Knight & Culverhouse Box Set - Books 7-9

Chapter 22

22

The coffee machine in the major incident room’s kitchenette was seeing plenty of action that morning, the veneer cupboard fronts coated with a layer of moisture from the machine’s expelled steam. Wendy was trying to insert a capsule into the machine without success when Culverhouse approached her.

‘Load of s**t, these new ones. All cost-cutting, I suppose. You’d think they could buy pods that actually fit into the machine, though, wouldn’t you?’ he said, taking a dessert spoon from the cutlery drawer and stabbing at the capsule until it had been forced far enough into the machine to allow Culverhouse to close the lid.

‘There,’ he said. ‘Might taste a bit plasticky now, but it’ll be an improvement on the coffee.’

‘Are you having one?’ she asked, opening the box of capsules.

‘No chance. I’m sticking to tea until they go back to the old brand. Listen. I wanted to have a word with you, actually. I know last time we spoke you were still a bit unsure about going for the exams again. I just wondered if you’d had any more thoughts about it.’

Wendy took a deep breath before speaking.

‘Some.’

‘And?’

‘I dunno. At some point, perhaps, yeah. But I don’t think the time’s right at at the moment. I’ve got a lot going on.’

‘Don’t tell those bastards in there, but I failed mine first time. Knocks your confidence. Must be similar for you, I suppose?’

‘No, I just don’t think the time’s right. That’s all.’

Culverhouse c****d his head slightly. ‘You weren’t upset that you didn’t get to take the exam?’

‘Well, obviously I wasn’t best pleased. I’d put in a lot of effort studying and revising. Wasn’t nice to feel like that time was all wasted, but life’s a bitch.’

‘It wasn’t wasted. You would’ve passed with flying colours if you’d been able to do it. And that groundwork should be enough to easily get you over the line next time.’

Wendy shook her head. Right now, she didn’t want there to be a next time.

‘At the moment I just want to focus on where I am. I’m happy. I do a good job as a DS. At least I hope I do.’

‘You know you do,’ Culverhouse said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘You do a bloody good job. More than the rest of them put together some days. And that’s why you’d be invaluable in a management position. I mean, look at the dross that’s there at the moment. You’ve got bellends like Malcolm Pope running the show because no-one else wants to put their head above the parapet and go for it. Then there’s me. And I won’t be here forever.’

Although Wendy knew Culverhouse wasn’t getting any younger, it shocked her to hear him talking like this. He’d never once mentioned retirement or leaving the police force. Indeed, most of the time he acted like he was still twenty-one years old and working in the early 1980s.

‘You’re not thinking of retiring, are you?’ she asked him. Although deep down she wouldn’t mind one day moving up a rank or two, she really wasn’t keen on the idea of being groomed to run Mildenheath CID’s major crimes unit. That was a poisoned chalice if ever she saw one.

‘f**k off, of course I’m not,’ Culverhouse replied. ‘But the fact is I’ll have to one day. Whether it’s by my choosing or otherwise. And the last thing I want is for this department to go to pot when I’m gone. That was old Jack Taylor’s philosophy, too,’ he said, referring to the Detective Inspector who’d been in charge when he was in Wendy’s shoes, and before. ‘“Don’t let the bastards get their foot in the door,” he used to say. Served him well, too.’

Wendy didn’t want to point out that Taylor was around during the 1980s and that sort of behaviour didn’t go down too well nowadays. However, she knew that enough of the old guard were still in the ranks at Mildenheath for it to be a very real possibility that Culverhouse would ultimately end up choosing his successor — if the unit hadn’t been subsumed into county headquarters by then.

‘And I’ll admit,’ Culverhouse continued, ‘I wasn’t sure about you at first. You seemed a bit wishy-washy. Clueless, perhaps. And sticking your head down the bog God knows how many times on the first day of your first case didn’t help much. But we all have our off days.’

‘I suppose now you’re going to tell me you were a nervous wreck on your first day in CID, are you?’ Wendy asked.

‘Me? No chance. Alpha from the start, me. The culture was different back then. You didn’t stand a chance if you came in all keen and nervous. They knew what I was about from day one. I made sure of that.’

Wendy knew her boss well enough to know when he was masking the truth, but she was also wise enough not to say anything.

‘Why not just put your name forward?’ he said. ‘You don’t even need to actually take the exam. You can say you’re ill or something when it comes down to it, but at least it’ll give you something to aim for if you want it. Just put your name down, so you’ve got a slot if you want it. You’ve got months then to worry about it and prepare for it.’

‘I dunno. I’ll think about it, maybe,’ Wendy said, taking her mug of coffee from under the machine and making to walk off.

Culverhouse stepped towards her and spoke almost in a whisper.

‘Listen, you don’t need convincing to go for it. You’ve already gone for it once, so the drive and desire is obviously already there. Something’s knocked that back. I can see that. I don’t know what it is, but I know you’re strong enough to overcome it and get back on the horse. Alright?’

With another reassuring pat on the shoulder, Culverhouse was gone, and Wendy was left even more confused and lost in her own mind.

Mere moments later, Culverhouse was approached by Steve Wing.

‘I’ve just taken a phone call from downstairs,’ Steve said. ‘You might want to sit down.’