Nowhere to Hide Read Online Free PDF

nothing. As far as she could tell, Salter had played everything by the book. He was still tasked with rebuilding the case against Pete Boyle that had collapsed with Welsby’s exposure and Kerridge’s death. They’d arrested Boyle with the expectation of a successful prosecution, but the evidence had been irredeemably tainted by Welsby’s corruption. In Marie’s eyes, the whole affair had ended just too well for Boyle and she suspected that Salter had been part of that.
    But she could prove nothing. He’d asked to take on the Boyle case, supposedly as unfinished business, but perhaps simply to ensure that it remained under his control. Whatever his motives, he’d appeared to make some progress. They’d gathered more intercept evidence against Boyle, they’d pinned down one or two more witnesses. A few more tiny pieces of the jigsaw had fallen into place. They were still a long way from having anything they could be confident would stand up in court. But, given that the Prosecution Service had already ended up with egg on its collective face once before, building a new case was always going to be a slow process.
    It might be that Salter was simply going through the motions, recognising that he had to be seen to be doing something about Boyle. But Marie had seen and heard nothing that might confirm her suspicions.
    And now this. Sending her back to the edge of Boyle’s stamping ground. Pushing protocol to its limit by assigning her to an area where she might be recognised. It wasn’t against the rules exactly, but it wasn’t standard practice.
    The generous explanation was that Salter was, in his inimitable style, just jerking her around. He knew the situation with Liam. He knew how difficult things were getting. His initial promise had been that, even when it was time for her to go back into the front line, he’d find some operational role that kept her reasonably close to home. She’d accepted that, at least for the time being, it wouldn’t be possible for her to continue in an undercover position. She assumed they’d find her some investigation or enforcement job in London. It wasn’t exactly the career move she was looking for, but it would do till, one way or another, things became easier on the domestic front.
    So maybe this was just Salter pulling the rug from under her, handing her a whole new set of problems to contend with. The less benign interpretation was that he was using her. If her suspicions were correct, and Salter really was on Boyle’s payroll, then maybe she’d been selected to do some of Boyle’s dirty work. As Salter had implied, any drug dealers in Chester were operating on the edge of Boyle’s territory. Perhaps Boyle was looking to expand his empire and her role was to help take out the competition.
    Salter was leaning back in his chair, his relaxed manner suggesting that he was confident he’d achieved his objective, even though his words remained tentative. ‘Just give it some thought, sis. That’s all I want. Sleep on it overnight. We can chat about it again tomorrow.’
    You smooth bastard, she thought. Whatever other qualities you might or might not have, you’re good at this. You know how to play people. You know I want to be back in the field really; you know the kind of work I want to be doing. You may even know that I’m just looking for a way to trip you up, to prove some link between you and Boyle. You’ve pitched this just right, going out on a limb yourself so you can lure me out after you.
    And maybe, her mind continued before she could control her thoughts, he knows what you want at home, too. Maybe he realises that all your talk of wanting to stay near home, of needing to be there for Liam, is so much bullshit. Maybe he knows that you’re looking for a reason to get away.
    Maybe. If so, Salter knew her better than she knew herself. She thought she’d reconciled herself to