Dead Man's Footsteps

statement to show that although the police force was no longer a man-only world, there was still considerable male dominance, she wore a big, loud, man’s wristwatch.
    ‘The thing is…’ He hesitated, the words he had planned to deliver tripping over themselves inside his head.
    ‘Yes?’ She sounded impatient.
    ‘Well – he’s a smart guy.’
    ‘He’s a very smart guy.’
    ‘Absolutely.’ Roy was struggling under her glare. ‘The thing is – he rang me on Saturday. On Operation Dingo . He said you’d suggested that he call me – that I might need a hand.’
    ‘Correct.’ She took a dainty sip of water from a crystal tumbler on her desk.
    Struggling under her laser stare, he said, ‘I’m just not sure that’s the best use of resources.’
    ‘I think I should be the judge of that,’ she retorted.
    ‘Well, of course – but—’
    ‘But?’
    ‘This is a slow-time case. That skeleton has been there ten to fifteen years.’
    ‘And have you identified it yet?’
    ‘No, but I have good leads. I’m hoping for progress today from dental records.’
    She screwed the top back on the bottle and set it down on to the floor. Then she placed her elbows on the shiny rosewood and interlocked her fingers. He smelled her scent. It was different from the last time he had been here, just a few weeks ago. Muskier. Sexier. In his wildest fantasies he had wondered what it might be like to make love to this woman. He imagined she would be in total control,all of the time. And that as easily as she could arouse a man, she could rapidly make his dick shrivel in terror.
    ‘Roy, you know that the Metropolitan Police have been one of the first forces in the UK to start getting rid of bureaucracy on arrests? That they now employ civilians to process criminals so police officers don’t have to spend two to four hours on paperwork on every person they arrest?’
    ‘Yes, I had heard that.’
    ‘They’re the biggest and most innovative police force in the UK. So don’t you think we can learn something from Cassian?’
    He noted the use of the man’s first name. ‘I’m sure we can – I don’t doubt that.’
    ‘Have you thought about your personal development record this year, Roy?’
    ‘My record?’
    ‘Yes. What’s your assessment of how you have done?’
    He shrugged. ‘Without blowing my own trumpet, I think I’ve done well. We got a life sentence on Suresh Hossain. Three serious crime cases solved, successfully. Two major criminals awaiting trial. And some real progress on several cold cases.’
    She looked at him for some moments in silence, then she asked, ‘How do you define success?’
    He chose his words carefully, aware of what might come next. ‘Apprehending perpetrators, securing charges against them from the Crown Prosecution Service and getting convictions.’
    ‘Apprehending suspects regardless of cost or danger to the public or your officers?’
    ‘All risks have to be assessed in advance – when practical. In the heat of a situation, it’s not always practical. Youknow that. You must have been in situations where you had to make snap decisions.’
    She nodded and was silent for some moments. ‘Well, that’s great, Roy. I’m sure that helps you to sleep at night.’ Then she fell silent again, shaking her head in a way that he really did not like.
    He heard a distant phone ringing, unanswered, in another office. Then Alison Vosper’s mobile pinged with a text. She picked it up, glanced at it and put it back down on her desk.
    ‘I look at it slightly differently, Roy. And so do the Independent Police Complaints Authority. OK?’
    Grace shrugged. ‘In what way?’ He already knew some of the answers.
    ‘Let’s look at your three major operations in the past few months. Operation Salsa. During a chase you were handling personally, an elderly member of the public was hijacked and physically injured. Two suspects died in a car crash – and you were in the pursuit car right behind them. In Operation Nightingale , one of your officers was shot and another was severely injured in a pursuit – which also resulted in an accident causing serious injury to an off-duty police officer.’
    That officer had been Cassian Pewe. Delaying his start here by some months.
    She continued. ‘You had a helicopter crash, and an entire building burned down – leaving three bodies beyond identification. And in Operation Chameleon you allowed your suspect to be pursued on to a railway line, where he