missing; he is also top wanted. For anyone who doesn’t know he is the boyfriend of the girl who survived. He tried to hang himself yesterday and failed. I need him locating, not only for a welfare check, but also I want to speak to him again in regards to some new evidence which has come to light. Do not tell him this before he’s been cuffed. I don’t want to scare him off; ask him nicely to come in. That’s it for now, thank you.’
He walked out, beckoning Morgan to follow and she did. They went upstairs to his office.
‘I seriously worry for his health, that Dan is such an idiot. Thank God he didn’t get sent up here to help out, I’d be suspended by now.’
‘Was he going to?’
‘He was next on the list, yes; he would have been given the opportunity.’
‘No wonder he’s so mad with me. I didn’t understand what was going on. I know he’s been wanting to work in CID for ages. He kept telling me he was coming up here eventually. I should apologise to him.’
‘For what? He’s the one with a problem. If he wasn’t so difficult then he could have come up here.’
‘Is that why you asked me? Not because you think I’d make a good detective or because I have potential but because you think Dan’s an arse?’
Ben realised he was digging himself into a deeper hole. ‘No, of course not.’ He couldn’t look her in the eyes, though, because technically it was, and he didn’t want to make her any angrier. He could tell by the way she was standing with her feet apart, jaw clenched and the deep furrows on her forehead as she almost sneered the words at him, she was raging.
‘What, did you feel sorry for me or something? Because I don’t need you or anyone to feel sorry for me. I just want to do the job I signed up for without any of this bullshit.’
With that she turned and strode out of his office, straight down the stairs.
Turning, he looked out of the window down onto the car park and saw her exit the building, striding towards the car. In less than sixty seconds she was gone. Ben was left with a strange feeling of guilt as Amy walked in.
‘Phew, she’s feisty that one. What have you done now?’ She began to laugh. ‘I tell you what, though, it’s great entertainment watching you get your arse chewed by a kid. I’ve never had so much fun at work.’
‘Piss off, Amy. She’s not a kid, she’s an adult and I probably deserved it.’
‘Aww, next time you get on my nerves and I tell you to do one we’ll see if you’re as understanding. I think you like her a lot more than you ever anticipated.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Well you must because you’ve been different since she came up here, which is not a bad thing because I was fed up of your moping around.’
He glared at her.
‘Anyway, I gave Dan the worst jobs on the list to keep him busy, thought you’d like that. I’m going to get something to eat, are you hungry?’
He sat down, not remembering the last time he’d eaten. ‘Yeah, please. Whatever you’re having is fine.’
She left him to it.
He stared out of the window, wondering if he was getting too involved and if he needed to back off. He realised that for the first time since Cindy his life had begun to have some meaning, and if that was in the form of Morgan’s friendship then he was thankful. He had to figure out what part she played; was it as a colleague, a student or a friend? After her concern the other night, he decided that a friend was nice, but he didn’t want to make her life awkward or difficult. He probably also needed to apologise to her, for upsetting her even though he hadn’t meant to.
His phone rang and Declan’s name flashed across the screen.
‘What’s up?’
‘I’m sorry, I missed Cindy’s anniversary. I shouldn’t have.’
Ben laughed. ‘You shouldn’t have, I shouldn’t have, but I did until it was almost over. Thanks, Declan, but I think we were all a bit overworked that day. No need to apologise.’
‘Well, you know where I am. I’ve told you that before, anytime you need me. Oh your colleague was here before, have you had the chance to speak to her?’
‘Sort of, why?’ Ben couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice.