The Devil Among Us by Ramsay Sinclair (easy books to read txt) 📗

for dinner. She’s offering steak and chips or salmon, in case you were wondering.” DCI Reid relaxed in the seat, finally taking a breather from the hectic schedule. “I usually leave my phone at home and message from here. It’s tons easier than flicking between devices.”

“I wasn’t, but now you’ve mentioned it, the steak sounds like a fair game. Guessing there’s no chance of being vegetarian at your house?”

We shared a tired grin, exhausted by any means.

“You’ve never met my wife. She’s a feeder. She’s heard a lot about you and the team. She’s looking forward to meeting you at the gala in a few weeks,” DCI Reid claimed, loosening his tie comfortably.

With today's event and the many things we were overrun from, the police gala had slipped my mind completely. DCI Reid had brought the idea to our superintendent from his other stations. He’d solely organised a gala along with his wife where all the proceeds were going to be given towards our funding. By the police, for the police.

“I’d completely forgotten,” I groaned. Such events weren’t really my forte, with the polite conversations and dancing. My two left feet weren’t great for that.

“Well, there’s no getting out of it,” DCI Reid informed, a slither of coffee residue on his upper lip. “No matter what cases we’ve got on, or how much work we’ve got to do, we’re taking the night off to enjoy ourselves. It’s a few weeks away yet, so who knows what would've happened by then?”

Sighing, I spotted a misplaced pen on the floor, ink beginning to dribble onto the carpet. “I don’t want to answer that question, in case I jinx anything.”

“I especially want to see you there, Cooper. Mingling, interacting, drinking. Having fun. Bonding with the team. I’d be upset if you weren’t and the last thing you want is for me to be upset with you,” DCI Reid warned humorously, clicking his fat fingers.

“Can’t argue with that, Sir.” I kept my vision firmly on the floor.

“I know things like that aren’t your favourite,” he dipped into a softer, understanding tone, “but it’s in aid of you too. You’re a part of this station as much as the rest of them are. Bring along your girlfriend if you like. What was her name again?”

“Abbey.” Whenever her name was mentioned, a stupid smile plastered my face. Things were going well between us, the longest relationship of my life. I'd certainly changed in the past year, and no longer was I the bumbling, desperate, but tricky-to-get-along-with Finlay Cooper.

“Abbey. That’s it.” DCI Reid raised his thick eyebrows in question. “You don’t show her off much. She’d like it, fancy dresses and champagne. Women nearly always do. There’ll be music too.”

Another message pinged up on the computer for the busy man. After skimming over it, DCI Reid got right back on the topic.

“I’d love to meet her, see the girl who’s gotten my DI in a frenzy.”

“No, you’re right,” I sighed. Abbey would love it, she enjoyed dressing in fancy clothing and socialising. She’d begged me for ages to dance together, but I’d always curtly refused, never quite drunk enough to embarrass myself. “I do get worried that we’re stuck in a rut sometimes with all our work. The only thing we seem to have time for at the moment are takeaways in front of the television.”

“Ah, the rut. Happens to the best of us.” Reid sighed in understanding. “Trust me, the gala is a perfect place to break that. It’ll be like the date nights we all used to have when we first started dating. Believe it or not, me and Iona use these social events as an excuse to reignite that spark. It’s necessary for relationships. Otherwise, they’ll fizzle out and die. That spark will disappear if you’re not careful,” DCI Reid advised. He was knowledgeable and affluent in many different areas. I put it down to his age and life experience.

The clock on the wall showed it was nearly time to go home for the night.

“Cheers, Guv.”

He saluted, ready with more advice to leave me with. “One thing I learned is to compromise and to let the lady have what she wants.”

“So… submission rather than compromise?” I wasn’t quite sure that’s the way things were supposed to be.

“Now you’re getting the hang of it, Cooper.” He chuckled and moved back to the glimmering computer screen, typing away rapidly. Most of the CID team were in the corridor, starting to leave the station. We all had similar expressions on our faces, thoughtful and glum.

“Bye, Sir,” Tony turned and nodded.

“Go home and rest,” I urged. “Where’s McCall?” She wasn’t walking with the rest of our group.

“She’s in there.” He grinned wider than a crocodile, although I wasn’t sure why.

“Thanks.” I went to push open the main hub door and spotted both McCall and DC Taylor inside. Just as I stepped in, they engaged in a kiss, nothing overly passionate for they were aware they were still at work.

“Geez,” My palms flew up to cover my eyes. I didn’t care that they were together, it just wasn’t what I expected to see. I could hear McCall gasp, then giggle, and I imagined DC Taylor had turned a brighter shade of red. “Bloody hell Tony.”

I understood what the crocodile smile had been for.

“Finlay, what are you doing?” McCall asked amusedly.

I kept my hands firmly to my eyes and ended up tripping over the waste bin. “I came to get my coat, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not too cold anyway,” I rambled, trying to find the door again.

“Goodnight, Finlay,” McCall shouted out for good measure.

5

Home wasn’t overly far away and as I rounded into my street, a figure covered in harsh shadows stood waiting outside. From the curves and height, it was distinguishable as Abbey. The light from her mobile phone lit up her face, but she was too invested in the technology to notice I’d snuck behind.

A lengthy, calico coloured trench coat wrapped tightly around her waist,