Page 19 of Her Last Breath

After DC Chan left, DS Johnson got up to leave, resting his hands on the back of the chair he had been sitting on.

‘I don’t think I used her very well. Thought she was some techie geek, not up to being a detective constable. I’m glad you’re letting her stretch her legs,’ he offered. It almost sounded like a compliment.

‘No reason she can’t use her technical skills to enhance her DC role. The other stuff we can work on.’

‘Maybe this is why they gave you the job. You see potential where I don’t.’

Definitely a compliment, and probably the best she’d get out of her recalcitrant deputy. Jane didn’t expect him to get over her taking the job he wanted just like that, but she was hoping he could temper his disappointment when working with her. He turned to go, then paused, looking at her intensely.

‘Thank you for what you did back there,’ he began, his voice just above an awkward whisper. He cleared his throat before he continued. ‘I appreciate it.’

As though the room itself had been holding its breath, she felt the tension ease between them. Grateful he was at least going to try, Jane relaxed as well.

‘Well, you are my deputy, Detective Sergeant Johnson. I can’t let some low-life beat the shit out of you. That’s my job.’

He didn’t react to her attempt at humour, so she tried a different tack.

‘Maybe we should stop taking swings at each other and instead start working together properly?’

Nodding silently, he departed, leaving Jane alone with her thoughts.

Why would Alice risk having someone like Liam Harrison around her kids? Did he put on an act when he met her, or was she so blind to the behaviours he displayed that they were normalised in her experience? What was that moment when she realised he was bad news and decided to kick him out? Was it when it looked like she’d lose the children?

Irritation rippled through her as her phone rang. This time, her mother was using her own mobile.

‘You said you would call in an hour. It’s been three now.’

‘Sorry, Mum – I got caught up with something.’ Chasing a murder suspect in an abattoir, actually. ‘Are you still in pain?’

‘Yes. They forced me to walk through the pain, shouting at me when I wouldn’t.’

‘I’m sure they were just encouraging you. I can’t imagine them shouting.’

‘You think I’m lying? That Lorraine’s a right one. And that Pakistani girl, well the Indian one, whatever she is, just goes along with her.’

‘If you’re really still in agony, let me call Dr Sandler.’

‘Actually, don’t bother. I think the tablets are starting to take effect and they’ll be back to give me my next dose soon. When will you be home?’

‘Before you go to bed.’

‘OK, well don’t wake me up if you come home late.’

‘I’ll be home early, don’t worry.’

‘You also said you’d call in an hour. Three hours ago.’

Ending the call, Jane was surprised by a knock on her door, announcing the arrival of Dr Lydia Kotev. A force of nature, full-figured with a no-nonsense attitude, she had been born and brought up in Bulgaria. She’d moved to London to do a stint at St Bart’s hospital, fallen in love with a British colleague and stayed.

‘You remind me of when I was a much younger woman discovering London,’ Dr Lydia said, elongating her vowels in her still-strong accent. She plumped herself down into the chair that DS Johnson had vacated. A rush of warmth rushed through Jane towards the doctor.

‘And you remind me of when I had a life,’ Jane hit back.

‘So bad already?’

‘Worse.’

‘We will have a long drink one night. You can tell me everything. For now, let’s talk business.’