One Last Class (DI Olivia Austin Book 15): A fast-paced crime thriller by Nic Roberts

Author:Nic Roberts [Roberts, Nic]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

“Sir, I’m grateful for the support you’ve shown me over the rumours,” Olivia started, already trying to think of the words that would get her out of this mess. “But I don’t know what you think I can do.”

“Your brother was with that cult for half of his life. What kind of involvement he had, I cannot say.” That wasn’t true. They knew exactly what Alex had been doing with the Flock, but he didn’t want to risk saying anything that would alienate Olivia from his request. “At the very least, he’ll have some awareness of what happened to those bodies. It could bring a lot of families a hell of a lot of closure.”

Clever bastard. He was playing on her desire to do the right thing, knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist otherwise.

“Sir, me and my brother currently aren’t speaking at the moment.”

Collins chose his next words carefully; he could read her like a book.

“I know what you’re thinking. If he confesses to what he knows, he could go down for conspiracy to commit murder.”

Olivia didn’t say anything. She knew that there’d been conversations, conversations that she wasn’t a part of, where the higher-ups had been speaking to the Crown Prosecutor about charges such as conspiracy to commit murder. The only thing stopping them was that they didn’t feel there was enough evidence to pass the threshold test.

“This isn’t just about Alex, though, is it?” she asked. “I know that they feel like Curtis Craig got away. They see me killing him as him escaping justice. And they probably aren’t too happy that this cult not only managed to carry out its activities undetected for fifteen years, but they couldn’t even keep their leader from breaking out of prison. This feels less like dealing out justice and more like them wanting to save face by locking up the last man standing.”

Collins sighed.

“I won’t deny there are political considerations to take into account here.” He loathed the word ‘political’, especially in manners of law and order. “And there are people who want to see Alex pay for his crimes.”

“It wasn’t entirely down to him!” Olivia insisted, remembering her sister telling her about the diminished responsibility defence. “He didn’t know what he was doing!”

Collins raised an eyebrow.

“And you honestly believe that, Olivia?” He asked. “I understand that he’s your brother, but these are serious crimes.”

“And if he can bring those families closure?” Olivia pressed, letting the question hang in the air.

Collins played his trump card.

“Then hopefully, it wouldn’t be too much to ask the CPS to look at dropping the charges against him.”

“With a gentle nudge from you?” Olivia asked, daring herself to sound hopeful.

“Nothing I’m uncomfortable with,” Collins offered gently. “Listen, Olivia, I’m with you on this one. I’ve looked plenty of hardened criminals in the eyes, and a lot of them are scum. Your brother isn’t a monster. He doesn’t deserve to have his life taken away from him after only just getting it back. And I’m absolutely certain you don’t want to lose him all over again.

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