Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Henry Bishop had been woken by his phone ringing. He didn’t have an answering machine, so the phone continued to ring and ring and ring until it was answered. He wasn’t happy.
‘What?’ he screamed as he snatched up the phone, knocking over his overflowing ashtray on his bedside table in the process.
‘My office. Eight o’clock,’ Superintendent Alec Marsh said, his gruff Liverpudlian accent requiring no need for an introduction. He didn’t say anything else and simply hung up.
‘Fuck!’ Bishop said, lying back in bed. He knew exactly what this conversation was going to be about.
‘You can put that fag out before you come in here,’ Marsh barked from behind his desk.
Bishop stood in the doorway looking like he’d slept in his suit. His tie was askew, his shirt was in urgent need of ironing – though, on closer inspection, it needed binning – and his shoes were scuffed. Bishop dropped his cigarette on the tiled floor of the hallway and crushed it with his foot.
Marsh rolled his eyes. Bishop may have an exceptional clear-up rate, but he was so uncouth it was almost embarrassing to have him on the force.
‘Sit yourself down, Henry,’ Marsh said. He was a tall man in his early fifties and had been in charge of North East Police for a little over a year, transferring from his native Liverpool for a change of scenery.
That’s the reason he gave when asked. The breakdown of his marriage and the death of his youngest son from a drug overdose were the real reasons for wanting a fresh start.
‘The Alice Patterson case.’ He didn’t need to say anything else.
Henry nodded. He knew how frustrating it was for Marsh, the force as a whole, that the murder hadn’t been solved, that not one single witness had come forward, that, despite knocking on every house within a five-mile radius, talking to everyone Alice knew at the college and at places she visited in her spare time, they didn’t have one person of interest on their radar. It was hardly Henry’s fault.
‘Do you know how many people we’ve interviewed?’ Henry began. ‘We’ve got hundreds of statements from tutors and fellow students, family members and neighbours, and they all say the same thing. Nobody saw Alice Patterson on Monday evening after she left that sodding library.’
‘I’ve read your report, Henry. I’m aware of the lack of progress, but have you seen the media scrum out there? It’s been three weeks and they’re not losing interest. In fact, it seems to be growing with every passing day.’
‘That’s because it’s the funeral. They’ll leave after today.’
‘No. They won’t, Henry,’ Marsh said, severely. ‘You and your team are the gift that keeps on giving. Drunken brawls in pubs spilling out onto the street for everyone to see. How do you think that looks?’
Henry sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve already apologised for that until I’m blue in the face.’
‘I don’t want your apologies, Henry, I want a result. I want Alice’s killer caught and locked up.’
‘That’s what we all want.’ Henry raised his voice slightly. ‘It’s what we’re all working towards.’
‘If that’s the case, why haven’t you found anyone yet? What are you actually doing?’
Henry took a deep breath and slowly released it, trying to remain calm. There was nothing he could say without repeating himself.
Marsh acknowledged the silence and filled it. ‘I’ve been speaking to the Chief Constable. He wants to bring in a specialised team from the Met to review the case.’
‘What?’ Henry almost exploded.
Marsh held up his hands to calm him down. ‘I’ve managed to dissuade him, but he’s giving you a week, Henry. If clear progress hasn’t been made by the eighth of November, we’re going to have a team of sodding polytechnic graduates crawling all over the station.’
‘Over my dead body.’
‘If you feel that strongly, do something about it. You’ve got one week.’
Henry remained seated, nonplussed, as he thought about what to do next.
‘Well, go on, piss off. You won’t find Alice’s killer in here,’ Marsh growled.
Henry stood up. Inside, he was raging. He had done nothing wrong. The simple fact of the matter was that the killer was proving to be elusive. He and his team had played things by the book. It was obviously time for the famous Henry Bishop tactics to come into play.