Bones To Break (DI Olivia Austin Book 49): A fast-paced crime thriller by Nic Roberts

Author:Nic Roberts [Roberts, Nic]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-07-21T00:00:00+00:00

22

“Completely unacceptable,” Steph Brown almost screeched as soon as the words had finished leaving DI Austin’s lips. “This type of treatment is normally reserved for criminals who are awaiting trial.”

“He says that he fears for his life,” Liv stated, believing that was the only thing that’d come out of the former copper’s mouth that actually wasn’t bullshit.

“Neil Heaton’s conviction was seen as one of the greatest moral victories that the police force had ever achieved,” Steph outlined, clearly reciting the words of whoever’s arms she’d been trying to twist. “Even with the shit that wasn’t proven. And now you’re asking me to undo all of that.”

“You think it’s not frustrating for me to hear?” Dean asked. “I’m the one who helped put him away in the first place. Believe me, ma’am, this is painful for me to do.”

“He still hasn’t explained why he gave up the name of a dead man, has he?” Steph asked rhetorically. “Because it’s going to take a lot of goodwill and no end of arm-twisting to get him out of that prison. And believe me, I’ll probably have to bribe some people to let him out.”

“We leave him in there and he’s going to end up dead sooner or later,” Liv declared, wondering if the inmates were already planning their next attack.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that,” Dean mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“You have a theory you want to share with the rest of us, DI Lawrence?” DCI Brown requested. “Come on, don’t keep us in suspense.”

“People know that he’s grassed on us, or at least is trying to grass,” the inspector continued. “Normally, once word gets out about a rat in the prison system, they typically have a very low life expectancy, and that guy was on his own and completely vulnerable. If they wanted him dead, they could have left him with a lot more than a broken arm.”

“Maybe it was a warning,” DCI Brown suggested. “Maybe they thought that was enough. I mean he’s had a fair bit of protection up to this point, so maybe they just didn’t want to take it any further.”

Dean nodded his head slowly, but it was clear he wasn’t fully accepting of the explanation. And Liv knew this wasn’t simply a case of being blindsided by Heaton.

“Regardless,” DCI Brown interrupted, trying to draw the topic away from speculation, “right now, he’s on a list. And we all know once you’re on it, there’s no getting off it.”

“If we were going to have Heaton in protective custody, then we’d need someone who can keep a close eye on him,” Liv noted. “Someone who can’t be easily bullshitted and can put Heaton in his place if need be.” She just realised she had described the perfect person, prompting DCI Brown to sigh.

“Oh, Jesus, no, DI Austin, not bloody…”

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