‘Well, thank you for such a gracious invitation,’ Leanne offered.
Kim looked at her properly for the first time. There was no amusement in her expression or her tone.
It was safe to say the two of them had not hit it off when they’d met on a recent case.
From the outset, Leanne had obstructed their investigation into the murder of a man they later learned was in the witness protection programme. She had continued the charade of being a family member instead of a witness protection officer long enough to have Kim’s team chasing their own tails. In addition, her cold, stubborn demeanour had done nothing to endear her to anyone.
‘Why you?’ Kim asked pointedly.
‘It’s my job.’
‘No rapists, murderers or mob bosses available at the minute?’
‘No.’
‘Quite the talker, isn’t she?’
‘I’ll let you continue this conversation somewhere other than my office,’ Woody said, standing to signal the meeting was over.
A movement outside caught his attention. ‘And I think your team just drove into the car park.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Kim said, standing, although she wasn’t sure exactly what she was thanking him for.
She waited until the door closed behind them both before she turned to Leanne. ‘So, how is this gonna work?’
‘You do everything I tell you and we’ll be fine,’ Leanne said with a shrug.
‘Well, that’s your first problem, but I meant the fact we can’t stand the sight of each other.’
‘I haven’t much liked any of the people I’ve been responsible for,’ Leanne admitted.
‘Comforting. Also, that one of them is dead, but hey ho, we all have bad work days, I suppose.’
Kim was rewarded by a flash of anger in Leanne’s blue eyes and a line of tension in her square jaw.
Kim understood more now about protection officers than she had before. She knew that they were responsible for the safety of some of the sickest people in the country. She understood the tight emotional rein needed to put your own life on the line, sometimes for quite despicable characters. She also understood that they worked solitary and in complete secrecy, unable to share any details with friends or loved ones. One slip and an entire family could be wiped out.
‘So, you’re gonna follow me everywhere?’ Kim asked, taking the stairs down to the squad room.
‘Yes,’ Leanne answered, keeping step with her.
‘Well, ain’t that gonna be a barrel of laughs?’
She entered the squad room and wasted no time.
‘Hey guys, remember Leanne? Feel free to be as pleasant to her as she is to you.’
Both Penn and Stacey raised a hand in greeting while offering her a questioning glance. Bryant’s back was to her, as he was on the phone.
‘Our old friend Symes has escaped custody and, instead of getting himself off to the South of France, he’s gonna come looking for me. He’s gonna try and break every bone in my body, but don’t worry because Leanne’s gonna stop him.’
Their expressions took on equal measures of shock. She knew she was being flippant and blasé about the whole thing, but she had barely been given time to get her head around what was going on before Leanne bloody King had been thrust back into her life. The hits just kept on coming.
Her team responded as expected.
‘How the hell…?’
‘What the…?’