Almost there, Sarah thought, as she was passed by a crowd of police probationers in the corridor. She’d been standing outside the CID office for five minutes now. If she didn’t get a move on, she’d be late. So why weren’t her feet going in the direction they needed to go? A distraction. That’s what she needed. A quick fix, then she’d just walk straight through. She slid her phone from her pocket and brought out the dictionary app. She couldn’t help but smile at the word of the day.

Fantabulous, a slang term meaning excellent, wonderful, is a blend of fantastic and fabulous.

Perfect. Pressing her ID tag against the wall, she waited for the familiar buzz and click then pushed open the door.

The office looked exactly as it did when she’d left it, different mug shots, same crimes. It still housed the same half a dozen desks, basic furniture and creaky swivel chairs. The same drab blinds hung limply from the windows, the functional blue office carpet was littered with a smattering of crumbs. The air was warm and stale given that it was too cold to open the windows at this time of year. Her colleagues barely lifted their heads as she walked past.

She recognised Yvonne Townsend, who she’d always found frosty, and Damien ‘Richie’ Richardson, who was chatting animatedly as his colleagues hung on his every word. ‘So I said, “the short answer is no, and the long answer is fuck no!”’

A burst of laughter followed. Sarah cast an eye over his leather jacket which hung from the coat hook in the corner. He was still a biker then, but he now sported a neatly trimmed black beard. She glanced around the office. It seemed that there had been a fair bit of turnover as she didn’t know the remaining officers. She watched them return to their desks, banter over, ready for work. Their sergeant, nicknamed ‘The Ballbreaker’, had taken over from Sarah’s husband. Her eyes flicked up as Sarah stood before her and cleared her throat.

Sergeant Gabrielle – Gabby – Bassett was of African-American and French descent. At fifty, she was ten years Sarah’s senior, and wore a permanent expression of vague annoyance. Sarah had met her before when Gabby had conducted a home visit to check on Sarah’s welfare. She had not expected a warm welcome. She just wanted to get through the day.

‘That’s your spot.’ Gabby pointed at the coffee-ring-stained desk shoved against the wall. It was only a couple of feet from hers. When Sarah had started this role, she’d had a view out of the window. Her sergeant obviously wanted to keep an eye on her.