Chapter 70
Gotobed jabbed a finger in Poe’s direction. ‘Not so mouthy now, are you?’ he said. ‘And don’t worry, we’ll get into your computer when we’re back at the lab.’
‘That’s enough, Andrew,’ Gilliard said. He looked unnerved. And he looked unnerved because Poe didn’t. Poe was grinning like the Joker. ‘Do you understand your rights, Mr Poe?’
‘I do.’
‘Do you want to add anything?’
‘Yes. If Go to Bed Early points his finger at me again, I’m biting it off.’
‘Anything helpful?’
‘Oh, in that case, no.’ Poe paused for a beat. ‘Aren’t you going to arrest Tilly? I think it would be fun if you did.’
‘If she attempts to leave this room with any electronic equipment, yes, I will arrest her.’
Poe said, ‘Tilly, do you have your phone in your pocket?’
‘I do, Poe.’
‘Please step out of the room.’
She did, and was arrested.
She took a seat next to Poe. They fist-bumped.
‘I want to be arrested!’ Esmerée yelled excitedly. She got up to leave. No one tried to stop her. She sat back down. ‘Assholes,’ she muttered.
‘OK,’ Gilliard said. ‘What’s going on? What do you know that I don’t?’
Poe sighed. It had been fun, but it was time to move things along.
‘I think your first mistake, Detective Chief Inspector Gilliard, was that you’ve been labouring under the misapprehension that your raid was unexpected. It wasn’t.’
Gotobed snorted. ‘Don’t be absurd.’
Gilliard stared at Poe. Held his eye, calculating.
‘He’s bluffing, sir,’ Gotobed added.
‘I don’t think he is, sir,’ Susan said. ‘DCI Flynn told me to take him seriously.’
‘Really?’ Gotobed said. ‘This man? The idiot who burped the national anthem?’
The room went silent. Gotobed flushed.
‘I meant—’
‘We know what you meant, moron,’ Esmerée said. ‘Go to Bed Early ain’t that bright, is he?’
‘All I meant was—’
‘I think I’ll stop you right there, mate,’ Poe said. He reached under his desk. Lifted up a box and plonked it on the table. ‘Ta-da.’
‘What’s that?’ Gilliard asked.
‘You know exactly what it is, Chief Inspector. It’s a G-LEM 5674 high-performance camera unit and battery.
We found it in the loft a couple of hours ago.
I left the cameras and cables up there.’ He picked up his mug and rattled it.
‘And these bits of electrical bullshit are the listening devices we found in the office.’
Gilliard paled. ‘They’re not ours.’
‘OK, then you won’t mind if I do this,’ Poe said. He picked up the G-LEM 5674 and held it above his head. ‘I wonder if it bounces. Tilly tells me there are only sixteen of these and they’re very expensive.’
‘You wouldn’t dare!’
Bradshaw closed her eyes. Winced. ‘I wish you hadn’t said that.’
Poe didn’t hesitate. He slammed the unit on the floor. It shattered. Bits of plastic shot off like shrapnel.
Esmerée pumped the air with her fist. ‘USA! USA!’
Poe looked at the mess by his feet. ‘Nope, turns out it doesn’t bounce.’
‘What have you done?!’ Gilliard shrieked.
‘I thought it was obvious, mate. I’ve smashed the fancy machine that was spying on us. Anyway, what do you care? You said it wasn’t yours.’
Gilliard clutched his chest like he was Basil Fawlty faking a heart attack. He sat down heavily, pointed at Susan and said, ‘Rearrest that bastard for criminal damage.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Poe said. ‘It’s about time I explained just how much trouble you’re in. And if you think the loss of this expensive piece of nonsense is the worst thing that’s going to happen to you today, you haven’t been paying attention.’