Page 45 of Fletch

I shrug. “We tried that in the beginning. Phil had surveillance on their massage place.”

“The whorehouse?”

I give a nod. “Although, on that day, they were massaging clients. They’re always one step ahead. It’s like they know all our moves.”

She sighs heavily. “If we don’t find something soon, you know your father will pull the case. We’ve spent too long on it to come up with nothing, not even a wrap of weed.”

“I’ll speak to Phil, and we’ll get a new plan together.”

I find Phil at his desk scrolling through CCTV. I perch on the edge and ask, “What are you looking for?”

“Just the movements of the bikers, mainly the VP or the Enforcer.”

“Oh?” I peer closer at the screen, trying to calm my racing heart. “Anything I should know about?”

“We had a team briefing yesterday, and Kay mentioned we had all this footage come in that hadn’t been viewed. And seeing as my partner in crime was a no-show yesterday, I thought I’d make a start.”

I scoff. “Don’t we have someone from downstairs who can do this?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Short staffed, apparently.”

I get a glimpse of Fletch and my heart almost stops. “Where is this?” I ask.

“The Bar.”

I stand abruptly. “How about I take over and you take a break?”

“I’m fine,” he mutters, making a note on his pad.

“I insist,” I say more forcefully, and he glances up, frowning. I force a smile. “To make up for my no-show yesterday.”

He grins. “Fine, whatever.” He unplugs the USB stick and hands it to me followed by his notes. “I’ve got to put some hours into some of my other cases anyway.”

I head over to my own desk. “Who even asked for all the CCTV to be collected?” I ask casually.

He laughs. “Are you pissed you didn’t think of it?”

“Not at all, but it’s my investigation and I didn’t ask for it.”

“Karen got a uniform on it yesterday. Apparently, the order came from higher up.”

I briefly close my eyes. “Right.”

I spend a few hours staring at the black and white images of people coming and going from The Bar. It’s tedious, and I lose count of the amount of coffee I’ve gone through just to stay awake.

I’m watching the footage from Anna’s hen night when I spot my father breezing through the office. I pause the screen and rush after him, taking him by surprise when I slam the conference room door closed so we’re alone.

“Gemma?”

I begin to close the blinds so my colleagues can’t see from their desks. “Why did you ask for the CCTV to be checked on my case?”

He lowers into a chair, giving me that irritated look he saves especially for me. “I should be asking why you didn’t.”

“Because I didn’t think it was important yet. We don’t have anything, and trawling through hours upon hours of footage when we have no idea what we’re looking for is a painstaking task.”

“The footage may throw something up.”

“And it might not,” I snap. “I’ve wasted four hours already watching drunks come and go from The Bar. We haven’t even touched the garage or the other businesses.”

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