Bad Boy Read Online Free PDF

Mr. Doyle and his daughter were said to be waiting. And the loaded firearm. I heard a creaking noise. Then there was a figure in the corridor, just a silhouette, really, and I could swear he was waving a sword or some such weapon at me, about to rush us. Like I said, it was still dark in there. Our eyes hadn’t had a chance to adjust, and we didn’t have time to get out our torches. But we knew there was a loaded weapon on the premises, and I…I just reacted as fast as I could, sir, the way any officer would.”
    “So you fired?”
    “I discharged my Taser, sir, yes. As we are instructed to do when faced with someone brandishing a sword or a knife.”
    “Yet as far as you were concerned, the weapon you were there to recover was a firearm, and it had been found in the possession of Erin Doyle, not her father?”
    “That’s correct, sir. But he could have taken possession of it.”
    “And just decided to shoot a policeman for the hell of it? Stick to the facts, constable. You mentioned a sword, not a gun. And this sword was actually a walking-stick.”
    Warburton swallowed. “Well, yes, sir. Strictly speaking. But I—”
    “‘Strictly speaking?’ I’d be interested to know how else you would put it? Were you aware of any reason Mr. Doyle might have had for attacking you with a sword? Or even a walking stick, for that matter?”
    “No, sir. We…I…simply reacted to the circumstances, did theright thing, as per training. There was no time to speculate. Perhaps he had decided to try to defend his daughter? Perhaps he’d realized since the mother went off to see the police that the girl would be sent to jail? Perhaps he felt under threat because things hadn’t turned out the way he had expected? I don’t know, sir. I just reacted.”
    “Are those the thoughts that passed through your mind at the time, or are they explanations you have thought up since?”
    “I can’t say I really had time to think of anything like that, sir. Not at the time. In action, you just sort of fall back on your training. It’s not like thinking, finding reasons. That’s for later.”
    “Where did you aim for?”
    “For the chest area, sir. The largest body mass. It’s not as if you’d expect a Taser to kill someone.”
    “I know that, but it has happened.. Don’t you know it’s now recommended that firearms officers aim Tasers for the arms or legs, not the chest?”
    “Sir, it was dark, I felt threatened, and I didn’t want to risk missing.”
    Chambers cleared his throat. “Do you have any idea why there was such a long delay inside the house that you were forced to break down the door?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Were you aware at that time that Mr. Doyle was expecting DCI Banks, an old friend, to turn up and sort things out?”
    “No, sir, I wasn’t.”
    “Did you know that he was walking with a stick after a recent knee operation?”
    “I did not, sir.” Warburton turned to his immediate boss, Firearms Cadre Superintendent Mike Trethowan, who gave him an encouraging nod. Trethowan was an experienced superintendent of about fifty, with compact military bearing and a red complexion that Annie associated with high blood pressure. He always seemed cool enough, though, so she doubted that was the reason. Maybe he just burned easily in the sun. “That information was not in our briefing,” said Warburton.
    Chambers turned to Gervaise. “I take it you didn’t know about this, either, Catherine?”
    “No,” said Gervaise. “Juliet Doyle neglected to mention that her husband was walking with the aid of a stick. I think she was far too het up about her daughter.”
    “Her reasons are irrelevant. This should have been an essential part of the briefing. Essential . You can’t send men into battle on dodgy intelligence. It can mean the difference between life and death.”
    Gervaise crossed her arms. Annie was about to make a remark about Tony Blair not being worried about dodgy dossiers when it came to going to war with