‘And Commander Mathers is better than me.’
‘I think you do yourself a disservice, Poe,’ Locke said.
‘I don’t give a shit what you think,’ Poe said. ‘And thereasonI don’t is that through good judgement or blind luck the team DCI Flynn put together had the kind of alchemy never seen before in law enforcement. We were the envy of the world and that wasn’t down to me, and it wasn’t down to the boss, it was down to just one person. A genius, a once-in-a-generation mind who for some reason wanted to put her extraordinary mind to catching serial killers instead of solving mathematical problems. And yes, she needed time to readjust to the new world she’d chosen to work in, but with a little help from me and DCI Flynn she quickly became SCAS’s golden goose. The ace up our sleeve, our silver bullet, a thousand other clichés. Within days, we were catching the kind of bad guys who never get caught. The kind of bad guysyou’re panicking over now. But that wasn’t enough, was it? You wanted more. So what did you do? You stole the golden goose for yourself.’ He paused. Took a breath. ‘And then you ate it for fucking Christmas.’
‘Have you heard of the trolley problem, Poe?’
Poe said nothing. Concentrated on getting his breathing under control. He could feel another episode of PTSD-related violence coming on.
‘It’s one in a series of ethical thought experiments,’ Locke continued. ‘Imagine there’s a runaway trolley and five people are tied to the track. If the trolley runs over them, all five will be killed. But, and here’s the sharp kick to the ankle, there’s a lever that can be pulled to divert the trolley. The problem is that on the new track there is one person who will be killed. The ethical dilemma is whether it is morally wrong to do nothing and let five people die, or to intervene and sacrifice one “safe” person to save the rest.’
Poe considered that for a few beats. ‘You’re talking about the greater good,’ he said. ‘That the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.’
‘A rather simplistic summary, but yes.’
‘Do you know how much evil shit has been done for the greater good? The Holocaust, Swiss eugenics,slavery.’
‘Yes, Poe, in your world of absolutes, I’m sure that’s how it must appear,’ Locke said. He tilted his head. ‘But did you ever wonderwhyI took the actions I did? Because you’re quite correct, your beloved Serious Crime Analysis Section was doing extraordinary work. Liveswerebeing saved; justicewasbeing done. And yes, a significant part of that was down to one person, your so-called golden goose. Despite this, I stole her from you. Do I appear reckless to you, Poe? Because if thingswereas black and white as you say, surely only a reckless fool would have done as I did.’
‘You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem, Sergeant Poe,’ Spiggens said. ‘What’s it to be?’
‘Definitely part of the problem,’ Flynn said. ‘In fact, he usually makes things worse.’
‘Thanks, boss,’ Poe said. He turned to Locke. ‘I don’t think you’re reckless, Alastor. I just think you see the world as your private chessboard. You spend so much time manipulating your kings and queens, your bishops, knights and rooks, that you forget about the little people. The pawns. They’re an afterthought. There only to justify your actions.’
‘I think that might be enough, Poe,’ Flynn said.
A year ago, she’d have ordered him to stop. Today he reckoned she was silently cheering him on. He wasn’t the only person Locke had screwed over.
Locke held up his hand. ‘It’s fine, DCI Flynn,’ he said. ‘Tell me, Poe; has your golden goose ever told you about the work she’s been doing for me?’
Poe shook his head. Wondered why he was engaging with Locke at all. ‘She won’t tell me anything.’
‘And I won’t betray her confidence now,’ he said. ‘But please be assured that hundreds of lives have been saved.Ordinarylives. Your pawns. So, did I take your prize asset? Yes. Have people died at the hands of those you might have caught? Possibly, probably even. But the big question is – and considering where we are now, it’s not as easy to answer as it once would have been – would I do the same again?’ He held Poe with a look like a beartrap. ‘You bet your bloody life I would.’
He took off his glasses and began polishing them. Poe thought he looked much older than the last time they’d met. He seemed tired. His hair was greyer.
‘But I’m not here to convince you to help,’ he continued. ‘I know you well enough to know you won’t be able to get past what I did. You’re far too recalcitrant to forgive and forget.’
‘He’s an arsehole,’ Flynn confirmed.
‘Whose side are you bloody on?’ Poe said.
‘The same side you used to be on! The public’s side. And in case you haven’t noticed what’s going on out there, it’s chaos. Never mind that dickhead’s the-economy-is-stagnating bigger picture bullshit – real people are suffering.’
‘I’ve noticed,’ Poe said. ‘But I meant what I said: we should have been in at the start. If our shooter was going to make a mistake, it would have been when he was starting. He’s too good at this now.’
‘We give up, is that it?’
‘Wedon’t do anything, DCI Flynn. There is nowe. We had a unit singularly equipped for events like this and now we don’t.’ He jabbed his finger in Locke’s direction. ‘Blame him, not me.’
‘This is getting us nowhere,’ Spiggens said. He reached forward and pressed the intercom. ‘Please, send her in.’
‘Right away, sir.’
‘If we can’t make you see reason, perhaps she can.’
‘Who?’ Poe said.
