Inspector Ray Stevens stood by the window, examining his office chair, one arm of which had been broken for at least a year. Until now, he had simply followed a practical approach and avoided leaning to the left, but while he was out for lunch, someone had written with a black marker on the back of the chair "for inspection." Ray wondered if the recent enthusiasm of the professional support department for equipment checks would extend to replacing it or if he was doomed to run Bristol's Forensics from a chair that seriously cast doubts on his reliability.
Ray bent down to find a marker in the chaotic top drawer and changed the inscription to "inspector." His office door opened, and he stood up quickly, putting the cap back on the marker. "Ah, Kate, I was just…" He stopped as he recognized the expression on her face before seeing the printed daily report in her hand. "What do we have?" "Hit-and-run with victim abandonment in Fishponds, sir. A five-year-old boy was killed." Ray reached out to take the paper and glanced at it while Kate stood awkwardly in the doorway. She had only been in Forensics for two months and was still trying to find her footing. But she was good; better than she believed herself.
"License plate?" "As far as we know, no. The scene is cordoned off, and the sergeant is taking a statement from the boy’s mother right now. She is in great shock, as you can imagine." "Can you stay late?" Ray asked, but Kate had already nodded affirmatively before he finished his question. They exchanged faint smiles, mutually recognizing the rush of adrenaline they always felt was wrong to enjoy when something so terrible had happened. "Alright then, let's go." They nodded to the smokers crowded under the shelter at the back exit.