BooksBarbecue
Back The Game
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. NOW
  4. One
  5. BEFORE
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. NOW
  26. Twenty-One
  27. BEFORE
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. NOW
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. BEFORE
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. NOW
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. Fifty-Three
  63. Fifty-Four
  64. Fifty-Five
  65. AFTER
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. About the Author

‘You might be right,’ Mark replied, the thought of going back to question the man-mountain filling him with dread. ‘I’ll get working on things. See if there’s anything more to it. I’ll check in with you again later.’

Mark went straight out of the office and went to the bathroom. Looking himself over in the mirror, he tried to see if anything was out of place, anything that would suggest he wasn’t up to this. He looked as he always did. He walked into a stall and relieved himself before reaching for the flush. His finger paused as the door opened outside and he heard two deep laughs.

‘Has he gone back there then?’ A voice he recognised. Dale Williams. He was a detective constable from another office, who was a few years older than him.

‘Yeah, think so,’ a higher voice replied. The DC from earlier, who had so casually dismissed him. ‘I don’t know why he’s annoying, but every time he speaks, I just want to lamp him.’

‘I know what you mean. Some people are just like that.’

‘Wonder how long it’ll take for him to finally realise this isn’t for him.’

‘Thought the penny would have dropped by now, to be honest.’

‘He’s just a pain in the arse. Hopefully getting something like a missing teen will be the end of it. She turns up dead and he’s screwed if he’s missed something, which he probably will. He’s not exactly the brightest bulb in the box. Press will crucify him if he gets something wrong.’

‘I’m just glad he’s not on my team now. I had to work with him on something a while ago and almost tore my own hair out at the endless questions.’

Mark listened in silence, then flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall. Didn’t make eye contact with either man as they looked over their shoulders at him from the urinals and he washed his hands. He thought he saw something approaching guilt pass between them, but couldn’t be sure. It was more likely defiance – he couldn’t imagine they’d be that bothered by him hearing them talk about him behind his back.

He tried to think of a response, something witty and cutting, but failed.

Instead, he dried his hands and left the bathroom without saying a single word.

It had been this way since he’d joined the team. Only from a certain group, but still, it was enough to know there were people out there watching his every move, waiting for him to make a mistake. They thought he was too young, too inquisitive. Not willing to just shut up and do the job the way they did.