“Amen to that.”
Marcus stretched his legs, staring up into the gloom of the nave.“You think Tommy actually gave the sign?”
Kate frowned.“What do you mean?”
“The one under the bridge,” Marcus said.“The chalk symbol that was supposed to trigger a meet.Who verified it?Anyone?”
Kate frowned.“One of Torres’ team gave him a ride down there, but he went to the bridge alone, obviously.I’m sure someone would have verified, but…”
“But you’re not sure.”
“We’ve only got Tommy’s word for it… No.It can’t be the case, Marcus.”
“Right,” Marcus said.“And now we’ve been sitting here for seven hours on the word of a guy who’s currently snoring through his cough medicine.”
“He’s terrified of Cox,” Kate said.“He wants him caught.He wouldn’t lie about that.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.“So scared he fell asleep on stakeout?”
“He’s exhausted.”
“He’s milking it.”
Kate shot him a look.
Marcus spread his hands.“Look, I’m just saying—Rodrigues was onto a good thing with Cox.Regular cash for minimum effort.Maybe he’s not as eager to see that gravy train derailed as we think.”
“That’s paranoid,” she said.
He shrugged.“Maybe.But you’ve seen it before.The ones closest to a monster are the last to see the horns.”
Kate rubbed her temples.“He knew Cox would turn on him eventually.They all do.He wants him caught.”
Marcus leaned back against the pillar, the old wood creaking behind him.“Or he wants himgonewithout having to help us do it.There’s a difference.”
Before Kate could answer, a loud snort came from the far end of the nave, followed by silence.
“Bastard,” Marcus whispered.
Kate smiled despite herself.“You’re just jealous.”
“Damn right.”
The radio crackled again.“Unit Six.All quiet.”
She clicked the mic.“Copy, Six.Maintain comms schedule.”
Then Torres’s voice came through.“Control to Valentine.PD overtime’s only guaranteed until midnight.If we’re still at zero, they’ll start pulling the uniforms.”
Kate sighed.“Understood.”
There was a pause.“Kate,” said Torres.“It’s midnight.What do you want to do?”
“Hold on,” Kate said.She looked over to Marcus, but he was on his phone, pacing, a worried expression on his face.
“I’ll call you back in one minute,” Kate said to Torres, buying time.She waited, an agonising twenty seconds, if that, but it felt longer. Ashen-faced, Marcus ended his call and put the phone in his pocket.
“Marcus, we need to make a—”
