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14th May 2014
“Derek!” I’m glad you’ve managed to turn up... finally,” Thurstan said as he took his arm, guiding him back towards the office entrance.
“Arthur, book us out somewhere nice, will you? I’ll speak to you later,” It was the ‘code’ he and Arthur used for those occasions when he wanted to avoid someone such as the Superintendent or another Senior Officer, or for when he needed to camouflage the nature of his enquiries. Arthur had a flair for this sort of thing.
“Boss, you told me I could come in late,” Degsy protested as Thurstan propelled him along the corridor towards the lifts.
“Yes, yes,” Thurstan told him impatiently. “But it was before I decided we have to do something that must be done. Come on! We can catch that lift if we’re quick.”
Bundling him out of the lift on the ground floor, Thurstan led Degsy across the reception area and out onto the car park.
“You want me to do what!? Steal a toothbrush?” Degsy asked incredulously as they cleared the entrance.
Thurstan strode meaningfully towards his car.
“For pity’s sake, Derek, I’m not asking for the world,” he replied as the indicators of his car flashed several times. He hesitated as he opened the driver’s door. “Just get in and I’ll tell you everything en route.”
They were driving towards the Dock Road. “I’ve just received the DNA profile from the knife found in the alley,” Thurstan said, “and I need to get some form of confirmation regarding Nickson, something that will let us know we’re definitely on the right track. Well, today’s the best day to get it. His Dad meets up with a few pals at the Masonic Hall every Wednesday leaving his Mum on her own. So, I thought we –”
“How do you know that, Boss?”
“Know what?” Thurstan checked over his shoulder then slipped into the nearside lane.
Degsy replied deliberately: “Know that his Dad’s going to the Masons this afternoon.”
“Well,” Thurstan began then paused as he negotiated the roundabout before continuing. “You’re not the only one with contacts or influence. A friend of mine is running the surveillance courses that’ve been going on recently so, because we couldn’t do it officially, too many questions, I asked him if he could use Nickson’s parents as their training targets. I gave him a cover story, of course. Thing is, they weren’t able to cover it round the clock, but no sightings of Nickson and they managed to pick up this behavioural pattern of his parents. Today’s the day and we can’t afford to waste time.”
Degsy was thoughtful for a moment. “Boss? I can actually see where you’re going with the toothbrush thing, but ... why do I have to be the one to nick it?”
Thurstan threw him a scathing glance. “Because, Derek, I’m a DCI. We don’t do this sort of thing.”
“But I do?”
Thurstan grinned. “Do you want to get on in this job or not?”
“That’s unfair, Boss,” Degsy complained, with a hint of a smile. “Anyway, what am I supposed to do? Ask if I can use the toilet again? She’ll think I‘ve got some kind of problem.”
“Perfect! Good thinking!” Thurstan exclaimed. “I’ll tell her you’ve got a prostate issue, but you’re too embarrassed to talk about it.”
“Great! Thanks very much!” Degsy replied. “And what if there’s no toothbrushes? What if they’ve both got false teeth?”
“Then, Derek ... I think we’re fucked,” He paused thoughtfully. “Having said that, perhaps you could ...”