Dani had never had a big problem with her hard-nosed boss. The way Dani saw it, McNair’s often fiery temperament was something of a necessity. McNair, now in her early fifties, had joined the force when it was a different beast. In those days the only way for a female officer to be taken seriously and get ahead was to be a ruthless ball-buster; to be not as hard as the men, but harder. Times had moved on, thankfully, and now more and more female officers were taking senior positions, though in many ways the male-centric atmosphere remained.

Dani had never seen herself as a McNair apprentice, a future ball-buster, though she knew many of her male – and some female – colleagues had previously believed that to be the case, largely due to the fact that she’d been so career focused and one of the youngest DIs on the force when first promoted. Plus she was unmarried, despite being closer to forty now than to thirty. Clearly there must be something seriously wrong with any such woman. Or she must be a lesbian. That was the other common idiotic assumption that Dani had endured over the years – not helped by the fact that she drank beer and watched sport. The truth was that she’d been too focused on her career to have met a decent man to settle down with. Until Jason. But look at how that had turned out.

McNair came forwards and Dani got to her feet and shook her boss’s hand.

‘DI Stephens, it’s good to have you back,’ McNair said, her face betraying no emotion as she went around her desk and sat back down.

‘It feels good to be back, ma’am,’ Dani said, cringing inwardly at her use of the formal title, which was becoming less and less common. She herself hated it when others addressed her as ma’am, it made her feel like a batty old woman.

‘And I’m sure there are plenty on the team who will be glad to see you’ve returned.’

Dani noticed a twinkle in McNair’s eye. Was she talking about Jason? Or maybe Dani was reading too much into her words.

‘Take a seat.’

Dani did so and noticed McNair’s eyes narrowing as she inspected Dani, as though weighing up whether or not she approved of what she saw. Dani looked away and around the sparse office. There were no picture frames, or knick-knacks, or personal effects of any kind. Just shelves crammed with ring binders and books about good policing and other such theory. Two large aerial shots of Birmingham hung on the walls.

‘I’m sure it’s been a hell of a time for you,’ McNair said.

‘Not the best two years of my life, that’s for sure. But I’m back. And I just want you to treat me like anyone else.’