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The next day
The DCI looked at his watch again as he wiped the dog shit from his new Brooks running shoes. The Strolling Bone had suggested he break them in before attempting something more energetic. Too much in his head, he hadn’t taken much notice of where he was and decided that taking the shortcut along the dirt track was his best option if he was going to make it to work on time.
The conversation the previous night had him thinking about Mrs Byrne and her involvement with his murder victim. He’d need to make some discreet enquiries about the misuse of the force IT systems. What bothered him was he’d fallen out with the Head of IT which made things a bit difficult and most of what had been discussed, if not all of it, could be legitimately obtained from briefing packs the Chief Con was keen on using in his many meetings or simply from gossip.
He needed to be sure of himself before he broached the subject because everything passed across her desk at some point and the Chief wouldn’t take kindly to an unsupported allegation. Kindly was an understatement.
He inspected his foot. Another wipe on the grass and he set off with a brisk walk. Next week he’d start jogging or perhaps the week after. “It would be silly to rush into things,” he thought.
****
Degsy sat at his desk wading through actions and results on the Niche case management system. He was on his third herbal tea of the morning. Thurstan slid through the doorway.
“Where’s Sammy and Alison?”
The DI looked up. “Morning, Thurstan. They’ve gone out on two separate enquiries. Shouldn’t be too long though. Do you need them urgently?”
Thurstan shook his head. “No, it’ll wait. It’s just we should cancel the surveillance on Nickson’s place.” He saw the quizzical look and hesitated, quickly weighing up the pros and cons of the truth. He decided the less Degsy knew the safer and happier he’d be.
“Oh, I don’t see any point now the girl’s gone. I think she’ll be with Nickson and it’s sucking up too many resources. At least we know he’s here and they should be easier to find this time. I’ll let them know when they get back, and they can pull the plug themselves. Just wanted to keep you in the loop.” They nodded at one another and Thurstan ambled over to his office. He had some thinking to do.