
‘By sight, no more. I’ve broken no law.’
Larry knew that he had been threatened, and with a man as violent as Negril Bob, he knew he needed to be careful. The man would not be averse to threatening his family if there was a court case pending. Larry also knew that there was no provable crime against the man. He needed something solid on him, but from whom?
Negril Bob left Larry where he was sitting and went back to his gang. Larry sat still for five minutes, taking the opportunity to message Isaac. After that, he left the pub. Outside was quiet as he walked to his car. He opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. On the windscreen, someone had thrown paint. It was probably local hooligans recognising a police car, but he couldn’t be sure if it were more sinister. Not wanting to linger, Larry left the area and drove to Challis Street.
Chapter 22
Isaac, as expected, was in front of his laptop typing when Larry walked in after his encounter with Negril Bob. It was ten in the evening, and Homicide was dark apart from the light in Isaac’s office. Isaac could smell the beer on Larry’s breath.
‘Not ready to face the music at home?’ Isaac said, more by way of jest than criticism. Isaac wasn’t a drinker, but sometimes he had drunk more than his fair share if it was work-related. However, Isaac knew that for him it was work, but for Larry it was a pleasure.
‘He’s keeping you busy,’ Larry said. There was no need to say who the ‘he’ was. Neither of the two men liked the new superintendent, yet Larry was more adept at concealing his disdain for the man who had breezed in through the main entrance of Challis Street a few days earlier.
Isaac had submitted his report, not spending too much time on the detail, aware that there would be words from his superintendent. It had been the wrong tactic, he knew that now, in that Caddick had taken note that Detective Chief Inspector Isaac Cook was not acting correctly towards a senior. It was Richard Goddard who had phoned him up after the latest confrontation between the two men. ‘If you show any opposition to his rule, then it will be marked in your official record,’ he said.
‘There is a murder investigation,’ Isaac said in his defence. ‘I can’t be expected to lose focus.’
‘Sorry, but that’s the way it is. If you continue to defy the man, you’ll be up on disciplinary charges, and you know what will happen?’
‘Caddick and Davies will make sure I’m found guilty.’
‘Caddick’s already got a man lined up for your position.’
‘Has he?’
‘A snivelling weed of a man from what I’ve been told. He’s currently a detective inspector dealing in homicides, to the north of London.’
‘Your description?’ Isaac said.
‘That’s what I’ve been told. I’ve looked up his service record, and it’s sound. Of course, that may be because he and Davies go back a long way, but I believe that the man may be capable.’
‘One of Davies’s stooges and competent? That’s not something we’ve come across before.’
‘Maybe, but if Caddick gets you out, then it’s not going to be so easy to come back.’
‘How do you suggest I proceed?’ Isaac said.
‘Play the game. If Caddick wants reports, you give him reports. If he wants you to jump on the spot, you jump.’
‘It’s not my style.’
‘Style or not, that’s what Caddick hopes you’ll not do. The man’s baiting you, don’t let him catch you.’
‘How’s Public Relations?’ Isaac said, to talk about something else.
‘If they want me to jump, I’ll jump.’
‘Is this what we’ve become, performing animals?’
‘Unfortunately, it is.’
***
With Isaac busy, Larry sat down at his desk. He realised that he had drunk more than he should have, and he still had to go home. He helped himself to a cup of coffee, black, and checked his emails.
So far, Caddick had not annoyed him, only shaken him by the hand and patted him on the back. Larry knew that the man was looking for allies, and he, as a detective inspector, could not afford to burn bridges. He did not have a mentor as his senior did in DCS Goddard. All he had was Isaac, and it was hardly a mentoring role. His senior had brought him into the department as a detective inspector, and that’s what he still was, and there was no mention of promotion. With Caddick, assuming he survived, there was always the possibility.
Larry knew that now was not the time for sucking up, and he didn’t want to, but he was a realist. Success was about power and compromise, diligence and honesty, subtlety combined with reality and sycophancy.
In the office, he could see Isaac slaving at his laptop, the top button of his
