Page 71 of Maybe Tomorrow

‘Enlighten me, DC Tyler.’

‘These statements. They’re all the same.’

‘Go on.’

‘They all say exactly the same thing,’ Chris said, holding them out in a shaking hand.

‘Well, they would, wouldn’t they? They’re three hookers who’ve seen the same man watching them have sex. What do you want them to do, throw in a musical number for a bit of variety?’

Osborne sniggered.

‘No, sir, that’s not what I mean. It’s just… well, they sound like they’ve been written by one person who put three different names on top of the statements.’

‘You think we’ve made these names up?’ Bishop snatched the statements from Chris and looked at the first one. ‘If you don’t think this Alison Barnaby character is real, I suggest you have a word with Eddie Ritter. He knows her very well. A little too well, if you get my meaning.’

‘I’m not saying the people are made up. I’m saying…’ Chris trailed off.

Without a flinch, Bishop kicked the door to his office closed behind him. The slam made everyone in the incident room jump and look up. Bishop and Tyler were now alone in the office, though, with the blinds open, everything they did was on show.

Chris retreated.

‘What are you accusing me of?’ Bishop asked, his voice low and calm.

‘Nothing.’

‘Really? If you think something dodgy is going on here, then why don’t you spit it out?’

Chris looked to the floor. ‘I just think, sir, that from the point of view of the defence team, they might think these statements are… false.’

The silence deepened. Chris looked up at the thunderous face of his boss while his heart thumped loudly in his chest. He wished he was anywhere else in the world right now rather than here in this office.

The movement was so quick, Chris didn’t see it coming. One second he was standing, the next he was on the floor with a hand to his face, touching the place where Henry Bishop had slapped him hard and knocked him off his feet.

Bishop lunged forward, grabbed him by his collar, and marched him out of the room. He threw him towards his desk.

‘Clear your fucking desk,’ Bishop shouted. ‘The name on that door is Henry Bishop. Detective Inspector Henry Bishop. I’m the highest-ranking officer in this room. I give the orders. You take them,’ he said, addressing the whole room. ‘If any of you can’t get your head around that then now is the perfect time to leave. I will not have my methods questioned by anyone, especially a DC who thinks he knows it all. I want you out of this office within five minutes and back in uniform on Monday.’

Bishop turned on his heels and left the incident room, slamming the double doors behind him.

The silence in the room was palpable. Chris sat up and looked around him. Nobody would make eye contact with him.

‘You went and snitched on me for asking questions, didn’t you?’ Tyler said to Osborne.

Stephen didn’t reply. He couldn’t even look at Chris.

‘You need to be really careful, Steve, because dinosaurs like him are on their way out. And when he falls, he’ll either put the blame on you or take you with him. Either way, you’re going to be on your own.’ Chris looked around his desk and saw he had nothing personal to take with him. He stood up and walked to the door. He stopped, turned back, and went over to Osborne’s desk. He leaned over him. ‘You’re a fucking coward, Stephen,’ he hissed, before leaving the room with his head held high.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Tuesday 15th November 1983

Pauline looked at herself in the hallway mirror as she put on her coat. She looked tired. Her skin was dry and, despite the touch of blusher, eye shadow and lipstick, she couldn’t do anything to make herself look brighter. She looked what she was– a middle-aged woman stuck in the centre of a nightmare.

There was a beep from outside. Leo was ready with the car. She took a deep breath and looked around her. Every time she left the house, she wondered what state it would be in when she arrived home. Would there be more windows smashed, graffiti sprayed on the front door, dog shit through the letterbox? She’d had it all. Before she left, she spread newspaper on the hallway floor in front of the door, just in case.

‘You look nice,’ Leo said as she climbed into the car.

She looked over to him and smiled. ‘Thank you.’ She knew he was only being kind, but it meant a lot to her. She needed a boost of confidence even if he was just telling her what she wanted to hear.