A Family Affair

by Marilyn McPherson

Chapter Three

  It was just another bad Monday for Colleen Watson. Her life had been filled with bad Mondays. In fact, there had been many bad days, probably not just Mondays, the more Colleen thought about it.

  The real estate agent had called first thing in the morning, demanding that the last two months of rental payments be made immediately. She had been on the phone with him for over ten minutes and did not seem to be getting anywhere. Their argument had also woken her boyfriend Ted, and he had made his way from the bedroom to the couch, looking less than pleased. The man on the phone was refusing to listen to reason. No one could possibly afford to pay two months of rent with only one day's notice, she explained carefully to him. They were good for the money, perhaps not today, but possibly later in the week when their unemployment payments arrived. But the more Colleen tried to negotiate, the more insistent the man became that the money must be paid, in full, within the next twenty-four hours.

  There had just been too many expenses that month, and the rent money had been diverted into more pressing needs. Colleen started to suggest a part-payment system, but the agent would not listen and was starting to threaten her with eviction if the money wasn't paid that day.

  It was just then that a knock on the door was heard. Colleen peered through the curtains and saw two policemen standing at the door.

  “Oh shit,” she exclaimed in horror, and then hung up on the agent quickly without another word. Alarmed, although not surprised, Colleen informed her boyfriend, “Ted, the pigs are here for you.”

  Ted was now lying on the couch watching highlights from one of the football games on the weekend. He did not seem overly-concerned by her statement. “How do you know that they aren't here for you this time?” he cheekily retorted from the couch, stretching out and yawning loudly.

  “Two reasons,” she responded. “The first is because I've been keeping myself clean and out of trouble. Just like you promised to do.” Colleen took the phone back to its holder and then moved towards the couch where she could face Ted. “And the second reason is ‘cause you probably robbed some servo last night with Steve to pay for your slab of beers.”

  Ted was well and truly irritated by her air of superiority, and flashed back at her, “Oh, great, love! Why don't you just go down to the station with the pigs and write up my confession for me?” He looked towards the front door despondently. “That would really be helpful and would probably save a lot of time in the long run,” he added sarcastically.

  Surprised by his obvious annoyance, Colleen said more quietly, “They didn't hear me, you know, Teddy”.

  The police outside knocked again. Colleen looked towards the door and then to Ted, “They're gunna kick us out of here if we don't pay the rent soon, babe.”

  Without blinking an eyelid, Ted responded calmly, “Come 'ere and listen up good.”

  Colleen rushed to his side.

  “My half of the cash is at Steve's mother's house buried under the clothesline out the back. You know where that is, right? The pigs will never find it there.”

  Colleen shook her head at Ted, disappointed to hear that he had indeed committed another robbery last night. She walked slowly towards the front door, opening it to the police.

  “Good morning, officers. How can we help you today?” Colleen said. She realised years ago that it was smarter to co-operate with the cops when they were asking questions. She also recognised one of the policemen. He had been the arresting officer last time Ted was caught with stolen goods.

  “Senior Constable Barry Jones,” the officer said, holding up his identification. “I’m here to take Ted down to the station again, Colleen,” the copper emphasized the word 'again', which annoyed Colleen.

  “So, Barry - what is he being falsely accused of today?” Colleen demanded of them. She straightened up and continued in a quieter voice, “I hope you realise that police harassment of members of the public is an offence too. We know our rights as citizens.”

  She tried to say something more, but the police cut her off. “Last night there was a robbery at the BP station, about four hundred metres down the street from here.”

  Colleen shook her head, “But officers, I can vouch for Ted. He's cleaning up his act. He was with me all night long.”

  One of the officers let out a deep sigh, as if he was disappointed with her last statement, “Colleen, the video camera at the servo caught the whole thing. There's no point lying to us this time. Your boys didn’t even try to disguise themselves. It’s as if they wanted to get caught. We've already got…” The officer looked down at his paperwork, “Steven Smith in custody. The only thing we haven't got is the cash that was stolen. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now, would you?”

  “No.” Colleen tried to look as innocent as possible.

  “Now, here is our warrant.” One of the officers produced some hand cuffs and motioned towards Ted. “You'll have to come with us now, Ted,” he said firmly.

  Ted nodded and got up from the couch.

  The officer continued, “And we are going to search the premises. Colleen, I should let you know that if we find the cash here, you will be charged with conspiring to steal, and also with providing false information to an officer of the law. So,” the officer sternly asked while looking her straight in the eye. “Do you want me to ask you that question again?”

  “Nope, you can look all you like, but you won't find anything here,” Colleen confidently asserted.

  The constable nodded. “Fine.”

  On the way out, the same man leaned in towards Ted, “You really scared that kid last night, Ted,” he explained.

  “Little punk should have just handed over the money when I told him too,” he replied. Ted was now cuffed and being led out the front door.

  Suddenly alarmed for the first time at the prospect of being alone, Colleen cried out towards Ted, “Teddy, what am I going to do without you?”

  “Can I give her a quick hug?” Ted asked the officers, trying to sound as concerned as he could.

  One of the police officers nodded to Colleen. “Make it quick.”

  Colleen ran towards Ted and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. “Teddy, I really need you to stay out of jail after this. Please. Make this the last time.” She looked into Ted's eyes. “For me, okay? Don't forget your promise to me…”

  “Shhh.” Ted sharply cut her off. He whispered into her ear, “Listen carefully, babe. Go to Steve's mum's house for us and get all the dough. Pay the rent and hide the rest somewhere safe. You'll be right till I get out of jail in a few weeks.”

  “Okay, Teddy.” Colleen was suddenly very excited by the prospect of picking up the money. She wondered how much was actually in there, as Ted had not mentioned it. “Can I buy myself something nice with what's left over?” she asked him.

  “No,” he hissed, showing immediate disapproval. “I know exactly how much is in there. I’m gunna count it as soon as I’m out. So don't do anything stupid, okay?”

  Colleen nodded in agreement.

  “All right. That's enough for the two of you.” The officer interrupted their embrace and pulled Ted towards the door. “We've got to take him now.”

  Ted was taken to the divvy van and put in the back. Colleen watched the whole process as if it was in slow motion. There were some neighbours gathering on the nature strip to see what all the commotion was about.

  Colleen decided to give them something to really talk about. She screamed out, “What are you all looking at? This isn’t a show. That's an innocent man been taken away by the coppers.”

  Poor Teddy, Colleen thought to herself. They didn't need to cuff him. He's a good man, and would have gone with them without any trouble.

  Although Colleen didn't know it, that would be the last time she would ever see Ted.