Chapter 70 third quarter

Teri Miller opens the briefing room door for her Detective Chief Inspector. "Take a deep breath, boss, the aspirin will do its job soon." "It better be so, my head feels like it's going to explode." "Morning, boss." Taylor greeted vaguely with a big mouthful of bacon sandwich in his mouth. "car broke down?" Rhett raised his hand, "Don't be so loud, Barry. Also, my car is fine." Taylor smiled triumphantly at Yezzy Harris. "Wrong guess. So it's been a sleepless night, Boss?" Tyler's chubby fingers held a Costa coffee mug, gurgling coffee. "In that case, it's very sensible to hitch a ride. There's no way our Detective Chief Inspector could be caught by the police, is there?"

"That's still possible, Barry," Rhett said.The last thing she needed this morning was Taylor's heartless banter.She glanced at the clock, Blake would call her any minute now. "Mike and Anna are bringing drinks, boss, it looks like you should have a drink." Harris suggested.His eyes fell on Rhett's chest, lingered for a moment thoughtfully, then slowly returned to Teri, and finally back to Rhett. Taylor smiled triumphantly and held up the paper cup. "I think you should have a real cup of coffee, boss, not the bug pee-tasting coffee we drink around here." He reached into his pocket. "Here, Yeezy, go get a double espresso from the Costa boss."

Rhett turned his gaze to Tyler. "Oh, really? When did your salary actually afford a double espresso?" Tyler's smug smile became more apparent. "You know me, boss, generosity is my greatest trait." "Strange how I missed that. You seem to have enjoyed a very pleasant breakfast, Barry, and I think you've brought me some clues." Tyler's toothy grin reappeared, revealing half-eaten bacon. "I'll tell you when you get back from the Superintendent, Chief. He wants you to go to his office as soon as you get here." Rhett made a face at Teri Miller.

"He might pin a medal on your chest, boss," Taylor said. "You're famous now. If you want, I can go with you and help you secure the medal." Rhett gave Taylor a skillful look of contempt. "Famous? Medals?" "You were on the TV news last night, Boss, for trying to save a jumper from a window sill. In fact, you could be said to have caused as much buzz as she did." Ana and McKenzie showed up just in time with a tray of steaming cups. "Morning, boss. The car broke down?" McKenzie asked nonchalantly. "Or have you been busy all night?"

Rhett and Teri exchanged glances. "It's all my fault, I saw you and Terry came here together." Anna explained apologetically. "I mentioned it to these guys when I came in. Of course, they immediately set up a conspiracy theory that matched the indication. Sorry, boss." Rhett looked at Anna blankly. McKinsey looked to Taylor and Harris. "So, who won?" Red stared at McKinsey. "win?" McKinsey hands Red a cup of coffee. "Here, boss, this will put you in a good mood." Rhett didn't take the cup. "What did you mean by that earlier statement, Jim?"

"You should really take my offer, boss, that thing tastes like a load of salt." Rhett ignores Taylor. "Jim, what did you mean by that?" McKenzie avoided making eye contact with Reed, taking the opportunity of handing out the coffee. "We all have different theories, sir," he said sheepishly. "Bet five pounds each, and the winner takes all." "I didn't participate, boss." Anna said immediately. "This matter has nothing to do with me." Red's eyes wandered between McKinsey, Taylor, and Harry S. "Obviously you won, Tyler, and that's why you're so generous about buying me a double espresso. I just knew this was too good to be true." She turned to McKinsey. "I guess I should appreciate that you just thought my car broke down, Jim."

Then she turned her eyes to Harris. "And you, Yates? You bastard. I guess you're going to share the winnings with Barry, seven pounds and fifty pence each, right?" Taylor snorted loudly. "No way, it's all mine. I'm just reasoning from the facts, which is solid detective work. Apparently you were out celebrating last night and you still have alcohol in your blood this morning, so just to be safe, you I took a ride with Tex. Even Yezzy Harris can do such a simple reasoning. Oh no, maybe not." He turned to Harris and said, "Yeza, tell the boss about your reasoning? "

Harris blushed. "I...that..." Rhett folded his arms, leaned back against the table, and sighed deeply. "Then let's hear it, Yates. You know very well that Barry's going to make sure I hear it anyway, and we might as well get this over with." At that moment, Anna and McKenzie suddenly found themselves with important paperwork to deal with.Tyler stood, grinning foolishly at Harris.Harris took a slow, swig of coffee. "Nicky and I were in the taxi last night and saw you and Teri walking out of the bar together," he finally said. Rhett nodded reluctantly. "anything else……"

"I thought...well, I joked, maybe you had a fight with Pippa and you went to Terri's to sleep over." Reid tried his best to keep a blank expression, and repeatedly weighed the choices in his heart.She decided to sacrifice Harris and make it up to him afterwards. "Then let me be straight, Holmes," she said quietly. "You see two people walking out of a bar after a quiet drink. Using your best detective skills, you deduce that one of them had a fight with his partner and needs to move into the other's house. Seriously, yeah Here, is this your reasoning?"

Harris looked nervously at Rhett and Teri, then at Taylor. Tyler smiled at Harris, enjoying his embarrassment. "Tsk tsk, Yeza, it seems that I still have a lot of basic investigative skills that I need to pass on to you." Harris glared at Taylor, who responded with an unabashed smile. "You're a big bastard, Yez. There's no cure!" Harris placed his half-drunk coffee mug heavily on the table. "Nonsense. I'm as good a detective as anyone here." Taylor took three five-pound notes from his pocket, held them between forefinger and thumb, and dangled them under Harris' nose. "They don't think so, buddy. The lovely fifteen pounds are mine."

Harris looked at Rhett in despair. "It's not fair, boss." Rhett looked at him, not knowing how to answer. "Yez?" Harris looked back at her, troubled.He didn't take his eyes off Rhett for a moment, and just kept silent. Rhett took a deep breath, looked at Taylor helplessly, then took three five-pound notes from Taylor's fingers, and handed them to Harris. Tyler tried to make his plump hips more comfortable on the table. "Boss?" "Pippa and I had an argument last night," Rhett said slowly. "I ended up drinking too much and slept in Teri's house last night." She paused so that everyone in the room could digest the message. "I slept on her couch, Barry. Alone." "That's it," Teri added. "As you all know, the Boss had a rather unusual day yesterday. After a few drinks, she couldn't drive at all, and we all agree that coming home drunk late at night disturbs the kids and it's better not to do it." She glanced slowly over Taylor, Harris, and McKinsey to see if they dared challenge her account of the incident. "It's not a crime, is it? Or are the laws different here in the UK?" McKenzie and Anna are back on the conversation. "Congratulations, Yates," Anna said. "Being in the right place at the right time and being lucky enough to guess correctly. But as long as it turns out, who cares? I think you're going to buy your first round tonight, right?" Rhett nodded. "That pretty much sums up most detective work, Ana. He's lucky. But from the look on Yez's face, I don't think it's that simple, does Yez?" Harris nodded. "While I may regret it, let's hear the whole story, Yez," Rhett said.Then he said to Taylor: "I have an ominous feeling that you and I may both owe Agent Harris an apology." Taylor looked stunned. "I have nothing to apologize for. He took my bonus." Harris quickly recovered his composure.He glanced at the money in his hand, then at Taylor, then at Anna, then at McKenzie, then at Teri, and finally at Rhett.He took a deep breath. "It's actually Nikki, boss. You two just came out of the Victory Bar when we were driving by, and...well, obviously you've had too much to drink." Now it was Rhett's turn to feel uncomfortable. "Good observation, Yates. Go on." Harris gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Nicky whispered to me she didn't think you were wearing anything under your top." Tyler makes a sound that sounds like a pig has found a treasure trove of truffles.Rhett felt his face flush.She nodded for Harris to continue. "Of course, I didn't believe it, but Nikki swears she's right, so we made the taxi driver turn around and follow you. You'd never guess what Nikki said to him." "Follow that policeman!" Taylor said with a broad smile. Harris glared at Taylor. "How the hell do you know? Anyway, our car drove past you slowly, boss, and...well, it looks like you've got nothing on." Taylor opened his eyes wide and looked Rhett up and down, trying to imagine the scene at that time. "A late-night exhibitionist?" "Dream it, Barry. Something happened while we were drinking wine," Teri explained. "That's all." "I know," Harris said. "We walked after you for a while and overheard a few words, so we also know what happened between the Boss and Pippa." "You mean bastard," Taylor said. "You know the inside story. It's not a fair bet." Harris ignored the protest. "And this morning, boss..." His eyes returned to Rhett's chest. "Dallas Cowboys? You're wearing the same T-shirt Terry wore to the league bar the other day." Rhett stood up straight, reached out and shook Harris's hand. "I was right. I owe you an apology, Yates. You did a good job of detective work, especially the T-shirts. Good job." Harris blushed. "Thank you, boss." Rhett turned to Tyler. "Excellent job. Don't you think so, Barry?" Harris held out his hand, waiting to accept Taylor's apologetic handshake, but Taylor just glared at Harris. "You cheating bastard. Your winnings should be forfeited, right, Mike?" "Calm down, you two," Rhett warned Tyler.Then he said to Harris: "That's right, Yezzy, the bonus is yours. But be careful, if anyone dares to follow me..." Rhett dragged his voice, unable to think of any suitable method to punish this A heinous crime. "In short, don't do this again, understand?" Rhett picked up the cup and finished the coffee in one gulp. "Thank you, Jim. Like Barry said, it tastes like worm urine, but at least it's throat-warming and warm. By the way, I'd better see what the superintendent wants me for." She turned to Teri. Good luck." Teri waved to her. "Be careful when he pins your medal, boss. We'll ask for your autograph when you get back, and you're a celebrity now."