Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah

Author:Sophie Hannah
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General, Crime
ISBN: 9781444708349
Publisher: Hodder
Published: 2012-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Sam Kombothekra looked at his watch. Eleven minutes past nine. He’d given up trying to work, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate. The Snowman no longer wanted to see only Gibbs in his office at quarter past; he’d extended his invitation to include all of them. Sam glanced over at Sellers, who was laughing at something on Twitter, working his way through a packet of Maltesers. Hadn’t it occurred to him that a mass sacking might be on the cards? Sellers was like a big kid, oblivious to the concerns of the adults around him. Gibbs’ apparent lack of nerves made more sense. He must have made peace with the possibility that he’d lose his job when he decided to go rogue and follow Simon’s orders instead of the ones that came from Proust via Sam. There was something Zen about Gibbs, Sam decided, then wondered what the word meant. It was a branch of Buddhism, he knew that; was it also an adjective?

As the only apprehensive person in the room, Sam wondered if he was being paranoid. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about. He and Sellers had done nothing wrong; it was hard to see how Proust could get rid of them, or why he’d want to today, when surely even he could see that what he needed was a solid team working on the new information that might lead to the closing of three cases.

Or might not. Sam was anxious to know which it would be, needed to try for the better result. Where had this right-man-for-the-job feeling come from? Part of the problem was never knowing which world he lived in: the one defined by Simon or the one defined by Proust. On Tuesday and yesterday, Proust’s had been in the ascendant for Sam. Now, after Amber Hewerdine’s house fire, Simon’s was. It made Sam want to stay – made him want, above all, not to be forced to go. He prayed the Snowman wasn’t about to take the choice away from him.

The door of Proust’s office opened. Nobody came out. Sam saw Simon hovering, sensed his uncertainty about whether to stay or go. ‘Come on,’ he said to Sellers and Gibbs. ‘Let’s get it over with.’ He led the way, his mind full of images of soldiers going over the top to face an onslaught of bullets. This was one thing he wouldn’t miss: the despondent march towards an enclosed space in which nothing good was ever waiting for anybody.

‘Progress on the arson attack?’ the Snowman barked at him as he walked in. ‘Or, failing that, on anything?’

‘Last night’s fire at the Hewerdine house has been confirmed as arson . . .’ Sam began.

‘Progress on the arson attack beyond stating the obvious fact that it was an arson attack?’ Proust fired back. He took his eyes off Sam and moved them along the line. The four of them always stood in a line in his office, like skittles waiting to be felled by a rolling ball.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.