the shiny white training shoes with which Grover had been issued. Grover glanced down at them then looked back at Holland as though he were something stuck to the bottom of one.
âSo, you got your Boy Scout first-aid badge, did you?â Thorne asked.
âCome again?â
âOr maybe you just saw it on Casualty . Either way, very heroic â trying to save your friendâs life.â
âYou donât think about it, you know? You just do whatever you can.â
âYou didnât think about alerting a prison officer? I mean, theyâre probably trained for it, right?â
âLike I saidââ
âOh, I forgot,â Thorne said. âOne came along pretty quickly anyway, didnât he?â
âBit of luck,â Holland said.
âSo, hereâs our problem,â Thorne said. âAnd Iâm sure itâs the same problem Detective Inspector Boyle has.â He turned. âRight, Detective Inspector Boyle?â
Boyle nodded.
âThing is, the man who attacked your mate Paul, who killed him, as it turns out, seems to have vanished into thin air. Disappeared inside a high-security prison without so much as a spot of blood on his clothes and taken the murder weapon with him.â Thorne held up his hands. âAny thoughts? I mean, you can see why weâre a bit confused here, canât you?â
Grover sat back, stretched his long legs underneath the table. âIf you think Iâm going to do your job for you, youâre more than confused, mate. Youâre completely mental.â
âYou sure?â Holland said. âYou donât know anything that might help us?â
Grover shook his head. âWouldnât matter if I did, would it? You know how it works in here. Paul was my mate, and if I find out who carved him up, theyâll have me to answer to. But you still donât grass.â
âThatâs a real shame,â Thorne said. âBecause as soon as we clear this up, we can crack on with getting your good citizen medal organised.â
Grover seemed to find that genuinely funny, but told Thorne to go and fuck himself anyway.
âIt also means we canât really do anything but jump to conclusions,â Holland said. âI mean, weâd rather not, but when youâve not got anything else . . .â
âWhat âconclusionsâ?â Wide-eyed and mock-innocent.
Boyle pushed himself away from the wall suddenly, clearly irritated by the back and forth. âLike it was you , you poxy little wankstain. You strolled into Monahanâs cell and shanked him.â
âWhy would I want to do that?â
âBecause someone paid you to,â Thorne said. âYou were contacted and told to get Paul Monahan out of the way. Now, if you could tell us who contacted you and how, it might make a difference when this comes to trial.â
âYou think this is going that far?â
âI wouldnât bet against it.â
Grover let his head fall back and stared up at the ceiling, as though he were considering what Thorne had said. As though the accusations were perfectly fair and justified. When he looked at Thorne again, though, it was clear how little he cared if they were justified or not.
âIâll tell you what your problem is,â he said. âThis non-existent murder weapon.â He was full of himself now, leaning forward and pointing at Thorne. âI mean, what am I supposed to have done with it? Did I stab Paul and then walk out of the cell covered in claret, nip off somewhere to get rid of the blade and then calmly stroll back in there again? Is that really what you think happened?â
âNo,â Thorne said. âI donât think thatâs what happened.â
âWell, until you can prove it happened any other way, you can kiss my arse.â
Thorne said nothing as Grover calmly stood and walked to the door. He knocked, then turned and smiled at
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