The Perfect Life

Chapter Two - Coffee Anyone?

            Divney barged through the office doors like an elephant on steroids. If the receptionist hadn’t been wearing her spectacles, she would have more than likely phoned animal control. The detective had regressed to his ape-like persona which probably would have resulted in a few broken noses and several damaged desks if Jamie Niven hadn’t inserted himself promptly into Divney’s way. The blond young-faced creature wore a thin lipped smile which seemed to have the uncanny ability to irritate Divney further.

“Calm down Divney, you’ll give yourself an aneurysm,” Niven said in his usual chirpy tone.

“I am calm,” Divney said through gritted teeth.

Divney went to pass Jamie but he mirrored Divney’s movements preventing him from progressing any further.

“Would you mind popping into my office?” asked Niven without switching tone and pointing at its location, as if Divney had forgotten.

“Yeah, sure,” he said as he exhaled to calm himself.

Niven headed to his office and Divney reluctantly trailed behind him. The room was exceptionally clean, almost clinically so. A redwood table sat squarely in the centre and an artistic picture, which based on Divney’s income was about ten years out of his price range, furnished the left-hand wall. Conceptual art was something altogether foreign to him; he couldn’t understand why something which resembled animal’s excrement deserved to be priced at more than his house. Aside from the table and picture, the office was almost naked, demonstrating this man was way above the task of clerical work.

Niven was definitely “on the take,” Divney was sure of that, but then again there weren’t many officers left that didn’t like occasional compromise when credits were presented. The only chair in the room was now occupied by Niven, leaving Divney hovering awkwardly in front of him.

“I have read your file Divney. I am going to take you off the malnutrition cases.”

“Why?”

“Hector, I don’t want you getting emotionally involved in the case. I know about your wife, Julia.”

No-one called him by his first name except his wife, and only inside the bedroom. The last thing he wanted was images of this guy straddling his thighs and screaming his name.

“But the case is about malnutrition and not Perfect Life; you said it yourself,” he replied with a snarl.

“Yes, maybe so but I feel the circumstances that you found your wife in aren’t too far removed from how you found those bodies.”

Divney’s body tensed.”What do you want me to do now?”

“Well you still have a lot of holidays left, I suggest you take some time out as you haven’t taken any time off since the incident. Finish up your paper work for today and take the next two weeks as paid vacation.”

Before he had even a chance to respond, Niven got out of his chair and ushered Divney out of the office, leaving Divney confused and agitated at what had just transpired.  

Welcomed lovingly by his coffee stained desk and decomposing chair, Divney sat down and acclimatised himself to the wad of case files loitering around the desk’s surface. After shuffling and rearranging the contents of a few files, he noticed Jamie disappear out for lunch providing Divney with an opportunity to access the evidence desk unsupervised.  It was manned by a pimple-faced boy which was covered in a variety other acne based elements.

“Do you have the files and evidence boxes on the last four P.L. deaths?” he asked immediately.

“Err yeah, I’ll just go check out the store room,” he said in a half dazed fashion.