A Dog's Life (The Romney and Marsh Files Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

of course. Right. That will be all for now, Inspector.’
    ‘With respect, ma’am, no it won’t,’ said Romney and he had her full and not pleasantly surprised attention.
    ‘I beg your pardon.’ She looked like that didn’t happen very often.
    ‘I said, no it won’t be all, ma’am. You’ve had your say and now I’d like mine.’
    ‘I’m not sure I like your tone, Inspector.’
    ‘I’m not sure I like the way you’ve come into my department bullying, criticising and suggesting that we’re fitting people up for crimes they didn’t commit, ma’am.’
    ‘Inspector Romney, be careful. What is it you wish say?’
    ‘CID is my department. I am responsible for everything that goes on here. If you, or anyone else has a problem with the way we work, what we achieve or don’t, then you come and speak to me first, not barge in here belittling me in front of my team. How is that going to help? If that is Area’s idea of modern professional policing, I don’t think much of it. Some people should get out from behind their comfortable desks and come and see what modern policing is really like at the sharp end or, as we like to say in Dover, the chalk face. When we’re not being tied-up with another clever, usually pointless Area initiative, swamped with unnecessary bureaucracy or hamstrung by clever lawyers playing on scrotes’ ideas of their human rights, we have to police Dover. There’s a lot more behind those statistics that you and Area seem to be so fond of. There are people and crimes and problems and reasons, not excuses. People eat at their desks here because we are too busy for them to have proper lunch breaks. No one here complains about it. CID is untidy because we are under-staffed, overworked and pushed for space. That is what I wish to say, ma’am.’
    When Superintendent Vine walked out through CID those who dared to look up saw that she was a couple of shades redder in the face than when she had been admonishing them collectively. As the fire door swung shut behind her they relaxed, exchanged glances and exhaled collectively, only to rear up in their seats again as Romney put his head around the meeting room door and barked at them to get back inside.
    ‘Not you, Fower.’ The newcomer breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back in his seat.
    As they headed towards another likely bollocking, Marsh said to Grimes, ‘Don’t tell him today.’
    ‘Don’t worry, Sarge. That two-seater sofa at Maureen’s sisters is looking better every minute. Don’t s’pose...’
    He didn’t even finish it before Marsh said, ‘Forget it. You only saved my life, not the world.’
    Marsh, Grimes and Harmer sat one side of the desk. Romney had taken Superintendent Vine’s place at the other. An ignorant observer might have thought they were interviewing him.
    To their great surprise, their leader smiled widely at them. ‘Fuck Area. Fuck statistics. And fuck Boudicca. I can say that, you lot can only think it. Right, now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’ll say my piece that’s p.i.e.c.e. We are a good team. You are all good officers and I am proud to be working with each and every one of you.’ With an iron will, Marsh resisted her desperate urge to look at Grimes and Harmer’s faces.
    ‘We got Carl Park the only way he could be got. And that was after we’d considered and explored every available legal avenue to get our man. I still don’t think we did anything wrong. Justice was served.
    ‘The fact that we were unable to bring any charges against anyone involved in the Emerson crime-wave was and is nothing for us to reproach ourselves over. It wasn’t our fault that everyone who we could have charged with a crime ended up dead.
    ‘I’m not going to demean this department by even discussing the two civilian deaths. Likewise sick days. Maybe Area expects us to get wheeled in on hospital beds. We work bloody hard and we do our best.’
    He took a deep breath and exhaled. ‘But none of that