‘Ok, I’ll try not to take it personally. So how long have you been with the SCU?’
‘Just over a year, but sometimes it feels as though I’ve been there forever.’
‘Was it hard to join the team?’
Ramouter took another sip of his Guinness as he thought back to the night before his first day at the SCU. He’d agonised over the decision of leaving his wife and child in Bradford whilst trying to settle his nerves about joining one of the most specialist units in the Metropolitan Police Force. He hadn’t been at the station for thirty minutes when DCI Pellacia had told him that the SCU had a case and that he was to meet DI Henley in Deptford. Ramouter had assured Pellacia that he wouldn’t get lost. That was a lie. He’d got lost twice and hadn’t been prepared to see dismembered body parts on his first day on the job.
‘Let’s just say that I was definitely thrown into the deep end,’ Ramouter finally said.
‘Any regrets?’
‘About joining the SCU?’
‘Yeah. It couldn’t have been easy leaving … where are you from again?’
‘Bradford.’
‘That’s it. I came down here from Newport in Wales when I was twenty-one. Big lights, big city sort of thing and following my older sister.’
‘Ah, I thought I heard an accent.’
‘It only really comes out when I’m tired, angry or when I’m back—’Copeland stopped as her phone began to vibrate on the table. ‘No Caller ID,’ she sighed with annoyance. ‘I bet it’s the CPS calling with a charging decision. I told them I was off duty … you know what, never mind. I’ll be back in a sec.’
Ramouter looked at Copeland’s empty wine glass and wondered if being out with her was innocent. Michelle had always told him that it was a miracle they’d even had a first date, let alone got married, because he was so useless at noticing when someone was interested in him. It had taken Ramouter three years before he’d realised that Michelle wanted out of the friendzone.
Copeland reappeared five minutes later.
‘Shall I get another round in?’ Ramouter asked.
‘Most definitely. We need to celebrate.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘That was your guvnor, well I suppose my guvnor now – Pellacia. I’m in. The borough commander confirmed it. I’m transferring to the SCU.’
28
‘Does this look like a small glass to you?’ Henley asked, shaking her head at the wine glass that Linh had handed her.
‘Did you really expect anything less,’ said Linh as she filled her own glass.
‘I would be a fool to expect anything less,’ Henley conceded. ‘It’s a good thing I’m not driving. I’ll definitely be over the limit after drinking one of your measures.’
‘How about I feed you? I was at my parents’ yesterday for Sunday dinner and mum gave me loads of food.’
‘How is your mum?’ Henley asked, knowing that Linh’s relationship with her mother was dysfunctional at best.
‘A complete pain in my arse as per usual, but back to you. You look like shit Anj.’
‘That’s because I hardly slept.’
‘Did Rob keep you up by trying to get his leg over.’
‘Shut up, Linh.’
‘You are so miserable.’
‘The point is, I couldn’t sleep,’ said Henley, taking a long drink of the Pinot Noir. ‘I can’t stop thinking about Rhimes and every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing Fox-Carnell hanging over the pier. I then made the mistake of going on YouTube and watching these idiots who think they’re detectives and their ludicrous conspiracy theories.’
