Page 156 of Better the Devil

He tapped the side of his nose, winked, and then slid the compartment closed again. And with that, the handover was officially complete.

‘Detective Constables Neish, Bell.’

Nobody had seen or heard Detective Superintendent Mitchell enter the room, but there she was now, standing just a few feet away, like she’d been beamed down from outer space.

There was a seriousness to her tone—a rigidity that told them she was fully in work mode. Not that she ever truly wasn’t.

‘Follow me to my office, please. The panel has reached its decision.’

Tyler sprang to his feet, like he’d been waiting for this moment, and was desperate for it to be over with. Beside him, Sinead took a moment to wipe the crumbs from her desk before tossing them into the waste-paper basket below it.

She stood up, dusting herself down, and then nodded to say she was ready.

‘Jack? Do you want to come sit in?’ Mitchell asked.

Logan stifled a yawn, then rose to his feet.

‘Aye, why not?’ he rumbled, following them towards the door. ‘I could do with a laugh.’

When they reached Mitchell’s office, two chairs had been positioned across from her own. She gestured for Tyler and Sinead to take them, leaving Logan to stand leaning against the door, arms folded, ready to watch all this play out.

Tyler sat so far back he practically reclined. Sinead crossed her legs, adjusted her trousers, then crossed them again the other way before placing her hands on her knee.

‘First of all, the panel wanted me to apologise for the delay in reaching their decision,’ Mitchell said, taking her seat across the desk.

‘That free breakfast prove just too tempting?’ Logan asked.

The detective superintendent didn’t react to that. Nor did she disagree with it.

‘The interview, of course, was just one part of the process. The panel also took into account your records, your references—including from DCI Logan and myself—and even your time spent in training and in uniform.’

She smiled at them both, but it was a well-rehearsed and clinical thing.

‘I have to say, you were very evenly matched. You should both be proud of your accomplishments. As I am.’

‘Thanks, ma’am,’ Sinead said.

‘Aye, cheers, ma’am,’ Tyler agreed.

‘In the end, it came down to the interview itself,’ Mitchell continued. ‘Sinead, it was unanimously agreed that you presented yourself very well, with competence and authority. You knew your stuff, and when there were gaps in your knowledge, you spoke confidently about how you would work to fill those in.’

Sinead blushed. ‘Thank you, ma’am.’

‘Tyler.’ Mitchell shifted her weight, making her chair groan beneath her. ‘You took a somewhat more… unorthodox approach to the interview process, and the panel agreed that it wasn’t something we’d ever care to sit through again.’

Sinead frowned and shot her husband a curious look. Tyler shrugged, playing dumb, fighting very hard to hide the smile that was trying its damndest to spread across his face.

Across the desk, Detective Superintendent Mitchell cleared her throat.

‘However.’

Something about the tone of it made Logan straighten up.

‘They also agreed that it showed a real dedication to your team, and a willingness to put their needs before your own,’ the detective superintendent continued, in a tone that suggested she didn’t quite believe the words coming out of her mouth. ‘They believe you acted selflessly, and without thought to your own needs or, indeed, your own dignity.’

‘Wait, what?’ Tyler said.

Mitchell clasped her hands together, fingers interlocked.