Read Online Sacrifice by Paul Finch - Free Book Online

‘Police 2, Bad Guys 9,’ another said. Its strapline added: ‘So how dare they claim victory’. It was enough to make even Heck cringe with guilt, and he was the one who had broken the case.
    He wasn’t sure where to look when the door to Gemma’s office opened and Bob Hunter came stiffly out. The DI winked, but the only colour registering in his chastened face were two dots of bright pink, one on either cheekbone. He stuck a thumb over his shoulder at the half-closed door, turned and perambulated down the corridor, his gait slow and delicate.
    Heck stood up and brushed his hair with his hand, before knocking.
    ‘Yes?’ came an irritable voice.
    Heck walked in, closing the door behind him.
    ‘Ah-hah … the arresting officer!’ Gemma said. ‘Or something to that effect.’
    Her personal office was always fastidiously neat – and rather bare, in fact some would say ‘spartan’ – and yet surprisingly small, given her high rank. Of course, this made it all the easier for it to be filled by her towering personality.
    Detective Superintendent Gemma Piper was formidable; a force of nature. Her beauty helped her in this regard. It was fierce, leonine (hence the nickname) – she had wild, ash-blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips, flawless features – all the usual accoutrements of fine femininity, yet somehow it combined to create a warrior rather than a princess. In addition she was tall and athletically built, and she dressed to enhance this; men could be reduced to jelly in Gemma’s presence for all kinds of reasons. Heck knew this better than anyone, because at one time, many years ago now, he’d shared her life and her bed.
    ‘Morning, ma’am,’ he said.
    She pointed to the chair in front of her desk. He sat.
    ‘You know why I want to see you?’ She leaned forward, fingers steepled. She was pale in the cheek, but her anger seemed to have abated a little, presumably because she’d vented most of it on Bob Hunter – though there was still a menacing snap in her tone.
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘Because this …’ and she dropped a file related to the M1 enquiry on the desk; it landed like a paving stone, ‘… should have “Cowboys and Indians” written on it. Particularly the bit at the end. You know, the bit where the damage runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds … caused by a frantic car-chase, which
you
instigated. The bit where the two perpetrators suffered horrific, life-ending injuries. I mean, killing the two chief suspects, Heck … that kind of
faux pas
knocks everything else that went wrong on this enquiry into a cocked hat.’
    ‘Ma’am …’ Heck shrugged helplessly. ‘These guys had a lot to lose. They were never going to come quietly.’
    ‘I understand that, but we still have to be accountable for our actions.’
    ‘If we have to account to Joe Public, we’ve no worries. He’s fine with it.’
    ‘Joe Public is an arsehole!’ she replied, her voice sharpening again. ‘Joe Public will turn on us viciously the first time we do the slightest thing he doesn’t agree with. Don’t pretend Joe Public is our mate, Heck, because he isn’t.’
    ‘Ma’am …’ Heck tried his most earnest tone. ‘You can surely see I had no choice but to pursue the suspects?’
    ‘Even though they were armed and you weren’t?’
    ‘Well … yes. I knew it was a risk, but it was less of a risk for me than it would have been a risk for the general public if those two were allowed to remain at liberty. For what it’s worth, if I’d been going there to make an arrest, I’d have taken armed support with me, but it didn’t happen that way.’
    Gemma pondered this. There was no doubt she was torn. If Heck’s actions leading to the fatal accident were reckless, he’d also showed exceptional bravery, which was something she valued in her officers.
    ‘Even if the suspects had got away, ma’am, I couldn’t afford to lose that van,’ he added. ‘It was chock full of physical