by John Stewart
Sloane gritted his teeth and barked at the officers to get inside and check it out. Mike and Rebecca walked passed him and headed for the exit.
“And where the hell do you two think you’re going?”
Mike didn’t stop walking.
“Wesley! Get back here now, we need talk to you,” Sloane demanded.
Mike stopped and turned around. “I’m going to see your superiors, maybe someone in your department will actually listen to me this time.” Sloane clenched his jaw in silence. “Hope you have a nice retirement plan, Mr. Sloane.”
EPILOGUE
Following a search of Simon Meadowcroft’s apartment, the police found an unsent letter addressed to Ethan Sloane. The letters implicated D.S. Sloane in the loss of key evidence relating to the murder case of Businessman Oliver Dean in 2003. The letter also documented the £25,000 Sloane took from Margaery Dean. Although he denied all knowledge of the crimes, an internal investigation was launched and forensic accountants found several financial irregularities from the same time period. These, coupled with Mike’s damning statement documenting his blatant inaction on the disappearance of Simon Meadowcroft, resulted in Ethan Sloane being stripped of his badge and fired from the police force in disgrace.
Simon’s alleged involvement in the sexual assault of Lauren Gibson was never made public. Instead, he was portrayed in the media as a hero cop who died trying to stop a vicious killer. Rebecca and Mike gave the unabridged version of events to their editor, Eric Munroe, but the source for the accusations was deemed unreliable and despite their protests, he decided not to publish the story in a bid to avoid any possible lawsuits from Meadowcroft’s extended family.
Claire Swindon was convicted of aiding and abetting Lauren Gibson on five counts of murder and one count of first-degree murder. She was given six consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole. Despite remaining silent throughout the trial on the advice of her legal team, she gave a detailed interview to Rebecca about her part in the murders following her sentencing.
Lauren Pamela Gibson was arrested on five counts of first-degree murder, one count of aiding and abetting and another of attempted murder. Her performance in court was compelling, painting herself as the victim throughout, but her psychiatric evaluation deemed her to be a deviant sociopath whose only concern was for herself. The jury deliberated for over three weeks before delivering a guilty verdict and the judge sentenced her to spend what would likely be the remainder of her life in prison.
Mike and Rebecca stayed in London for the duration of the trials and following the final sentence hearing they were given the green light to publish a Meadowcroft friendly version of the story. They declined the offer and decided to take a long overdue trip home.
***
“So, what happened with her girlfriend in the end? Did you just leave her tied up in the flat?” An enthusiastic Helen Kean asked as Rebecca and Mike regaled her and Gregory Walsh with the story in their local Edgeworthstown pub.
Rebecca lowered her wine glass to explain.
“Well, when Mike hung up, I noticed a small Taser gun in her bag and when I went back into the room, she jumped at me with a syringe in her hand. I stuck the Taser in her side and held the button until she stopped kicking. On her way down, she cracked her head on the bedpost. When they found her, she was still passed out where she fell.”
Gregory laughed. “So, that’s where you got the needle you used on your one Gibson? How did you know it was a sedative and not that methadone crap they had before?”
Rebecca gave an unapologetic shrug.
“Truth is I didn’t. It was all I had to take her down with after I dropped the Taser, lucky for her it wasn’t a lethal dose.”
Would’a served the bitch right! Nice job Becca!” Gregory said, clinking his glass with hers as he spoke.
Rebecca turned to Mike. “This was Mike’s win, he did all the real work. To Mike!”
“To Mike!” Helen and Gregory repeated.
Mike sat up with a less jovial expression.
“It was a sad case. She was dealt a shitty hand.”
Gregory interjected. “Doesn’t justify what she did buddy. She was obviously a nut job!”
“I suppose. Anyway, let’s change the subject. How are you two enjoying it here?” Mike asked in a coy tone.
Helen and Gregory looked at each other before Helen spoke. “Ah, you know Mike, it’s not like it was, but sure what can ya do? At least there’s fresh blood coming in again, that’s something positive I suppose.”
Mike gave Rebecca a knowing glance.
“Well, we might have an interesting proposition for both of you,” he said as he finished his soda water.
Gregory sat forward with obvious interest.
“What do you have?”
Mike smiled and looked down at the table full of quarter full glasses. “Get another round in and we’ll explain everything.
Acknowledgements
If someone had told me a couple of years ago that today I would be finishing my second novel, I think I’d have laughed, but here we are. It really is a crazy world. I would like to thank everyone who helped facilitate the writing of this book. Thank you to Gary Ward, Derek Finnegan, Deirdre Craughan, Mark Rainey and Shane Farrelly for the proofreads. Jean and John for all the tea, biscuits and 33 years of support. Paula and Bob Clarke and to all the rest of my family, friends and readers who have supported and encouraged this, my second novel.
Thank you all.
About the author
John Stewart is a Writer/Director/Editor based in Oldcastle, Co. Meath, Ireland and has written and worked on many short films and TV shows. Since the release of his debut novel “Killer in the Cloud” in 2014, John has received critical acclaim from several corners of the world and is currently working on several new projects.
Look out for news on his latest work at www.reddreamproductions.org.
The Last
Resolution
JOHN STEWART
Copyright © 2015 John Stewart
All rights reserved.
Check out
www.reddreamproductions.org
for the latest work
Thank you.