authority of a handler.’
‘I know, but it was serious.’
Sensing something was on David’s mind, George said, ‘What would have happened if you got put into a compromising position? No matter how serious it was, you’d be fucked. I won’t go on about it as I noticed you were very quiet this morning. I’ve known you long enough to know that something’s troubling you. Understandably with what happened, I can see McCrossan’s playing on your mind.’
‘It’s not just McCrossan who’s playing on my mind, I saw O’Byrne and McElvaney while I was in Liverpool. I really do need to speak to you about it. Have you got a minute before we see Edge?’
‘No, we’re late as the briefing overran a little and I don’t want to start upsetting him at the moment by keeping him waiting, but if you saw those two as well, no wonder you looked so preoccupied. We’ll go to the coffee shop round the corner after we’ve spoken to Edge and you tell me everything then. Before I brief Edge put my mind at rest, you and Steve haven’t been off doing your own thing have you?’
‘No.’
‘Good as we and you in particular are to leave that investigation to SO15 and Jenny Richmond at MI5.’ George paused by the door to Detective Superintendent Edge’s office for a moment and quietly said, ‘Let me do the talking. I don’t want any sarcastic comments from you that will wind him up. And that’s an order.’
David mockingly raised his right hand to his forehead to salute George saying, ‘Yes sir. I understand fully sir!’
George knocked on the door. After hearing a curt ‘come in’ from Paul Edge, the officers entered the room and stood at the doorway to the office. Without looking up from the reports on his desk, he beckoned both officers to sit down. Not giving any eye contact, he continued to read the report in his hand as the two officers sat down opposite his desk. For a couple of minutes Edge did not say a word. In an attempt to assert his authority, he would regularly pretend to read documents with the aim of making junior ranking officers wait in an uncomfortable silence before they got his attention.
While going through this familiar charade, Hurst looked around the office that to him was typical of an office housing a senior officer insecure in themselves. The pale coloured emulsion painted walls were bedecked with class photographs from courses Edge attended at the police college at Bramshill, plaques with police badges from other forces in the UK and abroad and framed certificates. Hurst looked for any new additions. Working his way to the right from the framed certificate that said simply ‘pass in police studies’ from the John Jay police college in New York with an NYPD badge above the certificate, that he knew was basically a four week jolly. There was one from junior command course at Bramshill and one from a project management course, also from Bramshill. They were all neatly hung above a bookshelf containing a small number of criminology books. From the pristine condition of the book’s spines Hurst knew they had never been read and were there to impress callers to Edge’s office. On seeing a new certificate in a cheap plastic gold coloured frame confirming Edge’s recent promotion to superintendent it grated on Hurst. It was a promotion obtained on the back of his team’s work on the dirty bomb attack in the north of England and the Chechen attack in London Edge had little involvement with. When he did, due to his incompetency, Edge was sidelined to play a minimal role in the operation.
Having a sly glance over his paperwork, Edge saw Hurst looking at the certificates. He knew they did not impress the DS, who had a degree in criminology and was studying for PhD. There was no love lost between the two officers. As David Hurst had to study part time, Edge tried to make it as hard as possible for him to attend university by giving him tasks to carry out in the late afternoon and early evening when
‘I know, but it was serious.’
Sensing something was on David’s mind, George said, ‘What would have happened if you got put into a compromising position? No matter how serious it was, you’d be fucked. I won’t go on about it as I noticed you were very quiet this morning. I’ve known you long enough to know that something’s troubling you. Understandably with what happened, I can see McCrossan’s playing on your mind.’
‘It’s not just McCrossan who’s playing on my mind, I saw O’Byrne and McElvaney while I was in Liverpool. I really do need to speak to you about it. Have you got a minute before we see Edge?’
‘No, we’re late as the briefing overran a little and I don’t want to start upsetting him at the moment by keeping him waiting, but if you saw those two as well, no wonder you looked so preoccupied. We’ll go to the coffee shop round the corner after we’ve spoken to Edge and you tell me everything then. Before I brief Edge put my mind at rest, you and Steve haven’t been off doing your own thing have you?’
‘No.’
‘Good as we and you in particular are to leave that investigation to SO15 and Jenny Richmond at MI5.’ George paused by the door to Detective Superintendent Edge’s office for a moment and quietly said, ‘Let me do the talking. I don’t want any sarcastic comments from you that will wind him up. And that’s an order.’
David mockingly raised his right hand to his forehead to salute George saying, ‘Yes sir. I understand fully sir!’
George knocked on the door. After hearing a curt ‘come in’ from Paul Edge, the officers entered the room and stood at the doorway to the office. Without looking up from the reports on his desk, he beckoned both officers to sit down. Not giving any eye contact, he continued to read the report in his hand as the two officers sat down opposite his desk. For a couple of minutes Edge did not say a word. In an attempt to assert his authority, he would regularly pretend to read documents with the aim of making junior ranking officers wait in an uncomfortable silence before they got his attention.
While going through this familiar charade, Hurst looked around the office that to him was typical of an office housing a senior officer insecure in themselves. The pale coloured emulsion painted walls were bedecked with class photographs from courses Edge attended at the police college at Bramshill, plaques with police badges from other forces in the UK and abroad and framed certificates. Hurst looked for any new additions. Working his way to the right from the framed certificate that said simply ‘pass in police studies’ from the John Jay police college in New York with an NYPD badge above the certificate, that he knew was basically a four week jolly. There was one from junior command course at Bramshill and one from a project management course, also from Bramshill. They were all neatly hung above a bookshelf containing a small number of criminology books. From the pristine condition of the book’s spines Hurst knew they had never been read and were there to impress callers to Edge’s office. On seeing a new certificate in a cheap plastic gold coloured frame confirming Edge’s recent promotion to superintendent it grated on Hurst. It was a promotion obtained on the back of his team’s work on the dirty bomb attack in the north of England and the Chechen attack in London Edge had little involvement with. When he did, due to his incompetency, Edge was sidelined to play a minimal role in the operation.
Having a sly glance over his paperwork, Edge saw Hurst looking at the certificates. He knew they did not impress the DS, who had a degree in criminology and was studying for PhD. There was no love lost between the two officers. As David Hurst had to study part time, Edge tried to make it as hard as possible for him to attend university by giving him tasks to carry out in the late afternoon and early evening when
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