by Nick Roteman
“Oh god did you have to show those of me, you could have deleted them!” he moaned.
“Yes but then it might appear I was doctoring the evidence, sorry.”
He begged her not to do anything else to antagonise Tom further, and she promised him she would leave it to the police; but her fingers were crossed again.
Ash first spoke to Wayne and Jerry in general terms about the suspicious deaths of both James and Darren, and then went onto what they thought about the suicide of Steve. They had nothing to say about losing three of their mates, and had nothing to add about why Steve should commit suicide. In truth they were hostile to her questioning and non-committal about Steve’s state of mind.
After half an hour in their company, she was ready to quit but had one final line of questioning.
“Tomas Phipps is also a good friend of you two, and drinks here I gather?” she began.
“What of it?” Wayne snarled.
So she asked, “Do you know what he does for a living?”
“No idea, we’re not that buddied up!”
She looked across at Jerry. “Do you know where he works by any chance?”
Jerry shook his head. “Nope sorry luv!”
“You’d better just ask him I reckon!” Wayne added grinning.
“Yeah!” Jerry agreed. “We’ve answered enough. You want to inquire into his affairs you should ask him direct.”
“Well I need to be getting on, things to do,” Wayne said as he stood up, towering above Ash and glaring down at her.
“You coming?” he said to Jerry.
Ash stomped back into her office and threw her jacket onto her desk. Simpson seated at his desk on the opposite side of the room, looked up at her.
“I know that feeling Ash!” he said, a wide grin filling his face, making him appear years younger than his forty-three years.
He had an infectious smile and she found herself smiling back in spite of how annoyed she was feeling.
“You should do that more often Gov, might even snare an unsuspecting girlfriend, you never know.” She giggled.
“What and risk losing you darling! Now tell me where you’ve been and what went wrong, leave no details out, I’m all ears.”
“Oh ok.” She said pleasantly surprised, and began to sit down at her desk.
“But get the teas in first,” he suddenly added. “Sounds like it could be thirsty listening!”
She shook her head in disbelief, but did get up and make for the door. Just as she was through it, he called out. “Chocolate biscuits!”
Back with the teas and biscuits, she sat down again. “I went to see some friends of our Tomas Phipps. Wayne Dicks, a bruiser of a man, and his sidekick Jerry Malone.”
Simpson butted in. “Don’t know Wayne Dicks, but old Jerry, we’ve had a few meetings in the past.”
“I asked them what their thoughts were on so many of their friends dying; got nowhere. Then I went onto ask about Tom and what he did for a living. They didn’t know, and finally I asked where he worked; that got the silent treatment.”
“No surprises, you were bloody lucky Ash, you should have taken me. They’re a rough bunch, in fact I gather from the plods they are the hard men of the area, nothing gets past them without their knowledge.”
“So if they are being bumped off one by one, who is doing that?” she uttered frowning.
“Maybe another gang muscling in. Check with uniform see what they know right!”
“Yes Gov.”
“What about his bank account, any large amounts, anything unusual?”
“Give me time!”
“Well better get on with it!” he cheekily replied, but secretly he was very pleased with his Sergeant, she was definitely the sharpest one he had had.
Sadly it would not be too long before she took her Inspector’s exams, and not long before she leapfrogged him.
“And what are you going to do Gov?”
Simpson got up. “I know an old informer of mine, think it’s time I paid him a visit, make the lazy sod earn his money; won’t be long.”
Tom joined his two mates Wayne and Jerry in their usual corner that evening, and first bought them a round of drinks.
“Had a DS in here lunchtime didn’t we Jerry?”
“Yeah, she’s a cheeky cow that one,” Jerry sniggered. “Wanted to know why Jim, Darren and poor Steve were dead, fucking stupid question, nearly told her so too!”
“He did,” Wayne agreed.
Tom’s eyes narrowed. “So what was she really doing here? Was she alone or with that twat of an Inspector?” he asked.
“Nope just her. Though I’d give her one if she weren’t a fucking pig.” Jerry sniggered.
Wayne grinned back at him. “You’d give her one in a shot if she said yes, I know you, you tart!”
“I have standards you know!”
Tom corrected him. “You’d screw an old age pensioner with one leg, given the chance you dirty little bastard.”
“Yeah!” Jerry conceded with a short shrug of his shoulders.
“Anything else she wanted to know boys?” Tom asked, attempting to keep his voice light, but inside he was fuming.
“Yeah actually, about you funnily enough.” Wayne said still grinning.
Tom’s eyes narrowed, his voice dropped. “In what way? Exactly what did she say, word for word?”
Jerry glanced over at Wayne who thought for a moment before replying.
“Well she wanted to know what you did for a living, and where you worked?”
“What did you tell her?”
Wayne had noticed the change in Tom and decided to go easy and cut out the jokes. “Nothing matey, we both said we had no idea what you did, and she left.”
“And that’s all, you said nothing else?”
“No of course not. You should know us better than that, not right you accusing either of us!” Wayne answered back.
The three went silent.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s been a bad day, I’ll get a round in guys same again.”
He ordered at the counter. It had indeed been a bad day all round, and worse still all the protagonists were bloody women. Alice, DS Ash and Auburn; they all seemed determined to do him wrong, bloody women always women.
When he returned with the drinks, Wayne leaned into him and whispered.
“Got a job for you. Need some of your best forged documents. It’s a biggy worth a thousand quid to you. You interested matey?”
“Is the Pope Polish?”
“No!” Wayne and Jerry cried in unison.
There was a lock-in that night so they happily stayed, falling out of the pub around 1.30 in the morning.
The drink had finally mellowed Tom and although he staggered along the road back to his flat, just about managing to keep on his feet, he felt better; it had been what the doctor ordered. Wayne had also been a life saver, with Alice throwing him out he was now without a permanent income. The forgeries he had to do for Wayne had come at the right time. He hadn’t mentioned why he had returned to Bournemouth, he would keep that on a need to know basis.
He was too drunk and too excited to sleep, so what else was there for a man to do, on his own? He logged onto the net and surfed some porn.
His computer pinged; he had mail.
It was a blank email with a photo attachment. He opened it.
A full screen picture came up of Peter, followed by another, then a third, all lewd. It had the immediate effect of sobering him up; he knew where they’d come from, they were the ones he had taken.
Quickly he clicked onto his picture gallery. His photos were all still there, so he had not lost them, which meant only one thing someone had copied his files.
How, when, and where, his mind w
as racing but he couldn’t figure it out. The only thing he knew was who had sent him the email, so she had the answers.
He did a panic search for his mobile, finally remembering he had put the phone in his back pocket, and of course he was now dressed in his underpants and dressing gown, and naturally his socks. Retrieving it, he rang a number and waited impatiently while it seemed to ring and ring.
At last, it was answered. “Er...what, who’s that, what’s going on?” growled a groggy voice at the other end.
“Wake up Wayne, for fuck’s sake, wake up this is urgent mate!”
“Who...who’s that?”
“It’s me Tom, who the fuck you think it is?” Tom yelled down the phone before managing to control himself. There was no point in shouting, he realised that, so he spoke very slowly as if speaking to a child.
“Go and get yourself a glass of water or some strong coffee, drink it, ring me back, straight back don’t bloody go back to sleep, you hear me Wayne? Just do it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m ok, give me ten minutes yeah.”
Fifteen minutes later Wayne did ring back and Tom asked him for a favour.
Chapter Twenty Three
It was time to go back to work and she was so excited she was up and ready by 7am. She decided to walk there but at a slow pace in the hope Oli had decided to open up early. She just couldn’t wait to read the titles of the latest books that would be there in piles awaiting her input, before jumping onto the shelves ready for someone full of excitement to turn their pages.
So engrossed was she in thinking about her day’s events she took a wrong turn and entered a narrow passageway. Halfway down she suddenly realised this was not her correct route, and instantly the tension built up inside her, but she fought the urge to turnaround and run and won. She carried on and soon exited the passageway.
Stopping to look about her she realised she had actually come too far.
“That’s ok,” she said aloud. “I’m not lost!” she told the empty street.
“Let’s see if I just walk down this street and go left, and then I should take the second left, and I’ll be on the other side of the library square. See easy-peasy!”
She was pleased with herself for not panicking. As she walked along still talking to herself, she took the second turning on her left, and bumped into a man mountain blocking her route.
“Well this is handy, was just coming to pay you a little visit.” Wayne very kindly explained his voice deep and menacing.
She didn’t wait to hear more and attempted her dive past technique which usually saw her away from most troublesome people. Unfortunately for her Wayne was an ex-boxer, and although of heavy set was still remarkably light footed. He put out the opposite arm to the way she was leaning and as she switched feet he grabbed her and held tight. Pushing her back against a shop window, he held her there with one hand across her throat.
At the other end of the street two people in uniform turned into it. One of the Community Support Officers grabbed the arm of the other and both stopped.
Orla pointed up ahead to where Auburn was being held, and told her colleague to run and save her.
“Me?” Neil questioned, a surprised look on his face. “Why and why not us? He looks bloody enormous from here!”
“I can’t be seen by him, just go, he’ll run off before you get there. Go on, just do it, go on!” Orla yelled back at him. “I’ll explain later, just go on!”
Neil started to run towards Auburn and Wayne, while Orla slipped back around the corner, out of sight; she had her reasons.
True to her word, Wayne first gave Auburn a hard slap across her face before running off back up the street, and going left at the end, well before Neil had reached them as Orla had stated. He decided saving Auburn was good enough for today and allowed Wayne to escape.
Concerned for her he asked. “You ok, did he hurt you?”
Auburn rubbed her left cheek which was already turning a bright red colour, and slowly shook her head.
“Hey I recognise you. We met at the beach, well briefly.” Neil confirmed. “It’s Auburn, isn’t it, won’t forget that name it’s so cool.”
“Thank you, and thank you for rescuing me.” She replied.
“I’m late for work, I must go.” She added.
“Did you know who was attacking you, or why?” Neil asked, still standing in her way.
“Will you walk with me to the Library?” She asked glancing up at him and giving him a swift grin. She hoped it was a grin of friendship rather than a grimace; not really understanding the difference or the need to do either. She did however realise something was required from her or he would not let her pass.
Orla having sprinted around the corner and out of sight increased her pace. She went down the next road and walked around finally arriving in the Library square ahead of the others to await them.
Seeing Auburn she warmly greeted her. “Hi Auburn, you ok. Lucky Neil was about! Thanks Neil, well done.” She added smiling in his direction.
Neil smiled back, Auburn nodded and gave them another of her grins before rushing off towards the Library door, praying it was unlocked. She just wanted to be away from people; this morning had begun so promisingly, yet had gone downhill so fast.
Happily for Auburn the remainder of the day passed without incident, and she even stopped for a lunch break with not only Moira but Oli joining them briefly.
As he left them he asked Auburn if she could come to his office later.
When she arrived he asked her to take a seat, while he perched on the edge of his desk, to look down at her.
He appeared nervous even embarrassed as he pondered how to express his feelings.
“I don’t know how to put this, so I’ll just say sorry. Somehow we seem to have fallen out, and I’m sure it’s more a failing of mine, than anything you could have possibly done. I thought we had such a good rapport with each other, had loads in common, now we don’t even talk, I hate it.”
“Yes I know, me too, I so miss our discussions over lunch, it’s been so boring.” She said in agreement, a natural smile forming on her face.
He looked at her. “Oh that’s better a smile, who could ask for more?” he said returning her smile.
She glanced up. “Shall we meet over lunch every day like before?” she eagerly asked him.
“Yes I’d really like that. Also I thought,” he hesitated for an instant.
“I thought if you are not too busy someday, someday soon, we could go and have another burger together possibly if you wish?”
“Ooh yes that too. I’m free tonight you know!”
He laughed. “We’ll fix a date soon!”
Auburn took a detour on her way back to her room, and found Moira busy re-stocking one of the shelves.
“Moira!” she squealed. “Oli and me are going for a burger tonight and loads of discussions, I’ve got so much to say which I haven’t been able to say for an age, isn’t it just great!”
Moira smiled at her. “Yes, you two, it’s about time dear.” She said kindly. “But do remember to let him speak sometimes!” she added.
“What do you mean about time?” But Moira just smiled sweetly.
She walked back to her room behind the main counter and sat back down in front of her computer.
“About time?” she repeated. “What time, oh I don’t understand!”
Neil found Orla in their canteen and after buying a sandwich and a coke joined her at her table.
“Hi Neil, just looked at our afternoon schedule.” She said making room for him on her table.
“Yeah should be a busy afternoon. Maybe catch a few shop lifters running out the stores.”
“You’d love that wouldn’t you Neil, especially if they make a run for it!”
“Make my day
Honey!”
“Yeah won’t do you any harm!” she joked glancing meaningfully down at his waist.
“Sadly only exercise I get now chasing villains.” He retorted patting his belly.
She decided to bring it up first. “Thanks for this morning.”
“Yeah about this morning, why did you sent me in and disappear like that?”
“Long story, but he’s someone I’m watching in connection with a series of offenses and I didn’t want him seeing me today, if that makes sense?”
“Nope but I expect that’s all you’re going to tell me.”
“Yes true, anyway changing the subject, where you going tonight, first night off for ages?” she said.
“Thought I’d check out a club, do some magic moves, get laid, you know!” He said grinning madly.
“And in truth?” She muttered.
“Probably get drunk with my mates and end up with a curry!”
Orla smiled back at him and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t pressed her as hard as she thought he might; she really couldn’t tell him, it would blow his tiny mind, then she’d have to kill him!
She was comfortable within herself, she was 5’ 10 with long shiny dark brown hair that tumbled down her back when out of uniform, and enormous almond shaped brown eyes. She was well aware of her beauty and as any good woman would, she knew when to turn it on. Tonight was one such night.
She sauntered into the pub with Lizzie, and with her high heels on, literally stood out from the crowd at 6’ 2” in height. They took their time reaching the bar counter, making most of the men glance in their direction as they walked and chatted.
While ordering their drinks, Orla used the time to take in the layout of the place, also in particular where he was. She spotted him in deep in discussion with two others; she recognised one of them. She nudged Lizzie and with a slight twitch of her head indicated where he was.
As luck would have it one of the small round table was vacated a few feet from the men, and at lightning speed Orla was there to bag it.
Wayne and Jerry watched them and exchanged knowing glances.
“What you reckon lads shall I invite them over?”