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‘I understand they were interviewed,’ Heck replied. ‘Not necessarily investigated.’
‘Either way, they were cleared of suspicion.’
‘I agree that, as far as we know, they didn’t commit any crime,’ he said. ‘But have you seen some of their song titles … some of their lyrics? It wouldn’t take a religious zealot to consider them a fairly malign influence.’
‘Heck … you’re a malign influence. Young detectives see the corners you cut, and they think “wow, this job’s a doddle”. And then they pull the same stunts, and because they don’t enjoy the luck of the devil, like you do, they end up wearing tall hats again. But ultimately, you never get hauled over the coals for it. You know why? Because you never told them to behave that way. It’s one hundred per cent their own fault. And it’s exactly the same with devil-worshipping idiots like the Black Chapel. Now, the cult leaders have all been charged, and like I say, if something else comes up … if one of them wants to do a deal, drop a few more names our way, we’ll be all ears. Until then, we’ve got other business, OK?’
‘Yeah, but I’m just wondering if I should do some follow-up work on this one.’
She regarded him blankly, unused to a lower rank – even Heck – completely ignoring her expressed viewpoint.
‘On the basis of what … a hunch, a wing and a prayer?’
‘Just let me run with it for a couple of weeks. See if I can dig anything up.’
‘Heck, you can’t touch Varulv anyway. They live in Scotland, they’re outside our jurisdiction.’
‘They may be outside our jurisdiction, but I can still touch them.’
‘No, no.’ She shook her head adamantly. ‘None of that. As it stands, the case against Lightfoot, Hapwood, Purdham, Renwick and Ulfskar is watertight. I’m not having you mucking things up by chucking your weight about in a foreign land.’
‘If nothing else, Varulv have encouraged all this. Ulfskar was one of their roadies. Should they just be allowed to go on as if …’
‘Heck, what don’t you understand about “no”? I need you here. In fact, I needed you here a couple of hours ago!’
The lift doors slid open. They stepped inside, and Gemma hit the button for the third floor, where SCU’s command suite and her personal office were located.
Heck stood alongside her and said nothing, but as they ascended, he pondered again the dark, black-metal entity that was Varulv. Powerful music could be a potent force, especially among the disenfranchised. But he’d never quite known anything like this, where a message of anger had been taken to such extremes. It was difficult to imagine its originators, who appeared to have spent their entire adult lives hatching this creed of hatred, simply sitting to one side while their minions were defeated, and taking no further action. After all, they’d first spread their deadly message in Norway, and having got away with it there, had moved to the UK, where the same thing had happened again, only worse.
‘You still with us?’ Gemma wondered.
‘Sorry,’ he responded. ‘I just don’t think this’ll be the last we hear from these guys.’
She visibly tried to keep a lid on her vexation.
‘And when we do hear from them again,’ he said, ‘I think it’s going to be seriously nasty.’
‘Unfortunately, Heck, serious nastiness is not in short supply at present. Which is what Operation Sledgehammer is all about … and as we’re reduced to having to do it in twos, that’s all the more reason why you can’t be spared.’
‘Sledgehammer?’ Heck was finally distracted from his ruminations. ‘We’re … we’re doing it in twos?’
‘Yes. That’s how few people we’ve got available. And you, meanwhile, want to waltz off into some distant Scottish sunset to collar someone purely on sus?’
‘Sorry, ma’am … what do you mean, we’re doing it in twos?’
‘That’s why I wanted you back here. Your new partner’s been waiting in my office for the last two hours or so.’
‘Partner?’ Heck tried not to sound too appalled by this.
‘Yeah. Now there’s a shocking concept, eh?’
The lift doors opened again, and Gemma strode onto the top floor, where many more bodies than usual were flowing back and forth, a lot of them tooled-up techies wandering in and out of the conference room.
‘That’s going to be the MIR,’ she said, as they walked past it.
‘Sledgehammer’s a major enquiry then?’
‘It’s pretty major for us, yes.’
Still carrying the box, Heck followed Gemma down the corridor to her office.
‘And I’ve got a new partner?’ he said. ‘As in someone from outside SCU?’
Gemma glanced back. ‘She’s just joined SCU, as it happens. She’s been trying to come to us for ages. She dropped your name half a dozen times during her last application. Don’t look so worried. You’re not being asked to puppy-walk someone. DC Honeyford’s been a fully operational detective for several years now. She’s clocked up some excellent arrests.’
‘DC Honeyford,’ Heck said slowly.
‘You ought to remember her. That time you were assigned to work down in Surrey, she was your right-hand man.’
‘Yeah, she was.’
‘She also has a rep for not taking any bullshit. Which also makes her the ideal choice to be paired up with you.’
‘Ma’am, she’s spiky as hell.’
‘Like I say, ideal.’ Gemma halted by her office door. ‘Yet, funnily enough … when I interviewed her, she said that you were the main reason she wanted to leave Surrey and come to the National Crime Group. She said that when she worked with you on the Laurel and Hardy murders, she learned more than she has from all the rest of the detectives she’s met put together.’ Gemma registered the disbelieving expression on his face. ‘I know, I kind of doubt that too. But we are where we are.’ She pushed the door open. ‘Come and say hello to her. Let’s hope she’s not died of old age waiting for you.’
‘DC Honeyford,’ Gemma said, ‘DS Heckenburg apologises for his tardiness. The fact that he doesn’t look very apologetic is to be ignored. He doesn’t do apologies often or convincingly. However, on this occasion, despite all appearances to the contrary, he means it.’
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