Page 38 of The Truth Will Out
“Glad to hear it. I’ll expect an update at the end of each working day until this investigation is over.”
Sam groaned inside.As if my job isn’t difficult enough as it is.“Consider it done. Thanks for having my back, sir. I’ll pass on your condolences to the rest of the team.”
“Please do.”
Sam left the office and thanked Heidi for supplying her with the best cup of coffee she was likely to receive that day. On her journey back up the corridor, all she could think about was Rhys’s suspected involvement with Pendle House and what impact that knowledge was going to have on their relationship.
The call camein from Scott two hours later. He was in the car on his way home. Sam arranged to meet him at his house. She took Bob with her for moral support.
Scott answered the door and looked daggers at both of them. “I demand to know what’s going on. I’ve tried ringing Claire several times, and she’s ignoring my calls. She never does that. We’re very close.”
And yet you weren’t concerned enough to call the station yesterday when she didn’t come home from work. Stop it! He was working away from home; give the guy a chance.
“Sorry, is it possible for us to come in, Scott?”
“If you must. You’re here to tell me bad news, aren’t you? Is she alive?”
He stepped back and allowed Sam and Bob to enter. They followed him into a spacious modern lounge.
He flopped into the armchair and gestured for them to sit on the sofa. “You haven’t answered me.”
“I’m sorry, Scott. You’re right, the news isn’t good. Bob and I were called out to an incident that had happened at the harbour in Whitehaven…”
“Get on with it,” he snarled.
“Take it easy, mate,” Bob interjected. “Sam’s doing her best here.”
“Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not your mate. I don’t really know you. You’re Claire’s colleagues, not mine. So, let’s not beat about the bush here. Tell me the truth.”
Sam sighed. “I’m sorry, but the incident involved Claire. She was found floating in the harbour.”
Scott stared at her, disbelief etched into his face. “What are you saying? That she’s dead?”
Sam gulped and swallowed down the bile that was burning her throat. “I’m so sorry. We’re all devastated by the news of her death. She was a valued member of our team.”
“I don’t need your sympathy. Is it worth me asking what happened? Why she was at the harbour? Did she go alone? Was she chasing someone?”
“The clues are sketchy at the moment. I can’t really go into detail right now. She was working off her own bat, though, not on my instructions.”
“What are you talking about? Are you calling her bent?”
“No, not at all. Like I said, there’s more to this than we can explain. It’s a difficult one. I’m sorry, but the fact is that Claire wasn’t told to go there last night. I would never have sent a member of my team off somewhere alone, not at that time of night.”
“Get out. You’re telling me you know nothing. Why are you here?”
“I’m trying to explain it as I see it.”
“Come back when you know what you’re talking about. I’m going to put in a complaint.”
“There’s no need for that, Scott,” Bob said. “Sam and the rest of the team, we’re all doing our best to find out why Claire took it upon herself to chase up a lead we’ve yet to discover.”
He glared at Bob and rose from his seat. “I’ve told you to leave.”
With that, he threw them out of the house. It had been an upsetting experience for Sam, and Bob didn’t appear to be faring much better either.
Bob rubbed her arm as they walked towards their respective cars. “He’ll calm down, eventually.”
“He’s got every right to be upset with me. Blimey, I’m upset with myself, and I’m as angry as fuck about Claire going behind my back.”
