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crime you were dealing
with, to help the thought process.
    “ Sorry about
last night Mike, I was out with Mrs Johnson for our anniversary and
had my phone switched off.” Brian was the oldest Detective on the
squad and a hard worker. Bridger also thought of him as a bit of a
mentor, there was no need to apologise, but he knew Brian would
still feel the need.
    “ Not to
worry, we managed to borrow a couple of uniforms to help us with
the enquiries at the Circus, but we need to revisit most of them
this morning as just about everybody was too intoxicated to be of
much use last night.” Brian just nodded as Bridger
spoke.
    “ They are a
pretty hard living crew, the stories about Carnies and their
‘lifestyle’ certainly rang true last night.” Grant added. “Speaking
of last night Mike, you did not tell me how your date went with
your wife…”
    Bridger looked at Grant,
he had asked the question with no agenda attached, and he genuinely
cared about the answer. “It looks like Laura and I will be back to
square one after last night. I had to walk out on her in the middle
of our date to come back to work. Never ‘being there’ was one of
the reasons she left me in the first place.” That and the heavy
drinking, he thought, with a sense of regret. At least he had
sorted the drinking out, but he could not do anything about his
work. It was always going to be an uphill battle.
    Brian looked at the
whiteboard intently as if he did not expect such an honest answer
to Grants question. “We don’t have much, Mike. I have sent someone
downstairs in search of Gillian and Steve. They attended the job at
the Circus a few hours before the body was found, something about
an accident on the Trapeze. They spoke with our victim last night,
so they may be able to add something.”
    “ Thanks
Brian…Grant” Bridger looked at them both in turn, and then down at
his wristwatch “Briefing in ten minutes.”
    Bridger’s cell phone
beeped in his pocket indicating a call and he excused himself, the
number on the screen was withheld.
    “ Detective
Sergeant Mike Bridger…” formalities were a work thing, even though
he thought it was John Mouller returning his message.
    “ Sergeant
Bridger, this is Keith Joyce from the independent police conduct
authority, have you got a minute?”
    That was quick, his
admiration for his new inspector diminished slightly. He had hoped
she would give him a couple of days at least to progress the
current enquiry before throwing him to the wolves.
    “ I’ll give
you two…” He could not help himself. He did not like the sound of
the man with two first names on the other end of the line. What was
it about those name combinations and positions of power?
    “ Right… Well
Sergeant, we have received a file from Inspector Allison regarding
an historical incident involving yourself and a detainee. I would
appreciate a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss this
matter. You may contact your association representative for advice
and he or she may be present at any subsequent
meetings.”
    It sounded like he was
reading from a cue card, typical bureaucracy; no one could afford
to put a foot wrong these days and Keith Joyce had the added
difficulty of dealing with a Detective who knew the rules. Bridger
decided to play for time.
    “ I’m a little
tied up at the moment on a homicide investigation, it’s hard to
tell how long it will take, or when I will have a spare moment. Can
I get back to you?”
    Keith Joyce was not
playing the game. “I’ll be in Dunedin for three days this week from
tomorrow. Shall we say eighteen hundred hours the day after
tomorrow, which should give you enough time to speak to someone… if
you want to that is?”
    His tone of voice left
Bridger with no room to negotiate. “Okay Mr Joyce, I can spare you
thirty minutes, where is the meeting?”
    “ That’s the
spirit Sergeant. The meeting will be on the third floor conference
room in your police station. I will look