Chapter 38

The next few days passed in a bit of a blur. Laura spent most of the time catching up on all of the work she'd missed, unplanned time away was not conducive to a well-organized office. Midway through the third day she was finally feeling she might be caught up.

As she placed the last file to review in her outbox, she breathed a noticeable sigh of relief. With order returned to the chaos she returned to, her mind wandered. Things with Robbie had settled down and she felt they were past the worst of their divide.

There was still a slight sense of unease. She was certain it wouldn't completely go away until she confronted Malcolm. She closed her eyes dreading the idea of having to confront him. Deep down she knew it was a necessity but a part of her couldn't help but wish it would just go away.

It had been three days since she had seen him and two days since James had confronted him. If she left it much longer Malcolm would inevitably start trouble of his own. It was better that she initiate the confrontation. The problem was where should she do it? She didn't want to give him any power. Wherever it happened, it had to be on her terms.

A gentle knock at her door broke her concentration. Looking up she smiled at James, "Inspector can I help you?"

He nodded then stepped into her office, "I just wanted to thank you in person for reviewing those results for me. I know I should trust everyone in your office but I always feel somewhat better when I know reports have your seal of approval."

She rolled her eyes at him, "James, it's my job to look at things. You don't have to thank me for doing my job."

His head dropped. He'd known it was a flimsy excuse but he needed to check on her, this had been the only thing he could come up with. "I know, mostly I wanted to see how things were but I didn't want to be obvious."

"It's me James, I don't mind obvious." The expectant look on his face tugged at her heart, it wasn't just Robbie that needed this put behind them. None of her friendships would be normal until she put Malcolm firmly in the past. She took a deep breath then confessed, "I'm at a loss. I know I need to confront Malcolm but I'm not really sure where or when."

Shrugging James shoved his hands into his pockets, "I might be able to help with that."

"What have you done James?"

"After he came to visit you on Monday the Chief Super asked me to find out where he was staying." Laura raised an eyebrow asking a question without saying a word. "And on Tuesday, I might have used some contacts at Lady Margaret Hall to find out his schedule."

"So you abused police power to determine the whereabouts of an innocent man?"

Fighting a smile he raised his hands, "On the first one I was merely following orders. Technically that was the Chief Super abusing police power." He sat in one of her chairs and smiled, "The second one, however, was all me. Guilty as charged and I throw myself on the mercy of the court."

With a stern look she nodded as if she was contemplating his sentence, "My sentence depends. Do you by chance remember any of this wrongfully obtained information?"

"I think for the right price I might be persuaded to part with the information."

Raising an eyebrow she fixed him with a serious gaze, "What's your price?"

"A pint."

"Make it two and you've got a deal."

James reached across her desk to shake her hand as they shook he nodded, "You drive a hard bargain."

Laughter escaped before she could stop it. She could see James relax as he joined her. As they recovered James took a notepad from her desk and wrote down three things. He pushed the notepad back to her. She quickly read what he'd written then looked at him, "I understand the first two but the third?"

He stood and headed for the door. He smiled softly at her, "That's where I'll be from six to eight. If I haven't heard from you by eight you'll really get to see me abuse my power as a police officer."