Note: My apologies to the real British police forces for any mistakes and inconsistencies I may have made due to my faulty understanding of the British police hierarchy. I can only plead ignorance as I am American and our police system is somewhat different. So I sought help from Wikipedia, which although clarifying some details did not give me the full understanding that I desired.
Chapter Seven- Old "Friends"
Jean Innocent sat at her desk, massaging her temples. It was only one-thirty, and yet, the chief superintendent had never been more ready for the end of the day.
Her bad mood had begun this morning when she'd woken up in a strange, uncomfortable bed without John beside her. Then, she'd had to put up with Laura Hobson shooting suspicious glances at her from across the breakfast table. When Jean had arrived at work, she'd found another mountain of paperwork on her desk. After that, she'd been forced to share intimate details of her private life, and most recently, Jean had overheard two of her best officers discussing her as though she was a salacious character on one of those ghastly soap operas that her sister followed obsessively.
Jean's attention was diverted when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she said, praying that the person wasn't Lewis, Hathaway, or Hobson.
As the doorknob turned, the chief superintendent wondered if it was possible for her day to get any worse. When she looked up and saw the man standing in the now-open doorway, she knew that the answer to her question was "yes."
Chief Inspector Harvey Malcolm of Scotland Yard had changed little in the year-and-a-half since Jean Innocent last seen him. He was still tall, broad-shouldered, and darkly attractive. The only noteworthy change in his appearance was that his nose was now crooked—as though it had been broken at least once. Jean was aware of a feeling of envy building in her for the lucky person who'd had the undeniable pleasure of breaking the despicable Malcolm's nose.
Malcolm ran over to Jean and seized her by the wrist. In a falsely genteel manner, Malcolm raised Innocent's hand to his lips and then lowered it, neither releasing nor loosening his grasp on the chief superintendent's wrist.
"Ah, Jean, my lovely, lovely Jean. It is always such a delight to see you, my dear. I have missed you so."
Jean remained silent, as the only thing that she could've said in response was that she hadn't missed him at all—that in fact, she'd been hoping that they'd never have to cross paths again. Instead, Jean focused her attention on attempting to free herself from Malcolm's grasp. Noticing her efforts, Malcolm placed his free hand on top of her hand, trapping her still further.
"You're looking as beautiful as ever," he said, his eyes boring into Jean's in a way that made the chief superintendent feel extremely vulnerable.
"I wish I could say the same for you," Jean snapped, glowering at him.
Malcolm laughed deeply, and as he did, his grip on Jean loosened a bit, allowing the chief superintendent to free her hand.
"Ah, yes. The noseis a bit of an eyesore, isn't it? We have your dearly departed husband to thank for that. My condolences, by the way."
Malcolm put a hand on Jean's shoulder, in what he clearly thought was a sincerely comforting manner. Jean immediately shook Malcolm's hand off.
"Keep your condolences! I despise being pitied, particularly by people whose sympathy is as false as their integrity."
Malcolm disregarded the personal slight he'd just received and returned the subject to its previous topic. "Anyway, as I was saying, the broken nose is a souvenir from my last meeting with your husband. You may recall that when the three of last crossed paths, John and I got into a bit of a row. Through your husband may not have told you this, the two of met to resolve our differences the next morning. That's when I broke my nose."
"The last time we crossed paths? This wouldn't perhaps be the time that you crashed a private party and spent majority of the evening harassingme, would it?"
"'Harass' is such a vile word. I was merely attempting to catch up with what was going on in your life."
"Catch up! At Scotland Yard, backing a married woman into a dark corner and attempting to 'cop a feel' is now considered 'catching up,' is it?"
Determined to create distance between them, Jean took several steps away from Malcolm. Undeterred by this, Malcolm simply followed the chief superintendent's lead.
"I'll admit it; I was quite distracted by your many charms," said Malcolm, his eyes clearly focused on the expanse of chest exposed by the low neckline of Innocent's sweater.
"Attempt something like that again, and I myself will show you just how 'charming' I can be!" the chief superintendent said emphatically, taking another step away from Malcolm.
Malcolm laughed coldly. "I look forward to it. My dear, I must confess. As lovely as your face and form are, I've always found your fiery temper and your streak of independence to be your most endearing qualities."
"And I always found your arrogance and misogyny to be yours," the chief superintendent said, her voice oozing with sarcasm.
"I'm flattered. I was beginning to think that you didn't care in the slightest, my delicate flower."
Innocent threw up her hands in frustration and snorted in a manner that was in no way delicate. "Ending our relationship was the best damned thing that I ever did!"
Malcolm took on another step toward her. He brought his face close to Innocent's and tilted the superintendent's chin upward so that their eyes met. "No, my dear, beginning it was," he whispered softly into her ear.
Jean forced her chin out of his grasp and turned her back to him. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing here, or do you want me to guess?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you, my dove? I'm here to investigate your husband's murder."
"WHAT?" Jean shouted, reeling around to face him. "It can't be you, it just can't be! … I was told it was an officer of similar rank." She lifted her chin imperiously. "A chief superintendent most definitely outranks a mere chief inspector."
"Ah, but I've just been promoted. You're looking at Detective Chief Superintendent Harvey Malcolm of the newly-formed Buckinghamshire Police. That's why I'm in Oxford, see? I'm taking some time off before I start my new position—a position that I'm very excited about by the way. Oxford and Buckinghamshire are close, so we'll get to see each other often; it'll be almost like 'old times.' Won't that be nice?"
Innocent didn't think that it was "nice" at all. She mentally cursed the idiot who'd promoted Malcolm, the idiot who'd moved him to Buckinghamshire, and the idiot who'd given him permission to supervise the case, (who were most likely all the same idiot—Jean's former boss, Gus Rookwood of Scotland Yard).
Jean returned back to her desk "I'm sure that if I just clarify all of this with the chief constable, you won't have to worry your empty little head about anything. I'll just explain that you are a major conflict-of-interest, and then you can go on your merry little way to Buckinghamshire to start your new position." She attempted to pick up the telephone on her desk, but Malcolm stopped her by placing his hand firmly on top of hers.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, that is, unless you wantme to tell old Rookwood about the good old days when his dear little Jeannie was 'innocent' in neither name nor nature."
"Those days incriminate you just as much as they do me. In fact, I'd say you were significantly more at fault than I. You were the senior officer at the time."
"I'm sorry, my dove, but I don't think that the old boys at Scotland Yard will see it like that. They used to call you 'Lady Macbeth' behind your back, did you know? They all thought that you would do anythingto rise up in the ranks. They'll want to believe that the bright, ambitious young sergeant seduced the honest and diligent…" Malcolm broke off as Jean snorted again. " … Inspector rather than the other way around."
Innocent hung up the phone, but continued to stare hostilely at Malcolm. "Not all of them will. Felmen, for one, will see right through you."
"Of course, Felmen will want to protect his former sergeant. And that's all the others will see it as—Felmen shielding his protégé's reputation from harm. That is, until, the rumour gets out that you slept with Felmen as well."
"WHAT? He's twenty years my senior and happily married, I might add!"
Malcolm shrugged. "People love a scandal. They'll want to believe it, so they won't even bother to listen to what you say."
"So, you're blackmailing me into letting you stay on the case, are you? Are you also going to blackmail me into sleeping with you? Because if you are, you can go ahead and tell Rookwood your worst! I accept that practically everyone of our rank is a conflict-of-interest of some kind, so I'll let you stay on the case if I must. But, I refuse to prostitute myself!" Innocent said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"No, I'm not going to blackmail you into doing that. You'll come to me of your own free will."
Somehow, the conviction with which he said that frightened Jean even more than when she'd thought he was blackmailing her. Innocent straightened her back and lifted her neck to look Malcolm in the eye." You are free to believe in whatever delusions that you desire, but be aware of the fact that theyaredelusions and nothing else."
The two stared each other down for a brief moment, and then Malcolm decided to change the subject."So, seeing as you are going to let my stay on the case, when can I start?"
'The sooner, Malcolm starts on the case, the sooner he'll be out of my hair.' The chief super thought to herself.
"I can introduce you right now to Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway, who've been leading the investigation. If I may, I'd like to request permission that they remain on the case; they're one of my most efficient teams, if a bit… unorthodox."
"Permission granted. Take me to see them."
Robbie Lewis and James Hathaway were both seated at their desks when they heard the knock at the door. "Robbie, James, your new superintendent Harvey Malcolm is here and wants to meet with you."
"Come in, then," Lewis said.
The door opened, and Innocent walked into the room, closely followed by a tall dark-haired man that Hathaway assumed was the notorious Malcolm. Lewis rose from his chair and walked over to join Innocent and Malcolm. James, meanwhile, remained at his desk, scrutinizing the new arrival carefully. Lewis introduced himself, and Malcolm heartily shook the inspector's hand. Then Malcolm walked over to Hathaway.
"So, this must be the famous James Hathaway. I've heard lots about you from our mutual friend Fiona McKendrick at Scotland Yard."
"All of it good, I hope," Lewis said brightly.
"Naturally."
"Er… Fiona's mentioned you as well," Hathaway said evenly, a frown firmly etched on his face.
"I'm glad."
"Is it all right, if I go then?" Innocent said, her hand resting on the doorframe.
"No, my dear," Malcolm said as he rushed over to her. "Stay! You're among friends here." He placed an arm around Innocent's waist and pulled her to him, so that the two were hip-to-hip. Malcolm turned his gaze to James. "Did you know, Mr Hathaway, that I've known your Chief Super since she was a sergeant just like you? We were very good friends for a time, and I'm afraid it's been far too since we last saw each other. Hasn't it been too long, Jean?
Malcolm lowered the hand on Innocent's waist so that it now rested on her outer thigh. With his free hand, Malcolm began to lightly stroke Innocent's hair.
"I think that we should be thinking about formally starting this investigation. Seeing as you're not needed here, ma'am, I think that you can go back to your office and return to work," said Hathaway, acutely aware of Innocent's current discomfort.
For that, Jean Innocent almost forgave James Hathaway for the events of that morning and the previous evening. Innocent was so grateful that someone else seemed to have seen through Malcolm that she temporarily forgot her anger with the sergeant. Jean shot James a thankful smile from across the room.
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Sergeant," Malcolm said crossly, studying Hathaway with distaste.
"You didn't need to ask, Sir. Didn't dearFiona tell you how wonderful I am at sharing without Mummy reminding me to do so?"
Robbie covered his smile by placing the manila file that he was holding in front of his face while Jean hastily turned her laugh into a cough.
"No, she didn't.She said that you were charming, but I suppose that anyone can make a mistake."
"Either that, or the two of you simply have different ideas on what constitutes charm."
Innocent forcibly removed Malcolm's hand from her and took another step toward the door. "James is right about the need for all of us to get back to work, so I think I'll go now."
"All right," Malcolm said, clearly distressed that the chief superintendent would be leaving them. "But remember, Jean, if you need to talk to someone about this mess, you know where to find me. I'm sure you remember how… comforting I can be."
Shuddering slightly, Jean Innocent turned and promptly left the room. Malcolm's eyes followed her until she was out of sight. Then, he turned to Robbie.
"Gosh, I'd forgotten about her tight arse," Malcolm said, his eyes wistful. "And I do mean that in more ways than one."
Hathaway, who'd returned to his seat, had his eyes glued to the paperwork on his desk, but Lewis could tell from the scowl still quite pronounced on the sergeant's face that Malcolm was greatly irritating James.
"Don't you agree, boys?" Malcolm asked.
Lewis looked at Hathaway awkwardly. The sergeant just sighed disgustedly. Lewis returned his gaze to Malcolm and forced a nervous laugh.
"She is a bit uptight at times," Lewis said quietly.
"Abit?That's the understatement of the year," Hathaway thought to himself.
"As for the other thing, I … er… well… hadn't really noticed," Lewis continued, blushing furiously.
'Liar,' Hathaway thought, smirking to himself. 'You just don't want word to get around to Dr Hobson that you noticed.'
Malcolm stared at Lewis in disbelief. "Are you gay or something, Inspector? Because I can't quite fathom how any normal man could fail to think about it, at least from time to time."
'So Malcolm is narrow-minded and homophobic as well,' James noted. 'Just two more reasons to hate him."
"No, sir, I'm not gay. I just like to keep my boundaries. I try not to think of those things where the super is concerned. Remember, she is my boss," Lewis said.
"Ah, but she's not mine," Malcolm said contently. "Thankfully, the lovely Jean and I are complete equals."
That was the last straw for Hathaway. The sergeant rose to his feet. "You and Jean Innocent are in no way equals," he said vehemently as he looked down disapprovingly at Malcolm, who (though tall) was a good inch shorter than James.
"I beg to differ. We are both chief superintendents."
"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but Jeanis your superior, if not in rank, than at least in character."
"Oh, and what makes you say that, Sergeant?"
"Fiona McKendrick's told meall about you, Sir."
Malcolm raised his eyebrows. "Oh, she has, has she?"
"Yes, and I think that it's only fair to tell you. I don't careif you're supposed to be my boss. If you continue to harass our chief super, you'll have to answer to me."
Malcolm took a step toward Hathaway and examined the sergeant with new eyes. He gave Hathaway an inquisitive look and then laughed in the younger man's face.
"What are you, her knight-champion or something?"
Hathaway held up his head. "Something like that. It's a sad world, when women as intelligent and capable as Jean and Fiona need constant protection from the likes of you."
"Did you know, sergeant, that I could suspend you right now for that comment?"
"Did you know, sir, that I could very easily break your arm if I really wanted to?"
"That's enough, James," said Lewis tentatively, stepping between the two men. He looked Malcolm in the eyes. "I want to apologize for my sergeant, sir. He's having a bit of a rough week and is quite touchy. He didn't really mean anything by it. Did you, James?'
"No, I didn't mean anything by it," James lied smoothly, "just venting a bit."
"Good," Malcolm said.
After a very long and tense silence, Malcolm returned his attention to Robbie. "So, anyway, what exactly do I need to know about this case?"
"Well as you likely already know, the victim is John Innocent, aged fifty-five, president of a small but highly profitable banking firm. Mr Innocent is a graduate of Oxford, and he comes from a very powerful and wealthy family. His brother is an MP, his cousin is the British ambassador to Italy, and of course, his widow is Jean Innocent, chief superintendent of the Oxfordshire Police and granddaughter of the current Junior Minister," Lewis said.
Hathaway continued, "Anyway, Mr Innocent was found dead yesterday by a Mr Bradley James, head of a painting firm that scheduled to consult with Mr Innocent at the banker's home. Yesterday, as you may recall, was a bank holiday so Mr Innocent was supposed to be at home. Mr James maintains, that once he arrived, he tried knocking and ringing the doorbell. When no one answered, Mr James tried the doorknob and was surprised to find the door unlocked. He entered the house and soon discovered Mr Innocent on the floor, stabbed through the heart. Mr James immediately dialled 9-9-9 on his mobile and waited for the police to arrive."
"Any fingerprints found?" Malcolm asked
"Nothing whatsoever on the knife, the body or any nearby furniture."
"Do we know anything about our killer?"
"Forensics reckons that the killer was a man based on the depth of the knife wound. Other than that, we know absolutely nothing about the murderer."
"Any other clues?"
Hathaway and Lewis looked at each other for a brief moment, both trying to decide whether to disclose the potential "medical clue" that Dr Hobson's team had uncovered. The two men returned their gazes to Malcolm and both gave an emphatic "no" at almost the exact same moment.
Malcolm moved to the door. "Well, if that's all… I've been told that Inspector Milton is on leave, and the super's secretary told me that I could use his office, for the time being."
Malcolm turned and promptly left the room. When he had gone, Hathaway muttered "Good riddance" under his breath.
"James," Lewis said carefully, "that display with Malcolm was downright disgraceful. You need to calm down right now."
"Calm down?" Hathaway forced a laugh. "I notice that you're not asking Malcolm to keep his disgusting thoughts to himself! If you had any spine at all, you'd have stood up to him too."
"James, you don't have tolikeMalcolm. You just need to work with him for a few days. I personally find him repulsive as well, but this case is more important than our personal convictions. … If you can just try to… keep it together until we solve the case."
"All right," James said reluctantly. "I'll try."
He threw himself back into his seat and began pounding furiously on the keyboard of his computer.
"What exactly didMalcolm do to McKendrick anyway?" Lewis asked, half-afraid of the answer.
"Well, I don't know for sure if Fiona told me everything, but what I have heard sounds an awful lot like your average case of sexual harassment."
"Didn't McKendrick report him?"
Hathaway shook his head. "She didn't think they'd believe her."
Lewis made a face. "I can't imagine why; Malcolm seems like a nasty piece of work. Do you… do you reckon he did the same thing to Innocent?"
"Well, he's certainly 'got designs' on her; that's obvious enough, but I dunno about the sexual harassment angle. Jean really doesn't seem the type to take something as serious as sexual harassment sitting down. You saw for yourself what a big deal she made out of a mere kiss. So… unless Innocent's afraid of Malcolm for some reason…"
"Which would be?"
"Dunno. Maybe… maybe he attempted a bit more than mere harassment or maybe…"
"Maybe he knows something about her that could potentially jeopardize her career," Robbie finished.
"Possiblyboth."
"Remind me that I need to have a nice little chat with her later," Lewis muttered, half- to- himself.
"Better you than me. I just hope that she'll be able to get Malcolm off our case—literally and figuratively. I'm sorry, sir, but working with that slime-ball will just put me in mind of all the slithering he did at Scotland Yard. I'm still worried about what he may have done to her."
"Her? Would that be Innocent or McKendrick?"
"Both, now that you mention it."
Seeing the forlorn look on his sergeant's face, Lewis put an arm on Hathaway's shoulder. Hathaway turned to his inspector and gave a grim half-smile.
"Well, Sir, I guess there's one good thing about having to work for such a revolting little bugger."
Lewis could not think of a single good thing, so he stared uncomprehendingly at his sergeant.
"Oh, and what's that?"
"I don't think there'sany danger of me snogging this super."
Lewis fought back a laugh. "You and me both, James."
So, just out of curiosity, did anyone catch the brief Merlin and Harry Potter references that I threw in this chapter just for fun?