by D C Vaughn
‘I’m fine,’ she replied finally. ‘Just not sure what I want to do next.’
‘Know how you feel.’
‘Sophie?’
Kieran shrugged. ‘We’re getting by.’
Rebecca didn’t know what to say about that, although the overpowering need to stay the hell out of it prevented her from talking for the sake of it. She wasn’t yet over the loss of Sam and wouldn’t be for a long time, she knew, so acting as counsellor to another officer’s marital woes wasn’t her place.
‘Stick with it,’ she said simply.
Kieran nodded, took a deep breath of the cold air and seemed to emerge once again from his maudlin thoughts.
‘The good news is that some people out there still think it’s a great idea to commit murder, armed robbery and other joyous pasttimes, so there’s plenty of work for you if you decide you’re ready to come back.’
There had been some media coverage of her involvement in the case, but it had been decided that her arrest and subsequent release was not in the public interest. Her career record remained unblemished and her OCD had been considered insufficient grounds for any form of official reprimand, especially in light of her performance prior to the attack on Sam. She had been ordered to return to duty as soon as she felt able.
Rebecca nodded. ‘I’ll be back, in a while.’
Kieran glanced at his watch and then gave her shoulder a squeeze. ‘Take your time.’
She watched as he marched off through the snow and then turned back to surveying the bleak winter moors. Kieran was right. There were others out there, some more brutal than Ashton Kershaw, others smarter, others still mentally unhinged and just waiting to unleash whatever hell they could conjure upon the public. The police were few, detectives even fewer, and in an increasingly polarised world they were needed more than ever.
Sam had done the right thing, had risked everything for the truth. In that moment, Rebecca swore silently to herself that she would move heaven and earth to do the same.
***
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D.C. Vaughn is a pen name of Sunday Times best-selling author Dean Crawford.
