WINNER TAKES ALL

DI OLIVIA AUSTIN - BOOK FORTY-FIVE

NIC ROBERTS

Copyright © 2025 by Nic Roberts

‘Winner Takes All’

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Some may be used for parody purposes.

Any resemblance to events, locales, business establishments, or actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

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PROLOGUE

He was sure that the next blow would kill him.

He’d taken many punches in his time, and more importantly, learned how to take them. He’d never been knocked out. Knocked down, definitely. But never knocked out.

He’d gone into the ring barely giving his opponent any attention. They had a slight build to them, making him wonder what someone like that was doing in a boxing ring.

But he was being paid good money for the show, and he planned to earn every penny of it.

He launched in with the first few punches, hoping the smaller man would go down and admit defeat. He didn’t want to cause any permanent damage.

But the man refused to go down. It was like the blows didn’t even faze him.

“Come on, you little shit, don’t make this any harder on yourself,” he said through gritted teeth, trying to make himself heard over the roaring of the crowd. But his opponent didn’t seem to be listening to him. Instead, he locked eyes with his opponent who gazed back with a predatory look. He looked like a coiled viper waiting to strike. It unnerved him no end.

Then, the opponent lashed out with another punch, knocking him back. But it wasn’t the punch that’d surprised him. Granted, he probably should have seen it coming.

It was the sheer force behind it that shocked him. Like having a train slammed into his face.

He staggered back in surprise.

The lad must have put all his weight into that punch.

He barely had time to recover before the younger man came at him again, this time with a blow straight to the gut. He felt the wind knocked out of him and staggered away.

He briefly locked eyes with the crowd, wondering if they were catching on to the change in circumstances.

But instead, they were all shouting and jeering, seemingly oblivious. They’d paid for blood, and now they were getting it.

Then the younger man headbutted him hard on the head, and he looked to his manager, hoping he might decide to call an end to the fight or at least recognise what was going on. But there was no concern his end.

The younger man had worked himself into a frenzy and managed to get him onto the ground. Every time he tried to get back up, a foot pressed him back down hard.

He tried to force himself up, but his whole body felt like there was an extra weight attached to it.

The younger man was now kicking him repeatedly, every blow filled with more and more fury, making him jerk on the ground. He felt like his lungs were on fire and coughed up blood, surprised by the amount.

He mustered enough strength to look up at his opponent, trying to make a silent plea of mercy. But the man no longer seemed to be paying attention to the world around him. He was like a man possessed.

A sense of finality was starting to creep in. He found himself no longer thinking about winning the fight or even getting through the night. Instead, he wondered whether anyone would ever find out what’d happened to him.

A lot of precautions had been taken that night to make sure that nobody knew about the event taking place. There’d be nothing on social media. He wondered what his family would make of his disappearance. Would they just assumed he’d abandoned them? Or would they start pulling the threads?

In some ways, it would have been better if they thought the worst of him. Better that than to go looking. The type of people surrounding him, the people who would be there to see him die… they would sweep it all under the carpet.

He tried to console himself with a mental image of his son playing on the football pitch at a local game, but the vision was punctuated with the blows raining down on him, and he couldn’t focus.

Slowly, the world turned black, and a sharp blow across the skull was the last thing he ever felt.

1

Five hours earlier…

As Olivia drove to the location, the biggest feeling coursing through her wasn’t tension or fear. It was exasperation. Why do people always have to be so fucking dramatic?

For the last month, Newquay Police Station had been plagued by an accusation that one of the officers had not only slept with a witness in protective custody but that she had also carried his child. Superintendent Collins had launched a widespread investigation into all the officers and so far had been unable to find anything, meaning that either there was no truth in the allegation, or the culprit was very good at staying hidden.

Liv had reached out to disgraced journalist and aspiring private detective Katie Gibson for help in finding the woman. Katie had clearly been able to make it work because Liv was now on her way to meet with the woman.

She hadn’t been able to tell any of her colleagues about it, and once again, she was questioning her judgment on the matter. But Katie had been clear that the woman would have walked away if she got even a hint of other people involved.

She parked outside the building, just as a call came in from Archie. She let it go to voicemail and put it away, trying to work out what kind of lie she’d spin later that day.

Just before she got to the front door, Katie stepped out. “Did you come alone?” she asked, looking up and down the street behind the inspector.

“No, I’ve got the entire service tucked away in the local off-license,” Liv muttered sarcastically. “Of course, I came alone. Didn’t want to risk scaring her off.”

“I should tell you, she’s feeling quite fragile at the moment,” Katie cautioned. “So, try not to push her too much. Otherwise, she’ll clam up and you won’t get anything out of her.”

“Has she made any demands?” Liv asked slowly, knowing that in some cases where there was a love child involved, there was an opportunity for a cash grab.

“Only that she’ll talk to you and you alone,” Katie replied, suddenly looking exhausted. “Believe me, you have no idea how much sweet-talking I had to do to get her to meet, but she says she will only meet with you.”

“Did she give any indication why?” Liv asked, wondering if the witness would have been uncomfortable talking with a male officer.

“I think she trusts you,” Katie suggested. “I made a point of saying to her that you were one of the few people in the police who wouldn’t throw her under the bus.”

Liv felt she was walking on thin ice and that she’d have to painstakingly choose every word she said. “I’m not going to arrest her if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Katie led Liv into the building, which looked much like a rented office space that hadn’t been used for some time. Liv had all these images in her head swirling around about the type of person she was going to see. Age, hair colour, taste in clothing…

But the woman now sitting in a chair looking and the looking at the doorway wasn't glamorous or carrying an air of confidence. Instead, she looked like she'd had the life sucked out of her. She was hunched over on the seat and had her arms wrapped around herself in an attempted hug, desperate for comfort.

“Liv, this is Georgia,” Katie said slowly, closing the door behind them. “She’s twenty-seven years old and gave birth to a baby girl five months ago.”

“Katie, while I appreciate you stepping into the role of translator, I’m sure Georgia can speak for herself,” Liv said, not wanting there to be any confusion on anyone’s part. “Is that all right, Georgia?”

The younger woman looked to Katie, as though asking for permission, before nodding her head. But then she asked, “This conversation isn’t being recorded, is it?”

“No, not at all,” Liv admitted, knowing she’d probably have to follow this all up at some point, but she needed to play ball for now to keep the young woman’s trust.

“Where is the baby?” Liv asked, resisting the urge to look for a squalling infant.

“She’s somewhere safe,” Georgia said slowly, her eyes on the floor. “I don’t want to drag her into this mess.” Maybe you should have thought about that before you started accusing one of my colleagues.

Liv suddenly felt tense, thinking of all the men she’d worked alongside, friends that she’d die for. Please God, don’t let it be Andrew or Tim or Archie.

“It started nearly two years ago,” Georgia stated, flexing her fingers as Liv took a seat opposite her at one of the unused desks. “I was working at a local café. I was coming back from my shift, and I saw these guys beating up another guy. I tried to call out for them to leave him alone, but then they turned on me and started chasing after me. I hid from them in one of the toilets at a pub. I was so scared thinking that at any moment, they were going to come in there and find me.”

Liv tried to remember if she’d read any reports about a youth being assaulted. “Did you report it to the police?” she asked.

“I did.” She nodded. “I came in and told someone at reception what I’d seen, and they escorted me to a waiting room where they said a PC would come and take my statement.”

Liv felt her gut tightened up. I guess Tim and Archie are in the clear because they were in CID at the time. But please don’t let it be Andrew. She hated the thought of including one of her closest friends in the suspect pool, but she knew as a detective she couldn’t afford to rule anyone out, especially over a secret like this.

“So, the PC came into the room…”

“Did you get his name?” Liv jumped in, eager to clear Andrew from suspicion.

“I don’t really want to say names just yet,” Georgia insisted, and noticing Liv’s aggravated expression, she said, “I don’t want to risk it getting back to him. I’m trying not to take any more risks than necessary.”

“Okay…” Liv said through gritted teeth, realizing she’d have to do a lot of work to get Georgia to open up more in the future. “So, what did the PC say?”

“He asked me some details about the boys who’d I’d seen, asked if I could give any physical descriptions. I was able to give him a few details, but I was too far away to give any specific IDs. He looked like he knew what I was talking about and told me to wait there while he made a few calls. A few minutes later, he told me that these guys were part of some up-and-coming gang. Vicious little bastards who had racked up quite the body count in just under two years.”

Liv could sense a certain level of bullshit in the story. If there was a ragtag band of arseholes going around Newquay, I would have heard of it by now. But she didn’t interject, wanting to hear where the story was headed. “Go on.”

“So, he tells me that chances were it wouldn’t take too long for them to find out who I was and that I was going to have to go into protective custody,” she explained, her hands curling into fists. “He told me he’d spoken to his superiors and he had me moved to a safe house. He said that I couldn’t have any contact with anyone, my job or my family, because it would put them at risk of being discovered. Had to give him my mobile and everything.”

“How long were you in the safe house for?” Liv asked, though the prolonged silence that followed suggested it might’ve been more than a week or two.

And tellingly, Georgia didn’t reply straight away. “He brought me food and books, even offered to get some things for me from my flat, like clothes and toiletries. For a while, he was my only port of call.”

“Did you ever see any other officers during this period?” Liv asked, wondering if this cover-up was much wider than she anticipated.

“No, just him,” Georgia said, and though her tone sounded deflated, there was a ghost of elation in her voice, as if looking back on fonder memories through a darkened lens. “He was really nice and attentive to me…”

“It’s very easy to make yourself look like the best option when there’s no competition,” Katie suggested with a layer of disgust.

Georgia shrugged, clearly having not come to terms with her life choices. “Well, sometimes when I’d be getting homesick… he’d comfort me.” Both women present knew exactly what she was referring to but kept quiet, wanting to give Georgia the space to tell her story. “I knew it was wrong, but… it also felt so right,” she exclaimed, sighing happily. “I felt like I was at the centre of his world, like there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me. I felt like I didn’t need anyone else in my world.”

2

“He took advantage of you,” Liv exclaimed, unwilling to sugarcoat it. “A serving police officer having an impromptu relationship with a witness in protective custody would be instant grounds for disciplinary action, maybe even dismissal.”

“I’m not even sure if those terms apply,” Katie added, who was writing everything down. “I promise you, Georgia, you’re in safe hands, and it’s really good that you’re talking about this. I don’t suppose you can tell us how long you were kept in isolation?”

Georgia pursed her lips. “Something like two months, give or take.”

Liv’s jaw dropped open at the revelation. She couldn’t imagine what it’d been like for Georgia. She’d heard of cases of people kept in solitary confinement for a few days and knowing they were at least getting out. If someone had told Georgia that she’d be spending two months in that place, would it have made things easier or harder to endure?

“After the first few occasions between us… he stopped turning up so frequently,” Georgia explained, shuffling in her seat. “There’d once been six days between visits, but I’d only been given enough food for three days… so I had to ration it out. Because when I tried to leave the house, I found that the door was locked from the outside. Not just that, but all the windows were closed. There was no way I could get out. That was when I realised something was going on, and when he came for his visit, I talked to him about it.”

“And how did that go?” Liv asked, dreading the response.

“He went ballistic, told me that I owed everything to him, and he threw me to the ground saying that he was the only friend I had in life. And if I were clever enough, I’d do whatever I had to, to keep him on my side.” Georgia instinctively placed a hand over her throat, and Liv could easily imagine the PC’s throat clasped around it.

“I knew then that I had to get away from him,” the young woman continued. “But I knew he was never going to let me go. He enjoyed having his new toy to play with. So, I used that to my advantage. One day, he came to stay over, and we… you know.” She looked away in shame. “I waited until he was in the shower washing himself off, threw on the first set of clothes that I could find, grabbed his keys out of his trouser pocket, and rushed downstairs, out the front door, locking it behind me.

“When I came out onto the footpath, I realised how much time had passed since I’d been outside. Then I heard this thud, and I turned around I could see the door threatening to come loose, so I just ran. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing, but all I knew was I had to get as far away from that house as possible. I came to a bus stop just as the bus was pulling out. I didn’t have any change for the bus, but the driver clearly must have known that something was wrong because she told me to forget about it and have a seat. I looked out of the back of the bus, and I could see him trying to keep up. His face looked so angry, and I swear if I hadn’t made it to that bus, he probably would have killed me.”

Liv exhaled deeply, not realising how long she’d been holding her breath. She’d spent the last few weeks wondering whether the story had been a hoax and was disappointed that it wasn’t, if only because of the sheer hell Georgia had been forced to endure. “I just want to say how brave you are for having the presence of mind to get through that. That must have been horrible for you.”

“It still is,” Georgia nodded in agreement. “I still wake up in the middle of the night and expect him to be standing over me.”

“Did you report it to the police?” Katie asked, jotting down notes.

“Of course, I didn’t,” Georgia replied bitterly. “I was scared of him. And I knew it would be a case of his word against mine. And not only that, but all of the… relations we had were purely consensual. I honestly did think about going to the station straight off the bus, but I know enough about the law to know how hard it is to prove coercive behaviour. And plenty of women have already had their names dragged through the mud. Barely anyone walks away from that with their lives intact. I was a waitress in a crummy cafe, and he was a serving police officer. Who was more likely to be believed?”

Liv wanted to protest the point, but she could understand how the lack of evidence would provide no end of barriers.

“In the end, the best thing I could do was to get as far away from Newquay as possible. I went to stay in Dorset for a while with a friend from university. I tried to tell her as much as I could without going into the full story, and I tried to put it behind me… but then a few weeks later… I missed my period.”

Liv could tell exactly where this was headed. “And he was the father?”

“Well, I don’t make a habit of sleeping around,” the young woman insisted, sounding insulted. “I almost had an abortion. But then I thought more and more of the idea of having a child, and it grew on me. So, I decided to keep the pregnancy going. And I had a little girl.”

There were tears coming as the woman was able to reclaim something positive back from the traumatic experience. She reached into her purse and took out a photograph of a little baby girl wrapped up in a light-blue blanket. “She looks lovely,” Liv remarked, imagining how Georgia’s heart must have melted at the sight of the infant.

“I called her Lorna,” Georgia stated. “I left her with a friend. I didn’t want her caught up in all of this. It’s the longest period I’ve ever been away from her.”

Liv tried to comprehend the enormity of the sacrifice she’d made.

“So, why did you decide to come back?” Katie asked, unable to keep her journalistic instincts at bay. “From the sound of things, he wasn’t able to find you. You were home free. You could have got on with your life.”

“I thought about it,” Georgia admitted. “I knew the kind of thing I’d be going back to, but I couldn’t get him out of my head. And I couldn’t help wondering if he planned on doing the same thing to another woman. I know I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knew what kind of man he was and didn’t act on it.”

“So, you sent in the message about the witness protection?” Katie asked, checking over her own timeline. “I’ve got to ask, why not come clean with the full story?”

“Because I figured that he would know it was me and just find a way to bat it back,” she explained. “But I thought that if I sent in the message about Lorna, then the police would start digging, and hopefully, they’d be able to find something he was hiding.”

“With respect, Georgia,” Liv started diplomatically. “It’s not like we had a lot to go on.”

“I know,” she said. “But I couldn’t take it any further without him getting wise.”

“He’s probably pissing himself right now,” Katie suggested optimistically.

But Liv wasn’t so sure. She’d personally interviewed many of the PCs based around Newquay station, and she figured that unless they had a bulletproof poker face, the accusation had been little more than that. “One thing I’m not clear on… How did Katie find you?” While she didn’t doubt the former journalist’s abilities, she was surprised by how expertly she’d delivered the goods.

“It was a simple matter of looking at infants born in the United Kingdom over the past eighteen months that didn’t have a birth certificate and would have previously been residents of Newquay,” Katie explained with a humble shrug. “You’d be surprised how much that narrowed it down.”

Liv nodded slowly, impressed. She’ll definitely make a good private investigator.

“So, where do we go from here?” Georgia asked, tucking away the baby picture.

“What we need is for you to give us the name of the copper who had…” Liv struggled to find the right word. Kidnapped? Coerced? “Who took you to the safe house. I recognise as of right now, we don’t have any evidence. But if we know the name of the officer, then we can start looking for red flags and build a case against him.”

Georgia looked hesitant, clearly having anticipated every worst case scenario.

“Trust me, Georgia,” Katie exclaimed gently. “You can trust Liv. She won’t let anything happen to you. You can stay with me. I’m not exactly Little Miss Popular at the moment.”

Liv wasn’t too sure about the pairing but couldn’t think of a better alternative.

“His name is Robert Lister,” she said finally.

Liv allowed herself to feel a moment of relief, knowing that Andrew Shaw was now in the clear. She’d met PC Lister a few times, and he seemed like he was quite strait-laced. Didn’t seem to have many vices. But clearly, there was a monster lurking beneath the surface. Now she’d just have to think about how to catch him.

I’m not going to let some scumbag PC get the better of me.

3

She looked over her shoulder, once again conscious of colliding with something in front of her, but she was convinced that she was being followed. They wouldn’t be so blatant as to chase her down the street. They’d probably pull up in a car and bundle her into the boot. No cars were anywhere near the sidewalk, and she couldn’t see anyone walking close by. Night had only just settled over the town.

She thought about pulling into a nearby chippy and hiding amongst the customers, but she could only stay there for so long.

So instead, she tried to focus on looking as conspicuous as possible, walking down the street with her hands shoved firmly in her pockets and wondering what the hell had happened. How had it all gone wrong?

There’d been a lot of money, and she was sure that people would come looking for it. She thought about the last guy who’d tried to make an easy payday.

There was one option over to her, and it would have the irony of keeping her safe while at the same time painting a massive target on her back.

Liv walked back into the station, having left Georgia to go home with Katie. There was a time when leaving a protected witness with Katie would be like leaving her with a poisonous snake. But she trusted Katie had good intentions and would keep her safe.

She had a few other concerns, namely how she would broach the subject to Superintendent Collins. They needed proper evidence to nail PC Lister, and she didn’t want to give him the chance to destroy anything incriminating.

But Liv knew they could only keep it quiet for so long. The investigation had been running for a month, and they were no closer to finding the father. If Liv hadn’t been in touch with Katie, she’d still be running a wild goose chase.

She went to the machine to make herself a coffee, feeling she’d need something strong to get her to the end of the day.

“Going all right, ma’am?” a male voice asked as Liv jumped out of her skin. PC Robert Lister was standing next to her, holding a health drink. She took in his mop of blonde hair, his green eyes, and a face that suggested a laidback, easy-going demeanour. If she were still on the market, she probably wouldn’t have minded getting to know him better.

“Yes, everything’s okay,” she replied, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

“I guess everyone’s feeling a little worn down,” he replied with a crooked smile, leaving her wondering how he could speak so casually having kept a young woman imprisoned for several months and fathered a child with her. She remembered when she first interviewed him about next of kin. Looking back, he’d concealed his shock remarkably well.

“You want to take it easy,” he said, taking a swig of the green liquid. “You’ll wear yourself out at this rate.” Even now, despite him being a very junior rank, he still carried an air of confidence, talking to her like they were equals. She could see how Georgia had been taken in by that confidence. He then walked off with nothing more to say. Liv fought the urge to take her mug and hurl it at his head.

But she composed herself and instead curled her fingers tightly around the mug.

She knew then that she couldn’t solve this by herself. She needed a second head, and there was one man whose calming nature would balance out her volatile mindset.

“It’s a good thing he’s not standing in front of me, or I’d rip his fucking head off,” Detective Sergeant Archie Elmhurst exclaimed once Liv was finished telling him the whole story. “I just can’t believe he got away with it.”

“Oh, he won’t. I’m going to make sure of that,” Liv insisted. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Well, what are you going to do?” Archie asked. “We can’t make it too obvious we’re onto him. He might be a PC, but I don’t want to make the mistake of underestimating him. If anything, he’ll probably have a better idea of how to get rid of evidence.”

Liv considered this. “I’m going to put PC Hershel alongside him for the next week. See if that turns something up.” Diana Hershel was one of the most competent PCs she’d ever worked with, and Liv knew she’d get some good results.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Archie asked, prompting a silent glare from Liv to explain himself. “It’s just, we don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“DS Elmhurst, Diana is not some frightened girl who is easily led astray. She’s a competent police officer who can spot bullshit a mile off.”

“Well then, I’ll have a word with her and see if we can sort something out,” he suggested, knowing better than to question her decision-making.

Before they could say anything else, DS Tim Harris came into the room. “Liv, there’s someone in reception. You’re not going to believe what they’ve got to say.”

The woman wore a green jacket with the hood pulled up, and Liv was gagging to ask her to pull it down to get a proper look at her.

“What’s your name, miss?” Archie asked, getting her a cup of tea and gently sliding it over the table to her.

She took the paper cup with trembling hands, trying to steady her grip as she held it to her lips. Liv was sure they were going to get showered in tea by the end of the talk.

“My name’s Ella,” she started, looking down at the table. “I’m here about my boyfriend Jay.” She gulped and started breathing heavily, holding her hand to her chest.

“Take your time,” Liv offered kindly, wondering if they needed a doctor on standby.

“I think he might be dead,” she finally blurted out, so quickly that it felt like one word.

“How do you mean?” Liv asked, looking the woman over. There was no sign of blood on her clothing, and from what little she could see of Ella’s face, there were no bruises. Somehow, this doesn’t feel like a domestic incident.

“He’s been going out a few times,” Ella stated, looking up and allowing the detectives to get a look at blue eyes and blonde hair styled in a pixie cut. “He hasn’t got a steady job, always changing from one business venture to another, but he always managed to bring back enough money to pay the bills. I’d ask him where he got it from, but he always shut me down and told me not to worry about it. I thought it had to be an affair or drugs. So tonight, I followed him, making sure he didn’t see me. And believe me, I would have rather he was balls-deep in some other girl than what he was actually doing.”

“And what was this?” Liv asked, instantly clocking it wasn’t legal.

“Unlicensed boxing,” she replied, stunning the detectives into silence. “It wasn’t like any of the shit you see on the TV. It was really brutal shit. It was like seeing two animals going at it with each other. Jay was pummelling all these men, and the crowd around him were jeering him on, shaking money around for bets. It was horrible.”

“So, why do you think he’s dead?” Archie queried.

“Because the other guy in the ring started beating Jay senseless. Actually, beating him to death. And everyone else could see what was happening because they all shut up once Jay didn’t get up off the floor. I don’t even know how the other guy did it.”

“And then what?” Liv asked, wondering if they could still catch the people involved. By her reckoning, the fight would have taken place within the past ninety minutes.

“People started crowding around him, talking about trying to cover it up, and one of the managers talked about locking everybody in the building to make sure that they got their stories straight. I snuck out before they could seal the exits. I worried that they might know about me because of Jay, and I thought that if I went home, they’d be there waiting for me. I didn’t know where else to go, so I figured the police would be the best place.”

Liv and Archie looked at each other, weighing up the story. It sounded unbelievable on paper. “I’m guessing you haven’t heard about any underground fights taking place?”

“Nothing like this has passed my desk,” he replied with a shrug.

She looked to Ella, who seemed wiped out from having told her story. Part of Liv wanted to go home and curl up next to Dean on the sofa. She’d heard enough trauma for one night, but she knew she couldn’t rest with a potential murderer out there.

“Ella, do you think you can show us where the fight took place?”

4

Ella had taken a bit of persuading to go to the venue, but Liv had assured her that no harm would come to her. They’d taken some of the uniformed PCs with them, many of whom weren’t too happy about being called out near the end of the working day. Liv struggled to see PC Lister standing next to PC Hershel, the sight of him making her skin crawl. Still, better to have him where I can see him.

The building was an old gym that seemed to be on its last legs. They stood outside, looking for any sign of life, but nothing emerged.

“Are you absolutely sure this is the place?” Archie asked, turning to Ella in the car.

“Trust me, I’m sure,” Ella responded, her voice steelier.

“DC Shaw, you’re with me,” Liv commanded as they exited the car, approached the front, and looked up at the gym.

“I used to come here for the occasional workout,” Andrew remarked, walking through the main entrance as he had done several times before.

“How many people do you reckon would have been able to fit into this place?” Liv asked as she allowed Andrew to guide them through.

“If I was to guess, I’d say twenty to thirty, maximum,” Andrew replied as they came into a large space lined with gym equipment.

The room could have easily fit a small conference. Liv looked around the scene for any signs of disturbance.

“How long do you think it would have taken to shift all the gear and then put it back?” Liv asked, looking at the position of some of the treadmills and noticing that one was placed slightly ajar compared to the others and there were scuff marks on the ground floor.

“Got to say,” DC Shaw observed, “if anything was happening here, they did a hell of a job tidying up after themselves. You never would have guessed anyone was here.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Liv noted, her boot stopping just over a smear on the ground. She shone a light, and it was clearly red. “Get forensics in here. We’re going to need a luminol sweep.” She stepped back and noticed a faint boot print on the floor, and as she followed the trail, several more became apparent.

“You don’t think the guy could still be alive?” Andrew asked. “I mean, his girlfriend was watching from a distance. And she did break out before anyone could stop her.”

“Then where is he?” Liv asked, suddenly considering that somewhere on the premises, there could be a corpse stashed away. “How well do you know the owner?”

“Grumpy fuck who forever regrets missing out on fame and glory,” Andrew replied.

“Well, you’re going to have to brace yourself for a bit of attitude,” Liv cautioned. “I want him down here now. Someone was able to walk in here like they owned the place, and I want to know who he was stupid enough to give the keys to.”

Twenty minutes later, the forensic team were busy testing the area for blood, and Andrew was escorting the disgruntled gym owner onto the premises. “What the fuck do you all think you’re doing?” he asked, a man in his mid-forties with thinning brown hair, wearing a tracksuit that looked like it was far too small for him.

“Detective Austin,” Liv replied, bringing out her ID card and deliberately ignoring the irate greeting. “We have reason to believe that an illegal fight was arranged on these premises and were wondering if you might know anything about it.”

“Why the hell would I know anything about that?” the manager asked indignantly.

“Because this location was pointed out as a venue, and when we arrived here, there was no sign of forced entry, so either we’re looking for a master locksmith or they would have been given access beforehand.”

The manager folded his arms. “Well, I can assure you it wasn’t anything to do with me. I keep the only set of keys on me.” He sounded both self-assured and deluded, and Liv figured the buck wasn’t going to stop with him.

“There’s no chance that the keys could have been cloned or there are spare sets for other members of staff?” Andrew chimed in, hoping some familiarity would give him some leeway.

“No!” the manager snapped, clearly hoping his outburst would put a stop to the questions. “Does this place look like it’s been used for anything other than a gym?”

Just as he finished ranting, one of the forensic officers walked over to Liv. “Boss, you’re going to want to take a look at this.” Liv followed him and stopped in her tracks.

The luminol sweep lit up the gym floor with large patches of white where blood had been cleaned away. “Hard to tell whether enough blood was lost for it to be fatal, but somebody definitely had a nasty altercation here,” he confirmed.

“And I’m pretty sure he didn’t get that from doing push-ups,” Andrew remarked grimly.

“I had nothing to do with that,” the manager insisted, holding his hands up. “I swear.”

“No one’s saying you did,” Liv assured him. “But something happened here tonight, and we need to find out how, why, and most importantly, who.”

The forensic officers continued going through the room, checking for fingerprints, anything that could lead to a positive identification. “Smart place to meet, if you think about it. If any fingerprints do pop up, chances are they’ll belong to one of the gym members. Hell, at this rate, you’d probably see my fingerprints pop up.”

Liv suppressed a groan at the idea of picking up fingerprints from every visitor. “We’re going to need a list of staff members, anyone who might have had access.”

“I’ll see if I can put something together,” the manager grumbled, not liking the situation one bit but feeling that it was in his best interest to play ball for now.

“Keep looking for anything forensic, and see what you can find,” Liv instructed, starting to walk out of the building. Then she stopped, treading on something on the ground.

“Guys, you might want to bag this!” she called out, and two technicians walked over to her, gazing down at the tooth lying barely visible next to the weights.

“Be interesting to know who it belongs to,” Liv said as the tooth was bagged. “We’ll need to have a look at some dental records to narrow down the search.”

Convinced that the forensic team had everything in hand, she walked outside to see several PCs combing the area.

She steeled herself as PC Hershel walked up to her alongside PC Lister. Diana had already been told of the crimes Robert was involved with and that she was expected to keep a close eye on him. Clearly, she was doing a better job of holding in her rage than Olivia.

“We’ve done the door-to-door, and some of the neighbours have reported seeing a large group of people walking out at a hurried pace,” PC Lister blurted out immediately before Diana had the chance to get a word in. The guy loves the sound of his own voice.

“You didn’t get any positive IDs from anyone?” she asked, a long shot in the dark.

“You think a bunch of half-asleep neighbours are going to pick out a group of people huddled in a group in the early hours of the evening?” Lister asked sardonically.

“Don’t get smart with me, PC Lister,” Liv suddenly snapped, taking them both by surprise. She was finding it difficult to even breathe the same air as him, let alone run an investigation with him. “Look,” she sighed deeply, holding her hand at her head. “Any information—where they might have been seen before, the direction they were headed in— any of this will be relevant.” She then walked away as quickly as possible, trying to put as much distance between herself and the corrupt copper as possible.

Archie approached her, having seen the whole exchange. “Nice going, Olivia. You spoke with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.”

“I can’t help it,” Olivia said snappily. “How am I supposed to work with that guy knowing what I know?”

“I don’t know, but you’re going to have to find a way,” Archie insisted. “If you want to find the nails for his coffin, you’ve got to stop snatching all the nails for yourself. Diana knows what she’s doing. She will avoid saying anything to get him suspicious, and she’ll report back to you. For now, we need to focus on finding out what happened at this gym.”

Liv looked around the neighbourhood. “We need to have a look for anything that would have gone into the organising. Chances are these fights could be a recurring thing, so there may be other venues that have been used.”

“Well, I don’t know how much more we can do tonight,” Archie noted. “Everyone will have gone home, and I’ll bet they’ve already got their cover stories worked out.”

5

Diana had never missed her partner more than in that moment.

Andrew Shaw had brought a fun side to their stints as PCs, and his levity often got her through some of the toughest days. No matter who she was going up against, she always felt like he had her back.

But he was over with CID now, and though they still hung out socially, she missed the daily grind… especially now that she was partnered with a deviant monster.

Liv had briefed her about Robert Lister and what he’d done to Georgia Madsen. Liv needed proper evidence in order to build a case against him and was entrusting Diana with keeping a close eye on him. At first, Diana had been flattered that DI Austin had entrusted her with such an important mission, but at the same time, she felt a little resentful at having to manage a shift with a man she now knew to be repellent.

There was definitely something off about him. He’d been very cordial with her, making jokes and picking up drinks. She’d been taken aback by the health drink he’d scavenged for himself, not quite able to equate a health nut and a sociopath in the same vein. In fact, it was only through the mental comparison with Andrew that she was able to pick up on a lot of the differences. He tried to joke with her a few times, but whereas Andrew had a fairly spontaneous wit, Robert’s jokes felt a lot more rehearsed, like he’d planned them and spoke in front of a mirror before choosing to drop them into a conversation. And whenever he smiled, it never quite reached his eyes.

And even though she was a more experienced PC, he seemed to automatically take charge of any scene, driving the car and being the first to speak to any witnesses, barely even acknowledging her presence to the extent that Diana wondered what the point of her even being there was.

She did wonder if she was only looking at him through a darker lens due to the knowledge she possessed.

They’d just finished speaking to all the people in the vicinity and he offered to drive her home, something that she was reluctant to accept, not liking the idea of him knowing exactly where she lived, and it would also run the risk of putting Clara at risk. But she knew he’d get suspicious if she didn’t, and it ultimately came down to the fear of him offending against the fear of discomfort. In the end, the former won out.

“So, I hear that you’re married…” he started, seemingly making small talk.

“Yes, me and Clara have been married for just over a year now,” she stated, finding comfort in the memory of their blissful day.

“So, you’ve always batted for the other side?” he asked, and Diana felt herself flinched. She hated it when she felt like she had to justify her sexuality, especially to boorish men who came out with crap like, ‘maybe you just haven’t found the right bloke.’ It’d worn down over the years, but she still had to fend off the occasional ignorant comment.

“Pretty much, yes,” she replied in a noncommittal tone.

“Clara seems nice,” he noted, though Diana couldn’t for the life of her remember a single time when Lister and her wife would have interacted with one another.

“Yeah, she’s very much my soulmate.” Wanting to get off the subject of Clara, Diana turned to him and asked, “What about you? You got anyone waiting for you at home?”

On reflection, it wasn’t the smartest question to ask given what she knew, but she was curious to see how he’d cover himself.

“I did have someone a while back,” he said blandly. “I wanted to be her whole world, but I think I was more into the relationship than she was. She took off without another word and broke my heart. I’m still not sure I’m over it.”

The way he spoke was unsettling. It didn’t sound like an ex-lover mourning over a lost period of his life but a guy who’d been wronged by someone and hadn’t got over the insult. Diana couldn’t believe he had the nerve to feel heartbroken.

They pulled up outside the house Diana shared with Clara, and she walked inside, conscious of his eyes bearing into her back and not feeling safe until the warmth of Clara’s arms were enveloping her. How she wished she could say no to people more often.

Liv was conscious of the rule she was about to break.

Dean’s mother Marianna, who had been staying with them since the Christmas period, had gone into town for a local bingo night, leaving the two lovers some time to themselves. Recently, they’d tried to establish a rule—no work talks at home and to leave all cases, suspects and victims at the station. But despite their best efforts, the events of the day always ended up slipping into the conversation. Are we workaholics?

She knew she couldn’t keep something like this from Dean. Not when they shared a life together. So, she told him about the case she was working with Archie and Diana.

She thought back on her promise to keep it all quiet for Georgia’s sake. At this rate, the entire station is going to know by the end of the week.

“You know, the next time you get round to updating your CV, you should put ‘professional martyr’ on there somewhere,” Dean said fondly as he kissed her forehead. “I’d ask you to let Collins handle it, but I can’t help feeling like that’s out of the question.”

“I promised her I’d keep this close to the chest,” she responded. “That woman trusted me with her story, and I know that if this thing goes to court, he is going to be pulling out all the stops to make her look like the crazy one. I’ve met some of those prosecutors. They’re skilled in tearing women down. It’s disgraceful.” She had a special hatred in her heart for defence attorneys, making out female victims to be sex-obsessed, deluded, or just plain vindictive while forced to relive the trauma all over again.

“Maybe you should let me handle this one,” Dean suggested. She started to speak, but he put up a hand to silence her. “No, just hear me out. You’ve got a lot on your plate as is. You’re already Senior Investigating Officer for the gym death, and you’ve not got a body or a murder weapon.”

“Based on what I’ve heard, the murder weapon was a pair of fists,” she said bluntly.

“Either way, you’re going to spread yourself thin, and you will risk making mistakes,” he noted. “It’s nothing against you. Most detectives are going to have trouble spinning multiple plates. I agree that PC Lister needs sorting, but unless you plan on placing a tracker on the man…” Liv gave him a knowing look as though she was seriously considering the idea. “You can only do so much. It won’t be possible to get the result you need.”

“I promised Georgia I’d only involve so many people,” she responded.

“And I can respect that. But how will you explain to Collins that you’ve known this information for a while and sat on it?” he asked. “I don’t know how you’ll talk your way out.”

“I figured that I’d just wait until I could deliver a result before springing it on him,” she said confidently, falling back on the ‘ends-justifies-the-means’ mentality that’d got her through most of her career.

“Well, thinking realistically, I’m going to suggest… and I’m assuming you’re still in contact with her?” Dean asked and when she nodded, he continued, “That you keep contact with her. And whatever information she tells you, you can pass on to me. I can keep in touch with Diana and make sure she knows what she’s getting into, and more importantly, what to look for. Unless you plan on taking on the whole world singlehandedly, you’re going to need some support. And this way, you can focus all your energies on the gym case.”

Liv’s first instinct was to protest that she could handle it, but Dean knew her better than anyone, and she could already feel the strain of managing two cases at once. Having heard Georgia’s harrowing story, she wanted to ensure the woman got closure.

“Okay,” she decided. “I’ll have a word with Georgia tomorrow and let her know about a few things I’ll need moving forward and pass it on to you.” Just saying those words, she could feel like a weight had been lifted.

“Just try not to take all the credit when it pays off,” he joked lightly, setting down the wine glass, leaving both hands primed and ready for soothing her.

“I honestly don’t know how to thank you,” she said, stroking his dark hair.

“Oh, I can think of many ways you can later on,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss.

She allowed the lustful sensation to hang around her, keeping it at bay until they could get to the bedroom. She allowed herself to be led to the door where it was closed behind her and she began finding comfort with the man she loved and who made her entire world possible.

6

After Liv and Dean had set off, she put in a call to Katie. “How’s the investigation progressing?” Katie asked, and Liv knew that Georgia was listening in the background.

“I’ve got a PC who is keeping a close eye on him,” she responded, taking care not to mention Dean’s new role in the investigation. “But it would help if we could go public with the investigation.” And do away with all this cloak and dagger.

“No, not until there’s something more solid,” Georgia came through on the call.

“Well, there’s something you can give us to get the ball rolling,” Liv suggested. “Regarding the house you were kept in. To the best of your knowledge, would you say that’s the house that he lived in?” It hadn’t taken much to find out the officer’s home address, but Liv couldn’t be sure that was the same place.

“If it was, he barely lived in it,” she replied. “There was barely any furniture or personal touches. It does enough but little more than that.”

“So, if you can give me the address, I can at least scope it out,” Liv paused, hating herself for what she was about to say but knowing that they needed to start moving forward. “We need to find out if he’s done this to anyone else.” She winced, knowing that was exactly why Georgia had come back to Newquay.

“Okay,” she replied and spelt out the address. To Liv’s complete lack of surprise, it was not the address that had been listed on PC Lister’s file.

“Thank you, we’ll see if that leads anywhere,” Liv replied before hanging up the call and taking the information to Dean.

“This is getting really suspicious,” Dean asked as he surveyed the information. “I’ve had a look at the property on Google Maps, and it’s not a bad place. Decent market prices. Which makes me me wonder how he’s supposed to afford two properties on a PC’s salary. And given that we both know he’s not above illicit activities, it makes me wonder if there’s anything else he’s involved in.”

Liv shuddered when she thought about the lows Robert Lister was willing to sink to get what he wanted. “Well, just keep an eye on him. See if he’s working alone.”

“From what I understand, Georgia didn’t mention anyone else being involved,” he noted dubiously. “If I had more evidence, I could run a full financial check.”

“Well, just keep me posted,” Liv said, still getting used to the idea that she’d have to retrieve information from Georgia and Katie before passing it onto Dean and then back again, basically playing one long game of cop tag.

She went into the main office space and up to the board. “All right, people,” she began, posting an image of Jay on the board. “Our potential victim is Jay Evans, twenty-eight years old, works on a construction site. According to his girlfriend Ella, he also did a bit of amateur boxing on the side, volunteering at the local sports club. Packed quite a punch, apparently. No prior arrests. In fact, he was known for being a bit of a peacemaker, often breaking up bar fights. And he was in a committed relationship with his girlfriend Ella for several years. But for the last few weeks, he seemed to be pulling away, going off and leading a double life. Ella followed him to the local gym in town where he was found to be partaking in an unlicensed boxing match. His opponent was packing quite a punch, and not only got him on the floor, but beat him to death.” She grimaced a little. “From what I’ve heard, it was quite brutal. We’re still trying to find out exactly what happened afterwards, but they were able to clear out of the place in a hurry. The whole gym had been put back to normal by the time we arrived.”

“But not quite normal,” she added, bringing up photos of the tooth that had been discovered on the floor as well as the luminol sweep. “Now, we don’t know exactly what’s happened to Jay, but based on these two pieces of evidence we’ve found, it’s not looking good for him. I’m going to find out later today whether the dental records match. I really want to consider the possibility that he’s still alive, but every second that passes makes that less and less likely. Even on the off-chance that he is still alive, there’s no way he would have got out of there based on the beating that he took. He’d have to have been helped out.”

“So, what kind of things should we be looking for?” Tim asked.

“Whatever this thing is, it’s clearly well-funded and well-organised,” Liv declared. “At the moment, we have no suspects to go on. So firstly, I need people to have a look out for any fight-related offences over the last few months. Chances are, this won’t be the first time something like this has happened.”

“Does that mean we have to keep an eye out on all the hunks in Newquay?” Andrew asked, half-serious, half-joking. “Because at this rate, if we’re looking at potential fighters, we could easily be chasing down anyone with a decent set of pecs.”

“Well, at this point, I think our best bet are the organisers, which brings us onto the suspects,” she announced. “They seem to be the prime movers in this sorry saga. So, I want to start by looking at people with previous convictions for fight-related offences. Specifically, anyone who’s organised illegal events. They’ll have had experience.”

“That is stretching it quite a bit,” Archie noted, not to play devil’s advocate, but simply to highlight some of the difficulties they’d be facing in the case.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t really have a profile for wannabe fight promoter residing in a seaside town,” she noted with an air of frustration. “While we’re on the subject, venues. Now, from what I’ve seen, these fights don’t have any set premises, so I need us to have a look at any facilities that might be big enough to host a fight. Could be a gym or a pub, even a backyard, and it might mean tapping into the CCTV to look at large groups, a responsibility I’ll be handing off to Clara.” Anticipating people commenting on the wide scope, she sighed. “Look, I recognise that we’re covering a lot of ground with this. Some of this is probably not necessary, but we have nothing else to go on. The fingerprints should come back today, and I feel like the only result that’s going to bring is two dozen cancelled gym memberships. So, until we’ve got something that leads us straight to a suspect, we’ve got to put out all these feelers and hope that something connects.” She clapped her hands together. “So, Archie, you and me are going to speak with Ella again, see if there’s anything about Jay’s social circle. I want to know how he could have come across these people. Whether they contacted him, or he contacted them. Tim, I want you to have a look for anything to do with fight promoting. Big list, but hopefully, you can narrow it down.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Tim replied, sounding like he’d been asked to move mountains. He got up from his seat and went out to talk to Clara.

As Archie joined Liv, his phone buzzed, and he took it out. A lopsided smile formed on his face, and he began typing on the phone, his fingers working frantically.

“Anything you want to share, DS Elmhurst?” Liv asked, having a good idea what was going back and forth, and more specifically, who the sergeant was texting.

“Sorry, Susan’s just checking to make sure I can still make it for tonight,” he responded, keeping his eyes on the phone. Susan Wheeler was a local artist who’d been at the centre of their previous case, having had her art gallery broken into and several paintings stolen. Archie had comforted her, and she’d been vital in solving the previous case. Since then, the two had built up a gentle connection and were currently seeing each other.

“It’s nice, you know. Seeing you like this,” Liv commented, knowing that Archie was everything she felt a man should be, and she had been silently frustrated that he hadn’t been able to find a solid relationship. “You know, if need be, I can get someone else to cover you. Nothing throws cold water on a relationship like cancelling meetups.”

“Appreciate the gesture, but what about Dean?” he asked.

“Dean works the same job I do, and I can’t count the number of times he’s pulled out of a meetup so that he can go off and play supercop. So technically, he owes me a favour. She seems like a real catch, mate, and I want you to be happy, whatever that looks like.”

“Thanks for the help, Cupid,” he said sincerely. “Just hoping I can keep her.”

“Well, I would say, ‘don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’, but that wouldn’t leave you with many options,” she joked. It was a brief moment, but she needed times like this, to know that as tough as things got, there were moments of levity.

Once again, she got that nagging feeling that the happiness wasn’t going to last forever, but she was getting better at shrugging the feeling off compared to the days where it threatened to consume her.

“Right, let’s go and speak to Ella and see if she can tell us anything useful.”

7

Ella had a uniform laid out over the back of a chair, ironed and ready. Liv’s eyes settled over it as she walked through the modestly-decorated flat. “Don’t worry, they’re not expecting me in today. I told them about what happened, and they gave me the week off.”

“That’s good of them,” Liv replied, both for the woman having time to deal with the loss and also for them to call on her at several points. “How are you holding up?”

“I’ve just found out that my boyfriend, who I thought has been having an affair, has been paid to have the shit kicked out of him on a regular basis and died in front of me,” she snapped. “Other than that, I’m wonderful.” Her face started to crumple. “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay,” Archie offered understandably. “Stupid question, really.” He and Liv both took a seat opposite the young woman, hoping she might settle enough. “I promise you we’re going to do everything we can to find Jay’s killer. But first, we need to build a stronger picture of Jay’s life in the last few weeks leading up to the fight last night.” It was a lot better than saying they had very little to go on. Hopefully, that’ll change.

“Okay,” she replied, sinking back into the chair. “What do you need to know?”

“When did you first notice he had been leading a double life?” Liv began.

“It was about five weeks ago,” she responded. “He’d lost his job on a building site— not his fault. A lot of people got laid off, and he was unfortunate to have the axe come down on him. I needed to take on some extra shifts at the café, but they could only fit me in on so many occasions. We ended up having to cut our cloth regarding food, and there were a few moments where I was worried we’d need to push for an extension on the rent.

“But then about a week after he lost his job, he came home with a load of money. It wasn’t exactly big bucks, but it was enough to see us through the month. And he told me that there was more where that had come from and to treat myself in town.”

“And how much was it?” Archie asked suspiciously.

Ella went silent for a moment before she responded. “About two grand. All cash. I asked him where he’d got it from, and he said that he’d been doing some odd jobs. I knew it wasn’t anything to do with construction because no one pays that much all at once. All he said to me was that I didn’t need to worry about it, so I listened to him.” Noticing the detectives’ judging glances, she asked, “We were practically living hand to mouth. Are you telling me that if somebody offered you a lifeline, you wouldn’t have grabbed it?”

Point taken. “But presumably you started getting suspicious?” Liv asked.

“Of course, I did, and every time, I just kept on getting excuses, not the full story. I thought it was one of two things—either he was having an affair and duping someone into giving him the money or he was dealing drugs. How else could he get that much so quickly?”

“So, you decided to follow him last night?” Archie asked, trying to get a good image of the previous night and recreate it in his own mind.

“Yeah. I told him that I was going out for a drink with some friends and that I’d be out late, when really, I just walked out and waited on the other side of the street until he left. I saw him going into the gym and followed him inside.”

“How did you get in?” Liv asked suddenly. “It sounds like a fairly exclusive event, and I can’t see them letting just anybody in. Otherwise, you’d have the whole of Newquay inside.”

“I told them I was his girlfriend, and they let me in no problem,” she replied. “I tried to keep my distance because I didn’t want him to find me. Tried to blend in with the crowd.”

“Did you still think he was dealing drugs?” Archie queried.

“By the time I found out what he was doing, drugs would have been better,” she stated. “When I got there, all of the gym equipment had been pushed to the far corners of the room, there was a boxing ring set up, and these two guys were going at each other. And I’ve pretty much filled you in on the rest.” She went quiet again, exhausted from the effort.

Liv looked to Archie wondering if they should start sharing. “Just so you know, we went and had a look around the facilities yesterday. The place had been cleared out. You never would have thought that there’d been a gathering around there.”

“Well, not quite,” Archie chimed in before he could stop himself, and upon getting silent permission from Liv, he said, “We did a luminol sweep, and that floor lit up. We also found a tooth. Now while it’s not wise to assume it to be Jay’s, in this instance…”

Ella nodded, wiping her eyes at the fresh reminder. “I’ve got to tell his parents. I should have said something last night, but I didn’t know what to say.”

“Do they live locally?” As Ella shook her head, Liv advised, “I’d hold off on saying anything until we have a better idea what we’re dealing with. I don’t suppose you recognised any of the people who were present at the venue? Anyone you could pick out of a lineup?”

“Of course not,” she replied. “Never seen any of them before in my life. They’re not the kind of people I’d bump into over a coffee. And I tried to avoid them on the way out.”

The answer didn’t surprise Liv, though it disappointed her. Great. Another dead end.

“Well, at the moment, we’re currently looking out for all the members of the group and hoping that something comes up. We’ll let you know once we have more.”

Alec punched the bag with enough force to almost send it flying. He remembered the techniques his trainer had taught him, trying to remember that one day, those blows would have to land on another person. He wondered if he could do it. He’d aways tried to stay out of trouble. Had never been the type to pick a fight. In fact, when he told his friends at school that he was looking at taking up boxing, they’d done a double-take, unable to imagine the idea of the scrawny teenager in front of them pulling punches.

And it was true, he’d certainly bulked up in recent months. He’d been put on a very specific diet and spent endless sessions in the gym, sometimes at the expense of his school work. His mum had been heavily against the idea and hadn’t been shy about sharing it, telling him that he needed to keep all of his options open. His dad had encouraged him every step of the way for obvious reasons. He was tempted to unload on his dad at times.

It wasn’t what he wanted to be doing, but he felt like he had no choice but to keep going. A few months back, he’d hoped to go into medical school one day and train to become a doctor. With every single blow to the bag, that dream felt further and further away. But he had to keep it up. Too many people were relying on him.

“Nice left hook there,” a voice called out, and Alec felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. That voice always brought a sense of dread.

He turned to see a woman who stood out from the gym surroundings, dressed in a leather jacket and rocking a pair of high heels. She looked him over with admiration and possibly lust, despite being at least fifteen years older than him.

“You could definitely go the distance,” she said, sounding to all around like a teacher encouraging a pupil. But they could all pick up on the darker meaning behind the words.

“I just want to know how many more fights I’ve got to go until I’m done with all this,” he said, not caring if he sounded rude. He’d been tiptoeing around this woman for so long, he just didn’t have the energy to pretend anymore. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I’ve jumped through every single hoop you’ve thrown my way. I just want this to be over.”

The woman broke into a smile. “I don’t think you really get it, do you? We made a lot of money off you the other night. Granted, I had to take a cut away from you for obvious reasons, but you didn’t come out of it too badly. For the most part.”

“I almost dislocated my jaw,” Alec responded indignantly.

“Nothing that you couldn’t recover from,” the woman replied. “We had a good doctor on site, and you were all right in the end. Didn’t need to be taken to hospital.”

Alec knew that even if he’d been at death’s door, they probably would have left him to bleed out on the street rather than try and get any help for him. Too much at risk.

“Listen, we’ve got another fight down four nights from now,” she said, grinning broadly. “Your opponent should be easy; no problem wiping the floor with him.”

It unnerved him how she made the idea of beating a guy into a pulp with his bare hands sound like a business transaction. “If I said no, would it make a difference?”

“I’m actually pretty generous,” she stated. “I don’t have to cut you in. And you could always walk away. But if you do, I can’t guarantee your safety. And believe me, there are other people who will take advantage of that.”

8

Clara was busy at work at her terminal, typing no end of commands into the computer and trying to come up with something. Tim was watching over her. “Everything all right, Clara?” he asked gently, his voice full of concern. “You seem a little distant today.”

Clara took her hands away from the keyboard, trying to work out whether the things plaguing her mind were responsible for any duress. “Sorry, not trying to slow things down.”

“Don’t think that’s possible with this case?” Tim joked. When she didn’t respond with a smile, he asked, “Is everything okay?”

Clara sighed, feeling like she was crossing a boundary but unsure who else she could turn to. “Diana came in from work last night after working with a new partner. Something was bothering her. At first, I joked that she was missing Andrew so soon after losing him to CID, but it was definitely something serious. And whenever I tried to talk about it, she gave me the brush off.” She didn’t anticipate the words getting to her. “Me and Diana… when we first started going out, we were both dealing with the stresses of our jobs. But we got through it because we felt like we were each other’s best talking point. We’d tell each other everything. No matter who or what else was stressing us out, we never felt the need to hide anything from each other. And yet, last night, I knew there was something bothering her, but she doesn’t trust me enough to talk about it. And I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”

Tim nodded gently, trying to think of how he might explain Diana’s bizarre behaviour. “I can’t really speak for Diana, but I know she wouldn’t start hiding things from you if she didn’t have a damn good reason for doing so. She loves you, Clara. She practically worships the ground you walk on. And you never know, whatever is bothering her, maybe she thinks she’s protecting you by keeping quiet. This could easily be one of those ‘be careful what you wish for scenarios.’” He offered a weak smile, not fully convinced by his own words.

Clara nodded, trying to take some comfort in the advice. “Anyway,” she declared with a sigh, not wanting to think about things anymore, “getting back to this…” She pressed a link that took her to the CCTV showcased from a lot of the streets surrounding the gym.

She watched as some people walked long distances, clearly having travelled a fair distance to get to that night’s event, while others had were going into their own homes and closing the door behind them. “I think we need to make a note of some of the houses and see if Liv can do anything with this,” she stated. “I’m pretty sure you guys already spoke to a lot of them when you were doing door-to-door. They must have lied through their teeth about not seeing anything.” She smiled, imagining Liv unloading all her fury on the witnesses.

It hadn’t taken long to get in touch with Liv and pass on the information about some of the houses to her.

Liv could imagine Diana checking them out and being briskly turned away, dragging out the investigation longer than necessary. She knocked on the door with more force than perhaps was necessary, unable to contain her frustrations.

The door opened, and a slovenly chubby man stood in the doorway dressed in a puffa jacket and holding a bacon bap. “Can I help you?” he asked, instantly defensive.

Liv held up her warrant card. “Detective Inspector Austin and Detective Sergeant Elmhurst. We’d to ask you a couple of questions, if you have the time.”

“What is this about?” he asked, his hands primed and getting ready to close the door on them. “I’ve got a lot to be getting on with today, and I haven’t got the time for a long chat.”

“Well, perhaps you can make the time for us,” Liv declared sharply. “We wanted to ask you about a fight that took place at the local gym yesterday.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied quickly, too quickly for Liv’s liking. There was a clear tremor in his voice. Good luck bullshitting me, mate.

“Sir, we’ve got footage of you walking away from the gym that was the site of the attack and have seen you arrive in this neighbourhood. We know that you were there, so there’s no point denying it. Unless you want to dig yourself a deeper hole,” Archie insisted stonily.

The man looked out into the street in case anyone was listening and said silently, “I’m not being fitted up for anyone’s murder. My only crime was being in the wrong place…”

“No one’s saying you killed anyone,” Liv replied exhaustedly. “But we have heard that somebody died at that fight. So, I think that entitles us to ask a few questions, don’t you?”

He weighed up his options, trying to think of a way out and being unsuccessful. “If I say anything, I don’t want any of this getting back to me, do you understand?”

“We’ll bear that in mind,” Liv replied, just wanting people to start cooperating with her.

“You’d better come inside,” he said, stepping aside and closing the door behind him.

He sat—or rather, fell—into one of the chairs. On the wall were pictures of fitness models, and Liv could see very old volumes about getting into shape. Given the man’s extended paunch, he’d given up on exercising a while back.

“What’s your name?” Archie asked, taking out his pocketbook.

“Brendan Robinson,” he responded, like the name was being pried from his mouth.

“So, why don’t you tell us about how you came by the fight in the first place?” Liv asked, sitting on the sofa and glimpsing a crisp packet shoved down the side.

“I heard about it from a friend at the pub about five months ago,” he stated. “We were watching the footie at the pub and complaining about the lack of hardcore entertainment, and he told me about an event that was going on in a few night’s time. Said it was a fight. I didn’t believe him at first, because when does anything like that happen in Newquay? But I decided to tag along. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do.”

“And where was this fight?” Liv asked, trying to get a sense of the locations used.

“It was in a warehouse,” he explained. “It was a forty quid charge to go in, and it was those two guys fighting each other. It wasn’t what you’d expect. There was no ring, and there was an old mat in the middle of the floor that they had to be lucky to fall on. It was that or fall face down on a slab of concrete. And those guys were really going for each other. At one point, I thought they were going to kill each other. Luckily, someone blew the whistle before they could. Nobody wants to deal with a corpse, especially when it was being recorded live.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say recorded live?” Liv asked. This was new.

“Yeah, there was a camera set up on a tripod. Clearly, there were people who wanted to be there but couldn’t,” he noted. “I tell you, there was a number of times that thing almost got knocked over because of the crowd. It was chaos in there.”

“And how many people were present at this event?” Archie asked.

“I’d say about twenty,” he responded. “It sounded fairly exclusive.”

The detectives were both surprised that an event like this had not only gone on under their noses for so long but also that it had built up quite a wide audience.

“On the way out, we were all told to sign disclaimers,” Brendan replied. “So basically, if I breathed a word of this to anyone, they’d own me for life.”

I imagine after a few hours, they’d probably want to give him back. “So, you went to these fights regularly?” she noted, writing it all down. “And how often did they happen?”

“About one every fortnight, give or take,” he replied. “Sometimes every three weeks. Sometimes, there was even a month between fights because they couldn’t find a venue.”

Liv nodded slowly before dropping the latest bombshell. “You realise that we’re going to need you to provide a list of all the locations these fights took place?”

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, as though they’d asked him to swallow poison. “You realise it can get back to me? They’re going to know it came from one of us!”

“Mr Robinson, this is probably your best way of keeping out of it,” Archie said angrily. “A man has died at this event, and his girlfriend is in mourning over—”

“Mourning!?” he repeated uproariously. “She was the reason he was there!”

Liv and Archie paused, having lost all momentum in the conversation. “What are you talking about?” she asked slowly, sure that she’d heard it wrong.

“He clearly didn’t want to be there and looked like he was going to bolt at any moment, but I heard her telling him to stick it out and they’d got too far to turn back now,” he replied, seemingly oblivious to the game-changing bombshell he’d dropped on them.

Liv remembered the tears flowing from Ella’s face and wondered whether they were crocodile tears—whether she’d been lying about the part she was playing in all this.

Before she could offer up a retort, the mobile rang. “Just one moment,” she declared, glad to be up from the crisp-ridden sofa. “DI Austin… Right. I see. We’ll be there as soon as possible.” She hung up the phone and turned to Archie. “We’ve got to go. A body has been found, and by all appearances, it looks like Jay Evans.”

9

Despite the notable attempts at recovering the body from the gym, there hadn’t been much effort put into concealing it. Jay Evans was lying sprawled out on the train tracks and the driver of an outgoing train had barely managed to halt the train for fear of riding over the corpse. It had only been on closer inspection that he’d realised the man was long dead.

“This is going to be a tough one,” Archie noted, looking at the train blocked and imagining all the passengers being held up from their destinations. “Trains are going to be pushed back by at least two-to-three hours. Glad I’m not the one who has to tell them.”

“Well, you can’t really do much about a body on the tracks,” she replied, looking to the victim. This was the first time she’d laid eyes on the man outside of photographs, and the face was barely recognisable, swollen from bruises, the left eye sealed shut, the jaw hanging at an unnatural angle. And that was just his face. God knows how the rest of his body looks.

She leaned down next to him, saddened that his life had come to such a brutal end. But then her thoughts turned to Ella and what he must have thought, knowing that she’d inadvertently led him to his death and left him surrounded by people cheering on his assault.

“We’ve got to get him to Elliot,” Liv noted sadly. “Don’t think it’ll take too long to determine the cause of death.” She looked around the area. “Do you think anyone will have seen the body being dumped or do you think there’s anything that’d be caught on camera?”

“I doubt it,” Archie replied. “Probably why they dumped it here. They knew no one else would see it.” He tried to see for a CCTV camera and found nothing.

“Maybe they thought if the train was dumped on the tracks, it’d just look like a regular collision,” he suggested, before glancing down at the body. “They even went as far as to him properly. Then again, it does make one wonder how that would have fooled an autopsy.”

“Maybe they just wanted rid of the body,” Liv suggested, seeing the passengers inside the train craning to get a look and thinking of how she was going to spin it. “For now, we need to speak to Ella. I think it’ll be a very interesting conversation.”

“Oh, my God,” Ella snuffled, holding her head in her hands. “I mean, I knew that he was dead. He’d have to be. But I did hope that…” She started bawling, though unlike the first time when Liv was visibly moved, she could see the act for what it was and was kicking herself for being taken in by the shaking and the stammering.

“Ella,” she began, noting how the sympathy had drained out of her voice. “We spoke to one of the attendees at the event… and they can attest to you not only being present alongside Jay but also egging him on during the fight, despite what you told us earlier.”

The tears fell away, and instead of trying to argue, Ella looked embarrassed. She can’t even deny it.

“Did you honestly think we wouldn’t find out?” Archie asked. “It didn’t take much for us to pull the thread. So, we know now that there was no suspected affair…” He chided himself for not seeing the obvious story as a falsehood. “So clearly, you’ve been underplaying your role in these fights, and arguably, Jay’s death.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” she shouted, backing away from them both. “I had nothing to do with what happened! I didn’t kill Jay! That psycho boxer did. And I didn’t want him dead!”

“Maybe not, but you weren’t in a hurry to let him leave,” Liv exclaimed, feeling a sudden fury for the woman’s callousness and then having the nerve to act like a victim. “Now, we want to hear the full extent of your involvement in this crime.”

Ella went quiet, and they could tell she was trying to think up a possible excuse or justification for what she’d done. Liv was pleased to see her coming up short.

“Okay,” she replied, admitting defeat. “The truth is… I pushed him into fighting.” Noticing their judgmental looks, she quickly added, “We needed the money. We were living for scraps. It wasn’t like we were going to get it anywhere else!”

“So, you decided to pimp out your boyfriend?” Liv asked angrily, trying to imagine how Jay must have felt that his girlfriend was forcing him into something so dangerous.

“I tried taking on more work, but I was blocked at every turn. He’d lost his job and was built like a brick wall. Who else was going to jump in that ring? Me?” She held out her thin, almost stringy arms to illustrate the point. “He was the more appropriate choice!”

“And did he see it that way?” Liv asked rhetorically, imagining Jay’s lack of choice.

“He knew we needed the money,” she said dismissively. “And besides, he went to the gym all the time. Do you honestly think I would have put him forward for it if I thought he didn’t have a chance? He went through three fights and came out in one piece all the time.”

“So how did you go about getting in touch with the group?” Liv asked, desperate for a way into the otherwise ironclad organisation. They’d probably see me coming a mile off.

“We were having an argument in the gym. He was working out, and I was complaining to him about the lack of money and how he wasn’t doing anything productive with his time. And then this other guy comes up to me, asks us if he’s much of a brawler and can handle himself, and then presses a piece of paper into my hand and wishes us both good luck before walking away. We never saw him again after that. I looked on the paper and saw it was a phone number. So, I called it. There was a woman’s voice on the other end. She explained to me that she organised several fights throughout Newquay.”

“Unlicensed boxing,” Archie said, his voice full of disgust. “And you said yes.”

“They said it was the kind of money that meant we wouldn’t have to worry about finances for a long time,” Ella explained, sounding more and more bold. “We went to three fights, and he won every single one of them.” She sounded proud at the accomplishment.

“But he wouldn’t have come away unscathed,” Archie noted. “He would have come away with scrapes and bruises. Did you at least take him to the hospital?”

“I didn’t need to,” she said dismissively. “There was a doctor onsite that would treat any injuries. And besides, even if it was something serious, we couldn’t have taken him to hospital. It would have attracted far too much attention.”

I wish I had a ‘Girlfriend of the Year’ award so I could bludgeon her with it.

“So, what went wrong this time?” Liv asked, remembering the severity of Jay’s injuries and thinking that it almost looked like he had been hit with a train.

“I honestly don’t know,” she explained. They looked at her, clearing expecting more, but she held up her hands. “Honestly, the other guy was half his size. I thought it was going to be an instant knockout, no pun intended. I didn’t expect him to end up being killed.”

“So, what happened you realised he was dead?” Liv asked, trying to understand her logic. “Your boyfriend’s just died; why did you flee the scene? Because you seemed to be thinking very clearly for an innocent woman. You didn’t even check to see if he was alive.”

“I was thinking it might be my fault,” she insisted. “You think I’m oblivious to my part in all this? Why do you think I came to you in the first place? Because I wanted justice.”

Liv had to concede that point, but then Archie chimed in. “Normally, I would have admired that mindset, but you played down your part in this whole mess. If you really wanted justice for him as much as you say you do, you would have been upfront about putting him up for those fights and that you knew more about the group and what they were doing. One of the regular punters recognised you from the fight, so you must have been quite prominent.”

Ella was biting her tongue, trying to think of a defence, but none came.

“So, what can you tell us about the organiser who arranged it?” Archie asked, thinking there was no point in guilt-tripping a woman who clearly felt no guilt at all.

“I don’t know her name,” Ella replied. “We made a point of not mentioning any names. All I know is she’s blonde, wears a leather jacket, boots, and has a fuckload of lipstick on most of the time.” And we’re supposed to pull a suspect from that description?

“So, what happens now?” Ella asked, still concerned about the consequences to herself, and Liv was tempted to find something to throw the book at her over.

“We may need to contact you to arrange for more information regarding the group and its members. So, if you have any online resources that we can make use of, I suggest you hand them over. As for Jay… Well, I guess you’ll have to find a way to live with that. Though when it comes to Jay’s parents, I definitely wouldn’t play the grieving girlfriend. It’s all going to come out.” She and Archie got up and left the room.

Once they were gone, Ella breathed a huge sigh of relief. Even though they’d cottoned onto her involvement in Jay’s death, they still didn’t know anything about the bag of money she’d taken from the club that night.

10

“Well, that went better than I hoped,” Liv announced as they drove away. “I was worried she’d try and bullshit her way out of it.”

“She’ll probably try again,” Archie responded. “I wanted to charge her, but I’m unfamiliar with a law against pressuring your partner into an illegal boxing match.”

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she’ll have her day in court,” Liv assured him. “But we’ve got a few details on the business, so maybe we can find something online—a job for Clara.”

She looked ahead at the sky. The days were getting warmer, and the nights were getting shorter. She was looking forward to enjoying long walks along the beach without enveloping herself in several layers. Thank God Dean and I didn’t plan a winter wedding.

“You got anything lined up for tonight?” Archie asked, but Liv wasn’t sure how to respond. She and Dean needed to get away for a holiday, but she was used to being on call almost all the time. Just once, I’d like the local scum bags to give me a fucking break.

“Probably a quiet night in with a bottle of wine,” she said before quickly asking, “What about you?” It was half distraction and half interest in Archie’s own budding romance.

“We’re going along the beach together,” he replied, trying to stop the spreading smile on his face. “I know it’s something that everyone’s already done at some point since living in Newquay, but there’s something fresh about doing it for the first time.”

He’s really got it down to a tee, Liv thought, beaming despite the trying day.

It’d been a nice and gentle walk over the beach, enjoying the sound of crashing waves and the gentle spray of the sea. By the end of the evening, Archie and Susan were back in Archie’s flat. “Got to say,” she said as she kicked up her shoes and lost herself in the cushions. “At least you’re fairly domesticated. My last boyfriend warned me that he liked to have his own personal mancave, but when you looked around his flat, it was hard to tell where the flat ended and the mancave began.”

Archie smiled as he handed her a glass of white wine. “How are things going over at the gallery?” He remembered the damage done by some burglars.

“Well, it’s getting back on its feet slowly but surely,” she explained, sipping her wine. “Had a hell of a battle with the insurers, trying to convince them that I wasn’t at fault for what happened. Those bastards are always trying to trip you up.”

“You painting any more of your own stuff?” Archie asked, having seen a lot of her works and loving the passion that came into it. He tried to think of other subjects to go over, realising how out of practice he was with the dating circuit. He found himself wishing he was back in the police station cracking down on a case. At least that came with a rulebook.

“Have you told anyone else at the gallery about us going out?” he asked, remembering the immense staff loyalty amongst them, especially to Susan. He remembered the electrician who was particularly protective of Susan and probably not the kind of guy he wanted to piss off. And he was determined to make this relationship work.

Susan was a fascinating woman full of warmth, making him aware of what he’d been missing from his life. He needed a lot of light to counteract the dark side he’d often faced.

He sat down on the sofa next to her, and she brushed the hair away from his face.

“I really like you, Archie,” she said hesitantly, not wanting to sound overly committed.

“Me too,” he replied, leaning in for a kiss. “I like you a lot, too.”

Liv hadn’t gone straight home to Dean, instead choosing to make a detour to Katie’s flat. She made a point of ensuring she wasn’t followed before she knocked on the front door.

Katie opened it, looking suspicious. “You weren’t followed, were you?”

“Contrary to what you may think, you don’t have a monopoly on the whole cloak and dagger routine,” Liv noted sardonically. “How’s she holding up?”

“To be honest, I think she’s going a little stir-crazy,” the former journalist responded.

“Am I okay to come in?” Liv asked. “Or would you rather do this clandestine catch-up on the doorstep?”

Katie agreed and gave her space so Liv could step inside.

Even though she'd been occupying a safe space for the last few days, Georgia showed no signs of settling or relaxing. In fact, she looked as rigid as ever.

“How have you been doing?” Liv asked gently.

“I've just been speaking with my friend on a video call,” Georgia replied, her face showing a flicker of a smile. “I haven't been away from the baby for this long, and I keep wondering if she's at the age where she senses my absence.”

Liv couldn't offer much in the way of comfort to the young woman.

“You don't know if there's any way he can take my baby away, do you?” the young woman queried suddenly, taking Liv and Katie by surprise. “I mean, he's technically the girl's father. I'm conscious of him having rights.”

“I think he gave up whatever rights he had when he kept you cooped up in that house for months on end,” Katie reassured her. “Everyone will see he's not fit to be a parent.”

Georgia tried to look reassured, but she'd spent so long with these alarmist thoughts swimming through her head that they weren't going to be batted away by a few quick words of reassurance. Liv could only hope that by the end of this, Georgia could go back to her life with peace of mind. Assuming the damage isn’t too deep.

“I appreciate the need to keep you at arm's length throughout this investigation, Georgia,” Liv started, wanting to be sympathetic, but also realistic. “But at some point, we’re going to need you to give a statement regarding what happened. Because at this point, your testimony is going to be the most damning thing against him.”

PC Robert Lister was trying to think about how to play the situation.

He’d had a good time with PC Diana Hershel. She was an attractive woman, and if she wasn’t busy batting for the other side, maybe there could have been something between them. It was a shame she wasn’t into men. It was always the pretty ones that were unavailable. Still, it wasn’t like he could afford to make any advances.

He’d had it fairly easy with Georgia, someone who would be completely dependent on him and he could drop in on whenever he wanted. So what if there was no actual threat to her life? She would have believed every word he said on account of him being a police officer. And what was the point of seeking out his position if he never enjoyed the perks?

He was angry for letting himself get tricked and her getting away. But he tried to reassure himself with the knowledge that at the end of the day, she was just a checkout girl while he was a serving copper. He’d be believed over her in a heartbeat.

So, when time went by and he didn’t hear anything else, he felt that he could relax. He’d got away scot-free. He could go on doing what he wanted.

And then that damn rumour started going around the station, except Robert knew it wasn’t a rumour. As soon as Superintendent Collins had explained exactly what they were being questioned over, he knew that Georgia had crawled out of the woodworks.

He’d been taken aback at first by the idea that he was now a father. He chided himself for not taking proper protection. He had no plans to settle down with children.

But he couldn’t say or do anything that would risk exposing himself.

He hoped that people would dismiss it as malicious rumours and life would go on. If he could find Georgia, maybe he could stop her from coming forward.

He’d spent a lot of time out on patrol, trying to think of places where she might be. Her old flat was no longer in use, and none of her colleagues at work had any idea where she’d gone. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air.

But he knew that she had to be close by in order to stir up such a fuss. He wondered if it was possible to track her down. Newquay wasn’t such a large place, and he was sure that it wouldn’t take much to find her. There had to be someone who knew.

He thought about the house that was rented out. It hadn’t been in his name. He hadn’t been that stupid. But if she was sharing information with someone, the house would come up in conversation.

And then it occurred to him. She was trying to push a specific narrative onto people. It was all about telling a story.

He just had to make sure he told his story better than she told hers.

11

The next morning, Liv walked into Newquay Police Station feeling like she had to speak to Collins about what was happening. The longer she drew out telling him, the worse it would look, especially if she was seen to be collaborating with Katie Gibson, who in the eyes of so many people was dead to them. But Katie had been able to generate some impressive leads, and Liv had to give credit where it was due.

She walked up to the workstation where Clara would be positioned, hoping the technician could spin her usual magic. But as she drew closer, she heard the sound of arguing. She wondered whether she should back away, but as she got close to the office, her heart dropped to hear Clara and Diana’s voices, no longer filled with love but with an air of sadness and frustration.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Clara, I promise you. Nothing to concern yourself over.”

“Firstly, you’ve been pulling away from me for the past few days. Secondly, I am your wife. It always concerns me. If it’s something that’s bothering you, I want to help. Ever since you started working with that copper, you’ve barely said a word to me. Is it because I’m not a police officer? Do you think just because I’m not out there on the beat that I can’t handle it? I have to spend day after day sifting through websites that showcase the worst kind of people. So, I think I’ve built up a fair bit of resilience…”

“It’s not like that, Clara, and you know it! This isn’t because I don’t trust you. There’s just a lot of stuff going on, and I want you to have complete deniability…”

Liv felt a deep sense of shame. When she handed the secretive task over to Diana, she thought it would be in the hands of a trustworthy officer. She hadn’t realised the impact it would have on her and Clara’s marriage. This is all my fault. I’ve got to put this right.

She quickly walked into the workspace to find Clara and Diana standing on opposite sides of the room. It was the most distance she’d ever seen between the two women, and she was responsible for it. “Clara, listen to me…”

Clara brushed her dreadlocked hair out of her face. “I’m really sorry, boss, but do you think you can give us a minute, please? We’re trying to have a chat.”

“Look, I can explain everything,” Liv insisted, knowing that whatever she’d promised Georgia and Katie, she couldn’t let this jeopardise Clara and Diana’s marriage. “Diana’s been quiet about this because I’ve asked her to be. Sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.”

She explained to Clara exactly what’d been going on, not leaving any detail out. By the time she was done, the technician was stunned into silence.

Finally, Clara spoke up. “Honestly, I don’t know what to say. I want to be a little pissed off, but I don’t know who I should be ticked off at.” She looked to Liv. “You for putting Diana up to it in the first place…” She then turned to Diana. “...you for agreeing to it…” Finally, she looked down at the floor. “...or me for not considering that there’s a young woman out there in desperate need of our help. I think I’d be a bit of a bitch if I came out and was angry with you both for taking this on.” She sighed heavily, her better nature winning out. She looked to her wife. “I’m so sorry, Diana. I should have known that you were just trying to protect me.”

“This whole thing is being done under the radar,” the PC replied. “If anybody ever came up to you and asked what was happening, I wanted to make sure you didn’t need to lie.”

“I guess there’s also the clause that you can’t force spouses to testify against each other,” Clara noted with an attempt of humour. “So, I think we need to decide where we go from here.” She looked to Liv. “Do you plan on telling Collins?”

“I will. When we have enough evidence,” the inspector noted, feeling like she had it all laid out in her head. “Georgia asked me to keep it quiet.” She paused, wondering how honest she needed to be with the pair, but seeing the argument that she’d just broken up, she figured she owed it to them. “As did Katie Gibson.”

Clara’s eyes widened. “Oh, this just gets better and better. So, not only are you hiding away the mother of the child, you’re also taking advice on policing from Katie. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the gaffer coming down on you because he’ll keel over before he gets the chance!” She shrank back in her seat, surprised at her outspokenness.

“Look,” Liv replied, trying to get her point across. “This woman has been in hiding for over a year. She’s been let down by a member of the police force in the worst possible way. She’s been forced to live in hiding and give up everything she knew because she thought we wouldn’t believe her. And she has asked us to keep this quiet in case Lister somehow finds a way to get to her. What the hell was I supposed to say? ‘I’m sorry? I can’t help you sweep this under the carpet?’” The two went silent. “This was one of those scenarios where the only choices I had were bad ones, but I still had to choose.”

“Well, I can keep a secret,” Clara said, taking Diana’s hand and kissing it. “I’m sorry for doubting you, D. Should have guessed you were making use of that saviour complex.”

“Maybe we can focus our attention on other things for the time being,” Liv suggested, feeling glad that not only had the tension eased between the married couple, but adding Clara to the clandestine group would go a long way towards adding several nails to Robert Lister’s coffin. “I don’t suppose you managed to find anything related to the boxing case?”

Clara exhaled heavily, glad to have something else to talk about. “As a matter of fact, I do.” She got up and walked over to her seat, the computer gearing up again.

“So, you mentioned that there was a camera at a lot of the fights,” she continued excitedly, Diana watching from behind with pride. “I figured that those recordings had to go somewhere, like a subscription model. I had a look online, and it took me quite a while, but finally…” She pulled up a website link, and it showed a selection of videos waiting to be played. Clara clicked on one of them, and it showed two men circling each other in a makeshift ring in what appeared to be a basement. The few people who could fit into the cramped space were cheering the two men on as they charged at each other. The blows came fast and wild with no sign of restraint from either opponent. Liv wasn’t an expert on boxing or fighting, but she was pretty sure she had not seen fight moves with that ferocity. One guy delivered a sharp hit to the jaw, sending the other guy flying back into the crowd.

“How the hell did we not see any of this?” Liv asked as Clara paused the video.

“They’re very good at covering it up,” Clara said, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Thank God somebody went to the trouble of putting it online.”

Liv scanned over the files, startled by how many there were. Had any others ended in a death? “What’s the most recent one?” she asked hesitantly.

Clara scrolled down the page and opened it. Liv instantly recognised the layout of the gym in town with all of the gear pushed to the far side of the room to make way for the small, captive audience. She recognised Jay in the footage. Sure enough, she could see Ella standing right next to the ring.

Based on the size, anyone would have thought he’d dominate the fight, but instead, he was getting pounded by his smaller opponent. And the blows just wouldn’t stop. This guy didn’t just want to beat Jay, he wanted to kill him. He was unwilling to stop until Jay was lying on the ground, never getting back up again.

“Jesus, that was brutal,” Clara muttered, placing a hand over her mouth. Diana immediately put her hand on Diana’s shoulder and squeezed it gently.

“Let me get a look at the other guy,” Olivia said as Clara rewound the footage. The camera had not moved from its position, but she could see the other guy moving—or rather, pouncing—into frame from time to time.

She managed to get a look at his face, and his eyes seemed… unfocused, almost like he wasn’t all there.

“Look,” Diana said, clapping her hands on her knees. “Really sorry, ladies, but I’ve got to get back out on the beat with Robert. He’ll be wondering where I am.”

As if on cue, the door opened, and Robert was standing there, his sudden presence making everybody jump. “Should my ears be burning?”

More than your ears, mate.

“Was looking for you, and figured I’d find you here,” he said, looking at Clara in a dismissive tone before turning to Liv. “Thought you should know that that the mother who reported her baby to be one of ours… she’s come into the station.”

Liv’s eyes widened. Georgia had come into the station? Had he found her?

“I’ll be down in a minute,” she stammered, at a loss for words.

12

Liv walked down the corridor at a hurried pace. Why has she decided to change her story? She tried to tell herself that this way maybe they could put it out in the open.

But then why when Robert came into Clara’s workstation had he looked so composed? He certainly didn’t have the look of a man who was about to say goodbye to his freedom.

Something doesn’t feel right, Liv thought as she followed the PC downstairs.

They came into the reception area, and Liv wished she’d had more time to prepare Georgia for the reality of seeing her captor again for the first time in years…

…except it wasn’t Georgia sitting and waiting. The woman that PC Lister seemed to be walking towards had short brown hair, hazel eyes, and was clad in a lavender jacket and a pair of jeans. In other words, not Georgia. The woman looked up at Liv before looking down, like a kid caught out by a parent. Liv looked to Lister, waiting for an explanation.

“This is Maria,” he said, folding his arms. “She was the one who made the allegation about the baby. She has come to confirm that it is false.”

“I beg your pardon?” Liv asked, her eyes darting from the woman to the constable. She leaned down until she was at eye level with the woman. “What’s your name, love?”

“Maria Bolton,” she replied in a shaky voice.

“I think we need to sit down and have a chat, don’t you?” Liv asked gently, not sure what was going on here but suspecting from Lister’s self-satisfied face that he was trying to pull the wool over her eyes. What are you playing at, you bastard?

“Do you want me to sit in on the talk?” Robert asked politely.

“No, this is best handled by CID,” Liv replied curtly, escorting the woman away to an interview room, occasionally looking back to see Robert still standing there.

Liv had brought Archie into the room with her to talk to Maria, feeling that the young woman clearly needed a kinder face. She wanted to update Georgia and Katie about what was happening but decided that she needed to get to the bottom of this latest revelation.

“So, Maria, can you tell us what brings you in here today?” Archie asked, not willing to treat the girl as a suspect yet. “Just take us through the story bit by bit in your own time.”

Maria looked down at the table. “A few months back, I sent in an anonymous message to the police about how one of the officers got me pregnant. I just want to make clear that I lied. There was no baby. And there’s no father.”

Normally, Liv and Archie would have taken that at face value, but Liv was clued into Georgia’s story. And she felt the need to pick up on any discrepancies.

Archie had used the fleeting time available between Liv bringing him up to speed and sitting down for the interview to bring up a history for Maria.

“According to your file,” Liv explained, going over the file, “you’ve had several offences for drug possession, soliciting…” Liv gulped as she read through the file. The more that came to light, the more untrustworthy the woman looked in their eyes. She noticed the woman hadn’t taken off her jacket since she sat down, and Liv could imagine her forearms punctured with needle marks, lost to a life of addiction.

“So, what prompted you to lie to the police?” Archie asked, feeling like he needed to keep up a pretence while at the same time not coming down so hard on the woman.

“I had my kid taken into care, and I wanted to get him back,” she explained numbly. “I didn’t have anyone listed on his birth certificate, so I figured that if I pointed the finger at a copper, I’d be able to claim child support, and maybe get a flat.”

Liv wanted to sound impressed by the long con. “That’s seems quite thought out, but why now to launch the accusation?”

“Because I wanted to get my life back on track,” Maria explained. “I’ve been clean for the last few months, and I was hoping that if I had a decent support network, I could have my kid back. Seemed like a victimless crime. No harm done.”

Liv was glad that Superintendent Collins wasn’t sitting in the room with them. She knew the hours he’d spent scrutinising his officers. He would gladly throw the book at her.

“So, what’s going to happen to me now?” she asked, suddenly frightened.

Liv and Archie weren’t sure what to say to that. At the very least, they should have charged her with wasting police time.

“We need to go over a few details,” she said. “But I’ve got to ask what changed your mind about the complaint. Coming into the station and saying that you lied was a pretty bold move. You must have known there’d be consequences.”

Now the woman looked worried, and she found herself looking around the room, eyes darting to the door, as if expecting someone to be waiting on the other side, listening in.

“I didn’t mean for it to get this far,” she explained, placing her hands together and twitching a little, leaving Liv wondering if the twitch was a side product of coming off the drugs. “I just wanted to make life easier for myself. I didn’t think anyone would lose their job.”

“So, there’s no father involved at this station?” Archie asked.

“That’s correct,” she replied in a monotone.

Liv was desperate to get out of the room, partly because she needed to talk with Archie and partly because she was conscious that every second spent in this interview was just chasing down another stream of bullshit. “Interview suspended at 10:14 am. DS Elmhurst, would you join me outside for a moment?”

Archie nodded, and the two left the room. They walked into a corridor where they made sure they weren’t going to be seen by anyone and started speaking.

“I think he’s put her up to it,” Liv whispered. “You should have seen the way he was standing over her in the reception area, like he was expecting her to toe the line.”

“I’ve actually arrested Maria a few times before,” Archie noted. “Most of those times, she’s been borderline incoherent. And even when she wasn’t, she’s not exactly known for her wide vocabulary, but that doesn’t explain why he sent her in there.”

“Georgia hasn’t come in to make a statement, and he knows it,” she snarled. “So, he’s taking advantage of that to fill in the gaps. If he throws us a mother—someone with a baby and who has a history of being unreliable—then it casts a lot of doubt on the case. It all gets swept under the carpet… and he walks away scot-free.”

“So, he’s basically calling our bluff,” Archie suggested, leaning against the wall. “The man’s not as stupid as he looks. We can’t put her in a cell, Olivia. I’ll bet he put pressure on her by threatening her or her baby. He’s probably willing to sink very low to protect his dirty little secret. It’s not right. He’s the one who should be rotting in a cell.”

“I agree,” she responded heavily. “But if we let her walk out of here with little more than a slapped wrist, he’s going to know we’re onto him.”

“Is there any chance that Georgia will come in and give a statement?” he asked. “At this point, that seems like the most obvious solution.”

Liv sighed. She wondered how the pair would take it. She didn’t know Georgia well, but she was sure that she wouldn’t want an innocent woman getting sent down. Hell, the whole reason she’s showed up again is to avoid another victim.

“Back in just a moment,” she said before hurrying off. Going down the corridor, she could see PC Robert Lister waiting for her.

“So, what’s the story?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know.

“It looks like the whole thing was a hoax. A wild goose chase,” she replied, putting on her best exasperated voice, waiting to see if he bought it.

“Well, she’s a crafty bitch, I’ll give her that,” he said triumphantly. She wondered if inside he was congratulating himself on a job well done.

Liv was tempted to say how surprised she was that the suspect— a noted habitual liar—would suddenly get an attack of the truth because of his intervention, but she had to sell the illusion. She couldn’t risk slipping up.

“Well, she’s the superintendent’s problem now,” she noted. “And given how much he’s been tying himself in knots, it’s probable he’s going to throw everything he’s got at her to put her away for a long time.” She waited for him to intervene, to say anything to indicate he wasn’t happy with abandoning an innocent woman to a life behind bars.

But no words came, as she expected. She turned around and headed towards Superintendent Collins’ office, with Archie giving her a look along the way that said, ‘Nice knowing you.’ Maybe I can get him to let me off the hook.

13

Alec moved through the school grounds in a dreamlike state. He wondered whether any of them understood what he was going through. Surely, they must have noticed the considerable bulk he was packing beneath his school uniform, the bruises on his face, or the scrapes on his knuckles. But his teachers didn’t say anything, presumably out of intimidation.

He felt like he’d lost so much over the last few months—his aspirations, his innocence, his relationship with his dad. Though the latter didn’t feel like much of a loss in hindsight. In that moment, he hated his dad with a passion.

It was hard to believe that a few months prior, he would have done anything for his dad. They were the best of friends, going down the pub and watching the football together. Even though Alec hadn’t been the macho man his dad had been hoping for, their relationship had been strong. And then he learned that his dad had been borrowing money, taking out loans that would have been impossible to pay back. And he was borrowing from the kind of people who would give him more than a cut lip for his trouble. They wanted the money back as soon as possible, and if he couldn’t get it through any other means—legal or illegal—he’d have to work off the debt. Or rather, find someone who would.

And that’s when he’d thrown his son under the bus. He’d sold it in glamorous terms, suggesting that Alec get involved in a few ‘harmless fights’ that would collect a bit of money and go towards paying off the debt. Alec had been appalled by the idea at first, so his dad had turned on the emotional blackmail and told his son exactly what would happen if he didn’t comply. “You’re the only one who can help me,” was a nice turn of phrase.

So, Alec had worked on beefing himself up, taking some lessons in boxing, and going along for the fight. When he was actually in the ring—a loose term considering that the space was only marked by the surrounding crowd—they weren’t expecting champion-style fighting. Alec’s opponent was not professionally trained. It was just about watching two people kicking the shit out of each other and seeing which one would pass out first.

The other opponent was just a kid, probably no older than Alec, and he looked equally petrified to be in the ring. But Alec had to remember that they weren’t friends. Two people walked into the ring, and only one could walk out.

And he had. When he went over to his dad at the end of it, there was no sense of horror over what he’d been through, no attempt to comfort his son. It had been like all his dreams had come true. All he could say was, “Nice going, son. Hopefully, you’ll pull through even more in the next fight.” The next fight, like this, was going to be a staple in his life.

There were at least two more fights afterwards, and every time, Alec had thought that he’d come close to losing before gaining a second wind at the last minute. But with each fight, he wondered when he’d come across the next one that would kill him.

One night, he was sitting up in his room—he couldn’t sit down to a family dinner anymore as he was unable to explain away his injuries—when there was a knock at the door.

A parcel, maybe? Though he couldn’t think of anyone who’d order a parcel for that time. “Alec!” his mum called up the stairs. “It’s a friend of yours!”

Alec rose from his bed and stumbled downstairs, wondering who’d be awaiting him in the doorway, ready to shoo them away. He’d had enough of being treated like a spectacle.

But he didn’t recognise the kid standing in the doorway. In fact, it took a few moments before he even realised it was a kid. The young man had a shaven head and sunken eyes, making him look older than his teenage years. “Hi, mate.” He spoke in a hoarse, yet nasally voice. “I was wondering if we could have a moment to talk, in private.”

His mother looked quizzically, but Alec shrugged his shoulders. If this was anything to do with the fighting, he wanted to keep those parts of his life separate from each other.

He walked outside and closed the door. “Listen to me—if she’s sent you to make my life hell…” Alec balled his hands into fists, but the young man didn’t even flinch.

“Who, Macy?” the kid asked, and Alec thought of the glamorous woman who’d been pulling his strings several times already. “No, believe me, if she knew I was here, she’d probably kill me.” Something about the tone suggested he wasn’t being hypothetical.

“So, what do you want?” Alec asked impatiently.

“You’ve got a fight coming up soon, yeah?” the other teen queried. “I’ve heard about the guy you’re going to be fighting against. Huge guy, built like an ox.”

Alec gulped, feeling like he was getting a glimpse of his death. He could run away, take what little belongings he still possessed, and hop on a train out of town. But he knew that he’d be leaving his family wide open. And as much as he hated his dad for putting him in this position in the first place, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon him to his fate.

“What’s it to you?” he asked challengingly.

“I wanted to see if I could help you out,” the teen insisted. “I know what it’s like when people throw you into the ring with impossible odds. Happened to me about a week ago. And I didn’t have anyone doing me the favour I’m trying to do you.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of pills.

“What are they?” Alec asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

“They’ll give you a little boost,” the teen explained dubiously. “You won’t be thinking about pissing yourself or whether you’re going to come out in one piece. You’ll be too busy pounding on the other guy.”

“Am I supposed to be reassured by that?” Alec asked sardonically.

“If you want to live, yes,” the teen said as he began to walk away. “Trust me, those things saved my life.”

Alec took in the young man’s slender frame, trying to imagine him in any kind of fight. “And what about the other guy? Did he walk away all right?”

The teen was already quite far down the road, but Alec could have sworn he heard the teen quietly add, “He didn’t.”

He looked down at the pills in his hand, a sick feeling in his stomach. Every time he felt like he was clawing his way out of the black hole his dad had thrown him into, he found out there was even further to fall. Now he was looking at what were clearly performance enhancing drugs. Were they steroids? He’d heard those things could mess up your head as well as your body, and now he was being told they were his best chance of coming out of the fight alive.

He pocketed the pills and walked back into the house, feeling like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

PC Lister helped himself to a health drink as he congratulated himself on his quick thinking. With the case coming under fire, he had a feeling that suspicion could fall on him. He knew Georgia would be reluctant to come in and make a statement. She wouldn’t be willing to fill in the gaps in the story, so he’d have to do that himself.

He had heard of Maria a few times and knew she was trying to get herself clean to have her son back in her life. He’d arrived at her residence and had talked her into taking the blame for the allegation. She’d refused at first, not wanting to get into any trouble. But then he’d threatened to make sure her son was placed with the wrong kind of foster parents, and she’d been like putty in his hands.

He’d watched as she was led away by DI Austin. He knew the famed inspector by reputation, despite having seldom worked with her, but he knew she wasn’t someone to be underestimated. Of all the people he would have to convince, she was the one who’d be the biggest challenge.

His fears were confirmed when she came into reception to retrieve Maria. Even though he was delivering her a suspect practically gift-wrapped, she still seemed suspicious, not entirely swayed. Definitely not with the angry slant he’d been expecting from someone who’d dragged her friends’ names through the mud months prior.

He worried if she was going to leave it be or keep digging.

Either way, he’d need to keep a close eye on her.

And then there was PC Hershel, who had been more than a little cagey in the past few days since they’d partnered up. Originally, he’d put that down to her being a lesbian and a likely having a hatred of men, but considering she often looked at him like shit on her shoe, he was sure there was more to it. Either way, Robert still felt like the walls were closing in. He needed to take steps to protect himself.

14

“You’re kidding me! No, really, Olivia, you’re fucking kidding me!”

Liv tried not to wince as Collins’ eyes burned into her. She’d seen him exasperated several times before—it was practically his default expression whenever she was in the office—but she’d never seen him this outraged with his face all red.

“I recognise I may not have acted with the best judgment, sir, but on reflection…” she began, trying to keep it professional despite the unprofessional conduct being discussed.

“No,” he snapped, pointing a shaking finger at her. “No, there is no way you can put a positive spin on this, DI Austin. You have known for the last few days the full extent concerning the allegations brought against this station, and rather than act on them and bring the witness in for questioning, you allowed yourself to be lured into this cloak and dagger mentality. You realise that to anyone who wasn’t clued into your… unorthodox way of working, a case could be made for you withholding evidence in an ongoing investigation.”

Liv gulped, wondering if she was being threatened with the end of her career.

“And to add insult to injury, you align yourself with Katie Gibson, the woman who damn near destroyed this police service. How do you know she’s not using this to spin a new story that will finish us off?” Collins demanded, and it was clear that no end of good deeds would ever allow him to see the undercover journalist as anything other than a bad penny.

“With respect, sir,” Liv replied. “We would have been none the wiser as to who was launching these accusations and why. Because of her, not only do we know the identity of the woman sending out the accusations, but we also know that they’re true.”

“And believe me, that does little to reassure me,” Collins insisted, his hands curling into fists. She could imagine he wanted to look past rules and regulations and strangle Lister.

“Now, when this gets called out, I’m only going to be able to defend you so much,” Collins insisted. “By keeping this information to yourself…” He trailed off as he realised what he was saying. “Of course. There’s no way you could do all of this on your own. So go on, who else have you roped into this clandestine inquiry?”

Liv knew the only reason so many people were involved was because of her. She couldn’t drag them down with her. “No one else, sir. I acted alone with the knowledge I was given. No need to do another manhunt around the station.”

Collins nodded slowly, not sure whether to admire this protective stance she had towards her colleagues or be frustrated by it. He was clearly trying to find a point that he could argue against. “I think we have to look at this from an optics perspective,” he said finally, and Liv couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “You might not have to worry about it from your position, but I certainly do! How do you think people are going to take knowing that you knew that Robert Lister was a rotten apple and yet you sat on a lot of the evidence for a few days. There’s enough there to bring about accusations of a cover-up, you realise?”

Liv tried to retain her composure, even as it dawned on her how much trouble she was in. The idea that she could be lumped in the same pile as PC Lister infuriated her.

“I mean, when were you planning on telling me this?” Collins demanded, and she could hear not just his frustration from her insubordination but also the disappointment that Liv hadn’t trusted him enough to come to him, even after all the years they’d worked together.

“I had hoped that I could present the case to you once I had enough evidence,” Liv insisted, knowing it wasn’t much of a defence, but it was the only one she had. “But once he brought in that young woman and tried to force her to take responsibility for the baby rumour, I knew I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. Whatever she’s done, she doesn’t deserve this.”

“I suppose I should be grateful that you’re not chucking her to the wolves,” Collins muttered. “But God knows what Lister has been getting up to since you…”

“Do you honestly think I wanted to keep it quiet?” Liv snapped, sick of trying to do the right thing and having it thrown back in her face. “Believe me, it killed me having to keep all of you in the dark. I hated every single second of it. The moment I heard what this guy had done to her, I wanted to bring all of you up to speed. But that would have meant disrespecting her wishes. She begged me not to go straight to the police. Because she didn’t trust us. Because the last time she put her faith in the service, she ended up living under house arrest for the better part of two months. I did what I had to do to gain her trust. And even if I had spoken to you guys about it and told you exactly what’d happened from the word go, it would have been a massive breach of her trust and given her even more reason not to come forward. I had a difficult choice to make, guv, so I chose what I thought was the lesser of two evils. Maybe you can decide for yourself whether or not I chose right.”

Collins nodded slowly, his features softening. “I understand why you kept it quiet. And in some ways, I can admire that. But you can’t manage this all on your own. If she’d been brought into the station, we could have built a case, gotten Lister taken off active duty. God knows how many other offences he’s committed during his tenure. I don’t want somebody like that serving in my station. The sooner he’s out of there, the better. We will discuss your conduct at a later point. My focus is on the young woman that the system clearly failed. This is a chance for us to make up for our mistakes and do right by her.”

Liv was glad that at least Collins could take that slant.

“Now, what evidence do you have against Lister?” Collins asked, clearly refraining from referring to the constable by his rank, as he felt he wasn’t worthy of it.

“Well, I’ve done a bit of digging,” Olivia explained, trying to keep Diana’s name in the clear regarding things she knew. “And we’ve managed to find the house that Georgia was being kept in during those months. It’s a rented property that he tried to pass off as a legitimate safe house. We’re still trying to work out whether bringing Georgia there was an isolated incident or whether he brought other women there as well.”

“Okay, well, that’s something,” Collins replied. “Do you think Georgia will be up to coming into the station and giving a statement? At the moment, it’s going to be his word against hers, and we need to build an effective case against the man.”

“The only way we can get her to come in here and even breathe the same air as him is if there’s damning evidence that says he’s guilty as sin,” Liv replied, frustrated that she couldn’t shake Georgia’s enforced silence but at the same time understanding her reasons.

“Then there’s Maria,” Collins suggested. “If he did coerce her into giving a statement, that’s going to be damning.” He sighed heavily, clearing wishing for the days when he thought the baby rumour was exactly that. “I still think Georgia needs to come in so we can talk to her. So, in that regard, we need Lister as far away from the station as possible.”

“We could always have PC Hershel take him out on patrol,” Liv suggested neutrally, trying to play down the extent of Diana’s involvement.

“Okay, here’s what I’m going to suggest moving forward,” Collins declared. “PC Hershel gets Lister out of the station on patrol while one of our more empathic officers sits down with Maria and gets her to open up. I take it you’re still in contact with Georgia?”

“Yes, I am,” she replied, glad that she didn’t have to lie to her boss anymore.

“Then I suggest you reach out to her and tell her that we have a witness who can attest to Lester’s less than stellar reputation. Maybe if she feels we’ve got actual evidence against him, she’ll be more likely to come forward,” he suggested, making it all sound simple.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said, getting ready to leave the office.

“Olivia,” he added gently, and she thought he was going to give her another lecture. “I appreciate that you were placed in a position where it wasn’t possible to get it right. That woman’s trust in us was corroded, and if you hadn’t have made contact with us, then she would have probably continued going without justice. I want to assure you that in regards to conduct, if there’s any way I can keep this under the carpet, I will.”

Liv was grateful for the show of loyalty, even if it was technically breaking the rules. There were times when she wondered whether she’d be able to carry out her job within the confines of the system, a question she hoped she’d never have to answer.

She walked down the corridor to see Clara walking up to her. “Listen, Clara,” she began. “I’m really sorry for putting you in that position. Are you and Diana okay now?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” she said brightly. “It helps that I know what she was doing, but that’s not actually what I wanted to talk to you about. The website for all the fighting videos… something’s come up, and I think you’d better take a look at it.”

Unable to say any more, the civilian worker led Olivia down the corridor, her pace picking up with each step.

15

Clara sat down at the computer and opened the link. All of the videos were still there just as before, except for a new entry…

…except it wasn’t a new entry. It was a box that had COMING SOON and underneath the box was a countdown ticking away—four hours, twenty-minutes, and counting…

“They've got another fight planned,” Liv remarked breathlessly.

“I know,” Clara remarked, looking over the page. “I've tried everything to find out where it is being held or who is involved, but I've had no luck.”

“So basically, it looks like we've got to wait until the countdown goes off before we can step in and do anything,” the inspector remarked grimly, fearful that by the time they got to the arena, it would be too late, and there'd be another dead body awaiting them.

“What about the girlfriend?” Clara chimed in. “She said she’d been to some of the fights before. Maybe she will know a bit more about where they are.”

Liv nodded slowly. “Not a bad idea, Clara,” she noted.

She went off to find Archie to take him along for the ride, and on the way, she bumped into Dean. “Everything all right?” he asked, trying to settle into professional mode.

“Yeah, listen, I should tell you before you hear it from someone else,” she said hurriedly, wanting to wrap up the case in time for the fight, but wanting to keep her partner in the clear. “Collins knows everything, so a few moves are going to be made against Lister.”

Dean nodded slowly, unsure whether to take this as positive. “But is he…”

“Don’t worry, he’s none the wiser about any of you. I’ve held my hands up to the whole thing. You guys were just unfortunate enough to get caught up in it.”

‘Maybe I don't mind getting caught up in it,” he offered tenderly.

“Well,” she replied, smiling at the sentiment. “As per usual, the gaffer doesn't know whether to congratulate me or demand my resignation.”

“If he has any sense, he’ll focus his energies on catching Lister,” Dean replied, always knowing the right things to say to put her at ease.

“Listen,” she said, a little embarrassed that she didn’t have time to reciprocate the thought. “I’ve got to go and head off. I’m literally operating on a timer.”

Ella looked over the bag of money that she had stolen from the fight. When she’d laid eyes on it in the cloakroom, completely forgotten in the carnage that’d erupted following Jay’s death, she’d never seen so much money in her life. And it was hers for the taking.

Knowing that Jay wouldn’t want his death to be for nothing, she took the bag and ran. She had been panicking that night, but not to the point that she would just go straight from the gym to the police station. Instead, she chose to stash the bag at home before making her way and telling them everything. Hopefully, they would be able to arrest a lot of the members involved in the fight—including Macy, who’d been responsible for organising a lot of the fights—and she’d be able to walk away with a decent payday.

With the police currently sniffing around and an air of suspicion having landed on her, she figured it’d probably only be a matter of time before the police were bringing her in over the money. She started throwing a load of clothes into an overnight bag, figuring that she could lie low somewhere until the danger passed… Failing that, she could just up and leave Newquay. It wasn’t like there was anything tying her to the place anymore.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door downstairs. She rolled her eyes, hoping it wasn’t the police. The only other person it could be was yet another well-intentioned neighbour popping around to offer their condolences.

Ella thought that if she just focused on packing, maybe they’d go away and leave her be. But the knocking only intensified with such force that Ella thought they were going to knock the door down. She figured she might as well go downstairs and see what they wanted. “I’m coming!” she called out, letting the exasperation in her voice show.

She opened the door, and as soon as she laid eyes on the person standing there, she went pale white. She tried to close the door, but a well-manicured hand shot out and held it open. The owner of the hand stepped inside, all smiles.

“I think it’s time you and I had a little chat, Ella,” she said, stepping into the flat and claiming it as her own. “Mainly about some money of mine that went missing from the fight the other night.” She advanced on the woman like a coiled viper waiting to strike.

Ella stepped back, trying to put on her best poker face. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” She ran through all the possible excuses in her head, trying to think of one that’d get her off the hook.

But Macy seemed to see through all of them. “You forget, darling, I’m a human bullshit detector. Don’t kid a kidder. I’ve asked around a few of the usual suspects, and they all deny it. And I don’t know why I bothered, to be honest, because none of them are stupid enough to steal from me. They know I could break them if I wanted.”

Ella gulped, her eyes darting around the room for any kind of weapon, but there was nothing within reach that she could ward off her attacker with.

“So, one of two things is going to happen,” Macy declared. “Either you’re going to get the money and hand it over to me, or I’m going to start working my way through your bones until you do. And don’t tell me you didn’t take it, because that just insults my intelligence and makes me angry.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a hammer. “So, are you going to start talking?”

Ella weighed up her options. There was no point in denying it. The fight organiser could see right through her. So, she tried to run.

But Macy had clearly tried to anticipate that and grabbed Ella by the back of the hair and held her against the wall. Ella tried to wrestle herself out of the woman’s grip, but to no avail.

Ella slammed the hammer into the wall inches from Ella’s face, creating a visible dent. “Try not to drag this out,” she insisted politely. “I’ve got a fight to get to.”

Ella grunted again as she tried to move away, but Macy then slammed the hammer into her spine, causing her legs to buckle, but she kept herself upright. “Come on, you stupid bitch. Is that really worth risking your life over?”

Ella didn’t answer that. “How many blows do you think I’ll go through before I decide to put a hole in your skull?” Macy hissed and brought the hammer back, leaving Ella terrified of where it would land. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact…

Suddenly, the two detectives burst through the open door, taking in the sight before them. DS Elmhurst launched himself at the woman and wrestled her to the ground, trying to force the hammer out of her grip while DI Austin approached Ella. “Are you all right?”

Ella looked down at Macy hatefully. “That psycho just tried to kill me!”

“Bollocks!” Macy shouted from the ground amidst Archie’s ironclad grasp. “I only wanted to take what was mine! She stole money from me, and I’m not leaving until I get it!”

Liv looked to Ella, who looked away, unable to offer a rebuttal. Instead, she ran for the doorway, but she was lagging due to the prior injuries sustained to her back. Liv grabbed her with ease and held her against the wall. “I deserve that money,” Ella hissed, looking animalistic. “It’s all I’ve got left of Jay.”

“Jay being the same boyfriend you set up to be killed?” Archie asked as Macy seemed to finally relent and the hammer lay on the ground.

“We’re going to need to call in a few more people,” Liv noted, taking out the handcuffs and slapping them on Ella. “I’m arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, however, it may harm your defence if you fail to mention…”

“I don’t know why you’re arresting me!” Ella snapped, trying to break away. She looked down at Macy. “She’s the one who’s been organising the fights!”

“Is that so?” Liv asked, looking like Christmas had come early. She hadn’t expected to receive such a lucky breakthrough in the case. She looked down at the well-dressed woman, seeing what paying for the brutality of others had given her. “So, you should know about the fight that is taking place tonight? I want you to call it off.”

“What, are you serious?” Macy asked, the suggestion making her fight back against Archie with renewed strength. “A lot of money has gone into that fight.”

“Is that really your big concern?” Archie asked from the floor. “After everything you’ve done, you’re not just looking at charges for facilitating but also for murder.”

“What are you talking about?” she demanded. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

16

Alec looked at himself in the mirror, trying to recognise the young man looking back to him. Every time he fought, it felt like he was losing a little piece of himself. One of the people organising the fight had told him that he could either be the guy who took the moral high ground or the guy who came out alive. He couldn’t be both.

He was sick and tired of having to pay for other people’s mistakes, mostly his dad’s, who seemed more concerned on coming through and getting a payment out of it than that he might lose his life. Alec had got a good look at his opponent. The guy was definitely an amateur, and the main thing he had going for him was size. Alec didn’t doubt that in a fair fight, the guy would have no problem killing him.

He looked down at the pills that the teenager had given him earlier. He wasn’t sure what they’d do to him and was terrified of rendering himself even more unrecognisable, but then the self-preservation instinct kicked in and he swallowed one.

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” Macy insisted. She was no longer lying on the floor and was instead sitting on Ella’s sofa, hands cuffed behind her back. “I didn’t go in there planning on killing anyone. The whole point of these fights is that they’re cheap and easy access entertainment. If I have to deal with a dead body… Well, nobody wants to be associated with that. My attendance numbers would go down quickly. Not to mention the stress of having to get rid of Jay’s body.”

“By ‘get rid of’, you mean dumping on the train tracks?” Archie asked, figuring they might as well try for a confession and get everything wrapped up.

Liv tried to see the woman’s viewpoint, even if it was less from a moral perspective and more about ongoing business. She’d certainly have no reason to want anyone dead.

“So, how did Jay end up dying?” she asked, knowing there was no doubt that he’d died during the fight. His injuries would have confirmed that even without a post-mortem.

“Sometimes, if there are a few newbies that are new to the ring, they might take some drugs that will give them a little aggression boost,” Macy explained casually, as though the idea of experimenting with mind-altering drugs was a common occurrence. “And okay, while it does mean they’re more likely to go the distance, I never expected the other kid to go as far as to kill Jay. So technically, him dying fucked me over.”

Liv couldn’t help taking in Ella’s lack of remorse over the circumstances that led to her boyfriend’s death. She really doesn’t care about anyone, but herself, Liv thought, angry that she’d been taken in by the crocodile tears.

“There’s another fight that’s to be going on tonight,” Archie stated. “Do you know where it’s meant to be taking place?” At this, Macy went silent. “You’re not doing yourself any favours with the silent treatment.”

“I’m not saying another word without my solicitor,” Macy said smugly.

“Oh, we’re not waiting that long,” Liv said, conscious of the timer she’d seen on the computer. She got up in Macy’s face. “Now, you say you didn’t plan for Jay to die. I believe you. That was clearly a case of outside influence. But if the same thing happens again tonight because you decided to keep your trap shut, you’re not just looking at charges for unlicensed betting and providing facilities for gambling. You’re also going to be looking at an accessory to murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.” She watched the unease wash over Macy’s face. “Still playing the strong and silent type?”

Alec took a look around the choice of venue for the fight. They’d chosen a room in the local leisure centre, the organiser having made a deal with the owner for some money.

But no one around them was in the mood for leisure. The people surrounding him had paid to see blood and were jeering for it. Alec looked to the right and could see a tripod set up to record the fight, broadcasting it live for all to see.

He took a look at his opponent, half-hoping that the man would take pity on him and call off the fight. But he looked like he was gagging for a challenge.

He’d tried telling himself that he didn’t need any of the tablets, but that hadn’t stopped him from popping another two. Even if he didn’t have a chance of coming through the fight intact, at least he wouldn’t run the risk of bottling it.

He wondered how long it would take for them to kick in.

He climbed into the ring, pounding his fists together, psyching himself up for the fight. The opponent, for his part, looked amused by the spectacle, but there was something about that shit-eating grin that set Alec on edge. Like this was all just a game to him.

He looked around at the spectators and wondered if they had all paid simply to see his humiliation. He gritted his teeth in anger and pounded his fists over and over. There was the distant sound of a bell going off, and the two males started circling each other, waiting to see which one would throw the first punch.

The opponent moved first, jabbing out, and Alec swerved to miss it, though it connected with his shoulder, and even then, he could feel a lot of power behind the blow.

He could feel a burst of energy flowing through him now, empowering him, and a little voice in the back of his head telling him that he could do this.

As the opponent moved in closer, Alec lashed out with a fist and drove it into the man’s stomach. It didn’t quite wind him, but it certainly took him by surprise.

Alec grinned at the opening he’d received and jumped on the chance, raining blow after blow after blow on the man who tried to respond. His punches were coming in like lightning, every single fear of not being strong or fast enough long since evaporated. He could see that he was wearing his opponent down.

But at that point, it was no longer enough for him to use his fists. He kicked hard into the other man’s knee, and even though the sound around him had become completely distorted, he could still make out the audible sound of something snapping, and the opponent suddenly screamed in pain as he fell to the floor.

Alec was petrified that if he gave him the chance to get back up, he’d finish the teenager for good, so he tried to keep him down. He stamped on his bare back repeatedly, leaving booted imprints and pressing everything he had into the kicks.

He looked around at the crowd, wondering if this was the spectacle they’d wanted.

Suddenly, he was possessed by an animalistic rage. Having spent so long being controlled by other people, he was now finally the one with the power… and he wasn’t going to let it go. He kept on kicking, the blows connecting with the man’s rib cage, and Alec wondered how long it would be until something else snapped.

The crowd were no longer watching him. In fact, they seemed to be backing away from him. But he was far too caught up in the heat of the moment to care. Then he felt someone tackle him to the hard, tiled floor. He tried to get back up, but something else was pressing its weight on him. He screamed in impotent rage.

His eyes darted around the room to see if his dad was anywhere in sight, but the older man had since disappeared, once again leaving Alec to pick up the pieces.

Despite the fact that she’d seen the teenager come within inches of beating another man to death, Liv felt a swell of pity for him. It was likely that like so many other fighters that had fallen under Macy’s thrall, he’d had no choice in the matter and had simply done what he had to do to survive. She looked into the glazed-over eyes and wondered if he was on the same drugs as the young man who’d killed Jay.

She turned around and looked at the patrons who’d attempted to flee. “This match is over!” she shouted, determined not to let any of them get away.

She didn’t know the young man’s name. She wanted to comfort him and reassure him, but she didn’t know what words might penetrate his drug-induced haze. At least I got to him before he could become a murderer.

The strain of the last few days was starting to wear away at Liv, and more than anything, she just wanted to collapse into Dean’s arms.

But she couldn’t. Not yet. There was still one more promise she had to fulfil—or at least trust her colleagues to follow through for her.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Lister.

17

Georgia was pacing up and down Katie’s flat, growing increasingly anxious. “I’ve got to get out there,” she insisted, having spent the last few days holed up, leaving Katie wondering if the cabin fever was starting to get to her.

“You sure?” Katie asked, wanting to keep the woman safe. But while her intentions were altruistic, she also had selfish reasons. She’d made a lot of mistakes in her career as an undercover journalist and betrayed a lot of people who’d welcomed her into their circle. And as she’d dealt with the full extent of that betrayal, she wondered if she’d ever be able to live with herself again. Protecting Georgia had been her way of making up for the things she’d done and the people she’d endangered with her reckless reporting.

There was a knock at the door and both women leapt up. “You expecting anyone?” Georgia asked cautiously, to which Katie shook her head.

“Do I strike you as Miss Popular?” she asked, moving slowly towards the door. “Just keep quiet.” She walked up to the door, working up the nerve to speak. “Who is it?”

“It’s Andrew,” came the reply, and yet that did nothing to ease her tension.

She opened the door, and Andrew Shaw was standing there. When Katie had been undercover as a PC, she’d been partnered with Andrew, himself a constable, and the two had slowly built up a rapport. Katie had found herself enjoying his sardonic sense of humour. In fact, it was through him that she’d started feeling guilty about her exposé, knowing he’d be caught in the crossfire… only for him to turn the tables on her and expose her to the whole station, signalling the end of her undercover work as well as her career as a journalist.

She should hate the man for upending her life so much, but she knew a lot of it was self-inflicted. And now was not the time for the blame game.

“Surprised to see you again,” she started, trying to break the ice. “You look good in a suit.” But then her shields went up. “What are you doing here?”

“I know about Georgia,” he said bluntly. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to dob her in. I just want to bring her up to speed on a few things so she decides what’s happening next.”

Katie weighed up the options. “Okay, follow me.” She led him into the living room where Georgia was waiting. She immediately stood to attention at the stranger.

“It’s all right,” he insisted, offering a warm smile known for putting people at ease. “I’m DC Andrew Shaw. It’s good to meet you. Don’t worry, I’m not here to drag you off kicking and screaming.” He cringed, thinking that probably wasn’t the best joke to lead with.

“Did Olivia sell me out?” Georgia asked in a shaky voice.

“Absolutely not,” Andrew stated vehemently. “She’s been doing everything she can to bring in that bastard.” Andrew felt sick to his stomach, recalling how only a few days ago, he’d been cracking jokes with Lister. “Another woman was brought into the station. He tried to strongarm her into saying that it was her baby and the whole thing was just about cheating benefits. He threatened her.”

Georgia looked guilty at this. “It’s all my fault. If I’d come in sooner…”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Andrew offered softly while Katie watched on. “None of us do. If anything, we blame the fucker who exploited you. And I can promise you, she’s perfectly okay. We’re going to make sure she gets all the help she needs. In fact, she’s currently giving a statement about how Robert Lister pressured her into making a false allegation. It’s not the kind of accusation he’s going to walk away from. And we’re going to be building a watertight case against him… but we need your help.”

Georgia remained silent as he continued. “I can understand you being reluctant to trust any of us.” Andrew threw off the temptation to look in Katie’s direction at the word ‘trust’. “And believe me, every single one of us is pissed off that we didn’t see this coming. That we didn’t think one of our own could be capable of something like this. But we want the chance to put it right… if you’ll let us.” He let the words hang in the air, having said his piece.

“Will I have to see him again?” Georgia asked, feeling disgust rippled through her.

“I promise you, we’re going to make sure he can never hurt you again,” Andrew insisted, getting up from the table. “Take some time to think about it.” He got up and walked into the kitchen, Katie following close behind. “Do you think she’ll come in?”

“I think knowing that there’s another girl in the frame will make a huge difference,” Katie suggested. “Safety in numbers kind of thing. But I don’t want to put her under any pressure. I don’t want to see her testimony taken apart by some smarmy prosecutor.”

Andrew nodded slowly, smiling a little. “What is it?” she asked.

“You sound like a really good copper,” he said earnestly. “She’s lucky to have you in her corner. Don’t know how she would have got this far.”

She smiled at the compliment, not sure if she deserved the validation just yet. “Listen, Andrew, about what happened…” She felt a deep sense of guilt for having lied to him and was desperate for some closure between them.

“No,” he said softly. “I get that you’re trying to move on from that. So am I. But I’m not here to be your confessor or to make you feel better. No offense, but my biggest priority is making sure that Georgia is all right and feels up to giving a statement.”

Katie nodded, accepting this mark against her. It was no more than she deserved.

“So, what are we supposed to be looking for?” PC Robert Lister asked as they drove down the street. Diana was feeling tense from the exchange. She’d been tasked with keeping the corrupt PC out of the station until CID could collect the necessary statements.

But just sitting in a police car with the man, it felt like being in a cage with a wild animal. Even though she’d been told about the crimes he’d been accused of, she didn’t know anything about Robert Lister or what he was capable of. The sooner he was in custody, the better. She just needed to wait for the signal.

“You know, I’ve enjoyed working with you for the last few days,” he stated, and she couldn’t tell whether he was being honest or whether this was yet another part of his act.

“Thanks,” she replied, trying to show she was present and not glancing at her phone waiting for the signal from DC Shaw. She couldn’t help feeling grateful that even though they were now departments apart, she and Andrew still managed to find a way to work with each other. He’d always be her ideal partner, not this perverted parasite.

“I was wondering, later on, when we’re off the clock, did you fancy getting a drink sometime?” he asked, the question taking her by surprise.

“Excuse me?” she asked, dropping any attempts at niceties. She held up her ring finger. “Not sure if you remember, but I’m married.”

“Oh, I know,” he quickly stated. “Not looking to get you into bed or anything. Just thought it’d be nice to see eye to eye with you a bit more.”

Diana knew that day would never come, but still, she had to keep him thinking that he still had a future after all this. “Sure, that’d be great.”

Later in the shift, they were busy patrolling the streets for any signs of distress, Diana taking care not to let the man out of her sight. The last thing people needed to see was one police officer chasing another. She was tempted to handcuff him then and there, but her instructions had been to wait until they’d spoken to the witness.

Diana’s phone buzzed, and it was a text from Andrew. ALL CLEAR.

He started back to the car, and Diana waited until he was about to get in the driver’s side before she stopped him. “What’s this all about?” he joked.

At least now she didn’t have to pretend to be cordial with him. “Robert Lister, I’m arresting you on suspicion of sexual exploitation and perverting the course of justice.” She whipped out her handcuffs, and before he could respond, they were clamped around his wrist, some of the onlookers observing the scene.

“What the hell is this?” he growled as his face was pressed against the bonnet.

“You do not have to say anything, however, it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say, may be used as evidence,” she concluded, bundling him into the back of the car and closing the door, reclaiming her rightful place behind the steering wheel.

“You’re making a big mistake, you little bitch,” he snarled angrily, shifting in his seat.

“You save that energy for the interrogation,” she responded, trying not to look at him in the rearview mirror.

“You know none of this will stick,” he stated. “I’m going to walk away from this.”

EPILOGUE

Olivia had never enjoyed the routine of paperwork, and the events of the last few days had certainly given her a lot to process.

There was the unlicensed boxing organised by Macy Higgins. They’d been able to speak to everyone affiliated with the illegal trade and ensured it was shut down.

She’d spoken to Alec, the young man who’d been on the verge of beating another man to death. She was so grateful to have got to him in time. A few minutes later, and Alec would have lost his freedom. After he’d been brought in for questioning, he’d told her everything—his dad’s outstanding debts, the deal he’d made with Macy to clear them, and the young man who’d given him the pills to help get him through the fight.

Alec’s supposed guardian angel had turned himself in a few days later, admitting to taking the mind-altering substances in an attempt to psyche himself up and that he had never planned to kill anyone. Liv bemoaned that he’d had his life ruined because of the greed of others. But she was relieved that she could spare Alec a similar fate, ensuring that he was moved as far away from his dad as possible without any interference. His dad had protested it, but Liv had made it clear that he’d lost his right to be a parent the moment he offered his own son up as a piece of meat.

Ella had been arrested for stealing the money collected from the previous fight, recovered by forensics during a thorough search of her house. Though Liv wasn’t sure what charges she would face in regard to Jay’s death. Liv had hoped to find something to indicate the woman was remorseful for Jay dying, but it all fell flat.

Much of the time was spent moving things forward with the Robert Lister case.

Georgia had finally been persuaded to come into the station to give a statement and recounted in full detail every vile thing Robert had done to her. The statement made Liv’s skin crawl every time she read it. She was no stranger to scumbags sexually exploiting vulnerable people, but the fact it was one of their own made Liv feel sick to her stomach.

Along with Maria’s statement, a damning case was being built up against the former PC, and there was going to be a widespread investigation into his activities to see if there was anything else he was guilty of.

Katie Gibson had been called into a meeting with Superintendent Collins. It’d been the first time the two had been in contact with each other in months.

“Please, have a seat,” Collins said curtly, and Katie sat, unsure what he was getting at. “You know, it’s funny. When you were exposed as a journalist, you said that the point of your assignment was to root out all the flaws in the police service. In a roundabout way, I would say you’ve been successful.”

“The irony is not lost on me,” Katie replied plainly.

“What I’m trying to work out is your motive for getting involved,” Collins stated, crossing his arms. “You’re neither a copper nor a journalist, so what’s your angle?”

Katie sighed, frustrated that he only seemed to see the worst in her, but then again, maybe it was no less than what she deserved. “Would you believe me if I told you when I got into reporting, I actually wanted to help people? I wanted to speak up for the people that couldn’t speak up for themselves. And somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that. I let myself turn into a backstabbing bitch because I thought that was the type of person I needed to be to survive in that business. And it wasn’t until I got found out that I took a long hard look at myself, and honestly, I didn’t like what I saw. And before you ask, I don’t think this will wipe the slate clean. I’m pretty sure that what I broke here isn’t going back together. Protecting Georgia was me trying to be the kind of person I should have been years ago.”

Collins took it all in, as if measuring her sincerity. “I believe you,” he finally said. “I’ve wasted so much time trying to work out what your angle is that maybe I’m seeing something that nobody else is. I’m not going to question your contributions to this investigation. Without you, Robert Lister would have continued to operate with impunity, so we have you to thank for that. And it will make a huge difference moving forward.”

“So…” Katie began, daring herself to be hopeful. “Where does that leave us? I’m not expecting us to be friends, but does this at least clear the air?”

Collins pondered the question. “To be honest, it’s not up to me to decide whether the slate is wiped clean. I may always have some issues with you, but DI Austin placed a lot of trust in you during this investigation, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this role, it’s that I need to trust her judgment more often. You’re trying to move forward. So am I. I don’t want to spend the rest of my career ruminating on old mistakes.” He leaned over the desk and offered his hand, and Katie tentatively took it.

“Why does a lot of the exciting stuff happen after I leave?” DS Nikki Harding asked through the Skype cam. “Honestly, what I would have given to castrate that bastard.”

Normally, Liv would have been quick to shoot down some of Nikki’s more extreme suggestions, but Lister certainly deserved it. “Well, I think someone else will save you the trouble. He’s going away for a while. And for a copper behind bars, he’d probably be better off dead.” She smiled at the prison he’d made of his life, like the one he’d made for Georgia.

“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she replied, trying to remind herself to have a conversation with her colleagues that wasn’t about work. “How is Derby treating you?”

“Well, it’s certainly putting me through my paces,” Nikki replied, suddenly looking a little tired. “They’ve kept me busy, and I swear they’ve aged me horribly.”

“But you’re still doing okay?” Liv asked, remembering that the whole reason Nikki had arranged for a temporary transfer to Newquay was to deal with the trauma of losing her husband.

“I think a lot of healing has been done,” Nikki responded earnestly. “I think about what happened with me and how I have moved forward, and I definitely couldn’t have done that if I’d stayed in Newquay. No offence.”

“None taken,” Liv replied. “So, you looking forward to getting back?” She tried to remember how long DS Harding’s secondment was meant to last, and she looked forward to trading barbs with her all over again.

Nikki looked uncomfortable, shuffling on the camera like she suddenly wanted to be anywhere but on the call. “You are coming back, aren’t you?”

“Well…” Given that Nikki Harding, a woman notorious for speaking her mind regardless of what other people thought, was hesitant with her words was borderline unnerving for Liv. “I’m actually thinking of making it permanent.”

“Oh,” Liv exclaimed, sitting back in her seat. “Shit, I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ve not made a final decision,” Nikki cautioned, “but it’s looking more and more likely.”

Nikki Harding had been one of Newquay’s best detectives, and Liv had certainly benefited from her presence on several investigations. It’d been disappointing that Nikki had felt she couldn’t work through her trauma in Newquay, but Liv had accepted the decision in part because she knew it wasn’t going to be a permanent move. In a few months’ time, she’d be getting her friend back. And now that was another part of her life that’d changed forever.

“Why?” was all she could say.

“Look, this isn’t about me getting tired of you guys,” Nikki said, before jokingly adding, “If anything, I figured you guys would get tired of me first. When I moved here, I thought that I’d give it a few months before I settled back into my old life, going back to the way things were. But they are never going to be the same again. Enzo’s dead. And in a way, I’ve still got to live with the crimes he committed. But over here in Derby, I’ve been getting better. The team have all been great, Francesca is settling into school and going out with playmates, and… I think I’ve met someone.”

“You think you’ve met someone?” Liv asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, he doesn’t know it yet,” she shrugged. “We’re too busy using the office for our own pissing contest. But he’s a good bloke, and I feel like I can say ‘this is my life’ and not feel bad about it. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I’d headed back to Newquay.” She sighed heavily. “So, as much as it kills me, and as much as I love all you guys… I’m definitely thinking of moving ahead with a permanent transfer.”

Liv tried to force down her disappointment. “Well, I’m happy for you, Nikki.”

Nikki looked quizzically at her. “Liv, please, say what you’re thinking. I think if you’ve learned anything from working with me, it’s to always speak your mind.”

“And then some,” Liv chortled. “A part of me wants to say that the only way you will get things on track is if you come back to Newquay, but then I know that’s just me being selfish. I’m really happy that you’ve got this calm in your life. And if you feel that staying in Derby is the best way to preserve it, then who am I to say otherwise?”

“I know that I’m leaving a massive Nikki-shaped hole in your lives,” she said lightly. “But I’m pretty sure you’ll get over me.”

“Well, somebody certainly thinks highly of themselves,” the inspector joked. “You realise that Collins is going to be in pieces?”

“I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t,” she continued. “But in time, he’ll see that this is the best thing for everyone.”

“I’m sure,” Liv said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

“I’ve decided,” Dean exclaimed, “I’m going to book a holiday for us.”

“What?” Liv asked. “When? Where? Why?”

“I thought New Zealand would be nice this time of year,” he surmised. “Personally, I’d like to look at my surroundings without thinking that once upon a time, a body had been stashed there.”

“I’m pretty sure New Zealand has a worrying crime rate,” Liv observed.

“Yes, but I don’t live over there,” Dean retorted. “I need a bit of separation from all this. And I think you do as well, Liv. The Lister thing is getting out of control, and it’s only going to get more heated in the next few weeks. Frankly, I’d rather go somewhere to chill before it heats up. My mum can look after Briggs while we’re away. And it gives us a bit of time together.” He pulled her close into the embrace and kissed her forehead.

“I think I have a very good idea of what you want to be getting up to on the holiday,” Liv said cheekily. “And the sights you plan on seeing…”

Liv came into work a few days later to see Diana waiting in the office for her.

“Everything okay?” Liv asked, setting her takeaway coffee down. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“It’s Lister,” the young PC responded, flexing her fingers in agitation. “I’ve heard people talking about how he’s going to make bail.”

Since Robert Lister had been brought into the station, Superintendent Collins had done everything he could to get the PC thrown out of the force, including putting together a red notice that would signal the termination of his police contract, as well as presenting evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service with the hopes of keeping him remanded in custody until any trial.

But they’d had to deal with the presence of a slick lawyer—a man called Philip Atwell, who was famed for his skills as a defence lawyer. Liv had barely interacted with the man, but from what she’d heard from others, the standard response to seeing him on the stand was to ‘run and hide.’

This had thrown up all kinds of questions for Liv. How was a lowly PC able to afford a lawyer like Atwell? She’d heard of the man’s price tag and knew that whoever hired him would spend a lifetime paying off the debt. The only explanation that Liv could think of was that somebody else was footing the bill.

Atwell was arguing for entrapment being used as a way to discredit the work of ‘a good man’.

But Liv didn’t want Diana thinking about any of this. “I promise you the case that is being built against him is watertight. He’s not going to wriggle out of it no matter how many high-priced lawyers he has in his arsenal.”

“But what if he does?” Diana asked. Liv could see the fear in her eyes, and it unnerved her. She’d worked alongside PC Hershel for several years and knew the young woman for her resilience and fearlessness. Even when she had been kidnapped, Diana had never displayed the level of fear that Liv was seeing right now.

“When we were working together, he went past my house to drop me off,” Diana said silently, every single word feeling like a death sentence. “And I was the one who arrested him. What if he is able to make bail? Are you telling me he’s not going to set his sights on the people who put him there? Namely me?”

“He won’t be that stupid,” Liv insisted, kneeling down before her friend. “He’s not going to get anywhere near you, Diana. I’m going to make sure of that.”

But Diana didn’t look so convinced. “I keep thinking that all I’ve done is paint a massive target on mine and Clara’s backs. I’m a PC, so I know the risks that come with the job. But Clara’s a civilian. I can’t risk seeing her suffer because of things I’ve done. I love her too much for that.”

“So, what are you saying?” Liv asked, not liking the direction the conversation was going.

“I think me and Clara need to leave Newquay.”

THE END

TO BE CONTINUED…

Find out more in Book Forty-Six here: April Fools Killers

DS NIKKI HARDING WILL RETURN IN HER OWN SERIES:

BOOK 1 - BLOOD LIKE WINE

RELEASE DATE COMING SOON!

Looking for Book Forty-Six? Don’t worry, it’s here!

April Fools Killers - DI Austin Book Forty-Six

Want to follow Olivia’s ex-colleague, Detective Sergeant Leah West?

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Sins Evoked - DS Leah West Book One

Missed Book One? Don’t worry, it’s here!

Find the Girl - DI Austin Book One

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’ve always had a passion for writing stories and loved being able to create a world and have my characters live inside it. Being able to do this has been a dream come true and I’m so grateful that you could join me on this journey .

I live in the United Kingdom with my Husband and four young children who keep me busy and who I wouldn’t ever be without.

I hope you enjoy reading my books and please feel free to join me on social media where I love to interact with my readers!

mrsrobertswrites@hotmail.com