the case?'
'Joint Serious Crime Group East and SO7. DCS Flanagan's going to be heading it up.'
I raised an eyebrow at that one. 'What? After yesterday?'
'He followed everything to the letter with Surgical Strike, and we're very short of available SIOs of DCS level, and this is definitely a DCS-level case. At least he knows the background.'
'If there's any assistance I can give, I'll be more than happy to
help.'
'There is,' he said. 'We want you seconded to the inquiry. You and DS Boyd. Flanagan's clearing it with your chief super now. You both know the victim, you're familiar with the background, and I hate to say it, but you're also involved in what's happened.'
'Only a limited involvement,' I told him, keen not to get tarred with the wrong sort of brush.
'But you know all about it. With everything else, that makes you ideal. Plus, you're a bloody good copper, and I know you rate Tina Boyd as well.'
I didn't say anything for a moment.
'Are you still there?'
'Of course I'm still here. I'm thinking, that's all.'
'Well, that's the end of my flattery. I want you on this case -we all do. And if you refuse, you're going to have to have one hell of a good reason why.'
But there was no way I was going to refuse. I was busy, yes. Extremely so. But that was never going to change. As long as I remained in the Met I was going to be overworked - it was as good as part of the job description - but opportunities to get
involved in something like this don't come along very often. Especially cases where you know the victim. I might not have liked Slim Robbie O'Brien, but I wanted to see whoever had murdered him and his grandmother punished. It takes a very dangerous, very cold individual to snuff out two lives as efficiently as the perpetrator of this had. An individual who could do that deserves to spend his days behind bars.
'If you can clear it with the chief super down here then of course I'm interested. I know Tina will be too.'
'Consider it done. We're setting up an incident room, at your station, so that's nice and convenient. We've got a meeting scheduled for two p.m.'
'I can't do two. I'm in court this afternoon, giving evidence. There's no way I can get out of it.'
'Fair enough. Tina'll have to attend, though. You can get the relevant info off her. What are you doing afterwards?'
'After court? Going home and having a bite to eat probably.' 'You're going to need to talk to Stegs Jenner. Preferably today.' He gave me Stegs's address in Barnet. 'We're going to want details of all his meetings with O'Brien, what was said--'
'Haven't we already got that information? A lot of it came out in the questioning yesterday, and presumably there are records.' There are, and it did, but I want you to go over everything with him again. See if you can pick up anything we might have missed. I also want you to check his movements yesterday in the run-up to the operation. From when he left his house in the morning.'
I was surprised at this last part. 'He's not a suspect, is he?' Malik sighed. 'Not as such, but there's a concern that he's not telling us everything.' 'What do you mean?' 'O'Brien had a mobile phone in his pocket when he was found this morning. It looks like a pay-as-you-go. Stegs said yesterday that he hadn't spoken to O'Brien since Sunday, and he might not have done, but in the phone records section of the mobile it clearly states that a total of three of the last ten calls made on that phone were to a number that we've just found out is a Met mobile currently issued to Stegs. Now, it might mean nothing. We've got no idea yet when these calls were made, or how long they lasted, or even whether they were answered, but it's worth asking again whether he's spoken to O'Brien since Sunday. Can you go and see him tonight?'
'All right,' I said, wondering whether this was all they had on him. I found myself hoping so, and hoping too that there was an innocent explanation for it. I didn't want to see old Stegs get thrown even deeper into the
'Joint Serious Crime Group East and SO7. DCS Flanagan's going to be heading it up.'
I raised an eyebrow at that one. 'What? After yesterday?'
'He followed everything to the letter with Surgical Strike, and we're very short of available SIOs of DCS level, and this is definitely a DCS-level case. At least he knows the background.'
'If there's any assistance I can give, I'll be more than happy to
help.'
'There is,' he said. 'We want you seconded to the inquiry. You and DS Boyd. Flanagan's clearing it with your chief super now. You both know the victim, you're familiar with the background, and I hate to say it, but you're also involved in what's happened.'
'Only a limited involvement,' I told him, keen not to get tarred with the wrong sort of brush.
'But you know all about it. With everything else, that makes you ideal. Plus, you're a bloody good copper, and I know you rate Tina Boyd as well.'
I didn't say anything for a moment.
'Are you still there?'
'Of course I'm still here. I'm thinking, that's all.'
'Well, that's the end of my flattery. I want you on this case -we all do. And if you refuse, you're going to have to have one hell of a good reason why.'
But there was no way I was going to refuse. I was busy, yes. Extremely so. But that was never going to change. As long as I remained in the Met I was going to be overworked - it was as good as part of the job description - but opportunities to get
involved in something like this don't come along very often. Especially cases where you know the victim. I might not have liked Slim Robbie O'Brien, but I wanted to see whoever had murdered him and his grandmother punished. It takes a very dangerous, very cold individual to snuff out two lives as efficiently as the perpetrator of this had. An individual who could do that deserves to spend his days behind bars.
'If you can clear it with the chief super down here then of course I'm interested. I know Tina will be too.'
'Consider it done. We're setting up an incident room, at your station, so that's nice and convenient. We've got a meeting scheduled for two p.m.'
'I can't do two. I'm in court this afternoon, giving evidence. There's no way I can get out of it.'
'Fair enough. Tina'll have to attend, though. You can get the relevant info off her. What are you doing afterwards?'
'After court? Going home and having a bite to eat probably.' 'You're going to need to talk to Stegs Jenner. Preferably today.' He gave me Stegs's address in Barnet. 'We're going to want details of all his meetings with O'Brien, what was said--'
'Haven't we already got that information? A lot of it came out in the questioning yesterday, and presumably there are records.' There are, and it did, but I want you to go over everything with him again. See if you can pick up anything we might have missed. I also want you to check his movements yesterday in the run-up to the operation. From when he left his house in the morning.'
I was surprised at this last part. 'He's not a suspect, is he?' Malik sighed. 'Not as such, but there's a concern that he's not telling us everything.' 'What do you mean?' 'O'Brien had a mobile phone in his pocket when he was found this morning. It looks like a pay-as-you-go. Stegs said yesterday that he hadn't spoken to O'Brien since Sunday, and he might not have done, but in the phone records section of the mobile it clearly states that a total of three of the last ten calls made on that phone were to a number that we've just found out is a Met mobile currently issued to Stegs. Now, it might mean nothing. We've got no idea yet when these calls were made, or how long they lasted, or even whether they were answered, but it's worth asking again whether he's spoken to O'Brien since Sunday. Can you go and see him tonight?'
'All right,' I said, wondering whether this was all they had on him. I found myself hoping so, and hoping too that there was an innocent explanation for it. I didn't want to see old Stegs get thrown even deeper into the
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