Read Online Ready or Not by Rachel Thomas - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rachel Thomas
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boundaries. Again.’
‘Sir,’ Kate said calmly, straightening her mouth into a tight line and gulping back an unsettled sick feeling. ‘Nathan Williams and Dawn Reed are not telling the truth. When I went to their house last night, Stacey’s bag – the one they told us she had had with her when she disappeared – was on the kitchen floor.’
She could hear the desperation in her voice and resented every quavering syllable.
‘And who else saw this?’ Clayton asked, raising his eyebrows, which were almost as bushy as his moustache. She could have predicted his response.
Nathan had obviously provided his version of events first. Whatever bullshit he’d come up with, Kate thought, he’d clearly given a convincing performance. Who was she trying to kid? He had Dawn on his side; it was two against one, and despite the fact that she was the DI on the case she was bound to come out of it facing doubt and scorn. These days, if she wasn’t being criticised for something she’d already done she was being judged for something it was expected she may end up doing. No such thing as innocent until proven guilty in this place.
Kate paused. ‘No one,’ she admitted.
An uncomfortable and prolonged silence followed.
‘Exactly,’ Clayton said finally, leaning forward in his seat. ‘No one else saw it. No one else was there to corroborate your version of events. Once again, The Lone Ranger goes storming in and sees things that aren’t there.’
Immediately his expression changed and he moved uncomfortably in his seat. ‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ he admitted, raising a hand in apology. He had the good grace to look embarrassed and for the slightest moment Kate thought she saw his cheeks colour. She felt sorry for him. It wasn’t his fault. It was hers, all hers.
She bit her lip and shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter, Sir.’
‘It does,’ he argued. He stood and walked to the window, eager to turn his face from hers. He hated these conversations with her, and in recent years they had occurred with an increasing frequency. It concerned him that she could be so reckless, and that she no longer asked for advice. It worried him that she sometimes couldn’t see things that were right in front of her, and all too often saw things that weren’t. Kate was unable to separate her past from her work. He feared it might one day end up costing her the career she had worked so hard to build.
‘You’re under a lot of pressure and I realise that. I just don’t want…’
He trailed off and there was an awkward silence.
‘What?’ Kate prompted.
‘Wouldn’t it have been a good idea,’ he suggested as he turned back to her, ‘if, had you been intent on visiting the Reeds last night – despite the fact that you were off duty – you had taken someone else with you. Someone else who would have been able to verify what you saw.’
Kate looked beyond Clayton and through the window. If she made eye contact with him she feared her emotions would betray her and the façade she had spent so long creating would be lost within a moment. Of course it would have been a good idea. In hindsight, everything could be done differently.
‘ It wasn’t planned,’ she reiterated. And while a child is still missing, Sir,’ she said slowly, ‘I am never off duty.’
Clayton moved back to the desk. He wasn’t questioning her commitment; just the way she went about achieving results. ‘You’re becoming too involved again,’ he said. The moustache relaxed and his voice softened. ‘I don’t want to see history repeat itself.
‘Sir,’ Kate said calmly, straightening her mouth into a tight line and gulping back an unsettled sick feeling. ‘Nathan Williams and Dawn Reed are not telling the truth. When I went to their house last night, Stacey’s bag – the one they told us she had had with her when she disappeared – was on the kitchen floor.’
She could hear the desperation in her voice and resented every quavering syllable.
‘And who else saw this?’ Clayton asked, raising his eyebrows, which were almost as bushy as his moustache. She could have predicted his response.
Nathan had obviously provided his version of events first. Whatever bullshit he’d come up with, Kate thought, he’d clearly given a convincing performance. Who was she trying to kid? He had Dawn on his side; it was two against one, and despite the fact that she was the DI on the case she was bound to come out of it facing doubt and scorn. These days, if she wasn’t being criticised for something she’d already done she was being judged for something it was expected she may end up doing. No such thing as innocent until proven guilty in this place.
Kate paused. ‘No one,’ she admitted.
An uncomfortable and prolonged silence followed.
‘Exactly,’ Clayton said finally, leaning forward in his seat. ‘No one else saw it. No one else was there to corroborate your version of events. Once again, The Lone Ranger goes storming in and sees things that aren’t there.’
Immediately his expression changed and he moved uncomfortably in his seat. ‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ he admitted, raising a hand in apology. He had the good grace to look embarrassed and for the slightest moment Kate thought she saw his cheeks colour. She felt sorry for him. It wasn’t his fault. It was hers, all hers.
She bit her lip and shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter, Sir.’
‘It does,’ he argued. He stood and walked to the window, eager to turn his face from hers. He hated these conversations with her, and in recent years they had occurred with an increasing frequency. It concerned him that she could be so reckless, and that she no longer asked for advice. It worried him that she sometimes couldn’t see things that were right in front of her, and all too often saw things that weren’t. Kate was unable to separate her past from her work. He feared it might one day end up costing her the career she had worked so hard to build.
‘You’re under a lot of pressure and I realise that. I just don’t want…’
He trailed off and there was an awkward silence.
‘What?’ Kate prompted.
‘Wouldn’t it have been a good idea,’ he suggested as he turned back to her, ‘if, had you been intent on visiting the Reeds last night – despite the fact that you were off duty – you had taken someone else with you. Someone else who would have been able to verify what you saw.’
Kate looked beyond Clayton and through the window. If she made eye contact with him she feared her emotions would betray her and the façade she had spent so long creating would be lost within a moment. Of course it would have been a good idea. In hindsight, everything could be done differently.
‘ It wasn’t planned,’ she reiterated. And while a child is still missing, Sir,’ she said slowly, ‘I am never off duty.’
Clayton moved back to the desk. He wasn’t questioning her commitment; just the way she went about achieving results. ‘You’re becoming too involved again,’ he said. The moustache relaxed and his voice softened. ‘I don’t want to see history repeat itself.
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