Page 62 of Twisted Lies

The sour taste in her mouth was growing stronger. She knew she couldn’t divulge the truth to the man. There was no question in her mind that she would lose her job. Only a few hours ago she had wanted access to everything and now there was nothing she wanted less.

‘Inspector, even your own team needs to be kept in the dark about—’

‘No chance,’ she said with finality. ‘You’re not going to tie my hands and cut my legs off. And to be honest, they’re probably about five minutes away from working it out themselves.’

Wexford’s face hardened. He was between a rock and a hard place with all that he’d divulged.

‘I can assure you they can all be trusted.’

‘If this gets out I will—’

‘Sack all four of us, sir, because it won’t be leaked by any member of my team.’

She could tell he wasn’t reassured, but he nodded his understanding anyway.

‘So Keith Phipps particularly?’ she asked, wanting to know more about the man tied to the roller cage.

Woody held up his hands. ‘It’s after seven, Stone. You’ll get more specifics tomorrow. There’s an expert coming in first thing, so I suggest you go and brief your team.’

Kim stood and waited for her brain to digest all the information, as though she’d just been to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

She would brief her team on everything. Let them sleep on it and tomorrow await the arrival of their expert.

Fifty-One

‘Shall I close the door, boss?’ Penn asked as she entered the squad room, confirming to her that the team had worked it out. They never closed the door.

She nodded and headed for the coffee machine. Despite the time of night, she was pleased to see that Bryant had had the foresight to make a fresh pot.

‘Thanks for staying late, guys, and sorry if you had to cancel any plans.’

‘No probs, boss,’ Stacey said. Penn nodded his agreement before looking away.

‘I’m assuming you’ve guessed what we’re dealing with?’ she asked.

‘Had an idea, boss,’ Penn answered. ‘When I saw Keith… err… Jacko’s background—’

‘Stick with the names we know. It was what they’d chosen for themselves.’

‘So with Keith’s background as a boxer, his sudden disappearance after a run of bad luck in the ring, and then Stace finding out about Leanne, the pieces started to fall into place.’

‘Matrix Enterprises is the financial hub that pays all the bills, which is why there’s no profit and loss. The money is fielded that way to avoid detection,’ she explained.

‘So did Keith piss off someone in organised crime?’ Bryant asked.

‘We’re getting more details on that tomorrow, as well as an expert on witness protection. But before we go on, I have to stress to you all that this…’

‘Not a word, boss,’ Penn said.

‘Sealed lips,’ Stacey added.

‘Obviously,’ Bryant said.

Kim didn’t feel the need to spell out the repercussions and damage any leaks could do. They were all intelligent enough to understand, and it was that same intelligence that had led to them uncovering the truth.

Now for the hard bit.

‘We’re being granted full access to the murder in Clevedon, but they’re going to be working the murder blind.’