Greg felt the room begin to swim; he knew that house. He knew the family who lived there. His palms became clammy and he felt as if he had tunnel vision.
‘By the way that’s confidential until a press release has been issued.’
‘Oh, yeah, of course.’
The line went dead as he pushed his chair back from the desk and leant as far forwards as he could, bending his head down. The horror sinking in, he stayed that way, unable to lift his head up for fear of passing out.
Fifteen
Morgan had no idea how long a CT scan should take, but it was longer than she expected. She caught a glimpse of Bronte as the doors finally opened, and they began the intricate task of wheeling her out. The girl looked as if she was clinging onto life.
‘Where is she going?’
‘Theatre, we need to remove a part of her skull. There’s a large hematoma pressing against it.’
‘I need her clothes, and we need to swab her hands. A CSI is on the way, is this possible?’
The nurse nodded. ‘It will take a little while for the theatre to become available.’
She let out the breath she’d been holding; thank God she hadn’t entirely messed up. She wanted to impress Ben, show him she was made of the stuff detectives were. Up till now, though, she’d felt she was on a steep learning curve. They didn’t cover any of this stuff in training at headquarters.
As she followed the porters back to a cubicle in the emergency department, she saw Ben walk through the doors, followed by a male CSI. Morgan’s shoulders dropped and the knot in her stomach loosened at the sight of them both. She waved them through, holding the double doors open for them to slip inside.
‘How you holding up?’
‘I’m good, although I’m not going to lie. Much better now that you two are here.’
Ben smiled. ‘Why don’t you go grab a coffee, take a break. The afternoon shift is in briefing; as soon as they’re finished someone is coming to relieve you. While I’m here and Mark is doing his thing, you can have some time to think.’
‘Thanks, but if it’s okay with you I’d rather stay. Then I know what to do for future reference.’
All three stood outside the cubicle waiting for the doctor’s permission to set about taking the relevant forensic samples and seizing Bronte’s clothing. A nurse assisted Mark to take the fingernail scrapings and remove her clothing, taking time to gently dress her in a hospital gown. Ben stepped outside, taking Morgan with him to give Bronte some privacy.
Morgan looked back. ‘That poor kid, it’s horrific. Why would someone do that to her, to them?’
‘That’s what I intend to find out. Listen, I know you’ve had a rough ride and it’s early days, but what are you wanting to do career wise? Are you wanting to stay on response, or do you think you might want to pursue a career in CID at some point?’
‘I want to be a detective, it’s all I’ve ever wanted. That’s why I joined really. I don’t think I’d want to spend the next twenty years driving around the country lanes aimlessly waiting for the next job to come in. I want to be the one putting the clues and evidence together, helping to solve crimes.’
‘You’ve given it some thought then?’ A small laugh escaped his lips.
Once more she felt her face begin to flush and wondered if he thought she was far too enthusiastic.
‘Sorry, that sounded…’
He held his hand up. ‘Look you have to stop apologising if you’re going to be working for me, I can’t take it. I’m miserable, grumpy, and I moan a lot but I’m not a complete bastard. You won’t get any extra pay, it’s much longer hours and you’ll have to go on the national detective development course at HQ and work with a tutor DC eventually. But I’m offering you a three-month attachment if you want it, so you can see if you like it or if it’s what you thought it would be before you decide. If you hate it, you can go back onto response. At least you’ll have given it a shot, though, and will know one way or the other if it’s the right career path for you.’
Morgan screwed up her face. ‘I don’t quite know what you mean?’
‘Don’t frown like that, you’ll end up with a face like mine. I need a hand.