Dark Corners (DCI Kenny Murrain Book 2) by Alex Walters

Author:Alex Walters [Walters, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

'Afternoon, people,' Tim Hulse said. It was difficult to read his expression. 'Apologies for missing the daily meeting this morning, but it sounds as if John held the fort admirably as always. And apologies also for interrupting your afternoon, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to say hello to our new Regional Director.' He waved his hand in Greg Perry’s direction, in the manner of a compere introducing the top of the bill. 'I imagine many of you will have come across Greg previously.' He glanced over at Kate Forester. 'Some more recently than others, I guess, Kate?'

'I thought I’d escaped from him.'

'You can run, but you can’t hide,' Perry said. He was looking his usual relaxed, genial self. 'Afternoon, ladies and gents,' he said. 'I just wanted to say hello while I was on site. I’ve literally only taken up the job today, so not really even got my feet under the table.' He looked slowly around the room as if appraising them all individually. 'I spent most of my time as Governor wondering what the hell it is that the Regional Director actually does. I suppose I’m about to find out. Any advice gratefully received.'

John Hodges, the Deputy Governor, was sitting at the far end of the table, intent on completing some intricate doodle in his notepad. 'Good of you to spare us the time so soon, Greg,' he said, without looking up. 'Why are we so high on your priority list?'

'You’ve been in the Service too long, John. Breeds paranoia. Just luck of the draw, I’m afraid. I’m planning to get round the whole patch over the next couple of weeks.'

'Question is,' Hodges said, 'are we the short straw or the long one?'

'Oh, definitely the long one as far as I’m concerned.' Perry gave a smile that revealed nothing. 'I couldn’t imagine meeting a more delightful group of people on a Monday afternoon.'

Hodges snorted. 'I can see how you got promotion,' he said. 'You were never this smooth when you were working for me.'

'I worked as a Head of Ops under John,' Perry explained to the others. 'Learned everything I know from him.' He laughed. 'So Christ knows how I ever got this job.'

This was it, Kate thought. Greg Perry working his magic. When they’d been called to this meeting, the mood among her colleagues had been a mix of cynicism and anxiety. The old hands, like Hodges, claimed to have seen it all before. 'He’s just pissing up the wall,' he said, characteristically. 'Marking his territory so we all know where we stand.' Sharon Barnes, the Head of Residence, was newer to the game and, in career terms, had much more to lose. In the few hours before this meeting, she’d worked herself up to an almost supersonic pitch of worry. She’d appeared three times at the doorway to Kate’s office for what she described as an 'all girls together' chat, presumably because she thought Kate might have some inside track to Perry’s mind.

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.