Contents ( 83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Sarah said nothing as Levy returned to the table, took her seat and passed across a large white wine. Only when Levy raised her own glass of vodka and tonic did Sarah speak.
‘Cheers.’
‘Cheers,’ Levy replied, touching glasses. ‘You’ve no idea how welcome this is after today.’
Both women took a mouthful of their drinks. Once again neither spoke as they enjoyed their brains’ chemical reward. It made Levy exhale long and hard. Sarah waited for her to finish.
‘Long one, was it?’ Sarah finally asked.
‘You could say that.’
‘Successful?’
‘Not for us, no.’ Levy took another sip of her drink. Continued. ‘We made a significant arrest, I guess. Just not in the right bloody case.’
‘Any of this for public consumption?’
‘Only the really general parts, Sarah. The rest is off the record.’
Sarah hesitated. What Levy had said was a problem in light of her earlier conversation with Elton. She considered telling Levy that but decided against it.
At least for now.
‘Can I ask why you’re telling me then, Joelle?’
‘Same as before Sarah. So you can have your story ready for when it comes on the record.’ Levy looked down for a moment. Then back up. Continued. ‘And to be honest, I need to get a shitty day off my chest. Is that OK?’
‘I’m happy to be a friend, Joelle. Once I know where the line is there’s no way I’ll cross it.’
Sarah welcomed Levy’s request. It made the conversation personal, not professional.
Which means Elton can go to hell, she thought.
‘Thanks, Sarah. I really appreciate it.’
‘So. What happened?’
‘Wisdom bloody Penfold happened.’ Levy’s face twisted as she said the name, like it had left a bad taste in her mouth.
‘Is that the guy from the boat?’ Sarah asked.
‘One and the same.’
‘I take it from what you just said that he wasn’t involved in Longman’s murder? Or Blunt’s?’
‘Correct. I thought he was good for it. He ticked every sodding box, Sarah. Every bloody one. He was represented by Blunt until the relationship fell apart. He was sentenced by Longman and he was recently released. Add to that a capacity for serious violence and it was like he was screaming “I did it!”. That’s why we went after him.’
‘Well, you sure as hell got the capacity-for-violence part right. I heard the guy he attacked on the ferry didn’t make it?’
‘You mean the cop he attacked on the ferry.’
‘The what?’ This was news to Sarah. ‘Are you serious?’
‘As serious as it gets. The guy he killed was an undercover police officer. So was the woman he hospitalised.’
‘Jesus Christ. Were they from your team?’
‘No. We knew nothing about them.’ Levy’s voice was as weak as Sarah had ever heard it. ‘We didn’t know they were cops. Not until Penfold basically told us.’
‘You mean after they’d been hospitalised? How is that possible?’
‘Undercover officers don’t carry ID. Too risky. So we had no way to know. Plus surveillance officers aren’t routinely armed, so the poor bastards had no chance when he jumped them.’