Lynda La Plante - Wrongful Death

As Langton ushered her out of the office, Dewar turned at the door.

‘Don’t tidy anything up, it’s laid out in a specific order,’ she said, pointing to Anna’s desk that was still strewn with the Reynolds file, paperwork and photographs.

‘I’ll use the coffee table as a desk,’ Anna remarked curtly, but Dewar ignored her and walked out the door with Langton.

Anna drew up a list of do’s and don’ts to discuss with the agent and then looked over the documents Dewar had left on her desk. Anna was unable to decipher the notes, which had been written in a personal form of shorthand. However, the scene and post-mortem photographs were marked in red felt-tip pen, highlighting around the wound, the position of the body, the gun, the sofa, and, strangely to Anna, the washing machine in the kitchen. There were crosses marked on the victim’s knees, head and hands in the post-mortem photographs. Written in the same red ink on an attached Post-it note was, GDR, DTT, STIP, BD. Anna was not sure exactly what the abbreviations meant and decided any guesswork would be pointless. Turning to the copy of Donna Reynolds’ statement, she noticed that it too had been annotated with a marker pen. Anna had just begun to read through the highlighted areas when Barolli knocked and walked in, making her jump.

‘Did you get a chance to speak with her?’

‘No. Langton was here and she was off like a shot. I think she’s avoiding discussing the case with me.’

‘And no doubt filling Langton with crap and trying to find fault.’

‘No comment,’ Anna said, and Paul laughed as he sat down.

‘I’ve gone over the file myself. It’s not an in-depth investigation but I don’t think what Paul Simms has or hasn’t done would have made any difference to the Coroner’s verdict,’ Paul said.

‘I agree with you but I think Dewar will take delight in pointing out areas where she feels DI Simms should have been more professional. That’ll embarrass Langton, who will want answers as to why more wasn’t done at the time.’

‘We’ve all been guilty of cutting corners on suicide cases,’ Paul remarked.

‘I suspect Dewar will try and find fault wherever she can. I think I might touch base with Paul Simms, give him a heads-up about her.’

‘I’ve got to go out and restore some property on an old case then I’ll head home from there if that’s okay with you?’

‘See you tomorrow then. And thanks for the backup in the canteen with Joan and Barbara.’ Anna smiled in gratitude.

‘No problem, good practice for me when you’re in the States. See you in the morning.’

Barolli hesitated at the door as he watched Anna collecting up Dewar’s paperwork and photographs, placing them on the floor next to the desk and putting her own filing trays and papers back where they had been before Dewar had moved them. She looked up at Paul.

‘Childish, I know, but it’s still my bloody office!’

The next morning, Anna went into the office early, conscious that she had left a list of things to discuss with Jessie Dewar on her desk and worried the agent might see them. It was 7.30 a.m. and Anna was surprised to find Dewar already planted at her desk working away, Anna’s filing trays and papers tucked neatly to one side. Dewar was dressed in a figure-hugging running suit, her long blonde hair held back with a headband, and there were drops of perspiration on her brow.

‘Good morning, DCI Travis,’ Dewar said with a smile.

‘Morning. Been out for a run?’

‘Yes, four point three miles,’ Dewar said, checking her iPhone running app. ‘Daily routine for everyone on a course at the FBI Academy.’

‘Is it compulsory?’ Anna enquired.

‘Yes. Initiated by our founder, J. Edgar Hoover.’

‘Really,’ Anna remarked with a distinct lack of interest.

‘Physical fitness is a big part of the Senior Command course.’

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ Anna said.

‘I can give you a run-down on what to expect at Quantico on the way to Belmarsh,’ Dewar offered.

‘Thanks. I’d appreciate that.’

‘Just going to shower and change. Would you mind if I gave a team briefing this morning? I sensed an air of hostility yesterday and I’d like to start again. Put them at ease with me.’

Anna looked directly at her and smiled. ‘That would be good, they should all be in by nine.’

Dewar nodded as she went off for her shower.

Anna couldn’t get over Dewar’s sudden change of personality, and wondered if she had seen the do’s and don’ts list on her desk. The other possibility was Langton had spoken with Dewar, and advised her about her interaction with the team. Yet Anna doubted that was the case, as she knew Langton would have been straight on the phone to her to see what the problem was. It seemed that Dewar must have realized the tension she had created and wanted to rectify the situation. Anna was pleased and felt it was a step in the right direction.

Paul Barolli arrived just before nine and Anna told him to make sure the team were all gathered for a briefing by nine-fifteen. Paul asked what it was about and Anna explained that it seemed Dewar had ‘seen the light’ and wanted to apologize to the team.

‘You spoke with her?’ Paul asked, trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

‘Actually, she approached me. Said she felt there was an air of hostility towards her and wanted to start again.’

‘Langton’s influence?’

‘I don’t think so. Her own decision by the looks of it and one we should respect her for.’

‘I’ll hold on that until I hear what she has to say,’ Paul said and went to his office.

Jessie Dewar returned from her shower and once again she looked immaculate, wearing a black two-piece suit and white silk shirt. Anna thought she looked very professional and eager to make a good impression. As members of the team arrived, Barolli told them to grab a tea or coffee from the canteen and bring it to the incident room for an urgent briefing. Barbara moaned that she wanted to have a cooked breakfast but Paul told her it was not an option and she should grab a sandwich if she was hungry.

Everyone was sitting at their desks as Dewar linked her laptop to the projector and, using a remote control, opened up a PowerPoint display.

‘What’s all this about?’ Paul whispered to Anna.

‘No idea,’ she muttered back. ‘I thought we were getting an apology, not a show.’

Dewar pressed the remote and a picture of the blue-and-gold FBI seal came up on the screen. In its centre was a set of scales, five alternating red and white horizontal bands and the words FIDELITY, BRAVERY, INTEGRITY. Members of the team looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

‘Good morning and thank you for your time. Don’t worry, this is not a history lesson,’ Dewar said.

‘We know… because America hasn’t got any,’ Dan Ross joked, causing the others to laugh.

‘Tell me about it… In more than thirty seconds,’ Dewar smiled and everyone laughed again.

Anna had expected Dewar to react badly to the gibe, but the humorous reply had got their attention.

‘I realize that I did not get off to a good start yesterday and may have upset some of you, but that was not my intention. As a supervisory special agent at the FBI, I know that not everyone is going to like me or what I may have to say during an investigation but it goes with the territory, or job, as you say in the Met.’

Dewar then brought up a slide with the Met Police Statement of Common Purpose written on it.

‘Although I work on the other side of the pond under different laws, we as investigators all do the same job, that being…’ Dewar pressed the remote to highlight the words: ‘to pursue and bring to justice those who break the law’.