The Kill Call

steps … After the incident, you began the standard counselling process. But there’s a note here that you abandoned the counselling sessions before they were complete. A personal matter.’
    ‘That’s right.’
    ‘Yet the earliest reports on you said that you were suffering no ill effects from the incident. Your supervisor even suggested that the experience might have made you a stronger person. “Baptism of fire” was a phrase used. He described you as “solid as a rock”.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Of course, that report was written by a man,’ said Branagh.
    ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t understand.’
    ‘My own view,’ said Branagh, ‘is that no one is strengthened by an experience like the one you went through.’
    And then the superintendent did something even worse. She leaned forward and smiled. A friendly, understanding smile that made Fry’s heart sink.
    ‘Diane, I do appreciate that it must have been very traumatic. Impossible just to put it behind you and forget all about it.’
    And suddenly it was first-name terms. Fry steeled herself. There was no doubt about it now. Something horrible was about to happen.
       
    Liz Petty phoned Cooper on his mobile in the office. He glanced around, but there was no one near enough to overhear.
    ‘How did it go with Diane Fry?’
    ‘Not good. In fact, she told me to keep my nose out of her business and stop trying to interfere in her life.’
    ‘She was a bit cool on the idea, then?’
    ‘You might say that.’
    ‘Mmm,’ said Liz doubtfully.
    Cooper wondered what that sound meant. ‘She doesn’t really have a private life, you know. She talks about work all the time.’
    ‘Does she really never talk about anything properly? Anything that matters?’
    ‘No. Well, not to me.’
    ‘What happened to that sister?’
    ‘Angie? She was here for a few months, then she disappeared again. Besides, Angie was always bad news.’
    ‘Diane must need to talk to someone, some time.’
    ‘Maybe it’s just me, then.’
    ‘Yes, Ben.’
    He sighed. ‘I really thought we were starting to get on a bit better, too. When she first transferred to E Division, I made an effort to be her friend. But something went wrong, and I’m not quite sure what. Now she only seems to see me as a threat.’
    ‘It’s all about control,’ said Petty.
    ‘Control?’
    ‘For some people, control is very important. More important than anything else. They’d rather give things up than feel they’ve let somebody else take control from them. It makes people very defensive.’
    ‘Well, it’s too much for me. How do I get myself into these situations?’
    ‘By being you, I guess, Ben.’
    ‘Who’d be me, then?’
    ‘You have to get her out of the office,’ said Liz. ‘She can’t relax while she’s at work. You can see it in her face, all the time. What does she do when she’s off duty?’
    ‘I don’t really know,’ admitted Cooper.
    He heard an exasperated sigh on the other end of the phone. ‘Why not? What do you talk about in the office, apart from the job?’
    ‘Well, it’s usually Gavin doing the talking,’ said Cooper. ‘So – football, telly, the problems with teenage children … Food.’
    ‘Does Diane never mention what she’s done the night before, or at the weekend?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘I despair.’
    ‘It’s not my fault.’
    ‘You have to show an interest, Ben.’
    Cooper thought back to when Fry had first arrived in Edendale as the new girl. He’d done his best. One game of squash, which had gone OK – except that he’d won, which hadn’t pleased Fry. And one visit to the dojo, which had gone very badly indeed.
    Since Fry’s promotion, there had never been any question of them socializing. He’d always assumed that she didn’t want it, that she deliberately kept a distance between herself and the rest of the officers in CID. But what if there was a different reason?
    He could see it was true that she was having a hard time. If it had been him, if he was going through a really bad week at work, he would have taken a long walk on the moors, whatever the weather. There was nothing like a good blow to clear the mind and make you feel better. There wasn’t any point in suggesting it to Diane Fry, though. Or was there?
    ‘So what do I do?’ he asked.
    ‘I told you, Ben. Get her out of the office.’
    ‘I’d better go now. She’s back.’
       
    When Fry came out of her interview, she found herself looking at her colleagues differently.