Sarge, and DC Edwards helped me write them.’
‘Well, no doubt everything is tight as a duck’s arse when it comes to the evidence of arrest.’ He flicked briefly through the pages, stopping longer to read and take in the bit where Jane was initially attacked and threatened. He looked her in the eye and spoke softly.
‘How are you feeling? D’you need to take a couple of days’ leave?’
‘No thanks, I’m fine, Sarge. Especially now Allard, or whoever he may be, is in a cell and going nowhere.’
‘Well, that’s mainly down to you, young lady. If you hadn’t smacked him one he’d probably have got away before the cavalry turned up. So, what was your final exam result?’
‘It was good, Sarge . . . I got ninety-four per cent.’
‘Congratulations.’
‘Thank you, Sarge. Is it right you can sit the sergeant’s exam after your probationary period is over?’ she asked, because she thought that DC Edwards was wrong.
Harris cocked his head to one side, then gave her a cynical grin.
‘Yes, if authorized by the Divisional Commander, who would of course seek the advice and wisdom of an experienced sergeant like me . . . But even if by some miracle you were allowed to sit the exam, and passed, you can’t be made sergeant until you have five years’ service. Now, even though you have nearly finished your probation you will still be under my supervision and I will be responsible for your Annual Qualification Reports. I think you could say that your future regarding any promotion is in my hands.’
In the last year and a half Jane had learned not to let his demeaning attitude annoy her, as that was what he wanted. She wasn’t the only person he belittled, it was just his nature. She smiled, refusing to be rattled by his attitude. ‘I’m not really interested in promotion yet. I’d like to become a detective constable first.’
‘Listen, Tennison, although your arrest tonight is commendable I doubt you would make the grade yet as you need more uniform experience. Being a decoy for one night is very different from being a detective and investigating major crime.’
Jane looked him in the eye. ‘Will you be putting that in my final report?’
‘I need to be frank with you. In my honest opinion, as your reporting sergeant, I feel you might be better suited to something like mounted branch or maybe even being a “black rat”,’ Harris said, referring to what many officers called the Traffic police.
Harris handed Jane the fingerprints he’d taken from the suspect and told her to give them to DI Moran. They would need to be passed on to C3 Fingerprint Bureau at the Yard for comparison to prints on record, especially those wanted for crime and outstanding marks at crime scenes, particularly sex crimes.
‘D’you intend wearing that wig and looking like a Tom all night? Go and get cleaned up,’ Harris said, and dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
Jane went to the ladies’ locker room and removed the heavy makeup before returning to the CID office. She had been to DI Moran’s office with the prints but he wasn’t there. Edwards looked up from his paperwork.
‘Moran went downstairs to put the rabbit fur jacket back in the property store, and release another prisoner he had in on suspicion of dishonest handling, then he was going home.’
Jane held up the set of fingerprints. ‘Harris said I was to give him these prints so—’
DC Edwards interrupted and explained that Moran had already instructed the night duty SOCO to take the suspect’s fingerprints to the Yard. Jane asked if he and DI Moran would be interviewing the suspect in the morning. Edwards replied that Moran had suggested she could sit in on the interview for experience, and he was to take the suspect’s clothes and other evidence to the forensic lab. He explained that they might find fibres from the other victims’ clothing on them, or vice versa. Jane said it would be a fantastic result if they found anything that linked him to the rape. Edwards said he hoped so too as there was no real evidence to charge him with the rape unless he admitted it.
‘I doubt he’ll ever do that . . . seems he’s going to fight this case all the way, and the only thing we’ve got on him so far is the attack on me.’
‘Well, even if it is, Jane, there’s no way out for him. Judges detest people who assault police officers so he’ll get a long stretch for that alone.’
Edwards yawned and said he was going to get some sleep on the armchair in the snooker room, and go straight to the forensics lab first thing in the morning. He suggested to Jane that she should go and get some kip too, as Moran wanted to start interviewing the prisoner at 10 a.m. about the other assaults he was suspected of committing. Jane asked him what time she should come in. Edwards said Moran was an early bird and would probably be in at 8 a.m. to prep for the interview, so Jane said she would be in at 7.30 a.m. As she thanked Edwards for coming to her rescue he asked if she was OK, as it had been a tough night.
‘I was pretty shaken up at the time, but I’m fine now.’
‘Listen, you did a good job. I’d have been shitting myself if I were in your shoes . . . even more so if he’d pulled the knife to my throat.’
Jane joked, ‘He technically had two offensive weapons . . .’
Edwards looked puzzled.
‘The knife . . . and his erect penis!’
Edwards laughed.
‘You’d make a good detective, Jane . . . Go on, bugger off and get some kip. Don’t walk back or you might get arrested as a Tom! Get the night shift to drop you off at the section house.’
Jane suddenly realized that she’d forgotten to tell Harris that DI Moran had said she could start her CID attachment as from now. She wished Moran was still there to tell Harris himself. She considered just not telling him, but knew that would probably annoy him even more. She headed back to the desk to find Harris.
Harris frowned at her. ‘When I said get cleaned up, I meant the clothes as well . . . your attire is totally inappropriate in the station and far too revealing.’
Jane turned to leave. She was feeling really tired and certainly not in the mood for any of his caustic remarks.
‘Hang on, hang on, Tennison . . . what did you want?’
‘It was about my CID attachment, but it doesn’t matter now.’
‘DI Moran spoke with me while I released his other prisoner. I agreed with him about your extended attachment, even though it will leave me one short on late shift for the rest of the week. That was a good arrest and you’ll learn a lot assisting Moran with the interview. I don’t always see eye to eye with him, but he’s a good and respected detective by all accounts. But for Chrissakes don’t come in wearing all that ridiculous gear . . . and pull that glittering boob tube thingy up over your tits.’
‘Thanks, Sarge.’ Jane smiled, deliberately overaccentuating the action of adjusting her boob tube.
As Edwards had advised, Jane got a ride back to the section house. Once in her bedroom she removed her wig, revealing her own hair plastered to her head. Her eyes stung as she pulled off the false eyelashes.
