01 The Secret Voices by MJ White

Author:MJ White
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Sleuths, Police, Feminist, Divorce, Crime, Life, Amateur, &, Investigators, Women, Mystery, Sleuth, Magical, Mashups, Marriage, Thrillers, Timelines, Multiple, Fiction, Realism, Procedural, Detective, Traditional, Family, Private, General, Psychological, Suspense
Publisher: Hera books Ltd
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

Minshull

‘You did what?’

Minshull braced himself as Anderson’s face reddened.

‘Guv, it worked. We have a name and a number…’

‘Let me see if I understand this. You sent a civilian – a completely unprepared, untrained individual – alone, into a potentially dangerous situation. And you didn’t think maybe that might not be particularly wise?’

‘Dr Lael was brilliant. She got us what we needed on Collins.’

‘I saw her leave this afternoon. The poor woman looked exhausted. This is not why I brought her onto this investigation.’

Minshull bristled. So Anderson was happy enough to put people into his investigation without consulting him but now Minshull wasn’t allowed to use them? ‘Guv. With respect, Dr Lael is a part of this team. She was able to give us an insight we wouldn’t have acquired otherwise.’

‘And what if Collins had seen her, hmm? What if he’d realised he was being stalked?’

‘He didn’t…’

‘That’s not the point! Shaun Collins is unpredictable and capable of violent behaviour. You put Dr Lael in danger, Minshull. That’s unacceptable.’

There were many things Minshull could have said, but he wasn’t in the mood for an all-out battle with his superior. He swallowed down the gnawing sense of injustice – a survival skill honed over many years facing greater wrath than Joel Anderson could ever unleash. ‘Guv. But we got a number.’

‘And?’

‘No name listed with the number. Appears to be a pay-as-you-go mobile, no registered owner.’

‘A burner?’

‘Could be. We’ll know more tomorrow. The tech team are running checks on mast data in the area, see which towers have registered the number’s use.’

‘Well, that could be useful. But you will not pull a stunt like this again, Minshull, do you understand?’

‘Perfectly, Guv.’

Irritated, Anderson dismissed him with a curt wave of his hand. ‘Go. Get out of my office.’

‘Still got your nuts, Sarge?’ Evans grinned, as Minshull walked back into the CID office.

‘All present and correct, thanks.’

‘For now.’

He shot a look at Les Evans, but his smile betrayed him. He was glad to be out of the firing line and a little shared camaraderie was very welcome.

‘I still think we should go back to the kebab shop,’ Lanehan looked up from her computer.

‘Skip lunch again, did you Steph?’

‘No, Les. Shame you didn’t.’

Minshull stopped by her desk. ‘For what reason?’

‘The owner was very keen to get us out of there, don’t you think? And when we checked the list of Hannah’s schoolmates this morning we discovered Mr Faisal’s youngest son is in her class.’

‘That’s a point,’ Bennett agreed. ‘I called Miss Mills to check and she seemed to think they were friends.’

‘Fine. Kate, go with Steph and check it out. Let me know if you find anything useful.’

‘Is Dr Lael okay?’ Wheeler asked quietly, approaching Minshull with a mug of tea.

‘I think so.’ First Anderson and now Wheeler – had Cora been out of sorts this afternoon? He’d been so interested in what she’d found that he hadn’t noticed much else. ‘Did you think she wasn’t?’

Dave Wheeler was more of a gentleman than he wanted anyone to realise and Minshull envied the ease with which he understood the feelings of others.

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