by L M Krier
The Ice Queen studied him for a long moment. Ted was acutely aware that beads of sweat were rolling down the sides of his face and his shirt was sticking to him. His mouth was so dry he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to speak, when and if it was required of him.
'These are words which I never imagined myself saying, Inspector,' the Ice Queen began, her tone flat and formal. 'I have booked you on to an anger management course. It is this weekend, in Blackpool, and is residential. It begins on Friday afternoon and goes on until Sunday afternoon. It is not optional. You will attend all parts of the course, including the meals, which form part of the assessment process.
'In addition, you will write a letter of apology to Dr Cooper, and send the draft to me for approval before it goes out. You will then stay away from her. Completely. If, at a future stage, you continue to think she has anything to do with your current enquiries, or that she should form part of some other investigation, you will come and discuss it fully with me before you take any further action.
'Subject to your fulfilling these requirements, Dr Cooper has agreed to let the matter drop, so there will be no need for me to refer it to Complaints. I will, of course, have to leave a report about it on your file, but I hope that will now be an end to the matter.'
'Ma'am,' Ted said tersely, feeling thoroughly ashamed of himself, but realising the outcome could have been so much worse.
'I spoke at length to DC Brown,' she continued, her voice thawing by a degree or two. 'I have to say, I do admire your ability to inspire such intense loyalty in your team members. He was utterly unshakeable in his account of what had happened, which differed significantly from that of Dr Cooper. It was largely that which led me to proceed no further. That and my knowledge and belief that this was an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished career.
'So please let's have no more of such behaviour. Go back to your team, and I hope to have some news of progress from you shortly.'
Ted didn't dare say anything further. He was worried that his voice might be as wobbly as the rest of him was feeling as he stood up, so he simply nodded briefly and left the office. His legs were still rubbery as he climbed the stairs, much more slowly than usual.
All of his team members were already in and at their desks. They looked up expectantly when the door opened, then there were smiles all round as they saw their boss appear. Only Maurice knew exactly what had been happening, but the rest of them had sensed something serious was going on.
'Give me five minutes to brew up, then I'll be with you,' Ted told them, heading straight for his office. Then, pausing, he turned and looked across the room. 'Oh, and Maurice? I owe you a pint.'
He hadn't managed any breakfast before he had left home that morning, feeling far too wound up to eat. Instead he'd brought a high-energy bar with him, which he fell on and devoured, suddenly feeling the ravenous hunger of relief from tension. He added an extra spoonful of honey to his green tea then went back out to the main office, thrilled to be back with his team.
'So, any progress? What's been happening?' he asked expectantly, as he perched on the edge of the nearest desk.
'Boss, I did some asking around at the weekend,' Sal began. 'I went to one of those vans that sells tea and burgers. I've noticed it's popular as a quick stop-off on the edge of town for delivery drivers. I found a couple of drivers who mentioned a man with a white Sprinter van they'd seen around a few times but didn't know much about. Nothing at all conclusive, but their descriptions roughly match our attacker, for age and height certainly. They both independently said he was a bit strange, aloof, didn't want to mix much when they tried to strike up conversation. It may be nothing, of course.'
'A Sprinter van, eh, Jezza? That's smaller than a lorry,' Rob said with a laugh.
'Yeah, but I know you men. You're always boasting it's bigger than it is,' she shot back at him.
Ted was just so pleased to be still leading his team he merely laughed along with the rest of them, before he said, 'Right, we need to track down this Sprinter van, see if it has anything at all to do with our case. Check with Traffic, see if they've had any incidents with a similar van. If it's even had a parking ticket on our patch, I want to know about it.
'Rob, talk to Folkestone and Dover, see if they've had any similar sightings. There's plenty of those vans about, but let's try to track this one down and rule it in or out of the enquiry. Do the sightings by these drivers coincide with the attacks on our patch, Sal?'
'One definitely does, boss. It was just after a big United match that everyone was talking about. One of the drivers tried to talk to Sprinter-man about the result, which was controversial. He said the man was very off with him.'
Ted shrugged. 'He may just not be into football. You all know by now it would be no use trying to talk to me about it, either. But let's check. If it is our man, a Sprinter van suggests deliveries of something. It would help us if we could pin down what they might be.'
'Could still be booze runs. Or cigarettes, coming over from France duty-free,' Mike Hallam said. 'You can certainly get a good few quid's worth of stuff in a van that size.'
'It could be people trafficking, too,' Jezza suggested. 'You'd certainly have to be some sick sort of individual to go in for that. And I hear that a lot of the people being smuggled get raped, and worse, on their journey. Maybe our man just gets so fired up with it all that he can't control himself?'
Ted groaned. 'I hope you're wrong, Jezza. Just when we thought this case was bad enough. If he really is involved in the filthy people trafficking trade as well, we desperately need to get him, and fast. But remember, let's not assume anything.'
True to his word, Ted took Maurice off for a pint at The Grapes at lunchtime. As well as thanking him over a drink, he wanted to give him a stern talking to for not telling the Ice Queen exactly what had happened, possibly putting himself in jeopardy at the same time.
'I stuck to the facts, boss,' Maurice assured him. 'You didn't go over the top. You were just being a good copper, trying to make sure no laws were being broken. She just touched a raw nerve with this gay stuff, you being the way you are.'
Ted had to laugh. Maurice had all the tact of a charging rhino and was about as politically incorrect as it was possible to be, but he was a sincere and kind-hearted man. He may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was also a solid and steady presence. Some officers in Ted's position might have felt him too much of a plodder to bring much to the team. Ted, recognising his good qualities, was glad to have him.
'I appreciate it, Maurice. Just make sure you take care of yourself as well. Always.'
Ted had fired off a quick text to Trev as soon as he knew he still had a job and was more or less off the hook, but he was looking forward to seeing him that evening to tell him all about it. Trev was in the kitchen preparing supper when Ted got in, feeling tired but relieved that the day was over.
Trev greeted him with one of his famous hugs, but his face was anxious. Ted sat down at the table and filled him in on all of the Ice Queen's conditions, hoping to set his mind at rest.
'It means me abandoning you for another weekend on the trot, and I'm sorry about that. But I got off lightly, all things considering. I'm just glad it's all over.'
Trev sat down next to him and took hold of one of his hands between both of his.
'I'm glad, too. I know how worried you were. Now, I have something to tell you. But first, I want you to promise not to get angry with me.'
Ted was instantly on the alert. He didn't like the sound of this.
'I promise to try to stay calm, whatever it is,' he said guardedly.
'You know I told you Annie had the weekend off?' Trev asked, scanning his partner's face warily as he spoke. 'It was a bit of a white lie. She was on the rota, but I thought it would do the two of you good to go away together, so I phoned her boss and said she was off sick.
'Annie phoned me today, in a bit of a state. She's on a zero-hour contract – I didn't realise
that – and she said they've taken her off the rota completely this week. She phoned her boss and was told they didn't know when they could give her any more hours. Now she's really worried about paying her bills.
'Ted, I'm really sorry, I thought I was doing a good thing but I've messed up completely and I don't know how to make it right.'
Wordlessly, Ted pulled his hand away, pushed his chair back, stood up and went out of the back door into the garden, shutting the door quietly behind him.
His silence worried Trev more than any words could have done. Absent-mindedly, he picked up the nearest cat and started to stroke it, standing up to watch out of the window as Ted strode about the garden. It was too dark to see his expression, but his whole body language screamed tension and barely suppressed anger.
It was several minutes before he came back in. Trev was still clutching the cat in front of himself, almost protectively. He noticed it was Queen, the most senior of their six cats.
Ted went over to him, gently took Queen from his arms, put her on the floor, then hugged Trev fiercely.
'I'm sorry. I reacted badly. I think the Ice Queen is right. I do need to learn some anger management. I was angry, for a moment. Now I've filed it under “wrong thing for the right reasons”. I'll sort it. I'll phone her work in the morning, with my policeman's hat on, and thank them for giving her the time off to deal with a family crisis. That should do it.
'But please, promise me you'll run things past me first, when you have your next bright idea,' he added with an affectionate smile. 'What with the mortgage, the bank loan, and still paying for your bike, I couldn't afford to support my mother as well, if she did lose her job.'
Trev's relief was palpable as he hugged him back hard and kissed him. He hated being at odds with his partner.
'I really am sorry, Ted. I'm an idiot, I know. I take the piss something shocking with Geoff about the hours I work and it never occurs to me that other people can't do the same. I promise to try to be a grown-up from now on.'
Ted smiled indulgently and said, 'It's just as well I love you beyond reason.'
He was rewarded by seeing the way Trev's face lit up at his words, his intensely blue eyes sparkling. He didn't tell him anything like as often as he should do. He promised himself he would do better in the future.
Trev busied himself dishing up their supper then, as he sat down, said, 'What about Christmas? Do you want to invite your mother to have dinner with us?'
'I haven't really thought much about Christmas this year, with this case going on. Would you mind if I asked her?'
'Of course not. I really like Annie. It would be nice to see you two together for the festivities. Assuming you don't get called in to work, of course. Are you going to have your usual get-together for the team, and do you want me to bake for it?'
Ted's face clouded briefly. The previous Christmas had been a difficult one for him, with the loss of a valued member of his team. The memories were going to be hard to erase. But he owed it to the team to keep up the annual tradition. It was always a good morale boost.
'I suppose I should do. Yes, please. If I deprive the team of your mince pies, I might face a mutiny.'
'And are you going to invite the Ice Queen?' He saw the face Ted pulled at the suggestion and added, 'You'll have to, for form's sake. You always had Jim Baker there. It would be too much of an obvious snub if you didn't invite your new senior officer. Besides, I'm dying to meet her, to see if she really is as glacial as you portray her. From the sound of it, she treated you reasonably fairly today. Perhaps I might get her to thaw out a bit more, over a plate of mince pies.'
Chapter Nine
Ted was anxious to sort something out with his car as soon as he could, preferably the next day. He was going to need transport for the weekend to get to Blackpool, for one thing. He was not looking forward to the course at all, viewing it as an ordeal to be endured.
It was not a police course. He might find himself the only copper there. He was dreading having to sit there and talk about himself to a roomful of strangers. Doubtless it would begin with the usual, 'I'm Ted, I'm a policeman and sometimes my job makes me angry.'
Then he thought that might sound as if he was trying to make excuses for himself and wondered how he could phrase it better. 'I get angry with some aspects of my job,' perhaps?
He shook himself to clear his head. He was over-analysing again. He knew it was a bad habit of his. It would probably be best just to turn up with no preconceptions. But first he needed reliable wheels to get him there at all.
He phoned his usual garage to come and collect the Renault to sort it out. They promised faithfully to be there for twelve-thirty, so Ted could slip away from work for half an hour. They were unusually late and arrived after one o'clock with barely an explanation, let alone an apology. It worried Ted how angry it made him feel. He never used to lose his temper so easily, not even with the most difficult cases he'd handled.
The man who collected it told Ted to call round before six o'clock that evening and they would have an idea for him of what was wrong. They should also know by then what it was going to cost to put it right, and to get it through its MOT test.
When he got back to the station, he got straight on the phone to his mother's employers. Ted hated to use the police officer card but he didn't see what else he could do in the circumstances. He'd had a good time with his mother at the weekend. It had been nice to see some of the places from her childhood, many of which he had heard her speak about but had never visited. It had certainly helped to take his mind off his own predicament.
He spoke to her line manager to thank her for allowing his mother time off at short notice because of a 'family crisis'. He wasn't sure he was entirely believed but he was pleased when, shortly afterwards, his mother phoned to say she'd been called into work to cover the hours of someone on sick leave. She also told him delightedly that she was back on the rota for the rest of the week. It was one small but successful result for him to chalk up and he felt badly in need of some success, no matter how minor.
Next he decided he'd better get the letter of apology to Dr Cooper written and sent to the Ice Queen for her approval. It would, at least, be one more thing to tick off his list, so that he could get back to some sort of normality. He kept the letter short, tried to make it sound sincere and emailed it to the Ice Queen. He felt like a schoolboy sending his homework to the headmistress. He wondered how many marks out of ten she would give him, or whether it would land him in detention.
Her response was swift and concise. 'Perfectly acceptable.'
Ted printed it out, then put it ready for the post that evening. He was just about to attack his paperwork mountain once more when there was a knock at his door and Mike Hallam came in.
'Have a seat, Mike. Do you want coffee? The kettle's just boiled.'
'Thanks, boss. Look, I don't want to pry or anything, I just wanted to make sure you were all right. After the weekend away and everything. Maurice clearly knows but he's saying nothing. It's probably none of my business …'
'I'm going to be away this weekend as well,' Ted told him with a conspiratorial grin, sitting down opposite him and taking a sip of his green tea. 'I've got to go on an anger management course.'
'You, boss? Bloody hell! But you're the most easy-going person I've ever worked with.'
Ted gave him the edited highlights of what had happened. He wasn't proud of himself. The more times he went over it, the more he was disappointed with his behaviour and particularly, his lack of self-control.
'I can see why you would find that hard to take. I think any of us might have reacted similarly. At least I hope we would. I'd like to think that if either of my kids told me they were gay, I'd handle it better than dragging them off to be brainwashed out of it. Is there anything we can do about the woman?' Mike asked.
'I'm under strict orders to drop it completely,' Ted said levelly.
Mike gave him a shrewd look. 'Which of course, you have done. Excep
t …'
Ted smiled. 'You caught me out. I've asked a man who might know if there is anything about it which makes it a police matter. Thanks for your concern, Mike. I'm hoping to come back from the course all peace and light and Zen. Then perhaps we can finally get on with nailing this bastard for the sex attacks.
'In the meantime, I'm temporarily without wheels. My car broke down and is in the garage. I'm hoping to get it back tonight, but if not, it's buses and lifts for the moment. Unless I can scrounge a pool car, but I know they're in short supply and high demand.'
Ted's mobile rang, just as Mike was leaving the office. The number showed as Unknown. Ted answered with a guarded, 'Hello?'
'Hi Ted, it's Philip. How are you, and how is young Tony?'
'Trevor,' Ted correctly automatically. He wasn't sure if Philip got the name wrong deliberately to try to annoy him or whether his mind was impaired by the amount of alcohol he clearly now consumed on a regular basis. He'd always enjoyed a drink when they'd been together, but from what Ted had seen of him on their recent meeting, it had clearly now gone way beyond that level.
'I've been looking into the little matter you brought to my attention. I've gone into it thoroughly, but at the moment, I can't see that it breaks any law that I'm aware of,' Philip began. 'There is still a possibility, of course, that professional standards of some sort may be being breached. I'm thinking particularly in relation to the ages of some of the people she sees.
'I would suggest, if you're determined to carry on with this, that you contact this woman's professional body and get their advice. I take it you've already looked into the various qualifications this doctor gives herself, to make sure they're genuine? If not, then there's your way forward.'
Ted surprised himself by swearing out loud because he should have done that first and foremost and he hadn't. He was not usually much of a swearer. When Philip gave a throaty chuckle and said, 'I always loved it when you talked dirty,' he fervently wished he hadn't. He was getting alarmed at yet more evidence of his current lack of self-control.