SUPERINTENDENT BRADLEY was waiting in his office when he got back to the station.
‘Where have you been, Rafferty?’ he demanded. ‘I’ve been asking for you for the last hour. You had your mobile switched off, too.’
Unwilling to reveal that he was still investigating other suspects in the case when Bradley thought he had the case – and Ian Sutherland’s guilt – all sewn up, especially after the ego-stroking media appearances, Rafferty came up with what he hoped was a more acceptable story. ‘Sorry, sir. I was seeing one of my snouts. He gets a bit edgy if we’re disturbed.’
‘Seeing a snout, was it? What about?’
‘About the spate of recent burglaries, sir,’ Rafferty improvised. ‘I thought he might give me a handle on them.’
‘And did he?’
‘Nothing concrete as yet, sir, but I’m working on him.
