Beth kept her back straight and her eyes forward as the chief super marched into the office flanked by DCI Phinn. O’Dowd had warned the team of the impending visit and had more or less assembled them in parade-ground fashion.

From what Beth could gather, the press conference had been a complete disaster, with both O’Dowd and Phinn coming in for criticism for their failure to apprehend the killer.

In typical tabloid style, the press had given the killer a moniker. The Dragon Master was the title they’d chosen, and they’d been both scathing and unrelenting in their attacks on the DCI and DI who’d been there to speak to them.

Like a general inspecting his troops, the chief super’s back was ramrod straight as he stalked in front of them. He advanced along their line in crabbing movements, pausing at each face to peer into their eyes. When it was Beth’s turn she felt herself fighting a tremble in her knees as the chief super’s piercing gaze examined her. When he spoke his voice was calm and laden with the expectation that he’d be listened to without interruption.

‘I don’t recognise you. You must be the new lass.’

O’Dowd leaned forward. ‘DC Young, sir. She only joined the team at the start of last week. Decent mind and good initiative.’

‘Good initiative, you say. Is that a euphemism for maverick, DI O’Dowd?’

Beth saw the chief super shoot a glance at O’Dowd.

‘Actually, sir, I just meant that she doesn’t need to be micro-managed.’

When Beth saw the chief super’s pupils contract, she knew O’Dowd was in trouble for that emphasis.

‘“Micro-managed”, you say.’ The chief super moved himself along the line so he was in front of a defiant O’Dowd. ‘Is that what you think I’m doing here, micro-managing you? Because if you think that’s what I’m doing, it tells me that you are aware of your failure to identify a credible suspect. That you’re grasping at straws. The way it looks to me, DI O’Dowd, is that you’re floundering about without making progress. We have four dead bodies, and you’ve still to identify them all. Do you think that’s an acceptable position to be in?’

Beth kept her face straight as she gave an inward wince. There was no way that O’Dowd could answer the chief super’s question without dropping herself in the shit. Answer yes and she’d be admitting that she didn’t care. To say no would invite the chief super to ask why she hadn’t pushed harder to identify Woman 1.

‘With respect, sir, it’s not—’

‘It’s a yes-no answer, Inspector.’

O’Dowd bridled but kept her mouth shut as the chief super gave them all a dressing down for their collective failure to catch the man they were all now calling the ‘Dragon Master’. Even DCI Phinn received a level of criticism, but the barbs he received were more to do with his failure to support and manage the FMIT rather than outright criticism of his lack of input into the investigation.

Beth couldn’t help feel the dressing down was unnecessary. The team were pursuing every lead they could think of to catch the so-called Dragon Master, and both O’Dowd and Thompson were doing their best to put aside their personal issues so they could work the case.

As tempted as she was to speak up and defend the DI and DS, she knew it wasn’t her place to share their personal problems, and there was every chance that instead of the chief super showing compassion, he’d stand them down; so rather than risk getting them into more trouble Beth kept her mouth shut and stood in silence as the chief super continued to press upon them the urgent need to catch the Dragon Master.

After the first twenty minutes, Beth had to fight every one of her independent notions. While the chief super’s voice was never raised and he didn’t once insult them on a personal level, he eviscerated each of them in turn while exhorting them all to work harder and smarter.

It was the most polite bollocking Beth had ever received, but also the most comprehensive. Another reason she didn’t speak out in an attempt to mount a defence was that she trusted O’Dowd’s instincts and experience in this situation. If the DI was keeping quiet, she must have been here before and, as such, knew that answering back would only make matters worse.