She hadn’t expected it to be a woman. And especially not such a glamorous one. Just prejudice really – one expected every tabloid hack to be a bloke. Still, she seemed incredibly clued up, impressing both Hannah with her detective work and barefaced cheek in getting to this point. It was all about getting ahead of the competition. The deal was hammered out quickly and generously and the three of them shook on it there and then. At which she produced a bottle of champagne she’d brought with her – just in case. Once again Hannah marvelled at her front.
Still it was good stuff. And had an instant effect. Hannah could take her drink, so it must have been the adrenalin rush of success making her feel light-headed. By the looks of things, Sandy was feeling the same way too.
Helen stood in front of Whittaker’s desk like an errant schoolgirl. She knew why she’d been summoned. He knew she knew. But still he took his time, leafing through page after page of the Evening News, before folding it up and placing it carefully on the table, the front page facing up.
‘CLUELESS!’
The headline screamed out at her. She had read Emilia Garanita’s article first thing this morning and knew immediately that it would cause ripples up and down the chain. It had a few salient details about Amy and Sam, and Ben and Peter, and a couple of sketchy pointers on Martina. But it led on the release of Mickery and the suspension of ‘a senior officer working on the current investigation’. It looked bad. Helen guessed that Whittaker had already had his ear badly bent by his superiors, such was the look of thunder he’d given her when she entered.
‘I’ll call her,’ Helen found herself saying. ‘See if I can get her to call off the dogs.’
‘Bit late for that, isn’t it? Besides, there’s no need. I’ve called her myself. She’ll be here in five minutes.’
Emilia entered the room, looking like the cat that had got the cream. She took her time deciding between tea and coffee, indulging in small talk and so on. She had been summoned, anointed, and she was clearly going to enjoy herself.
‘Do you have anything to add, Detective Superintendent? Do you still have faith in Inspector Grace’s leadership of the investigation? Have there been any developments?’
‘I’m not here to talk about the case. I’m here to talk about you,’ Whittaker fired back brusquely.
‘I don’t follow -’
‘It’s time you backed off this one. Your interventions are misleading and unhelpful and I want them to stop. No more articles until there is something genuine to report. Get me?’