The Teacher (A DS Cross Thriller) by Sullivan Tim

Author:Sullivan, Tim [Sullivan, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2024-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

39

By the time Ottey got into the MCU the next morning she was fulminating. Not so much at what Alice had told her the night before, but the fact that she hadn’t been able to come up with a plan of action to deal with Warner. She’d decided to confront him, despite Alice’s pleading with her not to. But she discovered that Warner had called in and informed them that he’d be working from home for the next couple of days. Presumably for his swollen lip to have shrunk sufficiently and his eyes to have lost their new bloodshot look, so that he wouldn’t have to explain them away. One thing she had decided, though, was to tell Cross. Which she did in the stationery cupboard.

He then sat in silence for such a long time she began to wonder whether he’d been listening and heard what she’d just said.

‘Were there any witnesses to last night’s incident?’ he finally asked Ottey.

‘No. They were on their own.’

‘So, it’s her word against his.’

‘He’s taken two days out of the office,’ she replied as if this was proof enough in itself.

‘To work from home,’ Cross pointed out.

‘You and I both know that’s not true,’ she replied.

‘Which is neither here nor there. What was said in the kitchen is also a case of his version against hers.’

‘I’m a witness,’ she protested.

‘To what? You didn’t actually hear what was said. He stopped as soon as you arrived. He could simply acknowledge the fact that he crossed a line in terms of normal acceptable social behaviour.’

‘Again, both you and I know that’s not true.’

‘And again, that’s neither here nor there.’

He then continued to think.

‘Also, in the context of Warner having taken the Moreton case away from us—’ he began.

‘From you,’ she corrected him.

‘Indeed,’ he conceded. ‘However, there is a general perception that we work as a team.’

Ottey was impressed by this. It was the first time he had come anywhere near acknowledging that they worked in such a way. This was short-lived, though.

‘Which, as inaccurate as it is, is still a widely held misconception,’ he said. ‘Any complaint from us about Warner’s behaviour might simply come across as sour grapes that he solved the Moreton case without us.’

‘But he didn’t,’ replied Ottey.

‘The perception currently is that he has and this is all about perception at this moment in time.’

‘So, what do you think we should do? We can’t let him carry on like this on our patch.’

‘I think his behaviour more than likely forms a pattern,’ Cross said.

‘No question.’

‘You should find out who his subordinate female officers are in his Kent unit. See if you know any of them.’

‘Unlikely, but I’ll give it a go. Maybe it’ll be like six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon,’ she said.

‘Does he work for the Kent constabulary?’ Cross asked.

‘No!’ she laughed. ‘He’s a Hollywood actor. Oh come on. Even you knew that.’

‘I can assure you I didn’t.’

‘Six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.’

‘So, you think someone in the Kent force knows Kevin Bacon or someone who does.

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