‘Jimmy’s right,’ Bishop said. ‘I’d want to stonewall them in the event they ask about it, or my reaction to it.’
‘We’re only talking local media at this stage,’ Warburton reminded them. ‘The Telegraph, Hunts Post and Cambridge News and possibly the Independent. Them plus Look East, Anglia and Cambridgeshire Live.’
‘It only takes one question, boss.’
She regarded Bishop for a moment, then nodded. ‘Blanket “no comment” on the subject. We’ll put you together with our own media staff – they’ll settle your nerves. To make it easier, we’ll have press releases rather than a briefing for the newspapers, together with the NCA security photo. You’ll speak to the TV people only. A media officer will be with you at all times.’
Bliss noticed how reluctant his colleague was. It seemed like another aspect of the job Bishop did not want. That it went hand-in-hand with a promotion to DI was something he would have to accept. It was expected of him, and this would be his first taste of that level of scrutiny.
‘Perhaps I should advise Bish how best to deal with the media?’ he suggested.
That elicited the laughter he’d hoped to inspire. Bishop’s large frame juddered as he chuckled at the thought. Taking advice from Bliss on how to deal with journalists would be like accepting peacekeeping guidance from ISIS.
They called it a night after the one drink, and Chandler drove Bliss home. As she pulled in to his turning, she said, ‘Can I ask you something personal?’
He choked back a laugh. ‘Since when have I ever been able to stop you? I don’t know why you even bother asking.’
‘Just to be polite.’
‘What is it this time, Pen?’
‘I’ve been thinking about you and… ladies of the night?’
‘What d’you mean by that?’
‘Well, there was your… relationship with Connie Rawlings during your first posting here, for one thing. Not that I have anything against women like that, nor what they do. But I know you grew attached to her during that investigation, and I’ve also heard you shutting down negative conversations where others like her are concerned. Now this young woman’s murder has clearly affected you, and it makes me wonder what it is about hookers that has you polishing your armour.’
Bliss said nothing immediately. Connie Rawlings had been a witness; she’d also been a prostitute. In a moment of human weakness, animal instinct, and hunger for instant gratification and comfort on both their parts, they had gone to bed together. It was only the one time, and their connection had not contributed to her eventual murder, which occurred because of what she knew about the main victim in a case Bliss was running at the time. Yet somehow the correlation between that memory and another from further back in his past felt like a rapid thrust to the heart with a stiletto blade – or perhaps even a heel.
Chandler must have sensed his immediate discomfort. She put a hand on his arm and told him it was okay, that he should ignore her question and forget she had ever asked it.
But Bliss shook his head, ready to tell his partner something he had never told another living soul. ‘I once had a snout who happened to be a prostitute. She fed me information, but she was also a friend. Her name was Elaine. I tried on many occasions to talk her out of being on the game altogether, but she wouldn’t hear of it; said it was all she was good for. In her mind, it was either that or knock out some kids and live on the dole for the rest of her life. She always did have a low opinion of herself. In the end, shortly after I made DC, the best I could do was to speak with Vice and help fix her up as an escort with an agency. Get her off the streets, give her some protection. Stability. I like to think I got through to her.’
‘So what happened?’
‘A couple of days after we last spoke, maybe twenty-four hours before I could have sealed the deal, she got into the wrong car with the wrong man.’
Chandler closed her eyes and screwed up her face. ‘Oh, Jimmy. I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s okay. It’s desperately sad, but not one of those things I blame myself for. I did all I could. All that she would allow me to do. Just sheer bad luck and piss-poor timing.’
‘Did you get him for it?’
Bliss nodded. ‘Some sad loser. Middle-aged man with a wife and kids. It was his first time with a pro. He panicked, convinced himself it was a setup and that he was going to be blackmailed. Told us he couldn’t allow his family to know what he’d done.’
‘So murder was a better option?’
‘Sometimes it is to these twisted fucks.’
‘That explains a lot,’ Chandler said after a lengthy pause. ‘About you, I mean. And somehow it doesn’t surprise me in the least.’
‘Yeah. Wears you down over time, though, Pen. Maybe one day you reach the point where you become a tiny little nub, and the next you disappear inside yourself altogether.’
‘You’re beginning to worry me, Jimmy. The way you talk sometimes.’
He laughed and shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m not the kind to do something stupid.’
‘You what? You do something stupid at least twice a day.’
‘Fair play. But not that stupid. Not what you’re thinking.’
Bliss knew his partner didn’t want to leave it there, but they had gone as far as he was willing to take matters for one evening. Before exiting her car, he did leave Chandler with one final thought.
‘How naïve was I to have ever imagined that placing Elaine in the hands of an escort agency was in any way saving her?’
‘You can’t know that it wouldn’t have done, Jimmy. Plus, it doesn’t sound as if you had a great deal of choice in the matter.’
‘Perhaps not. But we know how these girls are treated. They’re as good as modern-day slaves, with no
