by G D Parker
Moments later, he stood up and felt a strong urge to strip down naked. He walked over to the full-length mirror and stared at himself whilst taking off each item of clothing at a time. There was no emotion from Tommy, just a long stare at himself deep into the mirror. His mind was clear, but his body had urges. He walked towards the front door, opening it slowly with no concern that he was completely naked.
He stood outside his apartment block, naked from head to toe. It was freezing cold and windy, but he didn’t react to the coldness of the night – it was as though he had no sense of feeling. He turned and looked up at the freak’s window and could see him staring down with a deep smile. Tommy was thoughtless, he turned away with no emotion and slowly walked off towards The Bay, where there were clubs, bars and restaurants.
Passers-by stared at Tommy. One couple walked past, and the woman couldn’t help but admire his display, resulting in her partner covering her eyes then turning her away. Tommy was still emotionless. He looked like he was in a zombie-like-state, as though he was in a trance. People probably assumed he was on Spice or some other dodgy drug.
When Tommy reached The Bay, there were two police officers jogging towards him and one had his handcuffs at the ready. Tommy suddenly snapped out of his trance, coming back to life. He could feel his nakedness and the cold struck his body, causing all of his muscles to tense up and forcing him into a shiver. The coppers doubled their pace towards him. Tommy’s survival instinct kicked in, he turned and began to run for his life back towards his apartment.
His bare feet pounded the pavement. The police made chase and were gaining very fast. Tommy became breathless quickly, but still ran as fast as he could. Drivers passing by in their cars tooted their horns. Tommy was in shock. He couldn’t work out what was happening. Is this just a bad fucking dream? He lost his momentum and fell to the floor, admitting defeat – he couldn’t carry on.
A second later, one of the officers jumped on him, pushing him face down to the floor. He handcuffed Tommy and read him his rights. Tommy didn’t say a word as he laid there waiting for his transportation to arrive. Seeing a meat wagon pull up and mount the pavement gave Tommy relief – the humiliation and vulnerability he was feeling would soon be gone and he could not wait to get in the back of that van.
A small crowd had gathered around the arrest, watching in excitement to see what would happen next. The officers kindly put a foil blanket around Tommy to warm him up and to protect his modesty. As he was being escorted into the van, he caught a glimpse of the freak standing in the crowd. He had a long smile on his face and just stared deeply into Tommy’s eyes. It was as though he was enjoying the drama. He held up his thumbs sarcastically as Tommy disappeared into the back of the van.
Tommy’s mind was mystified as he rocked from side to side in the back of the meat wagon. He just couldn’t work out what had happened and why he had been walking around the streets naked. It was as though he had been sleep walking, or in a trance, and strangely had no recollection of it, no memory whatsoever.
He was checked in at the police desk and a few disguised sniggers could be heard – who could blame them. The standard process was carried out; DNA swabs, finger prints and mug shots. Then Tommy was taken to a cell where they handed him a pair of joggers and a jumper, then shut the cell door. The locking mechanism to the door could be heard distinctly, and the sound went through Tommy. He was trapped. He had never been arrested before. He felt scared but tried to reassure himself. It’s a life experience, just character building.
Then one of the coppers opened the hatch. ‘You’re here for the night, fella. Sleep off whatever it is you have taken, and we will see you in the morning.’
Tommy didn’t look up and didn’t even respond – yeah, yeah, whatever.
He laid there all night, wide awake, staring up at the dull grey, gloss ceiling. His mind drifted and his chest felt a little tight from anxiety. The cell was cold and grey. Tommy laid on an inch-thick mattress with no blanket. He could hear others in their cells; some were shouting, and others were just banging, effing and jeffing - probably pissheads after a night out.
Tommy then heard a strange voice in his head, ‘Tommy!’ This caused him to sit up quickly, looking around his cell. It was empty. There was no one there. You’re just overtired. It’s nothing. Get some sleep. He closed his eyes and somehow managed to drift off.
Two hours later, Tommy was woken by the sound of the cell door unlocking and being opened.
‘Come on, fella. Up you get. Here’s a cup of coffee. Sorry, we’re out of sugar.’ The officer handed Tommy the cup and he slurped the hot coffee, which burned the inside of his mouth.
‘Thank you,’ Tommy’s voice was croaky from his dry mouth. He then took further slurps, hoping the caffeine would kick in sooner rather than later.
‘Ok, get up and follow me. Bring your drink with you,’ the officer ushered him towards the door, waving his fingers impatiently.
Tommy stood and followed the officer through a maze of echoing corridors, which strangely had the smell of an old school. They walked past the police desk and he was taken into a small interview room – Interview Room Two.
‘Take a seat,’ said the officer. Tommy sat down and looked around the room. The officer then asked, ‘Do you require a solicitor?’
‘Do I need one?’ Tommy replied.
‘It’s up to you. If you have your own, you can contact them. If not, we can arrange the duty solicitor for you?’
‘No thank you, it’s ok.’ Tommy struggled with the whole concept. Why a solicitor?
‘Are you sure?’ asked the officer.
‘Yes, it’s fine, thank you,’ said Tommy, nervously placing his hands on the desk in front of him.
Interview conducted by PC- Butler
0815 – 19th January 2018
‘Okay, so you understand you are being interviewed under caution where you are currently suspected of committing a criminal offence. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given as evidence. Do you understand?’
Tommy felt very sheepish. His charismatic personality had vanished overnight, and he had become a mere shell of himself. He could almost feel himself shrinking into the hard, plastic chair in which he was sitting. He gave a nod in response to the question.
‘Tommy, I need you to say you understand?’
‘I understand,’ he said softly with his head down, looking at his knees in shame.
‘Can you tell me what you were doing at twenty-one minutes past eleven last night outside of the Millennium Centre of Cardiff Bay where you tried to avoid arrest by retreating down Lloyd George Avenue?’ The officer was friendly and somewhat sympathetic. He showed that he felt this incident was fairly humorous.
‘Honestly, I have no idea,’ said Tommy. ‘All I remember is, I was watching TV and then I was outside naked being chased by you. I think I sleep walked?’ Tommy sat back, releasing a large sigh, holding up his surrendering hands.
‘Have you ever experienced anything like that before, waking up in different places? Did you take anything last night, drugs, prescription medication, anything?’
‘No, I didn’t take anything. I don’t do drugs or drink much, and I’ve never woken up in strange places. This is a first, and God, I hope it’s the last! I’m really sorry. I honestly have no other explanation. I’ve never been in trouble with the police before. I feel my life’s becoming a mess.’ His eyes began to fill with tears and his voice wobbled.
‘Would you like a glass of water, Tommy?’
‘No thank you.’
‘When you say your life is a mess, what do you mean? What else has happened for you to come to that conclusion?’ asked the officer.
‘Well, my girlfriend has left me over a horrible argument. Some things were said, I went out, and when I got back she was gone.’
‘Okay, was there any violence involved in the a
rgument?’
‘What? No, of course not,’ Tommy tried to maintain his composure in an attempt to avoid the look of a liar. ‘It was just a silly argument that got out of hand, and I said something really nasty and personal.’ Shame was written all over Tommy’s face.
PC Butler knew he was hiding something. ‘What was it you said?’
‘Do I need to tell you?’ Tommy felt slightly uncomfortable with this question and certainly didn’t want to go into detail.
‘Not at all, so tell me what else has happened?’
‘I met this other girl straight away, the same day in fact-’ Tommy explained. PC Butler tried to hide a grin. ‘And I feel an element of guilt for moving on so quickly. I feel like I’m cheating, but I’m not. I’ve never cheated on anyone in my life. This is completely out of character for me and now this; being arrested for indecent exposure.’ Tommy slams his fists on the table.
‘Tommy, calm down. What’s your girlfriend’s name?’
‘Taylor Wells.’
‘What’s her date of birth?’
‘Err, I’m not sure. 17th January, but I don’t know the year. She’s 23 though.’
‘I can work that out,’ said the officer. ‘So, going back to last night, you think you sleep walked naked from your home address to where we spotted you, which is a good twenty-minute walk, right?’
‘That’s about right, yeah, I think.’ Tommy nodded as he replied.
‘So, you walked around naked outside. It’s about two degrees out there and you didn’t wake up. Is that what you are saying?’
‘I guess so, yeah, but I don’t know. It’s the only explanation I have.’ Tommy started to become agitated. His left knee was shuddering under the desk, causing the table to shake with it.
‘Ok, so let’s take it from the top. You woke up Friday morning, what happened?’
Tommy took PC Butler through the details of his day. He included as much detail as he could remember. When he had finished going through his movements, he asked, ‘Am I in trouble?’
The copper sat back, ‘I’ll be honest with you, I am going to charge you for indecent exposure. I have to, if I’m honest, and you will be going to court. You will be charged under the Sexual Offences Act, 2003.’
Tommy interrupted by standing up suddenly. ‘Are you fucking serious! Will I go on the sex offenders’ register?’
‘Sit down, or I will handcuff you, and watch your language! You’re in enough trouble as it is. You will have your chance to testify in court, and until then, you will -be released on bail until your court hearing, so don’t go leaving the country.’
‘This is ridiculous! I could lose my job over this! Can I go?’ Frustrated, annoyed and disappointed were only some of the words to describe how Tommy felt at this time.
Eventually, arriving home in a taxi, Tommy made his way up to his apartment. The front door was wide open. Tommy questioned himself, Did I leave this open? He walked in slowly, trying to not make any noise.
Everything was where it should be. His clothes were piled on the lounge floor where he must have stripped off. He felt lucky he hadn’t been robbed.
Tommy decided to run a bath to try and relax. He made it boiling hot. Whilst the bath was filling, Tommy found his phone. There was still nothing from Taylor, but there were messages from Emily.
“Tommy, please don’t ignore me, get in touch. Em xxx”
Tommy decided he needed a friend and sent Emily a text back;
“Sorry hun, been a mad one. Got arrested last night, and I have no idea what happened. I’m a bit of a mess. Could do with some company? X”
Tommy felt this was a good move for him. Taylor was gone now. He felt lonely and didn’t want to worry his family about this mess, so Emily was his shoulder to cry on and his support.
He stepped into the bath. The water was boiling and Tommy gradually sank down into it. A feeling of total -relaxation filled the body parts that the hot water covered, until it was only his head above the water. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, wondering what else could possibly go wrong and how he would get out of this?
Tommy mapped out in his mind what he needed to do. The first thing was to sort out this charge he’d received, so first thing on Monday morning he needed to seek legal advice - he was sure there would be a way round all this. The next step was to see a doctor, explain what was happening, how stressed and anxious he was feeling and to discuss his sleep walking episode. If his doctor could confirm that he was under a great deal of stress, which could have caused him to sleep walk, this could support his case when or if he went to court. He then planned to work on getting things back on track at work and maybe do some extra hours to catch up. He felt a moment of clarity, once he’d rationally thought things through in his relaxing environment.
After about six minutes, Tommy was done in the bath. The heat caused him to feel faint, so he got out, dried himself off, wrapped a towel around his waist and poured himself a glass of Rosé to help him relax even further. Tommy’s phone then went off. He checked it and saw that it was Emily, which gave him a little sparkle of happiness.
EW: “I can come over now, hun. You can tell me all about it? Xxx”
TM: “Yeah, come on over, Em. I’ll pour you a glass. How long will you be? x”
EW: “I’ll be round in 10 mins sexy”
Tommy jumped up, got dressed, brushed his teeth and sorted his hair. By the time he was ready, the buzzer was going from downstairs, which strangely caused him to jump.
‘Come on up!’ He held down the door release to unlock the door and waited for Emily to come up. Seconds later she was at his door. Tommy took one look at her, and all his problems vanished for forty seconds, but then he came back down to earth.
‘Come in, excuse the mess,’ Tommy said - a classic saying.
Emily giggled. ‘There is no mess?’ She was smiling, looking cute with her blonde hair tied back.
‘It’s just a saying! Would you like a drink? I’ve got Rosé?’ Tommy asked
‘Perfect, but only one - I’m driving,’ she replied.
Tommy’s face showed an element of disappointment at the thought of her not staying. ‘Can I say, without sounding cheesy?’ He didn’t give her the chance to respond, he just said it anyway. ‘I really like you a lot. You are hot and sexy, and amazing in bed.’
Emily grabbed his cheeks. ‘Thank you for saying so. I feel the same about you. Now where’s my drink?’ She blew him a kiss. He returned her a smile and went into the kitchen.
They both sat next to each other on the sofa. Emily was totally relaxed and looked as though she had made herself at home, having tucked her feet sideways under her bum, causing her to slightly lean towards Tommy. He, of course, didn’t mind.
‘So, Tommy, what’s been happening? Why were you arrested?’ Emily asked.
Tommy felt comfortable with Emily, so he opened up to her easily. He told her what had happened with the indecent exposure incident. He felt like crying, like breaking down, but he held it together.
‘Hun, who hasn’t streaked naked in public?’ Emily gave a cheeky look. ‘Scary about being arrested for it though! What are you going to do?’
He explained his plan, and Emily nodded with agreement that it was a good way forward.
‘I have a friend of a friend who’s a solicitor. She might be able to help. I’ll text you her number later.’
‘Ok thanks. Now that the negative shit is out of the way, how’s your day been, Em?’ Tommy felt refreshed and his head was clear. Having Emily round was definitely a good decision.
‘It’s been a good day thanks. Went swimming this morning, met the girls for lunch, and I was just settling down to have a lazy afternoon when I got your text, so now I’m here.’ Emily smiled, her white teeth looking perfect.
‘Well, a better day than me!’ Tommy exclaimed. ‘So, Emily, how old are you?’ He felt slightly embarrassed that he didn’t know how old she was.
‘You don’t know my age?’ She put her hands ov
er her mouth. ‘Hun, I’m 18.’
Tommy’s eyes widened at how young she was compared to him.
‘You know I’m thirty, don’t you?’ Tommy said.
‘I know more about you than you think, Mister. What do you think Facebook’s for? I probably stalk you on a daily basis!’ Emily let out a giggle and placed her hand on her forehead as a sign of embarrassment.
‘So, why me?’ asked Tommy. ‘Didn’t take you long to jump in my bed?’ He kept his tone light hearted, hoping she wasn’t offended by his direct question. He wasn’t even sure why he had asked it.
‘I’m not a slag, hun! I’ve fancied you since the first day I saw you, so it wasn’t exactly a one-night stand, was it?’ Emily said, nudging his shoulder with hers. Tommy returned a nudge back and they giggled together.
They had been chatting into the evening and drinking wine. Tommy made some Nachos, and they put on a film. Later that night, there was a knock at the door. Tommy thought, Strange, as no one ever comes around? He peered through the peep hole in the door and saw it was the freak from the apartment above. He opened the door, ‘Can I help you?’
‘No, Tommy, but only you can help yourself,’ he turned to walk away, but Tommy wasn’t putting up with this.
‘Hey, what’s this shit all about?’ Tommy was angry and felt slightly threatened. The freak stopped and turned back to face Tommy.
‘It’s about you.’ He held up his finger, pointing directly at Tommy’s left eye. It was shaking. Another inch and his finger would have been inside.
Tommy grabbed the freak’s finger and pulled it back, making a loud click and causing the freak to wince in pain. Tommy still maintained a hold of his finger. ‘Back the fuck away from me! Don’t ever look at me, come to my door, or even try to talk to me! If you do, it won’t be your finger I’m breaking!’ He let go with a push. ‘Now, fuck off!’
The freak caught his breath and held his finger. ‘You will regret that! Say hi to Emily.’ He turned and walked away before Tommy could respond.
