cherub, you know how it works. You don’t get to make friends with villains by sitting indoors and being a good little boy.’
‘Point taken,’ Millie nodded. ‘But please try to remember that you’re here to help me get rid of Tarasov and make Palm Hill a better place to live.’
James huffed. ‘And who was that Asian guy who arrested me?’
‘Michael Patel,’ Millie said. ‘What about him?’
‘He’s a psycho, that’s what,’ James answered. ‘He smacked my head against the car as I was getting in. My head’s killing me.’
Millie looked incredulous. ‘That must have been accidental.’
‘Look at it,’ James said, peeling away the hair around his bruise.
John was concerned. ‘That’s quite a knock. Maybe you should get it checked out.’
‘I’ve survived worse,’ James said.
‘Well, if you’re sure,’ John said, before turning to look at Millie. ‘Does Patel have any history of assaulting suspects?’
‘He certainly does not,’ Millie gasped. ‘Mike is my deputy in the community unit. He’s our only Asian officer. There’s a huge Asian community around here and the inroads he’s made amongst them since he came here four years ago have been absolutely fantastic.’
James couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘I don’t care what he’s done for the Asian community,’ he shouted. ‘What about the git trying to bust my head open?’
‘James, I know Michael Patel. It was an accident.’
James shook his head furiously. ‘Millie, you might have been a cherub twenty years ago, but you’re all cop now: sticking up for your own kind. Why would I lie to you, you stupid cow?’
‘Whoah,’ Millie said, shocked. ‘You’d better watch that mouth, young man.’
‘James,’ John interrupted stiffly. ‘Don’t speak to her like that.’
‘Typical,’ James said. ‘Another cop, takes her side as well.’
‘I’m not taking sides,’ John shouted, with an uncharacteristic ferocity that made Millie and James shrivel into their seats. ‘This mission will go absolutely nowhere if we can’t work together.
‘James, I know it can be difficult, but try to bear in mind what Millie said and steer clear of trouble. Millie, when you work with CHERUB, you have to respect what the young agents tell you. Otherwise there’s no point using them.’
‘Mike is probably the best officer on my community policing unit,’ she answered tersely.
‘Then I’m sure you won’t mind having a little dig into his personnel file and seeing if any similar allegations have been made in the past.’
Millie raised up her hands. ‘Fine, if that’s what it takes to settle this. But I know my officers. I’m the godmother of Michael’s daughter, for crying out loud.’
John smiled. ‘Maybe he was having a bad night. Police work can be extremely stressful.’
‘So what now?’ James asked, feeling better now he knew John was at least partly on his side.
‘Do you know the way home from here?’ John asked.
‘More or less,’ James nodded.
‘OK, then I suggest you walk it. Everything carries on as planned; trying to work your way in with the Tarasovs. I’ll drive Millie home, then I’ll head back to campus.’
Millie looked at James as he climbed out of the car. She smiled like she was anxious to make up, but he wasn’t having it.
‘I’ll call you boys on your mobiles this evening,’ Millie said. ‘We can have a mini briefing to see how you and Dave are getting on.’
‘Superb,’ James said sourly, as he slammed the car door and set off into the drizzle.
*
‘Dave, you home?’ James shouted, as he stepped into the hallway. He could hear a radio in the kitchen. ‘That Millie’s a right …’
James was set to go off on a rant about Millie not believing him, but as he rounded the corner into the kitchen he was confronted by Sonya Tarasov. She had wet hair and wore Dave’s white towelling robe.
‘You must be James,’ Sonya grinned.
‘Um … yeah,’ James said awkwardly. ‘Where’s Dave?’
‘In the shower, he’ll be out in a minute. Would you like tea or coffee?’
James sat down at the table while Sonya made him a cup of tea. ‘So, you spent the night,’ James said, as Sonya planted a mug in front of him.
‘Uh-huh,’ Sonya said, smiling coyly. ‘I hear you got busted with my little brother, Max.’
James nodded. ‘A whole bunch of kids got taken in for questioning.’
Dave rounded the corner, buttoning up his jeans.
‘Morning jailbird,’ Dave grinned, as he grabbed Sonya and made a big show of kissing her on the neck.
James was embarrassed by the display of affection and Dave knew it.
‘What’s the matter, bro?’ Dave asked, as he broke away from Sonya and clicked on the