Chapter 30 Thursday | Afternoon
Thursday | Afternoon
Field
The station was packed. Phones rang constantly, and Field nodded at various people as she weaved through the crammed-in desks and chairs with her mug, towards the privacy of her office, where DS Riley was waiting for her.
Field had left the crime scene tent, and the crime scene itself, feeling her usual level of slightly queasy. Seeing bodies had never become routine for her, not that she’d admit it.
‘Briefing in the conference room,’ she announced to the room at large. ‘Ten minutes.’
She turned a corner and saw Riley leaning against her door, laughing with a young DC who’d recently transferred from somewhere up north.
He touched a finger to his fat lip and winced, and the girl laughed again.
Riley clocked Field and stood up straight. ‘All right, boss?’
Field said nothing. Held the door open for him.
Riley took a seat opposite the desk and Field let the door close.
She stood with her back to him, looking out over the car park through the grimy window. ‘We need to talk about the witness. Callum Mulligan.’
‘Witness?’ Riley scoffed. ‘Prime suspect. He’s a nutter from what I can make out.’
Field turned and slammed a fist into the desk. Riley jumped.
She took a moment to gather herself. ‘DS Riley. Do not use words like “nutter”, in front of me.’
She sat down, heavily, and caught sight of Toby’s school photo, propped against her monitor.
Riley blinked and didn’t speak.
‘You decided Mulligan needed to be removed for questioning, without asking me. Mr Mulligan became extremely distressed. He’d just dealt with the wounds of a woman who’d been brutally stabbed—’
‘He went berserk,’ Riley interrupted.
‘At which point,’ Field said through clenched teeth, ‘Mr Mulligan makes it known to you, again , that he suffers from anxiety and hasn’t left his house for God knows how long, and is in therapy and on benefits and is basically—’ she thumped the desk again ‘—extremely vulnerable.
‘Now,’ she went on. ‘Mulligan was surrounded by officers, he wasn’t a flight risk, and the interior of his home was not, at that time, considered to be involved in the crime scene. Without consulting me, your fucking SIO, what did you decide to do?’
‘I took him outside to put him in the car, boss, but—’
‘You forced him out onto the street, in full view of the whole damn circus.’ Her voice was rising.
‘When he had to be sedated and taken to a psychiatric ward, did you follow him in? Make a phone call to the Maudsley to see how he was?’ She went on without waiting for his answer.
‘No, you came back to the station and hung around up here, flirting.’
Colour rose in Riley’s cheeks. ‘I don’t see the issue. We needed to bring him in. The stabbing was on his doorstep, and he didn’t call an ambulance, plus he was one of the trial kids. He’s a suspect—’
‘He is a person of interest. But he’s also an extremely vulnerable young man, who was in your care. And, for fuck’s sake, Riley, no one at that scene was impressed with how you handled it.’
Riley lifted his chin. ‘I’ll feel sorry for him when we establish that he’s not the one stabbing people in the neck.’
‘And how are we supposed to do that, with him on a psych ward?’ Field’s voice rose to a shout. People outside would be able to hear, but she didn’t care.
Field picked up the newly purchased copy of Darlings, Obsessed from her desk and Riley flinched, like she was going to throw it at him.
‘Top priority for every officer on this case is tracking down the people involved in that study. Callum Mulligan was the only person who could tell us who we should be fucking looking for.’
That wasn’t the only reason she was angry – she could admit that much to herself. Field was angry that someone on her team could get it so wrong – could treat Callum Mulligan that badly.
Riley had gone red, but to his credit, maintained eye contact. She threw the book down on the desk between them.
‘If he is guilty—’ She was speaking at a normal volume again, and through the glass walls she watched people turn back to their computers. ‘ If he is guilty, nothing he says while he’s on that ward will be admissible.’
She drained her lukewarm coffee in one and stood up. ‘I’m placing you on restricted duties.’
Riley’s eyes bulged. ‘Seriously? Boss—’
‘I’ll make a decision about serving you with a Reg 13 after I’ve reviewed the bodycams.’
She didn’t want to look at the footage. Already couldn’t get Callum’s screams, his tortured expression out of her head.
He’d reminded her of Toby, on those darkest days.
Field took a steadying breath. ‘I’m placing you on restricted duties,’ she repeated. ‘You’ll be office-bound until further notice. Count yourself lucky I haven’t removed you from this case, DS Riley.’
His cheeks flamed, but he didn’t argue.
‘Now get out of my sight.’