‘Did you not get my report?’
‘No, but I don’t think the morning dispatch has arrived here yet. Your report may still be in transit.’
‘I didn’t put it in dispatch — I delivered it by hand last night and was told you were out on enquiries.’
‘Who did you give it to?’
‘I spoke to a lady on the intercom who said she was the office clerk. She came down to the front entrance and I handed it to her. She asked what it was about, and I told her my examination of the burnt-out Cortina and ignition barrel.’
‘That would be Katie. It may be on her desk. What was the result with the barrel?’
‘I took it to bits and did a microscopic examination. There’s no evidence I can find that suggests to me a screwdriver or similar implement was forced into the barrel to start the car.’
‘Looks like the owner of the car may be hiding something then,’ she remarked.
‘Certainly does. My report contains everything I did at Edgar House yesterday. If you need a written statement just let me know and I’ll get it typed up here then forward both copies to you.’
‘Thanks. Can I ask what time you dropped the report off?’
‘About six. Is there a problem?’
‘No, not at all. Thanks for everything you’ve done, it’s really useful and I know our DCI will be pleased.’
‘It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope you catch the villains.’
Jane put the phone down and looked in her in tray and desk drawers, but there was no sign of the report. She then looked on Katie’s desk, but it wasn’t there either. She contemplated looking in Katie’s desk drawers but didn’t want to look as if she was snooping. Looking out of the window she could see Katie walking across the road, carrying Murphy’s food in a brown bag, so she went out onto the landing and waited for her.
‘Have you got a report that was dropped off for me by a Traffic Division officer last night?’ Jane asked as Katie appeared.
‘I put it on DCI Murphy’s desk,’ she said casually, brushing past Jane.
Jane followed her. ‘But it was addressed to me.’
‘I know, but when the traffic officer said what it was about, and you weren’t here, I thought DCI Murphy should see it in case he wanted to action further enquiries right away.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about it when I got back to the station last night?’
Katie turned, shrugged her shoulders and looked at Jane nonchalantly.
‘I forgot. Now if you don’t mind I need to take this to DCI Murphy,’ she said, holding up the bag.
‘Did he send anyone round to the Cortina owner’s house?’
‘I don’t know, I didn’t ask him,’ she said, entering Murphy’s office.
Jane was certain Katie had given the report to Murphy and not told her about it deliberately to annoy her. As she walked back into the office, she was determined not to let Katie’s behavior get to her, but she knew there might come a point where she would need to heed Teflon’s advice and reprimand her.
Katie put Murphy’s roll and tea on his desk.
‘Just a dab of tomato sauce and lots of pepper, the way you like it, sir.’
Murphy grunted his thanks. ‘Is there a problem between you and Tennison?’
‘No, sir, I just felt she should have had the decency to ask before she moved her desk, that’s all.’
‘You don’t like Tennison, do you?’
‘I don’t really know her yet, but it I suppose it would be fair to say she’s not someone I’d necessarily socialize with.’
Murphy nodded. ‘I’d like you to do something for me but keep it between the two of us.’
‘Yes, sir, you can trust me to be discreet.’
‘While I’m in here, and Tennison’s out there, I want you to keep an eye on her for me. When she puts a report in to be indexed, go over it with a fine-toothed comb and let me know if there’s anything she hasn’t done she should have done.’
‘Will DI Kingston still be going over her reports after I’ve indexed them?’
‘Yes, but I don’t think he’ll be as thorough as he should.’
‘Why not?’
‘He seems to like Tennison and thinks we should give her a chance to prove herself.’
‘He said that?’ Katie asked, her brows furrowed.
‘Yes, but as far as I’m concerned she should be treated the same as everyone else. If her work’s not up to scratch or the standards I expect, I need to know for her first monthly review as a new member of the team.’
Katie smiled. ‘Would you like me to eavesdrop on her telephone calls as well?’
Murphy hesitated. ‘When you can, but don’t make it too obvious. Like I said, this conversation is just between the two of us. It would be good if you were nice to her as well — that way she won’t suspect anything untoward.’
Katie sighed. ‘I’ll do my best.’
He picked up an envelope. ‘This is addressed to Tennison; someone must have put it on my desk by mistake. Can you give it to her?’
‘That was me, sir — a Traffic Division officer delivered it late last night.’ She explained what the report was about. ‘I realized how important the information might be and thought you might like to see it first thing and decide what action needed to be taken before the meeting. I also ran a criminal record check on Mr. Braun, who reported the Cortina stolen, but there was no trace of him.’
‘Good thinking, Katie. I’ll read the report while I have my breakfast — then when everyone’s in we’ll crack on with the meeting.’
‘There was something else that got phoned in last night.’
‘Fire away,’ he said as he bit into the roll.
‘The duty sergeant from Tottenham called last night and said a woman came to the station alleging some men in a local cafe were talking about a robbery.’
‘Is that it? No details of what she heard being said?’
‘I did ask but the sergeant said he was very busy and had just got her name and address when he had to take an urgent phone call. When he got off the phone the woman had left the station.’
‘I doubt the people we’re after would be so stupid as to openly talk in a cafe about a blagging they were going to do! Sounds like the woman’s a nutter looking for attention to me.’
‘I agree it’s probably nonsense, but it would be wrong of us to ignore it — so I was thinking WDS Tennison would be the ideal person to follow it up,’ she added with a bright smile.
Murphy took a mouthful of tea to wash his food down and grinned.
‘Draw up an action to interview the woman and I’ll give it to Tennison to deal with at the meeting.’
As she left his office, Murphy opened the envelope containing PC Turner’s report, feeling pleased with himself. He knew Katie would do everything she could to find fault in Tennison’s work, and that way he couldn’t be accused of carrying out a personal vendetta against her.
Katie approached Jane as she was sitting at her desk typing.
‘DCI Murphy is reading the traffic officer’s report. I explained to him why I put it on his desk and asked if I could give it to you, but he said he’d like to read it first. I’m sorry I forgot to mention it last night, but I wasn’t feeling well, and it just slipped my mind. Next time I’ll put anything that comes in for you straight on your desk.’
Jane looked up from her typing. She wondered if Murphy had said something to make Katie apologize for her behavior. Or perhaps she really had just forgotten. After all, she’d just been having sex with Kingston, and was clearly flustered when Jane turned up.
‘Forget about it, Katie. Even if I’d known about the report last night no action could be taken until DCI Murphy had read it.’
‘Thanks. Would you like a hot drink?’
‘No thanks, I’ve just had one. I’ve nearly finished my report, then if you like I could type one of the statements on your desk.’