Merrick pointed to the far end of the room where two doors closed off a pair of offices. ‘Take your pick. They’re both empty.’
And neither offered much in the way of privacy, she thought. She chose the one that had windows on the outside world and turned to Merrick, who had followed her down the room. ‘Call whoever’s responsible for housekeeping round here. I want some blinds for the internal window.’
Merrick grinned. ‘Don’t want us to know when you’re playing Solitaire, eh?’
‘I prefer FreeCell, actually. Give me half an hour to get settled in here, then we’ll have a briefing.’
‘Fine by me.’ He ducked out of the room, leaving her alone. It was, she thought, a relief. She switched on the computer. Seconds later, she saw Evans approaching, his arms laden with a bundle of files. She jumped up to open the door.
‘What’s all this?’ she asked.
‘Open cases–the most recent ones. They were delivered yesterday teatime. What we’re supposed to be working on while we wait for the next big thing.’
Carol felt her blood stirring. At last, something she could focus on. Something that might just lay her demons to rest. Or at least shut them up for a while.
Aidan Hart studied the man sitting opposite him with a degree of wariness. He knew many of his colleagues thought he was too young at thirty-seven to be clinical director of Bradfield Moor Secure Hospital, but he was confident enough of his skills to write off their disapproval as the product of disappointment and envy. He knew that none of them presented any professional challenge to him.
But his latest appointment was in a different league. Dr Tony Hill came with a reputation for both brilliance and awkwardness. The only rules he observed were the ones that mattered to him. He wasn’t a team player, unless the team in question was one he’d chosen. He’d won loyal respect and engendered fury in equal measures among those he’d worked with. When Tony Hill had applied for a part-time post at his hospital, Aidan Hart’s first reaction had been to refuse. There was room for only one star at Bradfield Moor, and that was him.
Then he’d had second thoughts. If Hill was only there as a part-timer, his work could be carefully channelled. His successes could be parlayed into more credit for Hart himself, the visionary clinical director who had tamed the maverick. It was a tempting prospect. He could portray himself as the man who persuaded high-flyer Tony Hill back into clinical practice. He had convinced himself that while the patients might benefit from Hill’s famous empathetic skills, the ultimate beneficiary would be Aidan Hart himself. His second thoughts had been reinforced when he’d met Hill in the flesh. Aidan Hart knew all about dressing to impress, but within seconds he realized Hill had obviously missed that particular tutorial. The little guy in the chair opposite with the bad haircut, brown shoes with black trousers and greenish tweed jacket with frayed cuffs wasn’t going to make ripples in the sort of pond Hart intended to swim in. Hill had seemed embarrassed by the high profile his work with the police had earned him and had stressed that he didn’t want to find himself in the public eye ever again. Whatever profiling he did in future would be behind closed doors and beyond distant borders. Hill’s eagerness to get back into harness at the sharp end of clinical practice was almost pathetic.
At the time, Hart had been smugly satisfied that taking a chance on Tony Hill would be the best possible decision. Somehow he’d missed the penetrating intelligence of the eyes, the unmistakable charisma the man wore like a well-cut suit. Hart wasn’t quite sure how that had happened. Unless, of course, Hill had deliberately disguised it in order to make a quite different kind of impression. And that was a very unsettling thought. He liked to think of himself as the analyst. He was uncomfortable with the idea that this time, he might have been played by a higher master in the art of reading human behaviour. He couldn’t help wondering whether he was the latest object of scrutiny for those startlingly blue eyes that seemed to absorb every nuance of his body language. He didn’t like the thought that he’d have to monitor his every word and movement in his newest employee’s presence. Aidan Hart had his secrets, and he didn’t want Tony Hill probing too closely into them.
He didn’t think he was being paranoid. Hill had only been in the building for an hour, but already he’d played a blinder. He’d found out about the latest admission and now he was sitting opposite Hart, one ankle casually propped on the opposite knee, making an irresistible rationale for first crack at the new patient. It was the sort of case that led to published papers in well-respected peer-reviewed publications, and already Hill was staking a claim to territory Hart wanted for himself. ‘After all,’ Hill said, ‘since we’ve got a new admission, it makes sense for me to take the case on. That way I won’t have to go over old ground. And nobody’s nose gets put out of joint because I’m taking over their patient.’
‘It’s a pretty extreme place to start,’ Hart said, affecting concern. ‘And you have been out of the field for a while.’
Tony’s mouth twitched in a half-smile. ‘Extreme is my comfort zone, Aidan. And I do have very direct experience of dealing with people who kill for reasons that most people dismiss as madness.’
Hart shifted in his chair and spread his hands, as if discarding responsibility. ‘So be it. I look forward to seeing your initial report.’
Carol leaned against the whiteboard and waited for her new team to settle down. Then she moved closer to them and perched on the edge of a desk. ‘Before we get down to business, there’s something I have to say to you,’ she said, trying to sound more relaxed than she felt. ‘I know how rumours spread in this job and I expect you’ve all heard some version of my recent history.’ She could tell by the way the men all found something more interesting to study that she’d hit the target.
Don Merrick gazed at the floor. ‘Nobody here’s interested in gossip,’ he muttered. ‘Just results. And your record speaks for itself on that.’
The shadow of a smile crossed Carol’s face. ‘Thank you, Don. Nevertheless, if we’re going to make this unit work, we need to have an open, honest atmosphere. What happened to me happened because of secrets and lies. I’m not prepared to work in an environment like that again.’ She looked around, saw she had their attention and continued.
‘I was selected for an undercover operation that left me in a very exposed position. Because I wasn’t thoroughly briefed by my bosses, I couldn’t cover my back properly. And as a result, I was raped.’ She heard a sharp intake of breath but couldn’t identify its source. ‘I don’t expect to be handled with kid gloves. What happened to me won’t affect the way I do my job. Except that it has made me very sensitive to issues of loyalty. This squad can only function if we all put teamwork first. I don’t want any glory hunters here. So if any of you has a problem with that, this is the time to ask for reassignment.’ She looked around at her group. Stacey and Evans looked surprised, but the others were nodding their acquiescence.
Carol stood up straight and picked up the top file. ‘Good. Now, until we land our first job, we’re supposed to be looking at unsolved open cases. They’ve given us two murders, a rape, two armed robberies, a serial arson and a pair of child abductions. Over the next few days, I want you each to go through three separate files. Don, work out a rota so all the cases get looked at. Include me in it–since we’re one light, I’ll make up the numbers. On each file, I want you to list suggested actions for moving the case forward. Then, when you’ve all made your lists, we’ll sit down together, look at what you’ve come up with and see which cases offer the most promising prospects for further investigation. Any questions?’
Kevin