‘I’m up to this, ma’am. Don’t worry about me. But promise me if this goes tits up there’s going to be no blowback on me. I want it on the record that I’m against this plan. Yes, I’ll go through with it, but I don’t think it’s the best way to deal with it. This could blow up in all our faces.’
Sharpe smoothed down her suit jacket before looking at Claudia again. ‘Your sentiments on the case have been duly noted, Claudia. But, whatever you may feel about this, trust me when I say I really do think you can get under Detective Sergeant Dominic Harrison’s skin and find out the truth of the matter, and that’s what’s important here.’
Chapter 2
Claudia
With one hand on the interview-room door handle, DI Claudia Nunn took a deep breath. She hadn’t wanted to take this case. It wasn’t one she should be dealing with, but Sharpe had been adamant.
She would have to put all her personal feelings aside. She would have to put on her most professional face, the one she pulled on in difficult circumstances like interview boards and big cases where the outcome was dependent on how she handled the person in front of her.
Like now.
But this was different.
She didn’t currently work on the same team as this witness but she had a personal relationship with him and there was no way she should be involved. What, for instance, would happen if it all went pear-shaped?
She shuddered thinking about it and let out the breath she was holding.
She was a detective inspector in South Yorkshire police, she was up to the task. She could compartmentalise this and do the job she had been tasked with. It was important that she do so. She was pleased that the higher-ups were taking it seriously. She understood why they were. They were concerned about their own culpability in the matter. She’d figured that one out quickly enough. If they wanted her to do this then she’d do it properly.
Her fingers curled around the handle.
A young officer walked along the corridor behind her. ‘Morning, ma’am.’
Claudia was surprised from her thoughts. ‘Oh, sorry, morning, Simon.’
She turned her attention back to the door, pressed the handle down and walked into the interview room.
It was a sparse box of a room. A rectangle with dirty cream walls, a dark-blue tiled carpet with a table and four chairs taking up the centre. A window allowed light to leak into the room from high up on the longest wall, too high to see out of. And on one of the chairs facing her was DS Dominic Harrison.
Dominic was a tall man, greying hair at the sides, and dark eyes that widened as she stepped into the room.
It was the only indication he was surprised that she would be the one to interview him this morning.
‘Morning, DS Harrison.’
Dominic stayed silent.
‘Do you mind if I call you Dominic? I’d much rather that than call you DS Harrison throughout all of this.’
‘Not at all.’ His voice was low and gravelly. Claudia marked it as a sign that he was tired. He probably hadn’t slept.
‘Have you been offered a drink?’ she asked. ‘I could do with one myself to be honest. We’ve been thrown together, which is unusual — we may as well make ourselves comfortable.’
Harrison straightened himself in his chair.
‘Look, Claudia . . .’ He paused, let out a sigh. ‘Can I call you Claudia? You’re the higher rank here, but, you know . . .’
She inclined her head. Dominic hated that Claudia was a detective inspector and he was only a detective sergeant, and he’d deliberately brought that up. She wouldn’t rise to it though. It was meaningless right now. Let him have his jab if it made him feel better. She had a job to do.
He continued.
‘I don’t care who interviews me this morning. All I care about is finding Ruth and bringing her home safe.’
Claudia smiled. ‘So, coffee?’
Harrison sighed. ‘Okay, yes. Thank you.’
Claudia hadn’t even sat down yet. She turned on her heel, left the room and made her way to the kitchen.
So far as first impressions went, she had broken the ice. She had shown him that it was her who would be doing this, that they were in this together. He hadn’t seemed too put out by the prospect. His focus appeared to be on his wife.
They were all focused on his wife. Sharpe had made that clear. But Claudia didn’t need Sharpe to outline the seriousness of the situation to her. If Ruth was missing then she was all in. Nothing would stop her from pursuing this and identifying where she was or what had happened to her. Ruth would do exactly the same for her and she had no intention of letting her down now it was Ruth in this position.
She filled up the kettle and pulled a couple of mugs out of the cupboard. As she waited for the water to boil, she remembered the last time she had seen Ruth, which had only been two days earlier. How could it have been that only a matter of days ago she was laughing and drinking a glass of wine with her and now she was the subject of a missing person investigation. Come to think of it, something had seemed kind of off with Ruth that evening. She hadn’t talked about it, which was odd in itself. They usually talked to each other. Confided in each other. And yet Claudia had allowed it to slide. She could kick herself now. What if it had something to do with her disappearance?
Come on, Ruth, have you left some kind of trace for us to follow? Let us know what happened to you.
With a coffee and a tea made, she returned to
