Page 70 of Silent Scream

‘I honestly can’t fit you in until Thursday morning at ...’

‘Are you joking?’ Kim barked.

‘We’ll take whatever you have.’

‘Nine fifteen, Detective.’

Bryant nodded and smiled. ‘Thank you for your help.’

Bryant turned and guided her out of the door. Once outside, Kim turned to him, fuming.

‘Thursday morning, Bryant?’

He shook his head. ‘Of course not. His diary said he’s working from home all afternoon and we know where he lives.’

‘Fine,’ she said, satisfied.

‘You know, Guv, you can’t always bully people into giving you what you want.’

Kim disagreed. It had worked for her so far.

‘Have you ever heard of the bookHow to Win Friends and Influence People?’

‘Have you ever watchedOne Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Because she was Nurse Ratched in the making.’

Bryant laughed out loud. ‘I’m just saying there’s more than one way to skin a cat.’

‘And that’s why I have you,’ she said, stopping outside a coffee shop. ‘Double shot latte for me,’ she said, pushing open the door.

Bryant rolled his eyes as she sat at the window.

Despite Bryant’s warning, she had never possessed the ability to adapt her behaviour to accommodate other people. Even as a child Kim had been unable to assimilate herself into any kind of collective. She possessed no ability to hide her feelings, her innate reactions having a habit of claiming her face before she had a chance to control it.

‘You know, sometimes all you want is a cup of coffee,’ Bryant groaned, placing two cups on the table. ‘They have more choices than a Chinese takeaway. Apparently this is an Americano.’

Kim shook her head. Sometimes it was like Bryant had stepped out of a time capsule delivered from the late eighties.

‘So, why were you getting all tetchy with Nurse Ratched back there?’

‘We’re getting nowhere, Bryant.’

‘Yeah, we’re stalling around the onion rings.’

‘The what?’

‘A case for me is like a three-course meal. The first part is like a starter. You dive right in ‘cos you’re hungry. There are witnesses, a crime scene, so you gorge on information. And then the main course comes and let’s say it’s a mixed grill. You gotta work out what’s important. There’s too much food, too much information. So, should you just go for all the meat and leave the garnishes or forego a sausage so that there’s still enough room for dessert?

‘Now, most people will agree that pudding is the best bit because when it comes the whole meal comes together and the appetite is satisfied.’

‘That’s the biggest load of boll—’

‘Ah, but look at where we are. We’ve eaten the starter and we now have two lines of enquiry. We’re trying to work out which direction we should take to get to the dessert.’

Kim took a sip of her coffee. Bryant loved to analogise and now and again she chose to indulge him.

‘Now, the main course often makes more sense if interrupted for a gut chat.’

Kim smiled. They really had worked together for too long.