One
‘You nervous, guv?’ Bryant whispered into her ear.
‘No,’ Kim said flatly, taking another look at her watch.
Jesus, it was barely five minutes since the last time she’d looked. It felt much, much longer. Was this evening ever going to end? She felt as though she’d been sitting at this round table in the Tally Ho banqueting suite for days. The room was awash with officers in full uniform, ball gowns and tuxedos. The air was alive with excitement and celebration.
If she’d had any say in the matter, she’d have been home this Sunday night, enjoying the last couple of hours of free time before the start of the working week. Barney would have been curled up beside her as she picked the rust off a set of spark plugs. Instead, she was in an auditorium full of people, all of whom were pretty much strangers, except her boss and her team.
Bryant started clapping beside her, and she joined in automatically.
The applause subsided as the man who’d appeared on stage began speaking.
‘Our next award goes to PC Megan Sterling and PC Josh Lynes, who showed great courage in chasing and apprehending two men following an armed robbery. Please join me in appreciation of their service as I welcome them on stage.’
Normally, Kim managed to find some kind of excuse to avoid these annual awards, but her boss, DCI Woodward, who was sitting on the other side of Bryant, had insisted that she attend this time.
Seeing the refusal forming on her lips, he had told her that if she chose not to come, she wouldn’t need to report for work on Monday morning. Although it was a threat he’d used before, she couldn’t be sure whether he’d choose to actually carry it out.
Anyway, with Bryant and Woody to the right of her and Penn and Stacey to the left, she wasn’t sure she could escape without the help of a hostage extraction team.
Thunderous applause filled the room in appreciation of the two officers on stage.
Kim joined in with genuine admiration for their courage.
As the applause died down, yet another decorated officer approached the podium.
The room hushed and Kim thanked God she’d switched her phone to silent. It was vibrating in her back pocket, but if she dared to look, Woody would make sure she’d live to regret it.
A few seconds later, a suited official tapped Woody on the shoulder. He quietly stood and left his seat.
Stacey nudged her excitedly. They all knew it was almost time.
Truth be known, she was more than a little embarrassed. She’d spent the evening listening to stories of real bravery. Selfless acts where lives had been put on the line. Incidents where police officers had risked injury or death to serve their community. She had done none of these things. She’d got into the back of a van.
Yes, her actions had ultimately led to the apprehension of the people responsible for kidnapping young boys, but it had been a team effort. Everything she did was the product of a team effort. Any one of her colleagues would have made the same decision and got in the van.
More applause as the chief superintendent from Coventry was introduced.
Bryant’s clapping was accompanied by a frown. She knew him well enough to guess that his mobile had vibrated as well.
With Woody now out of view, she took out her phone.
One missed call from Keats.
Could be nothing, she mused, resting the phone in her lap.
The person on stage now was a twenty-five-year-old police sergeant who had sustained significant injuries wrestling a dog away from a three-year-old girl and saving the child’s life.
As he spoke about his honour in accepting the award, she glanced down again.
Nothing. Fine. Keats had probably butt dialled her.
One call from Keats meant nothing.
The sergeant walked down the steps, and her whole team sat up straight as DCI Woodward came into view on the stage.
Her boss was being introduced as her phone screen lit up again.
