Chapter Seventeen—A "Word"

The moment Innocent walked into the room Hathaway knew that he was in trouble. "I need to see you in my office immediately." The clipped, overly-careful tone of her voice indicated a noble but failed attempt to conceal the anger that was already obvious enough, given her body language: dangerously-narrowed brows, lips tightly pursed over gritted teeth, the fist that she was (most likely) unconscious that she was making.

There was no denying why she was here. It was far too much to hope for that she'd found something else to set her off.

Wait, what was he saying? Of course, it was a good thing that something else hadn't set her off. Hathaway couldn't begin to imagine how furious she'd be if she had something else bothering her on top of what he'd done.

Besides, it would only have been a matter of time before she'd have found out anyway. He'd known all along that it was something he wouldn't have been able to keep from her.

But still, she knew. The thought was absolutely terrifying. Suspension was almost inevitable by this point. In some ways, it would be a blessing. At least that way, James wouldn't have to put up with the lingering effects of his having taken matters into his own hands; he wouldn't have to feel guilty for making her so furious.

Good God, what was he thinking? He had nothing to feel guilty about. Yes, it had been an under-handed and impulsive thing to do, but he could see no other way. He'd done what he had to, and though she might think otherwise, he had done it for her own good.

" Both of us, ma'am?" Lewis asked, glancing up curiously.

"For now."

Oh, she knew all right, she definitely knew. Any doubt that lingered in Hathaway's mind faded away as he saw the merciless expression in Jean's eyes. The only thing she didn't know was which one of them had done it. And she was going to find out.

The two men followed their superior officer back to her office, and Innocent bolted the door behind her once they'd arrived.

" What can we do for you, ma'am?" Lewis said. He gave a weak attempt at a smile, though James was sure his inspector was just as conscious of the "danger signs" as Hathaway himself was.

" What you can do is answer just one little question for me?"

" That shouldn't be a problem, ma'am. Can't promise I'll know the answer, but I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

" Well, I'm sure that if you don't know the answer, Sergeant Hathaway will. Won't you, James?" Jean's voice was soft and sweet—too soft and sweet to be genuine. It was far more intimidating than her shouting could've been, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "killing with kindness."

He gulped." I couldn't say, ma'am. I mean…even I don't know everything," he said, trying to force a laugh.

"That's right, James, you don't know everything—which is why you should consider letting older and wiser heads do your thinking for you every so often," Innocent replied, her syrupy tone not faltering for a minute as she gave him a look that could've brought down much stronger men than James Hathaway.

That settled it. She knew it was him. Likely, she'd suspected all along and had only asked Robbie to come so she could be completely sure.

Lewis finally had the courage to break the uncomfortable silence. "Ma'am? I believe you had a question…"

Jean finally broke her death stare, and Hathaway found himself mentally sighing in momentary relief. "Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me, Robbie. This morning, I got to work and checked the voice mail messages on my office phone—just as I do every day—and there was a very, very intriguing message from an old friend of yours. I wonder if either of you boys might be able to guess who it was."

" No, ma'am. I haven't the foggiest."

Hathaway, meanwhile, was staring very fixatedly at the wall behind Innocent, resolving not to make any sudden gestures that would give anything away. Of course, he knew it was waste of time and effort; Jean could see right through him. In some respects, it would be better to confess now; maybe she'd be more lenient on him if he freely admitted what he'd done.

"It was your old boss. Strange—isn't it?" Innocent's tone suggested that she was not merely referring to her predecessor's surname, but also to the entire incident in general.

Lewis nodded. "Yes, ma'am. What did he want?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me, Robbie…or perhaps James can?" When Hathaway remained silent, Innocent pressed on. "He'd called to inform me that he was coming into the station today at 1:30, after he'd sorted everything at his hotel."

"He's in Oxford? I had no idea, ma'am."

"I suspected as much. But your sergeant knew—didn't you James?" Hathaway glanced over to her for a second and instantly regretted it. The expression in the chief superintendent's eyes was almost predatory—a cat who was mere moments away from catching her mouse.

Lewis suddenly became acutely aware of the precarious situation his sergeant was in and acted accordingly. " That is to say, ma'am…. I did know that he was in town…I just…I didn't…want you to find out about it. I thought…you might…get angry…about it."

"Oh, I am, Robbie. Very, very angry—and I have good reason to be. So tell me, inspector, why is Strange coming here when he's supposed to be enjoying a quiet retirement in the countryside?"

"Well…you see…er…he…er…I…er..."

Innocent gave a mirthless smile. "Your loyalty is touching, Robbie, but you're not fooling anyone. Because unlike you, James and I know exactly why Strange is here." She paused and watched Hathaway fidget uncomfortably for a moment. "I've just got off the line with the chief constable, and he's just informed me that he received a phone call yesterday afternoon from a certain junior officer who wouldn't leave his name. This 'mystery man' voiced his sincere and profound concern that the Buckinghamshire Police was being deprived of it's new chief superintendent for an indefinite amount of time and suggested that perhaps it might be better to have someone else supervise my husband's case, leaving Harvey Malcolm free to return to work. The chief constable seemed to agree with this logic and mentioned that he knew that a former colleague of his would be in the city for business reasons—and that this old friend might be persuaded to come out of retirement briefly if asked."

Lewis's gaze darted from his sergeant to his chief superintendent and then back to his sergeant again. "James?"

Hathaway didn't answer. Even though he was sure that Robbie approved of what he'd done and the reasons he'd done it, he very much doubted that the inspector approved of the way he'd gone about it. Although Lewis did occasionally bend the rules, he tended to avoid subtle subterfuge, unless it was absolutely necessary. What was more, he hated being lied to even more than he hated lying himself. It was one thing for the two of them to keep secrets from Innocent or Hobson; it was something entirely different for the two of them to keep secrets from each other.

Of course, it hadn't been a lie exactly. Hathaway had just neglected to mention all of this to his inspector. Part of the reasons had been practical; Lewis was absolutely rubbish at keeping secrets. Besides which, Lewis would probably recommend tipping off Malcolm and/or Innocent about this.

But Hathaway knew that the other reasons for not informing his inspector had been a bit more personal. The older man was like a second father to James, and he hated the thought that his actions might have disappointed Lewis.

"If you don't mind, Robbie. I'd recommend you leave us now, Robbie. I need to have a word with your sergeant. And things are bound to get a bit…heated to say the least."

Lewis nodded and made to exit the room, closing the door behind him as he went. Hathaway watched the older man go, slightly comforted in the fact that Innocent at least had the decency not to shout at him in front of Lewis.

"Sit down, James."

"Ma'am?"

"I insist."

The sergeant did as he was told, bracing himself for the coming lecture. But surprisingly, it didn't come. Instead, he was greeted by unwelcome and overlong silence.

"Ma'am," he said after several seconds had passed. " I believe you had something you wanted to say to me."

"Did I?" Innocent asked, her every syllable oozing with sarcasm. "Thank you so much for reminding me, James. I'd forgotten that you hold all the power in our professional relationship."

"Ma'am?"

"Tell me, sergeant; are you aware of the hierarchy we have here at the Oxfordshire Police?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hathaway muttered quietly.

" Would you care to remind me of our policies? My memory seems to have gone a bit fuzzy. You report to two and only two people—am I correct?" As Hathaway nodded reluctantly, Innocent continued. "And who exactly are these two people? It seems to have slipped my mind."

"Yourself and Inspector Lewis."

"And who does Inspector Lewis report to?"

" He reports to you."

The chief superintendent began stroking her chin in mock thought. "So, let me get this straight. Regardless of whether you choose to liaise with me directly or through Inspector Lewis, I should be informed of any and all important updates to your inquiries?"

"Yes, alright. Now will you please stop beating around the bush and just get to the bloody point already?"

" Do you want to know what I think about you, James? Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I'm starting to think you have split personalities. There's one James Hathaway who's clever and quiet and responsible and respectful and a pleasure to work with. And then, there's the other James Hathaway—deceitful, controlling, ambitious, insubordinate, impertinent, arrogant…"

He was starting to feel his pulse hammering in his neck and colour flooding his face in fury. "Look, if you want a confession, I'll give it to you. Yes, I went behind your back to the chief constable. Yes, I tried to rid you of a man who at best shows clear signs of a pathological obsession and who at worst has homicidal tendencies! Yes, I disregarded procedure; yes, I showed clear signs of insubordination. But if you want an apology because I –unlike you—genuinely care enough about your own health and safety to do something to ensure their protection…"

"This isn't about my protection—considering I don't need any protection in the first place! This is about you and Harvey and fucking male pride! And whatever it was that made the two of you hate each other in the first place."

" It is about the protection—which you do need much as you might try to deny it—and it's about that bastard Malcolm. I never said the two were mutually exclusive. In any case, you should be thanking me. At least, I got that scumbag off your back—for now at least."

" Thanking you? Have you ever considered that I might prefer to keep Malcolm here?" Innocent lowered her voice to a terse whisper.

"You what?"

"At least, here I'm able to keep track of his movements, make sure he doesn't leave town under the cover of darkness before we're finished with him."

Comprehension dawned on Hathaway. " You suspect him too?"

"Let's just say I like to keep an open mind. Harvey's always had a violent temper, and to say, he's possessive is a bit of an understatement. But still, I don't see him committing murder—and certainly not of the pre-meditated variety. A crime of passion would be more his speed. And in case, I think he'd be prudent enough to skip town before the long arm of the law wraps itself around him. He may be delusional, arrogant, and obnoxious, but he's not stupid."

Hathaway had conflicting opinions on this matter, but he chose not to voice them, remaining silent as Innocent returned to her previous tirade.

"Anyway, don't change the subject. Regardless of your motivations, you still blatantly and wilfully disregarded procedure. And in doing so, you've brought shame to me, yourself, Inspector Lewis, and the Oxfordshire Police as a whole." She lowered her voice—mindful that if she persisted with shouting as she did, she'd lose it before the meeting was over. " If this were an isolated incident, I might be able to overlook it, but in light of the rest of your recent behaviour, I'm afraid I have no choice but to suspend you. I'll give you an hour or so to collect your things and say goodbye to Lewis, but after that I don't want to see you anywhere near the station for the next three days—under any circumstances."

It was a milder sentence than he'd expected, though it was still more severe than he'd have liked. He nodded his consent and then got up to leave. When he reached the door, he paused and glanced back at Innocent. " Ma'am, I…I just want to say one thing before I go." Innocent gave a noncommittal shrug of acquiescence, and the sergeant continued. "Though you may not realise it, your life is important to a lot of people—far more important than even your reputation, believe it or not. Just please…please promise me that you'll be careful."

"James…I…"

" You don't have to say anything. Just think about it, please." Without even glancing back to check her reaction, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway opened the door and walked through it.