Page 72 of Her Hidden Shadow

She held her hands up and stepped back again. ‘Okay, I’m stepping back.’

Lauren’s fearful stare met Gina’s and she could see how low Lauren’s hand was. She was going to reach for his groin. They had no choice but to fight him because Kieron was right, no one else was going to help.

‘I tell you what,’ he said. ‘I’ll kill her, then I’ll kill you. I can have you both because fucking women are all liars. Each and every one of you. You all deserve to die.’

‘Is that why you hurt Tiffany?’ She had to keep him talking until Lauren gave her a signal. What that signal might be, she had no idea yet.

He let out a laugh. ‘I’ve never hurt her. All I ever do is look after her, care for her, feed her and make sure she’s safe but in the end, we needed her out of our life, didn’t we Lauren, so that we could try again?’

Try again, that suggested he and Lauren had history. Had he been the man she had an affair with early on in her and Robbie’s relationship, or did they go back further? Lauren emitted a roar just before the belt tightened again. She brought her hand to his groin and squeezed with gritted teeth. Instead of letting go, he yelled in agony as he tightened the belt.

Gina ran over but as she approached, he kept using Lauren as a barrier between her and him. ‘Kieron, let her go.’

‘Nah.’

Gina nodded and smirked as trainee DC Kapoor and two uniformed officers came up behind him and fought the belt from his hands. Within seconds, they had the man on the ground, and he was being cuffed and read his rights. Gina threw herself to the ground and loosened the belt from around Lauren’s neck and the woman gasped for air. ‘You’re safe, Lauren. It’s over.’

Fifty-Nine

As Gina drove back to the station, all she could think about was the trouble she was going to be in. It wasn’t over for her yet.

She wondered if Jacob was being processed for release. She pulled into the car park relieved that the protesters had thinned out. She turned on her partly charged phone and clicked onto the Warwickshire Herald. There was no mention at all of Jacob’s arrest. She headed over to their social media where they normally shared any breaking news, again, there was nothing. She leaned back in the driver’s seat and exhaled, exhaustion setting in. She hurried into the incident room.

‘Well, well, well, Harte returns.’ Sullivan shook her head slowly. ‘You put yourself in danger. That was clever.’

Gina shrugged. ‘You put me in danger. You refused to look at where the evidence was leading, and you forced me to go alone.’

‘You’re suspended, Harte.’

Briggs stepped forward. ‘No, she’s right. The team failed her and without DI Harte’s intervention, we’d have another body on our hands and if you suspend her, you’ll have all that to explain.’

Sullivan bit the skin on the inside of her mouth, suppressing her rage.

Briggs continued. ‘DS Driscoll is no longer a suspect and I’ve just been informed that he’s being prepared for release from custody on no charge. You’re not needed here anymore. Our team has successfully apprehended the suspect, we will be interviewing him, and we will be charging him. I’ll be sending a full report on how this was all handled to your superior. I’m sure there will be a full enquiry.’

Sullivan shook her head and Gina felt her knees trembling. She’d never seen such a stand-off in her career, and she had no idea where it would end. She raised her eyebrows. Gina couldn’t help the tiny smile that formed on her lips.

‘And I’ll be reporting all this insubordination.’ Sullivan walked over to Gina. ‘You’re still as lost as you always were, Gina. You might be smiling but you can’t fool me.’

Gina had given up wondering what Sullivan might think of her or what she might think she knew about her. What will be, will be. There was nothing more she could do, and she had no more fight in her. She could think of a million sarcastic quips to come back at her with, but they would do her no good. She’d won. Jacob was free and the real offender had been caught. That was a win, and she wasn’t going to let Sullivan ruin the moment.

‘You’re still like a lost little bird. Lost birds fly into windows. Just before they hit the glass, they see their own terrified reflections as their lives flash in front of them. I know things haunt you, Harte. You take all that baggage home, and you keep it, like some hoarder who can’t let go. What would you see, little bird, if you stared into that death window?’

Now Sullivan was showing her true self in front of someone else for a change.

Briggs broke the silent tension as Gina clenched her teeth. ‘Now, that’s enou—’

Gina held a hand up and Briggs stopped talking. ‘I got this.’ She was thankful that Briggs was on her side, but it was her battle. ‘I’d see my team, a happy and loyal team, who work together well. I don’t need to bully them or make them feel inferior. I trust them to do their jobs, I care about them, I’m there for them, I’d do anything for any one of them. I’d go to the ends of the earth for them. They’d do the same for me. I have that, all that. And it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Now, I’m going to say goodbye and I’m going to continue doing my job. Is that okay, sir?’ She turned to Briggs.

Briggs nodded. ‘Wyre is with Kieron Crawford. He’s been charged and booked in, so I’d say he’s ready to interview. There is a duty solicitor waiting. We’re all set to go. I’d like you to lead the interview.’

‘Thanks, sir.’ With that, Gina walked past Sullivan, knowing that the woman who’d made her training years a misery would now be investigated for gross misconduct. Failing to consider her team’s input had led Gina into a dangerous situation, without backup and that was unforgivable. She thought of trainee DC Kapoor, and she hoped to do nothing but nurture her. Sullivan went to speak but stopped.

The mighty had fallen.

Sixty

Kieron Crawford remained tight-lipped as they’d started the tape and made all the introductions.

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