Page 97 of Slack Tide Kill

Gemmell shifted his footing. "He's your partner. Shouldn't you know?"

That pissed her off. "He's his own man. He'll make his own decisions."

"Right, but, this is about you, isn't it? He was a passenger, so he's fine. You were the one driving. This is about clearing you on the use of force and getting you back on duty. And if we want you cleared, we need O'Connell's statement."

She stared. So Liam was missing? She could already imagine where he'd gone. The thought made her stomach turn for reasons that had nothing to do with the crash.

"I'll find him," she said, more sharply than she intended, then consciously softened her tone. "Thanks, Stephen."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sally."

"Sally, then. We need both of you on this."

She pushed back into the training room. The tray sat on the table next to John Logan and his medical kit. He had it all spread out.

She couldn't face it. "One second," she said, then walked back into the bullpen and up to DI Gemmell. He hadn't even sat down yet.

"Take my statement," she said.

"Err," he said. "I think the DCI wants to do it."

"Is she here?"

"No. She's still at the Listening Ears."

"So you do it. Then I can get out there and find Liam."

He looked at her.

"Use the camera. It'll all be on record. Tell Mayhew I felt sick and I wanted it out of the way. It won't come back on you."

Gemmell's gaze shifted slightly. Like he was seeing her in a new light. "Technically, you're supposed to be debriefed by an officer of higher rank."

"I'm NCA, I don't even have a rank. What matters is the record. Come on, Stephen."

A moment passed. "I'm new here, Sally. I barely know the roads, let alone all the DCI's pet hates, but I do know she won't like this."

"Neither do I." She hesitated. "But Liam's gone off somewhere. He doesn't, ah…" She didn't want to name the real problem. "I need to find him, OK? Then I can bring him back for his debrief, and we move this whole thing along."

Gemmell studied her. Maybe he'd seen enough of Liam to understand what she really meant. "He needs you."

"I think so."

He sighed. "OK. On my head be it, right?" He turned to survey his team. "Chakrati, you're up."

Emily Chakrati's head bobbed up instantly. "Yes, sir?"

"With us. You wanted to be in an interview? Here we go."

Chakrati looked at Sally. From the set of her eyes, Sally could guess she hadn't meant an interview like this, but she snapped up to attention anyway. "Yes, sir."

Gemmell led the way. A cold knot twisted in Sally's gut, picturing Liam in some dodgy backstreet bar, knocking back spirits. Maybe collapsing in a gutter later. She owed him. Mayhew had ordered her not to communicate with him, but this was different.

She followed DI Gemmell into IR1. Chakrati stood by the tripod and camera. Before she knew it, they'd already begun.

"…take your full and formal statement," Gemmell was saying. "Are you prepared to do that at this time, Officer Rogers?"