As Nikki hurried to the superintendent’s office, she vaguely wondered if Cat were still there. She doubted it, as Cat’s style was more subtle. She preferred the undercover, clandestine operations, not the riot gear and ‘batons at the ready’ kind of stuff. So, as she passed the CID office, she was surprised to see the hunched form of Cat slumped over her desk.

She pushed the door open and called out, ‘Hey, not sleeping while the rest of the station parties, are you?’

‘Ma’am?’ Cat looked up blearily. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t go home until I’d heard directly from you about Joseph. How’s he doing?’

‘His operation went fine, but they want to keep a close eye on him for a while. The knife penetrated his stomach and they had to resection a chunk of his intestines. They’re scared of sepsis, so he’ll be pumped full of antibiotics for a while to counteract any infections.’

‘It doesn’t seem fair, does it? A good bloke like the sarge goes to another nick for a change of scenery and some psycho sticks a blade in him.’

‘No, you’re right. It doesn’t seem fair. But good news. I’ve caught Doyle and she may know where Kerry is, so I need to see the Super right away.’

Cat brightened instantly. ‘Go, ma’am! That’s fantastic!’

She had expected the Super’s office to be jam packed with gold braid and shoulder pips, but, oddly, the man sat alone at his desk, with an expression on his face that Nikki found difficult to read.

‘Ah, Nikki. Come in and sit down. Thank you for keeping me posted on Joseph’s condition.’ He reached into his drawer, took out the familiar half-bottle of whisky and two glasses. ‘It’s such a relief that he’s pulled through.’

‘You may want to put that on hold, sir.’ Nikki would have wrenched his arm off for the drink, but the night was not yet over. ‘Doyle needs to be interviewed, and the book states that as I have issues with the prisoner, I can’t do it.’

The Super looked at the whisky, then returned it reluctantly to his drawer. ‘So you really have got her downstairs? How did you manage that,’ he raised an eyebrow, ‘when the rest of the force failed?’

‘We aren’t the only ones who want her off the street, sir. Even the villains hate a loose canon like that. It muddies the waters for their more legitimate crimes.’

‘Ah, good old Archie.’

‘Better to have that man as a friend than an enemy, sir.’

‘Probably. Now about Doyle. You suspect that she knows the whereabouts of Kerry Anderson?’

‘She said she does, and although she’s flaky as hell, I do believe her.’

‘So, let’s hope the custody sergeant allows this interview as soon as possible.’