‘And they are taken off cases when they involve direct family members,’ Jenny remarked. ‘It’s a conflict of interest and can be open to corruption too.’
Grace thought it was time to speak out. ‘With all due respect, Ma’am, I had no intentions of ever getting in touch with the Steele family. I was aware they were on my patch, I told you about it and I knew, with their connections, I would more than likely bump into them one day. But I handled the meeting professionally. I don’t have any allegiance to them. I won’t let anything interfere with my work.’
The room dropped into silence. Grace could almost hear the cogs working inside the DCI’s head. She held her breath, waiting for her to speak again.
‘Very well said, Grace.’ Jenny nodded her approval. ‘But it still doesn’t change the fact that you are on a case with members of your family involved.’
‘Which could work to our advantage,’ Nick stressed.
Both women looked his way.
‘We have someone who might get a little closer than normal.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Jenny shook her head. ‘Look, I’m not happy about this, but realistically we are pulled all over the place at the moment, what with budget cuts and several officers on sick leave. You can continue to work on this for now, until another DS becomes available. I do think your skills are best utilised on this, but when you visit Steele’s Gym, I want you to take someone along. I don’t want you to end up in court unable to defend yourself. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, Ma’am.’ Grace gulped under the woman’s ferocious stare.
Jenny pointed at Nick and then to herself. ‘We’ll get it in the neck if you step out of line. Do you understand?’
Grace nodded. ‘I won’t let you down.’
‘That’s good to hear.’ Jenny got up from her chair. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
Once she’d gone, Grace blew out the breath she’d been holding and looked at Nick. ‘I thought she was going to remove me.’
‘She may very well have to,’ Nick replied. ‘But she’s given us a bit of leeway for now.’
‘It’s risky though, isn’t it?’
‘I still think we could use your connection to our advantage.’ Nick paused. ‘Are you up for it, if we keep it between us? See what you can get from them that we can use?’
‘But the DCI said—’
‘What Jenny doesn’t know won’t hurt her, and it’s on my head if it gets out.’
‘I don’t want to lose my job.’ Grace wasn’t so sure. ‘I’ve only just got here.’
‘Yes, yes, I know that.’ Nick waved away her concern. ‘I just think it will be good to get you close to them. We’re under pressure following our failure to solve George Steele’s murder. And because of that, Eddie and Leon are beginning to cause more and more issues in the city. I need someone to keep an eye on them.’
Even without getting into trouble, it had been weird seeing them all this morning. Grace didn’t want to be associated with them in any way, but she knew how hard that was going to be with her curiosity fighting to find out more about them. So, if she was going to be working close to them for the next few days, she might as well learn all she could, both on a professional and a personal level.
‘I’ll give it a shot.’ She nodded.
‘Great. Report anything back to me first. Keep it between us. And be careful.’ Nick stood up. ‘Team briefing is at six thirty. I’ll need to do a press release before that, and then we can regroup and see where we are. If everyone on the list hasn’t been contacted by then, you and the team can get on to it tonight.’
Grace nodded, knowing that it was going to be a long evening. ‘We’ve made a start on gathering intel on Parker. He’s obviously well known in the area and I’m catching up with what we have.’
‘I’m sure your team can fill you in with everything necessary.’ Nick nodded his head towards the door. ‘Off you go, Sergeant.’
Grace left the room and sighed with relief. As she scuttled back to her chair, all eyes fell on her. For now, she was home and dry, but she would definitely have to watch her step gathering intel for Nick. There was no way she was going to be removed from this case.
The day had gone so quickly that when Grace next looked up at the clock it was six p.m. The office was a buzz of activity after the press conference brought a deluge of calls. Hopefully something would come through for them. Alongside the evidence gathered and forensics they were waiting for, there had to be a clue to who killed Josh Parker.
She rested a hand on the back of her neck and moved her head from side to side. She still couldn’t believe the first murder in her new job had been at Steele’s Gym. God help her if they blabbed and her team found out who she was. It could open her up to all kinds of bribery accusations. But why would the Steeles keep it to themselves, unless they thought they could use it for their own benefit?
Grace had known a fair few bent cops in her years, so, in a way, she couldn’t blame the DCI for thinking like that. But she was loyal to her colleagues and to the uniform, something they would only find out in time. If she had been working there longer than four weeks, people might have trusted her more. As it stood now, she’d have to work doubly hard at everything. Still, she was up for the challenge.
‘What are Eddie and Leon like together?’ she asked Perry, as she took a break from the list she was working her way down.
Perry leaned back in his chair as he spoke to her. ‘From what I can gather, Leon seems to think he should be an equal to Eddie. But with Josh as Eddie’s right-hand man, he’s never stood a chance. I think he saw Parker as muscling in on his territory.’
‘Like kids fighting over a girl,’ she said.
‘Pretty much. Leon thought Eddie gave Josh too much power. He obviously felt as if he was second rate. It was all childish. I’m not sure it’s relevant though?’
‘Oh?’
‘This doesn’t have the mark of anything Leon would do. I doubt he would leave a body to be found. And he’s more into fast and furious if he does anything. He’s known for using his fists to teach people lessons, not necessarily murder.’
‘Most murders are born from attacks that go too far,’ Sam said, as she looked over her notes in her notepad. ‘Assaults that come from an argument when tempers are raised. And if he was known for murder, he’d be inside.’
Perry flicked an elastic band at her. ‘You know what I mean, shortie.’
The band flew over Sam’s head as Perry had intended. Sam rolled her eyes at him.
‘What about the alarm codes?’ Grace asked. ‘Do we know who has access to the building?’
‘There are five people.’ Perry counted them off using his fingers. ‘Eddie, Leon, Jade, Josh and Trent Gibson.’
Trent Gibson was the man in the red tracksuit who had reported finding Josh Parker that morning. He’d been interviewed and a record of his account taken. He’d been working at Steele’s Gym for five years and had been on the alarm rota for the past two.
Grace nodded in recognition. ‘So, do we know yet who was the last of them to leave the building, other than Josh? Did their times tally with what they told me?’
‘Trent