Chapter 33

Chapter 33

She closed the door firmly, then turned to face her colleague. DC Japhet Wilson was trying his best to look intrigued and eager, but he couldn't entirely conceal his anxiety at having been summoned to a private interview in Helen's private office.

‘Sorry for the cloak and dagger,' Helen said, dropping the blind. ‘But this is delicate, so discretion is required.'

Wilson nodded mutely, clearly fearing that he was about to reprimanded.

‘Don't worry, it's nothing you've done,' Helen continued quickly, to his evident relief. ‘It's to do with the Naomi Watson case. I need you to do some digging for me, background stuff, about a member of our own force.'

‘Right …' Wilson responded cautiously.

‘PC Dave Reynolds. Do you know him?'

‘Not personally, but I obviously know who he is. He's the one who does all those charity runs, right? The guy who's always in the papers?' Wilson continued, barely able to conceal his discomfort at this new, surprising line of enquiry.

‘That's right, everyone's favourite copper.'

Wilson looked puzzled by Helen's sarcastic tone, so she carried on:

‘Couple of years back he managed to foil an armed robbery in which a colleague of his was seriously injured, a colleague who later had to retire from service. Reynolds has been raising money for the Police Benevolent Fund ever since and, hats off to him, he's raised a lot of cash for former officers, but he doesn't half let you know about it. He's got his own YouTube channel promoting his charity work, a dedicated JustGiving page, you name it. Most of the CID officers round here used to call him Saint Dave, though never to his face of course.'

Wilson nodded, but still seemed wary.

‘Anyway, I want a background check done on him. Any disciplinary issues, any accusations, any dirt, any rumours, anything that might suggest he's not the angel he's cracked up to be.'

‘And this is because …?' Wilson asked, fishing for reassurance.

‘Because I asked you to,' Helen replied briskly. ‘Quick as you can, quiet as you can, and you report back directly to me. Clear?'

‘Crystal.'

‘Good. Whilst you're at it, I want the team to put out feelers for Brent Mason. He's the dealer that PC Beamer patted down a couple of nights ago in the Lordship Road underpass. He's a possible witness in the Naomi Watson case, so the sooner we can bring him in, the better. Can you ask uniform to find him, bring him in?'

‘Sure thing, boss.'

‘Great, well that's all. Hop to it.'

Wilson turned to leave, even as there was a gentle knocking on Helen's door.

‘Oh and Japhet, careless talk costs lives, so …'

Her colleague looked back at her, nodding seriously.

‘I'm glad we understand each other.'

Smiling, Wilson opened the door to reveal Charlie standing in the doorway. Stepping aside, he let his superior enter, before he slipped out.

‘Everything OK?' Charlie enquired, as Wilson hurried away.

‘Just asking DC Wilson to do a little research for me.'

‘About?'

‘About our friend Dave Reynolds,' Helen replied quickly, before changing the subject. ‘In the meantime, is Marwood ready?'

‘Waiting for us in the interview suite.'

‘Then let's get on with it.'

Helen rose to leave, but Charlie stepped forward, arresting her progress.

‘Before we do, I should let you know that the Chief Super was in here this morning. She was pretty pissed off about the amount of time and resources being expended on the Naomi Watson case, demanding that we all switch tack to the Freemantle shooting. Oh, and she wants to see you in her office ASAP. Do you want to deal with that before we—'

‘No,' Helen interrupted firmly. ‘Work first, chit-chat later.'

Picking up her file, Helen marched to the door.

‘Let's see what Ryan Marwood's got to say for himself.'