The Infirmary (DCI Ryan Mysteries prequel)(34)

He thought swiftly of all the weak links who might have blabbed, and one name stood out above all the rest.

PC Steve Jessop.

“No comment,” Ryan said.

“Why has the Harris investigation been re-opened, Chief Inspector, if her killer is already dead?”

“The investigation has not been ‘re-opened’,” Ryan replied. “It is ongoing.”

“What about Dobbs? If he wasn’t her killer, does that mean an innocent man died?”

There were very few innocent people in the world, Ryan thought, and did not answer.

“Chief Inspector! What about DCI Cooper? Was her death gang-related? Why have you been investigating her son?”

Ryan turned blazing eyes on the same reporter who had spoken earlier and had clearly been in receipt of confidential information.

“During the course of our investigation, we will be conducting full and thorough enquiries into all parties connected to either victim. It is usual procedure to eliminate family and friends from our enquiries, first.”

“Chief Inspector, we understand both victims sustained brutal injuries including decapitation. Do you believe the person responsible is still at large?”

Ryan knew the party line, had been briefed to within an inch of his life and could almost feel Gregson’s breath on the back of his neck. He was supposed to say they were close to making an arrest or otherwise to play down the fact they were nowhere near apprehending the killer.

But he owed a higher duty to the citizens of a city that was under attack. They deserved to know the level of threat they faced so they could adjust their lives accordingly.

“Yes,” he said, very clearly. “I believe he is still at large.”

There was a second’s calm before a storm of questions descended.

“Is the Mayor going to impose a curfew, Chief Inspector?”

“Why aren’t there more police on the streets?”

“Why hasn’t more been done to safeguard the people of this city?”

Ryan didn’t so much as flinch at the barrage of questions, most of which he’d heard many times before. This was no time to debate philosophy versus politics; to talk about why the criminal justice system was almost at breaking point. He could have spoken of the sword and the shield, of the line he was asked to walk each day to protect and serve. He could have told them that the reason there weren’t more bobbies on the beat was because there was no money for them and, even if there were, there was no evidence to suggest it would make a blind bit of difference in preventing crime.

All it would do is make the public feel better and, unfortunately, that didn’t cut the mustard with The Powers That Be.

As for safeguarding, they were doing everything they could, above and beyond the hours they were contracted to work because every member of the team he had chosen was dedicated to the cause. Sharon Cooper had sacrificed her life in the pursuit of justice.

But the public didn’t know that. Not yet.

“I want to urge everybody, and women in particular, to exercise extreme caution,” he said. “Do not travel alone at night unless absolutely necessary. Carry an alarm and keep friends or family informed of your movements. Be aware of who is around you and avoid walking, running or cycling alone or with headphones. Be safe, not sorry.”

Ryan remembered his audience and one viewer in particular. He chose his final words with care.

“To the person responsible, I say this: never doubt that we will find you. There will be no place for you to hide, because we will find you. Every day you continue to walk free, make sure to look over your shoulder because, one day, you’ll find me standing there. That’s all.”

*

He watched the interview playing on the midday news, riveted by the new detective they’d put in charge of hunting him. There was an odd thrill to be able to put a face and a name to his mirror image; a man who not only bore a slight resemblance to himself but represented the other side of the coin. It was fascinating to watch him speak, to study the play of emotions crossing his face as he addressed the cameras. He amused himself for a moment and tried to imagine what it would be like if the tables were turned, if he were passionate about his fellow man and their wellbeing.

It was too fantastical to imagine.

“Oh, that’s good news.”

He almost jumped at the sound of his colleague’s voice as they came to stand beside him in the staff room.

“What is?”

“I recognise that detective from a case last year. DCI Ryan or Brian or something. He’s been in here before.”

“As a patient?”

“No, it was to do with another case. A stabbing, I think. Anyway, they say he’s brilliant. Always gets his man and all that.”

He smiled thinly.

“Really? It seems to me he’s being pretty slow in finding his man this time.”

“You reckon it wasn’t Dobbs, then?” the other asked, innocently. “Why else would he jump off the bridge? He must have killed her.”

Careful, he told himself. Careful.

“Dobbs didn’t have what it takes,” he said. “You remember what he was like.”

He shrugged.

“I hardly knew the bloke. Saw him on the wards sometimes but I wouldn’t have been able to pick him out in a line-up. He seemed harmless enough. Then again, it’s always the ones you least expect, isn’t it?”