Send in the Clowns, a Detective Mike Bridger novel Read Online Free PDF

having had a couple of hours sleep
before returning to work. He knew it was unfair for him too think
this way, and was overly grumpy due to the unwanted interruption to
his love life last night; maybe he was just jealous of her
ambitious nature, he did not really have one himself. The old
saying he had heard somewhere just kept popping into his head every
time he saw her though, ‘Never trust a person with two first
names’. He smiled at his little joke as he stepped into the
elevator and pressed the button for the third floor.
     
    “ Now, as you
know I have been charged with overseeing Inspector Matthews’s
workload while he is on gardening leave, and as part of that I am
in turn responsible for his staff and their welfare.” Inspector
Allyson’s voice was soft and non-judgemental.
    Bridger stood on the
opposite side of the desk in the small stuffy office that used to
belong to his former boss. It smelt better than it used too, with a
subtle scent of flowers instead of musty and stale cigarette smoke.
He did not quite know where this was going, so remained
silent.
    “ Sit down
Sergeant, I don’t normally defer to formalities.”
    What about the Ma’am
thing then - Bridger sat on the chair opposite and saw a slight
smile on his boss’s lips, and her body language seemed to relax
slightly. He did not think he was that sort of person to make
someone feel uncomfortable in his presence, especially not a senior
officer, but felt better about the interaction now he had the upper
hand.
    “ I have been
going through the Inspectors files and I came across this one…” She
laid the file out on the table in front of him. “It was buried in
the bottom of the filing cabinet.”
    The name on the brown
cardboard folder containing various papers was clearly marked in
large red letters. Jonas Clifton. Shit. The name hit him like a
sledgehammer. He knew where this was going now and he no longer had
the upper hand.
    “ Do you
recognise the name Sergeant?”
    “ Yes
Ma’am.”
    “ Then you
know what this file relates to…”
    “ Yes
Ma’am.”
    “ Stop calling
me Ma’am, you make me sound like my mother, Amanda will
do.”
    “ Yes Ma’…
Amanda.”
    Bridger had lost all
train of thought, was she playing with him? He knew this skeleton
would come back to haunt him one day, but had managed to push it to
the back of his mind, the longer nothing had been done about it.
Now he knew why. Matthews had buried it, literally, in the bottom
of the filing cabinet.
    “ I thought
that had been dealt with”
    The inspector shook her
head in reply. “I have read through the file, from what I see there
is not a lot too it. But it does need to be dealt with Mike.” She
was using his first name now. “You cannot just assault someone in
your custody and not expect it to come back on you in some way. And
from what I read, it does not look like just a slap either, by the
way”
    Bridger just nodded,
slightly embarrassed that she had uncovered some of his dirty
washing. He was also slightly thankful that this was the only thing
she had dug up.
    “ I have
spoken with Jonas, and he has reiterated that he does not want it
taken any further, as he told us at the time. The circumstances
surrounding that incident speak for themselves though. You were
under a lot of pressure to recover Marion Watson, which you did
manage to do. There is also the fact that Jonas had a sizable
indoor cannabis operation in his warehouse when you arrested him…
Overall, you are probably going to get away with a note on your
personal file. However, that is not my decision… I have arranged
for you to be interviewed by the Independent Police Conduct
Authority. We have to air this Mike, just so we are transparent
about it. If this came out any other way, it would be another piece
of ammunition for our detractors sitting comfortably at home with
their pens, or computer keyboards at the ready, to take another
shot at us.”
    “ I
understand.”
    “ I knew you
would