The Guilty Couple(59)
Chapter 41
DANI
Dani takes the corner faster than she should and, too late, spots a car travelling in the opposite direction. She slams her feet onto the clutch and the brake, forcing the car into a shuddering emergency stop, just as it clips the bumper of the other car.
‘Shit!’ She smashes her palms into the steering wheel then, without so much as a glance at the horrified expression on the other driver’s face, reverses the car back around the corner. She hasn’t got time for this. Every second she wastes is another second that’s going to bring Olivia Sutherland closer to screwing up her life.
‘Oi!’ A burly bloke with tattoos on his neck and broken veins on his cheeks raps on her window as she puts the car into first gear. She considers ignoring him and pulling away but he could take down her registration and have her done for not swapping numbers. Irritated, she turns off the engine and winds her window down an inch.
‘Are you blind or what?’ the man bellows, nostrils flaring. ‘You could have killed me there.’
Dani holds her badge to the window and smiles, showing her teeth. The man’s expression changes in an instant and he jumps away from the car as though stung.
She rolls the window all the way down and leans out. ‘Is there any damage?’
The man turns and looks at his car, then looks back at Dani, indecisiveness written all over his flushed face. Dani taps her foot impatiently as she waits for him to make a decision. Every second he spends thinking it over is taking her one step closer to jail. She touches the keys in the ignition, itching to turn them. Finally, just as she’s about to shout out of the window that she hasn’t got all day, the man shakes his head.
‘I’ll leave it.’ The moment the words leave his mouth Dani starts the engine and she’s off and driving down Horse Guards Road while he’s still surveying his car.
She floors it the rest of the way, or as much as she can given London’s congested streets, and fights to control her breathing as the large, imposing building comes into view, the windows glinting in the weak autumn sunlight. She parks up, sprints across the car park and hurries through the building’s revolving glass doors, her heart ratcheting against her ribs as she flashes her badge at the woman behind the desk. Her shoes squeak on the shiny tiled floor as she speeds towards the lifts and a small part of her brain registers how quiet the place is but she doesn’t give it more than a moment’s thought.
‘Come on,’ she mutters as she watches the number on the LCD display decrease as the lift slowly descends to the ground floor. ‘Come on, come on, come on.’
When the doors finally open she jumps in and taps the button for floor five. As the lift ascends she takes a tissue out of the pocket of her jacket and wipes it over her face and the hairline at the base of her ponytail. Her skin is slick with sweat. She shoves the damp tissue back into her pocket as the doors open and she steps onto the landing with her shoulders pulled back and her chin raised. Olivia Sutherland may think she’s won but Dani’s not going to go down without a fight. She strides into the room, her attention focused on the glass-walled room at one end, the blinds lowered. Is Olivia in there? Or is she already long gone? Dani raps three times on the door and straightens her jacket as she waits.
‘Come!’
Detective Inspector Matthew Fielding looks up from his paperwork as she steps inside. ‘I can give you five minutes.’
‘Thanks boss.’ Dani closes the door and takes the seat opposite him, her hands on her lap, the heels of her shoes pressed into the floor, her feet steady and still.
Fielding puts down his pen. ‘Okay, what can I do you for?’
Dani searches his face, looking for tightness around his lips, a clench to his jaw or an angry glint in his eye, but finds nothing. Is he deliberately giving nothing away or was Smithy’s text total bullshit? She can remember it word for word:
Liv is going to speak to your DI. She says she has evidence that can get you sent down.
‘Dani?’ Fielding says. He picks his pen back up and repeatedly clicks the button on the top. ‘Everything okay?’
He raises his eyebrows, waiting for her to speak, and his expectant expression tells her everything she needs to know. She’s been had. Kelly Smith’s text was absolute bollocks, a diversion to stop her from finding out what Olivia is really up to. She could kill Smith. Stupid, time-wasting, sneaky little bitch.
‘Yeah, sorry boss,’ Dani says, fighting to keep her tone light as rage smoulders in the pit of her stomach. ‘I just wanted to check that you’re okay with the progress on the drugs case.’
Fielding looks confused. ‘We talked about this the other day, didn’t we?’
‘Yeah, but I just … I heard rumours you weren’t happy and wanted to check in with you. I’ve got a few more statements to—’
Fielding cuts her off with a wave of his hand. ‘Ignore any rumours. I’m happy as long as you’re doing your job and we’re not falling behind.’
He puts down his pen, stands up and takes his jacket from the back of his chair and slips it on. ‘Sorry, I’ve got somewhere to be.’
Dani stands up too and follows him out of the office. As he waits for the lift she takes the stairs. She moves down them at speed, anger fuelling each step. How dare Kelly Smith dick her around like that and waste her time. If she and Olivia Sutherland think they can take the piss out of her they’ve got another think coming. In less than a minute she’s sprinting out of New Scotland Yard and heading for her car.