Page 16 of M for Murder

Boaz opened his mouth to respond, but evidently deciding against it, closed it again. Joel turned to face Angell, who had been watching the ensuing scene with a half smile on her lips.

‘Well, officer. Looks like it’s you and me.’ He grinned at her and Max watched the smile drop off her face.

‘Lucky me,’ she muttered.

Joel nodded in agreement. ‘Yeah, lucky you.’

Instead of the normal twenty, it took them just twelve minutes to get to the college. The campus was on the outskirts of the city, which meant either a bus ride or a long walk for the students without cars who lived off-site. Joel drove and, as ever, he drove fast.

Angell glanced disapprovingly at the speedometer. ‘We’re not in a race, you know.’

Joel shot her an irritated look. ‘I do know. But thanks for pointing it out, though.’

She glared at him through cool green eyes. ‘Just because you have a badge, it doesn’t give you the right to break all the rules.’

‘I never said it did.’

‘So are you going to slow down then?’

‘No.’ To irritate her more, Joel stepped harder on the gas pedal.

Little Miss Uptight Law and Order. He couldn’t believe she had the gall to criticise his driving. Was she planning to write him a ticket next?

Angell scowled, her mouth drawn in a tight line, and he grinned to himself, knowing from the stony expression on her face that he had succeeded in ticking her off.

‘Tell me something, Officer Angell. Are you always this uptight?’

She scowled at him. ‘I’m not uptight.’

‘No, you’re definitely uptight.’

‘Yeah? Well you’re an arrogant jerk.’

She shouldn’t have said it. He had seniority over her and could easily get her in trouble. He could see she realised that the moment the words were out of her mouth.

‘You know what, Angell? Flattery will get you everywhere.’

She turned to face him; her face flushed with anger. ‘Do you really think that just because you work for the government it’s your god given right to belittle everyone around you?’ ‘Feisty too,’ Joel said, ignoring her question. ‘Feisty and uptight.’ Rather than being annoyed with her, he found he was amused, and he was enjoying getting her to bite. ‘Keep this up and I might just let you cook me dinner while I’m in town.’

‘Sorry, I’m all out of pigswill.’

‘Well, I’m sure there must be something else you like.’

He grinned broadly at her and she glared back, seeming unsure how seriously she should take him. Eventually, deciding that she would be better off ignoring him, she turned her back to him and looked out of the window.

She was still a rookie, that had been obvious from the outset: wet behind the ears and a little over eager. Joel had checked her file and found out that she’d only been in the city a few weeks, which was probably why she was trying so hard to follow all the rules. It had to be hard for her coming from a small town like Swallow Falls and he guessed that he really should cut her some slack.

Should, but wouldn’t.

Rebecca Angell had already proved somewhat of a contradiction to his preconceptions of her and, whilst he suspected that he was right about her wanting to be a good cop, he hadn’t expected her to have a fiery temper. As long as she continued to rise to the bait, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to torment her.

He guessed that at least she had the right attitude. Unlike Boaz, her idiot partner. Joel couldn’t quite figure out why he was a cop. For law and order? To serve and protect? No, he didn’t think so.

Although Juniper College had accommodation for over five thousand students, less than three thousand of them chose to live on campus; the vast majority instead lived locally and attended on a day basis. It was the same as every other college in the country in many ways, with its own football team, acres of recreation and park ground, and courses on offer for over two hundred and fifty different subjects. The one thing that singled out Juniper College was its grisly history.

The campus parking lot was busy. Aside from the faculty, most of the students had cars and with no other place to park, Joel pulled to a halt outside the front entrance of the administration block, behind a silver Ford.

Angell raised her eyebrows.