Sleepwalk

by Ros Seddon

  ‘Is he going to be all right?’ she asked.

  Claire Peters came forward and sat down next to Carter.

  ‘He’s hanging in there’ she said kindly. ‘He’s broken a lot of bones; has cracked ribs and of course is still suffering from shock. He’s very old Ellie; in his seventies. It’s unlikely he’ll survive.’

  Ellie hung her head and covered her face in her hands. ‘This has to stop.’ She murmured quietly.

  ‘Damned right it has to stop!’ yelled Carter and he banged his fist down hard on the desk. ‘And stop; it will lady! You won’t be walking away from this one!’

  Carter stood up, slammed his chair into the table and walked to the window. He was sick of this softly softly approach with mamby pamby women. Mamby pamby women who were guilty as hell and couldn’t face up to the consequences of their actions.

  ‘Ellie?’ Claire Peters reached across the table and nudged her hand.

  ‘Is there something you want to tell us?’

  ‘It wasn’t me………. ‘ Ellie began, ‘I………..’

  ‘Yes?’ The softness and sorrow in Ellie’s blue eyes were enough to melt the heart of a statue. ‘Ellie ……… If there’s something else or someone else responsible you must tell us. Help us to stop this happening again…… please?’ Claire Peters pleaded with her. Ellie raised her head and opened her mouth to speak………….

  ‘Ellie what is it? There’s something you’re not telling us isn’t there? Look …….. we may be able to help you ………….. we may have other information that may help to prove you are innocent.’

  Ellie’s expression changed suddenly and then she looked blankly at DC Peters.

  ‘It must have been me, mustn’t it? …… I don’t remember, so it must have been me.’

  Carter checked his watch. It was ten past five in the morning and he’d had enough. He went back to the table.

  ‘Eleanor Wilson I hereby charge you with grievous bodily harm as a result of dangerous driving and with the attempted murder of John Tressel. Do you have anything to say?’

  Ellie shook her head and looked away.

  ‘Take her down.’ He ordered to the PC at the door. ‘Come on Claire. We both need to get some sleep. We can look at this again tomorrow.’

  Ellie followed the officer down the steps to the cold little room that was now familiar to her. She sat on the bunk, drew her knees up, laid her head back on the folded blanket and closed her eyes. The door slammed closed and the walls shook and Ellie didn’t flinch as the sound echoed once more through the empty corridors of time…………….

  Slim and Molly were at the hospital. A uniformed officer was outside the room where John Tressel lay; still unconscious after his ordeal.

  ‘He looks kind of…….. peaceful.’

  ‘Well he must be out of it then’ Slim remarked, ‘because if he was with it even a bit he’d be sat up asking for his clothes so’s he can get down the club for a pint.’

  ‘You’re quite fond of him aren’t you Slim?’

  ‘He’s all right; don’t know him that well.’

  ‘But you’re here with him.’

  ‘He aint got no family; no one to care. Only seems right really.’

  ‘Stephen Williams, you’re like ………. an angel watching over him.’

  Or a rainbow………. thought Slim.

  ‘You’re such a nice person.’ And I think I’m falling a little bit in love with you………….

  ‘Wasn’t very nice to him was I?’

  ‘What? What do you mean?’

  ‘Should have realised when I heard that car coming ………just a few seconds too late. They’ll probably put that on my gravestone………. Here lies Slim. He was just a few seconds too late………’

  ‘Don’t you talk like that Stephen Williams! How were you to know? How was either of us to know?’

  ‘Yeah ………. I know; poor old bugger eh?’

  ‘Yeah. Come on………. Let’s go down the club and have one for him eh?’

  As they turned to leave Slim saw the old mans lips moving; his mouth trying to open and his fingers moving erratically. He dashed to the door.

  ‘Nurse; quick! He’s coming round!’

  The policeman came into the room behind Slim, closely followed by two nurses.

  ‘Mate!’ Slim took the old mans hand in his as his eyes flickered open, ‘John, mate. You ok?’

  A male nurse rushed to the bed and removed the tube that had been helping him to breathe from his throat and replaced it with an oxygen mask.

  ‘Can you hear me John?’ he asked. The old man nodded and began to breathe quite loudly through the plastic shield. The police officer moved in to his side.

  ‘John! Good to see you’re back with us! My name is Police Constable Coles. Do you remember what happened John? Who was driving?’

  The old man panicked and began to cough; his breathing erratic and out of control.

  ‘Jesus mate, give it a rest.’ Slim looked at the male nurse, ‘Are you going to allow this?’

  ‘No.’ The male nurse shook his head in agreement. ‘You’ll have to leave please officer; Now! This patient needs to rest.’

  PC Coles backed away from the bed. ‘I’ll talk to you later John.’ He said quite loudly.

  Slim and Molly stayed by the old mans side for some time. Molly sat in the comfortable high backed chair by his bedside and Slim, in a little plastic chair that reminded him of being at school. John Tressel drifted in and out of sleep; as did Molly. Eventually Slim got to his feet, picked up his chair and carried it out into the corridor. PC Coles was still there, waiting in the hall.

  ‘Has he come around yet Williams?’

  ‘No.’

  The Police Constable looked at his watch. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow.’

  ‘You do that’ said Slim.

  He watched as the young PC gazed through the glass pane at the top of the door into John Tressel’s room and then set off along the corridor.

  ‘Come on Mol.’ Slim touched her shoulder and she opened her eyes. ‘Let’s get some chips and then go have a pint for the old boy eh?’

  Molly smiled at him; a big beaming smile that showed her perfect white teeth. ‘Ok.’

  ‘Hang in there John mate.’ Slim put his hand on the old mans shoulder and his eyes opened momentarily. ‘We’ll look in on you tomorrow night.’

  ‘Boy!’ It was only a whisper but it made both Slim and Molly stop in their tracks. Slim went to his side and Molly darted out into the corridor.

  ‘Nurse! Nurse!.’ She cried, ‘He’s talking! Quickly!’

  The little dark haired nurse left her station and made toward her. She gently lifted the oxygen mask away from John’s mouth and as he began to breathe for himself the three of them saw the terror in his eyes and heard his hoarse whisper, ‘Rest…… like ……. Woman………’

  John Tressel was rambling beneath the plastic mask; his long thin fingers trying desperately to remove it.

  ‘That’s it John,’ the nurse smiled, ‘Rest; that’s what you need now.’

  ‘No!’ the old man murmured and his lips moved again,

  ‘Rest ……….. like….. a ………wo….man.’

  ‘If that’s how you like to rest John, that’s fine with us as long as you do rest!’ laughed the nurse. She tried to replace the oxygen mask over his mouth but John Tressel grabbed her arm. He was struggling to speak and his will was strong.

  ‘Wait!’ Slim briefly touched the arm that held the mask, ‘Dressed!’

  ‘Dressed ……… like a woman …….. the driver? …… It was a man ……. Dressed as a woman!’

  The old man nodded; breathed a sigh of relief and his eyes seemed to smile at Slim momentarily then they closed and John Tressel laid his head peacefully back on his pillow and drifted off to sleep…………..

  It was common practise for the hospital to contact the police with any information relevant to the case so when Carter was informed he sent Claire Peters straight th
ere. John Tressel was sleeping so she took a statement from the nurse on duty and asked her to call her as soon as he woke then she set off in search of Slim and Molly Birchell. She found them in the beer garden at the conservative club. Slim looked up as Claire approached and gave her a wide smile and she returned it much to Molly’s dismay. Claire liked Slim. She saw him as a loveable rogue.

  ‘Hello Stephen……. Hello Molly. Do you mind if I join you for a minute or two?’

  Slim shuffled sideways on the bench and Molly looked away.

  ‘No. Come and sit down Detective.’ He stood up. ‘What are you drinking?’

  ‘Thank you Stephen. Much as I could do with one right now I can only stay a few minutes. I’ve just come from the hospital.’

  ‘Old John; is he ………..?’

  ‘He’s fine, bless him; still hanging in there. He was sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb him.’

  Slim smiled warmly at her and sat down next to her. ‘Not like that other copper. Sorry …. the er ….. policeman that was there earlier.’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘Yeah; well me and Molly went there after work and he was sat outside the room the whole time we was there. Then, when the old boy came round he was right in there firing questions at him, then Old John had a coughing fit and couldn’t breathe. Wonder he didn’t give him a heart attack and finish him off completely.’

  ‘Was he in uniform, this policeman?’

  ‘Yeah; said his name, now what was it …….?’

  ‘Coles’ said Molly. His name was PC Coles.’

  ‘Yeah that’s right; said he’d be back tomorrow. I tell you Detective I don’t like his attitude. Old John went off to sleep then and this Coles, he left.’

  ‘Right. I’ll have a word. So you stayed until John woke up? Tell me Stephen what it was he said when he came round?’

  Slim told her and she made notes of the conversation which matched exactly what the nurse had told her.

  ‘Stephen, when we talked to you at the station you seemed convinced that it wasn’t Mrs Wilson driving the car that hit John Tressel. Is it possible, Stephen that the driver was a man? You said you caught a glimpse.’

  ‘Yeah; look Detective; it was dark and I’d had a few, but when something like that happens it kind of sobers you up pretty quick. It wasn’t Mrs Wilson; I’d stake my life on it. They had the long blonde hair all right, but it was kind of tangled and the shape of it was all wrong like …….. well, like it was a wig. And when the car pulled over the edge of the pavement they turned to look back and I only saw a kind of side profile but the jaw line was too bulky; the cheeks were like, flatter. It definitely wasn’t her. It did look like the shape of a bloke’s face; not a woman’s.’

  ‘Thank you Stephen.’

  Claire closed her note book and stood up. None of this made sense. If a man was driving the red Fiesta that hit John Tressel why was Ellie found in the driver’s seat just a few hours later?

  ‘Have a good evening you two. I’ll be in touch.’

  ‘No worries. I hope you find him Detective.’

  ‘So do I Stephen……… So do I.’

  Felicity hadn’t slept so well. The baby had woken several times in the night. David had taken Oliver to the park quite early so that she could go back to bed for a couple of hours while little Charlie slept but she was woken by the doorbell ringing. She reached for her dressing gown and rushed downstairs.

  ‘Felicity?’ The woman at the door had dark hair, wore no make up and looked kind of important.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’m Mary; Mary Darch. I’m a friend of Ellie’s.’

  ‘Yes I know. We spoke very late the other night.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry about that. Look …… can we talk? Are you on your own?’

  ‘Yes. David’s popped out but he’ll be back any time.’

  ‘I won’t keep you long, I promise but you need to know the truth about your husband.’

  ‘You’d better come in.’ Felicity showed the woman into the sitting room, curiosity over-riding fear of confrontation.

  ‘The other night, I was meeting Ellie for dinner.’

  Felicity nodded. ‘I know.’

  ‘Well we’d arranged to meet at that new place in town at eight o’clock. Well Ellie didn’t show. I waited outside until quarter past and then I went inside. The table was booked at eight for eight-thirty you see and the place looked busy; well I didn’t want us to lose our table simply because Ellie was running late you see?’

  ‘Quite.’ Felicity nodded, her mind racing ……. This was the night before she left the Hospital ……. when David was working in the garden and didn’t hear the phone …….

  ‘Well I ordered two glasses of Rose at the bar and then went to our table and waited. They bought the wine, poured one glass and asked me if I was ready to order. Well of course I said No and that I was waiting for my friend and that she would be here any time. The waiter filled a glass for Ellie. I waited and watched the little clock on the wall ticking away and I sipped my wine and before I knew it my glass was almost empty and it was almost nine o’clock!’

  ‘So she stood you up?’

  ‘No. She was there all right, but she wouldn’t come inside. I could see through the window that there was a woman outside whose physique matched that of Ellie’s. She seemed to be pacing back and forth across the front of the restaurant but of course you can’t see clearly because of all those frosted glass etchings they have on the windows.

  I finished my wine and I went outside and sure enough it was Ellie. But there was something wrong. She looked distraught. I asked her if she was coming inside and she said no, and at that point I had the waiter after me because I hadn’t paid for the wine.

  I called to Ellie to wait there but she said no; she would see me at home and she took off. Of course I went back inside; apologised and gave the man ten pounds for his trouble.’

  Felicity had sunk back into the armchair at this point. She knew that whatever was wrong with Ellie must have something to do with David.

  ‘Go on …….’ She urged.

  ‘When I got home she was sitting in her car outside my cottage. In the back seat was a bag and there were clothes strewn across it and over the seats like she had left in a hurry.

  ‘Mary,’ she said …….. ‘please can I stay here with you?’ and she burst into tears. When I got her inside I could see she had bruises on her arms and she bore the marks on her throat where he had almost strangled her. Ellie had been raped.’

  Felicity’s head was swimming and her face was white with shock.

  ‘What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me that ……….?’

  ‘Yes. I’m sorry Felicity. It was David. Your husband raped her; while you were in hospital with his baby.’

  ‘You are crazy. David wouldn’t do that. David is the kindest, nicest man I have ever known. I think you’d better go. I’ve never heard such nonsense! Go on! Get out!’

  Felicity stood up, walked to the door and opened it wide.

  ‘Get out before I call the police!’ she snapped.

  Mary Darch walked to the door talking as she went; ‘And that’s not all he did; ask him Felicity. Ask him what he did to her the other night. I know it was him. I saw him out there with her; and that poor old man he left for dead……… and all the others!’

  ‘Get out!’ Felicity slammed the front door shut and went into the kitchen; her heart pounding. She was shaking with anger; and with the fear of uncertainty. Her breasts were full and milk began to seep through her t-shirt. She sat down at the kitchen table, her mind racing with thoughts of David; of Ellie; of Oliver and of baby Charlie. She hung her head in her hands and the tears began to flow and the more her mind raced the more she cried until she sobbed so hard she just couldn’t stop ……………..

  Slim was sitting under the bridge. He flipped the little business card over and ran it through his fingers thoughtfully. The sun was setting over the river and little slivers of pink sky h
ad broken through the blue casting a warm glow over the trees and beyond. Tomorrow would be a nice day. One of Jonquils favourite sayings suddenly came to mind; Red sky at night; shepherds delight. He pictured her now skipping through the undergrowth in her denim jeans and brightly coloured striped socks; her long fair hair in two plaits dancing around at the sides of her face; her deep green eyes darting here and there sparkling in the light of dusk like fireflies. Where are you Jonky? Are you up there? Can you see me? ….. Do you think of me? ………… I think of you….. all the time………… Bits began to bark and it broke his train of thought. Slim turned and watched as the little dog took off at lightening speed then stopped and bounded deer-like into the undergrowth yapping like a puppy chasing an imaginary rabbit or some other innocent creature. He straightened the card and laid it flat into the palm of his hand. DC Peters, it said and had a phone number. Jonky had shown him the secret hiding place. It was a place no one else knew about; a place no one would ever think to look. Perhaps word had spread through the trees and the long grass; perhaps through a whisper on the wind but the secret hiding place was still only known to an elite few. Inside an old oak tree on the river path; where once, a branch had hung proudly from its base, at a mans shoulder height now lay a deep dark hole in its trunk. The branch had become dismembered from its joint leaving a deep dark crevice in the bark; enough to fit a small hand through, which then opened up inside to a large hole. You couldn’t see into it; not even with a torch. You could only feel. In winter it became home to a number of small woodland creatures but to the elite few it was a safety deposit box. It was where Bernie had kept his photos and his silver pocket watch; it was where the Colonel had kept his medals and later it was where Jonky had kept her stash of grass. After Vanguard had told him about her encounter with the man on the river path and how he had seemed to emerge from the bushes in that exact spot Slim had begun to wonder just how elite the elite few were. Then when Coles had mentioned he might be barking up the wrong tree it had dawned on him and he’d been on his way there when the car lights had struck him. He hadn’t been entirely honest with DI Carter that night ….. and why should he? The man was so immersed in his own career and obsessed with his own self righteousness and future success that he couldn’t see into the past or the future…….. or anyone else’s. Claire Peters was different; she cared about people.