Next in Line by Jeffrey Archer

Author:Jeffrey Archer [Archer, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2022-05-31T12:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22

WILLIAM WAS SURPRISED TO SEE DI Reynolds standing by the entrance to Number 4 Buckingham Gate when he turned up the following morning, not least because it wasn’t yet eight a.m., an hour William didn’t normally associate with Reynolds. But he quickly discovered why he was there.

‘Superintendent Milner wants to see you in his office now,’ said Reynolds, emphasizing the word ‘now’.

‘Thank you, Inspector,’ said William, walking straight past him. ‘I was rather hoping to have a word with him myself, so you’ve saved me the trouble of having to make an appointment.’

When he reached the Superintendent’s office on the second floor, he knocked and waited for the command, ‘Come,’ before entering. Milner waved William to a chair on the other side of his desk without any suggestion of a greeting.

‘Warwick,’ he barked, even before he had sat down. ‘It has come to my attention that, while I was accompanying Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales on their official tour, you broke into my office, rifled through my files, and removed several items, including my diary, without my knowledge or permission. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said William, not flinching.

‘Who gave you the authority to carry out this unwarranted intrusion?’

‘Commander Hawksby, sir.’

‘Hawksby has no authority over Royalty Protection. I report only to the Prince of Wales.’

‘And to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who will be seeing His Royal Highness at twelve o’clock today.’

‘At which time he will be told in no uncertain terms who is in charge of this department.’

‘If you say so, sir.’

‘I do say so, Warwick, and what’s more, I will be recommending to the Commissioner, who is not only a colleague but an old friend, that you should be suspended with immediate effect, pending a full inquiry into your disgraceful and unprofessional behaviour. That recommendation will also include your accomplices, DS Adaja, DS Roycroft and DC Pankhurst.’

‘They were simply carrying out my orders.’ William paused before adding, ‘Sir.’

‘Don’t get cocky with me, Warwick,’ Milner said, staring directly at William. ‘You’re in quite enough trouble as it is. I’m also told by Inspector Reynolds that his office was broken into by DC Pankhurst, despite her claiming she was attending her grandmother’s funeral in Cornwall at the time.’

‘She didn’t need to break into Reynolds’s office, sir – it wasn’t locked.’

‘She still had no right to enter the room without his permission,’ snapped back Milner. ‘And I’m told DS Roycroft was also involved in your clandestine behaviour, despite being on sick leave.’

‘Yes, sir. I admit it was out of order for her to return to work when she should have been convalescing, having risked her life to arrest one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, for which she was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. But no such courage was required for her to unlock a dozen filing cabinets and inspect your expenses claims over the past eleven years.’

‘I’m glad you mentioned expenses, Warwick, because your colleague DS Adaja will be facing a full inquiry for submitting false claims to the tune of £4,332.

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