A Narrow Margin of Error Read Free

Philip (‘Mel’) Mallow had been shot and killed whilst standing right beside her, she’d stood firmly behind his widow, her former DS, when she’d shot and killed her husband’s killer. Some even said that Hillary Greene had saved Sergeant Janine Mallow from going down for it, since Janine had, for reasons that had never really been fully explained at the time, called her old boss Hillary Greene to the scene whilst still holding the smoking gun, as it were.
    And in the aftermath of that very public and messy affair, Hillary’s immediate boss, who’d sworn to see both her and Janine Mallow fed to wolves, had for some reason, been mysteriously sidelined to the outer reaches of Hull. Meaning that Hillary must have had something on him.
    All of which raised her standing sky-high with everyone at HQ. The rank and file really rated her for standing by her own, showing guts in the face of all kinds of crap, and knowing her craft. And the brass rated her for her successes.
    Consequently, when she’d retired, the whole station house had seemed to go into shock.
    So when Donleavy had told him that Hillary Greene was coming back, and was, moreover, to be landed in his lap, the situation  had needed some serious mulling over. Donleavy had also all but ordered him to give Hillary only the cold murder cases. And nothing loath to oblige, he had promptly handed her the coldest, hardest murder case on the books.
    Then he’d sat back and watched her successfully solve it. He still wasn’t sure whether he admired her, or resented her. But had a sneaking suspicion it was both.
    And it certainly didn’t help his dilemma any, to find himself growing more and more physically attracted to her. Even though she was older than he was; they looked the same age, and she had a hard edge to her that was tempered by a sense of humour that unexpectedly appealed to him.
    There was also an aloofness to her that drove him to distraction sometimes. He knew he was a good-looking guy, and was honest enough to admit to himself that he was used to women making a play for him. But Hillary Greene tended to observe him with a certain wry mockery in her level gaze that had him going hot and hard in some very annoying places.
    So when she’d picked up a stalker, and he’d found himself thinking of a possible way for them to flush him out, he was not sure if it was his brain or another part of his anatomy that had come up with a solution.
    Hence his reluctance to discuss it with her.
    But when he looked up to find her regarding him steadily he took a deep breath and decided to go for it.
    ‘You and I could always go public with a relationship.’
    Hillary Greene blinked. She almost said ‘What relationship?’ before common sense took over. ‘Oh. You mean pretend to be going out with each other and see if it presses his jealousy buttons?’
    Steven Crayle nodded. ‘That’s got to be his default setting, isn’t it? Don’t most stalkers have a problem with their ego? And it’s clear from his texts that you and he are already an item – at least in his sick mind you are. So if he does work at the station, and he starts seeing us going out and about together, it might make him lose his cool enough to do something reckless.’
    Hillary nodded slowly. ‘It might just work – and the gossip mill in this place will certainly help feed the fire and keep the pressure on. The way the desk sergeants alone like to speculate about everyone’s private life would put a bunch of old women to shame.’
    Crayle laughed. ‘Tell me about it.’
    ‘Then again, if we were too convincing, it could just piss him off to such an extent that he just gives up on me and goes on to make some other poor woman’s life a misery,’ Hillary pointed out. ‘Which isn’t exactly the result we’re after.’
    ‘No. I want to catch the little pervert as much as you do. Well – think about it and let me know if you’d like to go ahead with it. In the meantime, I’ve got another