by Sam Fintz
When they went back into the room, they concluded the interview and released Aiden on bail. All this within an hour, just as Mike had promised. Aiden was impressed and made a mental note that he would need to make sure to thank Mike when they got out. Of course, that would never happen. Aiden was used to people fixing things for him without any thanks from him.
Mike and Aiden left the Police Headquarters and headed back to Harrington Aeronautical. When they got back Aiden popped in to see his father who was beaming from ear to ear. Mike had called him from the car to tell him the news. He hugged Aiden and poured two whiskies for them.
“Aiden, please try and stay out of trouble for now. Mike is going to sort this out. We aren’t going to let some riff raff from Didsbury spoil our good name. Now, you go and have a relaxing day. Take that friend of yours, Jason something, and go and get yourself a couple of chicks and have a good time. Mike will call you if he needs anything. I am going to Dubai in a bit for a meeting or two, so I will see you when I am back in a few days.”
“It’s Jason Packham, Dad. But thanks, we will do just that! Have a good trip and make lots more money. My trust fund is depending on you!”
The two men hugged, and Aiden left to go back to the hotel. He called Jason who was relieved to hear from him. When he hung up, he called Anna, and after grovelling for letting her down he asked her if she felt like a small intimate party. Anna had been to a few of these and she didn’t need to be asked twice. Aiden told her he would send a car for her at 3 to go to Harvey Nichols to get an outfit and then to get her hair and makeup done. They would meet at the apartment at 7. He then called his housekeeper and got her to arrange it all.
Aiden smiled to himself as he realised that his life was not even as much as scratched by this inconvenience. He was in such a good mood as he stepped into the suite only to be greeted by Jason fresh out of the shower and in nothing more than a little towel wrapped around his waist. He asked Aiden how it went, and he replied that it was a doddle and a waste of time. He told Jason to get dressed as they were having an intimate dinner with Anna and they needed to go and get haircuts and manicures. After all, they needed to look their best, right?
“Cool. I will be ready in 15 minutes. You really need to lose those clothes. You look like you work in a call centre!” Jason said as he left the room.
Chapter 21
At his office in Cheadle, Ben Cohen was sitting in front of his computer about to type an email to Rose Winters.
He had been hard at work and he had come up with a few good facts about this case. He also had some not so good ones, but he would break them gently. After he had decided which pieces of information to omit.
He suddenly thought that it may be better to call her as she had wanted this handled as discreetly as possible from what he could tell. He picked up his mobile and dialled her number.
Rose answered quickly and said to him: “Have you got news, Ben? I hope you do.”
“Yes Rose, I have. I have spoken to a couple of people and it turns out it was the Harrington boy. I heard too that he was drunk and high. They will have charged him by now, but I am not sure if he got bail or not. My guess is that he would have been given bail. I found out too that the evidence is not the strongest and I am sorry to report that at this stage there is no CCTV. But Rose, please don’t worry about that. I have a contact at the Manchester Taxi Association, and he is going to try and get dashcam footage from any taxis in the area. I know it’s a long shot, but it is worth trying. I put up a grand as a reward for anyone with good footage. I will cover that if it’s difficult for you so don’t fret.”
“Oh Ben, thank you. You have done more than I could have expected. I won’t worry, because I know that if it’s out there you will find it. I trust you.”
“Thank you, Rose. That means a lot to me. I will keep digging and I will keep you posted. Rose, I have told my contact at the MTA to be discreet and I will use utmost discretion myself. The Harrington’s legal team are ruthless. I don’t want them to get wind of anything, so I will do my best to stay undetected.”
“Thank you, Ben, I appreciate it. I am sure you will be the model of discretion. Goodbye Ben,” Rose said and hung up.
Ben breathed a sigh of relief. She was really calm, he thought. He went back to his computer and continued with his research. Aiden Harrington and his family had racked up a lot of Google ‘miles’. It was going to be a long night. He just hoped that Rose was going to be able to deal with it all
Chapter 22
Rose was alone at home finally. She poured herself a glass of Malbec and sat down at the table. She pulled out a notebook and pen from her handbag on the chair next to her. She needed to start planning her husband’s funeral even though the coroner wasn’t ready to release the body. She was told earlier that it would probably be a couple of weeks. Still, it needed to be done and she hoped Stefan would be well enough to attend.
She decided it would be a smallish affair. He was a popular man, but she didn’t have the strength for a big affair. She knew he had already paid for the funeral. That was typical of Jim. She would just need to speak to the undertaker first.
Rose suddenly realised she was too tired for this. She decided she would call the undertaker in the morning as well as their solicitor to make sure that the estate was being taken care of properly. She didn’t need any more problems.
She took her wine and went to the lounge where she curled up on Jim’s big reclining chair that still smelled of him. She took some comfort from that. She was watching the television but not really concentrating on it. She felt peaceful knowing Ben was working hard to help her and Stefan was in the good hands of Doctor Bhakari. But in the back of her mind she dreaded that there was worse yet to come.
Chapter 23
Earlier that evening Anna had been dropped off at Aiden’s apartment where she met with Aiden and Jason, who were both dressed in jeans and snug fitting shirts that showed off their build. Anna had been made over and looked stunning in her new outfit. The boys were still barefoot as they rushed over to greet her. They had left the hotel and decided it would be better to meet Anna at the apartment.
“Come Anna, have a drink. We have booked a table at that Argentinian Grill Room on Deansgate. They have private booths, so I asked for one of those. If they impress me, I might consider buying that too!” Aiden said laughing.
“Thanks Aiden. My but you two look scrummy tonight. Your hair looks great! Oh, and Aiden, I have almost forgiven you for standing me up, but I am sure you will have a good reason as usual. You grovelled but you never said why.” Jason just rolled his eyes thinking to himself that Aiden wouldn’t know how to grovel if his life depended on it.
Aiden took Anna’s hand and led her to the seating area by the vast windows. Jason followed with their drinks and sat next to Anna. Aiden told her the story. She was a little shocked, but she soon realised it was just another of Aiden’s “adventures” and she just giggled nervously and kissed him on the lips.
When they had had a few drinks, Jason called down for the car and the three went downstairs where the Bentley was waiting to take them to Gaucho in the city centre. They ate, drank and laughed. They were having such a great evening. After they were finished, as they were leaving the restaurant a reporter was waiting outside. He was photographing them and started throwing questions at them about the accident. Aiden immediately recognised him as Steve Hallam from the MEN newspaper. Aiden told his driver to get the camera card and to deal with him. In the meantime, the three of them got into the back of the Bentley. The driver went over and grabbed Steve and took the camera off him, removing the SD card and pocketing it. He gave him the camera back and sent him on his way.
“That’s how you deal with reporter scum!” Aiden said to Jason and Anna. When the driver returned, he handed Aiden the SD card, fired up the engine and gunned the Bentley onto Deansgate.
“Sorry about that sir, I will have you home in no time,” the driver told them.
O
nce they were back in the apartment, Aiden wasted no time setting the mood. He dimmed the lights and put on some jazz. He had sent the staff home earlier, so he went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of Bollinger from the champagne fridge.
Jason and Anna were already comfortable on the large sofa when Aiden brought the champagne and glasses over. He produced a small bag of cocaine and the three had a line each. Anna then jumped onto Aiden’s lap and leaned over and started kissing Jason. In no time at all Jason had removed Anna’s clothes and his own and the two went to work on getting Aiden out of his. Aiden just lay back and let them do all the work. He was enjoying this too much to move. Eventually the three of them headed off to the large bedroom where for the next few hours they pleasured each other with abandon, until finally exhausted they fell asleep in each other’s arms without a care in the world.
Chapter 24
The following morning Ben Cohen got a call from Amir at the MTA.
“I have good news, boss!” he told Ben.
“Great, what is it?” Ben asked apprehensively
“There was a taxi guy who was sitting at the lights when this happened. Basically, it turns out he has the dashcam footage you need. He wanted two grand, cheeky bugger, but I got it for one like you asked. Obviously, I managed to copy it for you and I will email it to you now,” Amir told Ben.
“Thank you, Amir. You really came through. I will bring you the cash later. Please Amir, no-one must know about this until I can get it to the police.”
“Of course, boss. You have my word. Goodbye.”
A few minutes later the email came through to Ben’s inbox. He opened it and pressed play. What he saw was shocking and sickening. They were such vivid images. Ben could see the whole thing as it unfolded. This had to be enough to get a conviction, surely!
He saved the footage to his desktop and also loaded it onto a USB stick. He called Rose to tell her the latest. She didn’t answer so he left a message. He decided for now that he would wait for her to call back. He couldn’t believe his luck. He told his assistant that he was popping out for a while and he headed to the bank to get Amir’s money and then went over to the MTA and gave the cash to Amir.
Feeling positive, Ben thought he would spoil himself. He fancied a coffee and some cake, so he popped in at the cake shop near his office and splurged on a large cappuccino and a huge slice of carrot cake. He loved this cake, but his real preference was the Double Chocolate Ganache, but the owner wasn’t making one until tomorrow. Everything is always tomorrow, he thought to himself. Never today!
While he was enjoying his cake, Rose called him back on his mobile. He told her what he had, and she said she would come straight down. Ben warned her that it didn’t make for good viewing, but Rose was determined she wanted to see it.
He finished up at the cake shop and went back to the office. After a few minutes, Rose arrived, and he showed her into his office.
“Ok, let’s see this video,” Rose told Ben.
Hesitantly Ben got the video up. He reluctantly showed it to her. Ben could see from her face that it was painful to watch and within a few seconds of the video finishing Rose was in floods of tears. In the video you could see clearly that Jim wouldn’t have stood a chance. Not to mention that Stefan was lucky he wasn’t a few inches further forward. Ben came over to Rose and they hugged until Rose was a bit more composed.
“Rose, we have to get this to the police. It’s vital they see this. In my experience this should help get a conviction. I can take it over for you, but I think you should do that. The less people that know I am involved the better.”
“Thank you, Ben. I will take it over. I need to speak to them anyway. The lead officer called me earlier and asked to see me. I have been dreading it but now at least there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Did you have to pay for this? I think you said £1000. I can give you that later.”
“Yes, I did Rose, but please don’t worry about that.”
“Ok thank you. I will go and see that Detective. He called me to say he was dealing with the case. We will speak soon.”
“Yes Rose. We will. In the meantime, I will continue digging. Something tells me the more we have the better it will be!
Chapter 25
At Police Headquarters, Rose was waiting to see John Wilkes. He came to get her at reception and showed her up to one of the offices they used for victim interviews.
“Mrs Winters, may I firstly say again how sorry we are for your loss. We will do everything we can to help with this. I know this is difficult for you, but we need to get your side of the story as much as we can. Is it ok that we record this so that we have everything clearly?” he asked.
“Yes of course. That’s fine,” she told him. “But first, I have managed to get some vital evidence. It is here on this stick. I have seen it and you will be amazed what is on there. There is actual footage of the whole crash.”
“Really?” John asked, looking surprised at what he heard and feeling a little embarrassed that the police weren’t the first ones to offer this evidence.
“I will take a look at it now, if that’s ok,” he said, plugging the stick into his laptop. Rose just nodded. When he got the video playing, he just watched intently, not saying a word.
“Wow, Mrs Winters, you are so brave. Thank you for this. We will need to keep this as it is now evidence.”
“Yes, that’s fine. I have no need for it now. I have the memories permanently engrained in my mind. That’s enough for me.”
Before she left Wilkes asked her where the footage came from. Rose told him the chain of events. He made a note of the names of the people involved for the chain of custody.
The two spent the next hour getting Rose’s statement down. She didn’t remember much at all, but she remembered enough to upset her. Once she had finished, she left and went to the hospital where she spent the next few hours sitting with Stefan holding his hand and talking to him, although he couldn’t respond. The nurses were in and out and they spoke briefly to Rose just to tell her that nothing had changed, which was a good thing. They brought Rose cups of sweet tea but mostly left her alone with Stefan.
Rose was feeling a lot calmer and a lot clearer after she left the hospital. She was sure that everything would be fine in the end. Especially now that the police had the evidence. Maybe things were actually turning around now.
“I wish Stefan was awake, so I could talk to him,” she said to herself. Although she wasn’t sure how he would take this news after the last news she had broken to him, again seriously regretting sharing her secret. She got her car out of the parking garage and headed home. At home she found Fat Pat in her kitchen making dinner for them both. She felt hungry, so this was just the thing.
Over a glass of wine, she relayed all the details to Fat Pat, who sat there with a look of amazement on her face.
“I am sorry you had to see that video, but this is good news,” Fat Pat told Rose. “I am so pleased. Now all we need is to get Stefan back to health.”
“We will, Pat. I know it,” Rose told her friend with a smile.
Chapter 26
The next morning at Greater Manchester Police HQ, Max Smythe was arriving at his spacious office situated on the top floor of the building. He had been allowed a bit of a free hand to furnish it, so it was all leather and chrome and bordering on ostentatious. He had a large table on one side near the internal windows. When he had sat down at his desk, his assistant knocked and came in with coffee and his document box.
He immediately set to work going through the box and prioritising all the documents. He knew it was going to be busy and he was dreading it. He had received a call from John Wilkes telling him about the dashcam footage. He had called Mike Chalmers straight away from his secure mobile and told him of the latest development. Mike had told him he would need to “take care of it” and this had in itself given him a sleepless night. Sleepless nights seemed to be the new norm for him, especially when it came to the Harringtons.
Once he had finished with the paperwork and made a few calls he sat back and thought about how he would handle Mike’s demand. He would need to be careful, but he was sure he would find a way. Wilkes had sometimes been a little careless with evidence so if he kept an eye on him he may be able to get it right without too much fuss.
Wilkes’s office was on the floor below, so he rang him and said: “I will need you and your team to bring me all the evidence we have so far on the Winters case. We need to start preparing because the Harrington legal team are breathing down my neck. Is the autopsy report back yet?”
“No sir, not yet. I will chase it up. It won’t have much more than we already know, but I will get it asap. We were up half the night with the other stuff and we are going to interview the three witnesses we have lined up. They have agreed to come in at various times from 10 a.m. so I should have everything tied up for you by tomorrow morning the latest. We will work through until we have it ready. I know this is a big case for you sir, so I will put in my best work, I promise,” he assured him.
“I know you will John, thank you,” he said and hung up.
Max got up and closed the blinds so he had privacy and called Mike on the secure mobile.
Mike answered after a few rings and he filled him in.
“Ok thank you, Max” Mike said to him. “Where did this dashcam footage come from?”
“Apparently the wife of the deceased got it from a private investigator,” Max told Mike.
“How many copies are there?” Mike asked.
“As far as I know there is the copy we have on a stick and there is the copy the investigator has. I will check for you and let you know. I am not sure if the original footage exists at its source, but I am sure Wilkes will know,” he told Mike.