Page 47 of Better the Devil

They slowed as they approached the front door, waiting for the current and former detective inspectors to catch up.

‘Wait, hold on. Another one?’ Tyler said. He met Logan’s eye and gave a nod that conveyed both nothing and everything. ‘Aye, we’re right outside. On the way up.’

He listened. Logan, Hamza, and Ben all waited.

Tyler covered the mouthpiece with his hand. ‘There’s been another body found, boss. A shooting this time, by the looks of it.’

‘Jesus. Where?’

‘Where?’ Tyler asked into the phone, then he hurried to keep up as Logan charged ahead into the station. ‘Out near Forres.’

He scurried across the foyer, hot on Logan’s heels. Hamza was striding along beside him, while Ben sauntered along at the back, smiling and waving at the officers and staff like he was some sort of visiting dignitary.

‘Delivery guy saw him through the kitchen window,’ Tyler said, relaying the information almost as soon as Sinead fed it down the line. ‘Complaints from the neighbours, too. Apparently, his dog had been barking all night.’

Tyler snapped to a stop just as they reached the foot of the stairs that led up to the floor above.

‘Wait, dog?’ he said. He pressed the phone more firmly to his ear. ‘What kind of dog?’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Detective Superintendent Mitchellwas all but blocking the door to the Incident Room when Logan, Tyler, and Hamza reached the top of the stairs.

‘Jack. I need a word,’ she told him. ‘My office.’

‘We’ve just had a shout come in,’ Logan replied. He moved as if to pass her, but she didn’t take the hint.

‘I know. I passed it on,’ she said. ‘DI Khaled is here. He can run with it. Yes, Detective Inspector?’

Hamza blinked. Stared.

Logan was all but squaring up to her, ready to argue the point. Ready to fight his way into that room, if he had to.

Ben’s advice from the car echoed in the DI’s ears. His job now wasn’t about managing scenes or cracking cases. His job was about managing the man who was right now dangerously close to saying or doing something he might regret.

‘Yes, ma’am. I can handle things until DCI Logan gets back,’ he confirmed.

Mitchell nodded. ‘Good. Jack?’

She kept blocking the door until he finally relented and went storming off in the direction of her office.

Mitchell looked from Hamza to Tyler in turn, and there was something there in her expression. Something neither detective could quite put their finger on, but which made their hearts beat a little faster, and their stomach tighten into knots.

‘We all need a conversation after this,’ she said, then she followed Logan along the corridor.

Tyler and Hamza waited until she had rounded the corner at the far end before turning to one another.

‘The hell was that about?’ Tyler asked.

‘No idea. Didn’t sound good, though,’ Hamza reasoned.

From behind them came a jolly-soundingping. The lift doors opened, and Ben Forde emerged, humming quietly below his breath.

He stopped when he saw the detectives standing in the corridor outside the Incident Room.

‘OK, then.’ Ben tucked his hands into his trouser pockets and rocked back on his heels. ‘What did I miss?’

‘Sit down, Jack.’