Page 124 of Killing Mind

She entered each cubicle, moving the bins and looking around.

By the time she reached the end cubicle her heart was hammering in her chest and the sweat was forming on her forehead.

The phone was no longer here.

Her one link to the outside world was gone.

One Hundred Two

Kim glanced at her phone again while she waited for Bryant to re-join them in the squad room. Still no reply from Tiffany, but the tick and the timestamp told her the messages had been read. Why the hell was she not replying?

Kim took a moment to pour coffee while the other two were tapping away furiously at their keyboards.

She glanced outside as the light on the car park began to fade. She peered more closely at the figure pacing and waving his arms around as he spoke on the phone.

Shit, what now? she wondered, although she had a sneaking suspicion she knew, had known what was coming all day.

‘Be back in a sec, guys,’ she said, leaving the coffee for now.

Kim stepped outside just as Bryant ended the call.

‘They’ve fucking charged him,’ he bellowed at her. His eyes were ablaze, his body tense as he continued to pace back and forth.

Yep, that’s what she’d thought.

‘They know they have the wrong man. He didn’t do it, Kim. They’re charging the wrong man. We can’t let this happen.’

Kim ignored the use of her first name during work hours. It only demonstrated how emotional he was about the Peter Drake situation. She’d given thought to it herself throughout the day.

‘Bryant, there’s nothing we can do.’

‘You’re joking?’ he asked, incredulously. ‘You who believes wholeheartedly in justice?’

She knew this was going to be a difficult sell, especially coming from her. He knew she was a firm believer in the right people being punished for the right crime, but Travis wasn’t her and he was never going to entertain anything Bryant had to say.

‘Look, you got nothing from Harrison. What do you expect Travis to do? He has a victim and a confession and physical evidence that links the two. How is he not going to put them together when the man you suspect is now dead?’

Every word was leaving a bad taste in her mouth but she had to do what was right for her friend. He had to let it go.

‘You don’t believe me?’ he asked.

Kim didn’t hesitate. ‘Of course, I believe you. You know these people better than I do and I trust your judgement, but you can’t try a dead man.’ She took a breath. ‘Travis has no choice. If he puts blind faith in you he gets no conviction and he has to let Peter Drake go. A prospect that no one likes very much.’

‘But justice isn’t always easy, guv,’ he said.

‘And neither is it always black and white,’ she said, sitting on the wall.

Bryant followed suit and sat beside her.

‘That man carried out horrific crimes and ruined countless lives. Most people seem to feel he is capable of doing it again. You think he is. Travis thinks he is.’

‘But he didn’t…’

‘Bryant, do you think he got enough time for what he did?’

‘Never.’

‘You think the public is at risk if he’s set free?’