The Mistake by Slater K. L

Author:Slater, K. L. [Slater, K. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781786812438
Goodreads: 36289476
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2017-10-04T07:00:00+00:00

37

ROSE

PRESENT DAY

I try not to stare as Mike leans forward with difficulty, a shaking hand attempting to guide the straw towards his mouth.

‘Can I help?’ I ask him awkwardly.

‘Thanks but no. I actually get satisfaction from still being able to do the smallest things.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘Pathetic, really. But I never know when things are going to get worse, you see.’

I shake my head. ‘I think you’re doing amazing. Did you become ill after you retired from the force?’

‘No, no.’ He settles awkwardly back into his chair, and watches as a rower glides gracefully by. ‘It was before. Something happened to me on Billy’s case.’

I sit up a little straighter. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Something changed in here,’ he said and tapped at his chest. ‘I lost heart for the job.’

‘I can understand that.’

‘Billy’s case, as I’ve always called it, well, it took something away.’ He glanced behind him, I presumed to check Tessa wasn’t around. ‘I’ve dealt with some pretty bad stuff over the years, murders, rapes, violent drug deals gone wrong… you name it and, after thirty-three years on the force, I can guarantee I’ve seen it.’

I sit, quietly listening. Not wanting to interrupt but desperate to say what I’ve come to talk about before I lose my nerve.

‘But something about that lad, your brother, it tore me up inside. I’d come home after a fourteen-hour day and work for another four or five hours sat at the kitchen table.’ He shook his head slowly as he remembered the horror of it. Still staring out at the water, he continued. ‘I missed family birthdays, my eldest daughter’s graduation and me and Tessa, well, we came close to splitting up.’

Having seen how good they were together today that one really surprised me. I felt bad. Mike had gone through all this to get justice for Billy. For us.

‘It was all-consuming.’ He looks at me. ‘I’m not trying to say I suffered like you and your parents did, Rose; of course that’s not the case. But you’re probably the only person left now who can understand anywhere near how it felt.’

I nod. I don’t feel the need to say anything.

‘Anyway—’ he shakes his head like he’s trying to dispel the memories ‘—once the case was over and Farnham went down, thank God, I found I’d got no oomph left for any more cases, you know? I started dropping stuff like cutlery and having trouble writing with a pen. Stiff joints… you get the picture.’

‘It was the Parkinson’s?’

Mike shrugged. ‘True to form I ignored it for as long as I could, found ways of disguising the tremors. Then one day, Tessa noticed and that was it, she was like a dog with a bone. Within a month I’d been diagnosed and I accepted ill-health retirement.’

‘I’m so sorry to hear all this, Mike,’ I say, feeling a genuine sadness. ‘My parents always said how lucky they were to have you running the case. How you cared about what happened to Billy. I don’t think any of us quite recognised quite how much you gave of yourself.

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