‘Stone, I’m curious to know what happened between you and Travis. Weren’t you close once?’
Kim frowned. Close was not a word she would have used in relation to Tom Travis, or anyone else for that matter. But they had been partners and almost friends before he’d defected from West Mids to West Mercia.
But that was before he’d placed her in an untenable position. A few months after the incident he had transferred to a smaller force. Within a month of her making DI before he did.
She had never spoken of it to anyone. And she never would.
She shrugged. ‘Just force rivalry, sir,’ she answered.
There was no doubt that he didn’t believe her but he accepted her response. He laced his fingers. ‘You already know the location of this one is a complete nightmare.’
She nodded. She still wasn’t hearing those magic words.
‘The field itself lies right on the border. West Mercia’s Hunnington at one end and our Hayley Green at the other. No one actually knows exactly where the boundary falls.’
Kim knew that Hayley Green consisted mainly of owner/occupied housing stock. It was made up of Causey Farm Estate, St Kenelms Avenue, Squirrels Estate and an estate off Uffmoor Lane.
Hunnington was a village that fell under the Bromsgrove postcode. Originally a township in the parish of Halesowen, it had been transferred to Worcestershire in 1844.
And clearly no one seemed to know where it ended.
‘Now, we could get caught up in a pointless fight with our neighbouring force, which serves no purpose to anyone, especially the person who is in the ground.’
Kim’s earlier conviction was fading fast. That was way more words than she wanted to hear.
He continued: ‘So, having spoken to DCI Walsh at West Mercia and to Superintendent Shaw at Lloyd House, we have reached an agreement that satisfies all parties.’
Kim frowned. The case of the skull in the field was either theirs or it wasn’t.
‘This will be a joint investigation, led by both yourself and Detective Inspector Travis.’
He sat forward, awaiting her response.
She laughed out loud. ‘Oh, sir. I’m sorry, but for a moment there I thought you said “joint investigation”.’
‘Yes, Stone. I did.’
She stopped laughing.
‘Sir, you can’t possibly believe…’
‘Actually, Stone. I do. As you know, I have long held the belief that forces could and should work more closely together.’
‘But—’
He held his hand up to silence her. ‘I believe that each police force should maintain their own identity but there are practices and methodologies that could be shared across police in general. We’re all trying to do the same job.’
‘One team, one vision?’ she asked, testily.
‘Not quite. But we can all learn from others, Stone. All of us,’ he added meaningfully.
She ignored the remark. Her mind was already trying to process the logistics. Two investigating teams, two forensic labs, two pathologists, two SIOs. That was all one more than she was comfortable with.
‘But it’s doubling up on everything,’ she said, wondering how this was a sensible use of anyone’s budget.
‘It’s not going to work that way, Stone. Travis gets operational and you get technical.’
‘Technical?’ she questioned.
‘Laboratory and forensics.’
She frowned. ‘So my team?…’
‘Will not be joining you on this one and will be working on other cases,’ he said, confirming her worst fears.
‘Supervised by whom?’ she shot back.
‘You’re a very resourceful individual, Stone. I’m sure you can work it out.’
‘But…’
‘Travis has the larger team but our forensic services are more efficient than theirs. And they know that.’
Kim was stunned. The details had been arranged. She sensed there was no wiggle room on this at all, but she had to try a token movement.
‘You do understand that Travis and I can barely work in the same county, never mind—’
‘You are both professional adults,’ he stated.
Well, half of us is, she thought to herself.
It had been almost five years since they’d worked together, and it had not ended well. She wondered if Travis was feeling the exact same way as she was right now.
‘I’d like for the record to reflect that I don’t think this is a good idea,’ she offered.
‘Stone, the record had no doubt that’s what you’d think but this is evolution. We have to try new things. If you want involvement in this investigation it is on these terms. This is a test case for inter-force collaboration.’
‘I’m a guinea pig?’ she clarified.
He thought for a second and then nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose you are.’
‘Sir, do you want this project to fail?’ she asked, seriously. Her reputation for playing poorly with others was legendary.
Woody shook his head. ‘Why would you think that?’
‘Because you’re sending me out to work with another force, without Bryant. It’s almost like you want me to fu… mess up.’
A brief smile settled on his features.
‘Or am I sending you because I know you won’t allow it to fail?’
Oh, that was low. How was she supposed to fight that?
Woody handed her a piece of paper. ‘This is Tom Travis’s address. Pick him up first thing in the morning, make your peace with him in the car and then get on with this case.’
Kim hesitated before taking the offered paper. This was her last chance to refuse. To let someone else take her place, or just hand the investigation to West Mercia.
Could she work with Tom again? she asked herself. After all the bitterness and animosity that had built between them over the last few years? Could either of them let it go?
She could walk away now and work the current caseload with her team. Was she really that desperate to uncover the identity of a skull found in a field and meet the challenge that had been set out before her?
Kim reached out and took the address.
SEVEN
‘Righty folks, we need to have a little chat,’ Kim said, as she entered the squad room.
She noted that the board had already been wiped clean and the words ‘unidentified skull’ had been written across the top.
She had taken a walk outside and around the building to work off her irritation. It didn’t need to follow her into the squad room. Her team would pick up on her negativity, and she didn’t want that.
‘So, you guys are going to get a bit of a rest for a while.’
‘Really?’ Dawson asked.
‘Not really,’ she offered, smiling. ‘The skull case is going to be a joint investigation with West Mercia.’
Three surprised expressions turned her way.
‘I’ll be working alongside Detective Inspector Travis and his team while maintaining contact with forensics.’
There, the great big ball of tension rolling around her stomach could be explained in one simple sentence.
‘So, we have no involvement at all?’ Dawson asked, looking up at the board.
Kim shook her head, feeling the dissatisfaction travel around the room.
‘You’re working with Travis?’ Bryant asked.