Up Close and Personal

by Alan Fisher

  “Would you mind elaborating a bit sir, I’m a little confused”.

  “Of course. And don’t panic Oliver, appraisals are about acknowledging the good work that’s been done, the progress that’s been made, and the success’s, should there be any. You’ve done good work, you’ve made significant progress, and you’ve had a great deal of success. But appraisals are also about identifying and addressing any weak areas, and I think you, perhaps more than most, would acknowledge that you have some weak points to work on”.

  “Go on sir” said Oliver, now keen to hear what Jack really thought.

  “Well, for example, do you know if anything exceptional is happening with Debbie Swan early next year, or with Paul Moore for that matter?”

  Oliver sat back in his chair. He had no idea what Jack was on about. Was Debbie pregnant or something, he hadn’t noticed any signs but acknowledged to himself that he probably wouldn’t have done. Had Paul passed his Sergeants exams, he wasn’t even aware that he’d sat them. Slowly, he came to the conclusion that he had absolutely no idea. Was that what Jack was getting at?

  “You’ve lost me sir; I don’t know what you’re on about”.

  “And that is exactly my point Oliver. Debbie Swan is getting married in the Spring, late April or early May I think, to an accountant as far as I remember. Paul Moore will become a father for the first time next year, his wife Sally is due sometime in April as far as I know”.

  “I had no idea sir”.

  “I didn’t think you would Oliver. You see, one of your most acute weaknesses is that you are a bit of a loner. You mentioned earlier the importance of teamwork and yet, you work best alone. I take a little bit of the blame for that, if blame needs to be applied. Your talents have meant that I’ve given you licence to isolate yourself from the rest of the team and go off and do your own thing until you’ve found what I was looking for. And you’ve done that extremely well, no-one could argue with that, but at a price it seems”.

  “I see sir” said Oliver ruefully.

  “Temporary setback, that’s all” said Jack relaxing back in his chair. “It’s easily fixed, but you’ll understand that I need to have you more involved working within the team rather than out on your own”.

  “Of course sir”.

  “Don’t look like that” said Jack as Oliver’s head visibly dropped a couple of inches. “I’ve neglected your basic integration into the team because we’ve had case after bloody complicated case since you arrived here. It’s not your fault, it’s partly mine and partly due to circumstances. However, circumstances change and, hopefully, we’ll avoid those types of cases for a while so you can settle in to more basic policework. I say this because of what will be next for you Oliver. When you become a DS you’ll be required to manage the team on a day to day basis. You’ll have to manage resources, give direction, allocate tasks, monitor progress, pull information together, and keep your DCI updated on everything. That would be a challenge for you at the moment”.

  “Yes sir, I see that. I guess I’ve been so focused on the cases we’ve had, I’ve not really given much thought to anything else”.

  “True, but it’s perhaps a little more than that I think. The cases we’ve had have been complex, and what I’ve asked you to do has required a certain amount of singular dedication. But I think you would almost automatically gravitate towards that type of existence anyway. You seem most content when you are working on your own. At times, that will be a great asset. But not when you’re a DS, and we all have to go through the chain of command before we reach DCI. And even then you’ll still need a good DS with you to manage all of the day-to-day stuff and feed you the background information whilst you focus on the more complex issues. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”

  “Of course sir, I’m grateful for your honesty” said Oliver, beginning to suspect that something else was coming. “Is there anything else I should be giving more attention to?”

  “No I don’t think so. Your paperwork is exemplary, as is just about everything else. And whilst we’ve talked about you spending a lot of time on your own, it hasn’t affected your early relationships within the team. You’re actually extremely popular out there Oliver, although my guess is you’ve no idea how or why. The rest of the team could have been forgiven for being wary of you at first and then perhaps a little intimidated by the reputation that proceeded you. They could have perhaps thought that some cocky shite from the South was coming up here to show us all how it’s done. We don’t always take too kindly to Southerners you know” smiled Jack.

  “That would be anybody from South of Birmingham would it sir?” asked Oliver with a faint smile forming.

  “Actually it’s anyone from South of Gateshead really. But the point is, the team could have been like that, but they weren’t, and they aren’t. They saw you at the beginning as shy and humble, perhaps overly so I think. But they all soon recognised your talents and were happy to support you as much as they could. They have, in essence, been doing all the donkeywork whilst you’ve been solving the cases and getting all the plaudits, not that you ever accept plaudits mind. You might want to reflect on that when we’re done here. But they’re all pleased to have you here. I think they all believe that nothing is unsolvable as long as you’re with us and that makes for a great team”.

  “I’m flattered sir”.

  “And already feeling the weight of responsibility no doubt. Don’t. That’s mine to carry. Just keep doing what you do best and make those changes we’ve talked about to become more a member of the team. Watch what the DS does and learn, you’ll be all the better for it. Now, on to other matters” said Jack as he closed the file and put it away in his desk drawer.

  “The DS?” thought Oliver. “What’s happened to Sergeant Davis?”

  Oliver’s face must have looked a little vacant to Jack as he closed his desk drawer because he was immediately dragged back to the appraisal.

  “Unless you’ve something more you want to talk about or ask me” asked Jack uncertainly.

  “No sir. Except you said the DS rather than Sergeant Davis. Is he ok sir?”

  “Should’ve known you’d miss nothing. Colin’s fine, he’s just had a bit of an accident that’s all. He slipped on the ice whilst walking his dog when you were away and fractured his hip. I’m afraid he’s going to be on crutches for a few weeks and won’t be able to join us. As you will now understand, I can’t run things without a DS. But I’ve managed to secure a replacement from C division, he’ll be here shortly. I know you might have thought that you might have been given an opportunity to act up………..”

  “Not at all sir” interrupted Oliver. “I haven’t even passed the exams yet and, as you said, I’ve a fair way to go before I can even think about being a DS”.

  “Bit early, that’s all Oliver. DS Jason Glover will be joining us until Colin is fit and I’ve already briefed him on the team and where we are with all of the cases still open, not that there’s much of any significance. He’s looking at the schedules for today and will be briefing the team shortly. He’s nothing like Colin mind, but you can learn from him all the same. He’s relatively new to the rank of DS, about 6 months or so in a temporary capacity, I’m sure you’ll get along fine. Well, if that’s all, we’ll join the rest of the team and I’ll bring him in and do the introductions. Good talking with you Oliver”.

  Oliver knew when he’d been dismissed. He had a lot to think about as he stood up to leave Jack’s office. Not least, having to work under a new DS for a while.

  “Thank you sir” he said as he left the room and went back to his desk.

  Chapter 4

  Oliver had barely reached his desk when Debbie Swan was by his side.

  “How’d it go then” she asked before he could sit down.

  “Oh, hi Debbie, sorry about earlier. Erm, I’m not entirely sure how it went, it was all over a bit quick really. I guess it was a bit like everyone else’s” he said, remembering Robbie’s comments from ea
rlier that morning. “A few good things and a few not so good; he doesn’t hang back when he has something to say, does he”.

  “Not with me he didn’t, wants me to work on a couple of things” she grimaced.

  Oliver resisted the temptation to enquire further, feeling Debbie would elaborate if she wanted him to know more.

  “It seems I have a few things to work on as well” said Oliver, “but it’ll have to wait. I hear DS Davis is on crutches and we have a temporary DS coming in from C division, Jason Glover. Know much about him?”

  “Not a lot. In his mid-30’s apparently, moved here from Yorkshire a few months ago on a temporary promotion. Other than that, nothing”.

  “Well, I suppose we’ll soon know. Here’s the DCI coming., best look busy”.

  “Yeah, talk later” she said as she hurried back to her desk watching Jack closing his office door behind him.

  Jack walked straight past Oliver without acknowledgement and out of the main office leaving the usual chatter behind him.

  Half an hour later he re-appeared with a short stocky figure following him into the main office.

  DS Jason Glover did indeed look in his mid-30’s although Oliver knew he was no judge of age. He stood a few inches shorter than Jack, who struggled to reach six feet tall even in his best shoes, but was rather more muscular than either Jack or Colin. It was obvious he worked out, perhaps to compensate for his rather shorter stature thought Oliver. The dark blue suit was sharp and immaculate, and the stern expression made Oliver wonder if it was brought on by nerves or his natural demeanour. It was hard to tell but the piercing blue eyes and the shaved head suggested that Jason Glover didn’t suffer from nerves at all, which left only one conclusion.

  “Listen up team” said Jack, standing at the top of the office by the blank incident boards. “As you will no doubt all know by now, DS Davis is not going to be able to run around chasing bad guys for a little while and whilst he’s mending I’m delighted to welcome DS Jason Glover from C division who is going to stand in until DS Davis’s return. There’s been a couple of cases come in whilst we’ve been getting up to speed, the main case is a body found in an industrial bin in Byker. We don’t know cause of death yet, so it’s business as usual until otherwise informed. Sergeant Glover?”

  Jason Glover took a step forward, producing a tablet from behind his back ready to give his first briefing. Oliver waited, holding his breath as he expected to be told to grab his coat to head off to Byker.

  “Good morning everyone. Even though I’ll only be here a short while, I look forward to getting to know you all over the next few weeks. Now, assignments. As the DCI has said, first priority will be the body in Byker, but it’s still classified as a mysterious death at the moment, we’ll know more later. DCI Collier and I will be heading off to Byker shortly to look into that. Moore, we’ve reports of a number of burglaries in Killingworth. I’d like you to look into that for me. Wainwright, car thefts in Darrass Hall, looks like a potential theft to order situation. Cole, mugging in Jesmond. Swan, office cover and continuation of bank fraud cases. Ok, details of your assignments have been sent to your phones along with my contact details. Any problems, just give me a shout and I’d like full reports on my desk by close of play tonight please. Let’s get on then” he said as he put the tablet down.

  Oliver watched as Jack headed back into his office with DS Jason Glover close behind. The door clicked shut and Oliver was left wondering what was going on. Had he been side-lined? Was this Jack’s way of getting him to work more within the team? It was the first time he’d not been asked to become involved in a potential murder case, and he wasn’t pleased.

  Even when he’d been previously fully occupied with his group of graduates when the last case had broken, Jack had still kept him in the loop until he was free to get fully involved. Perhaps this was the shape of things to come, or perhaps it was just a temporary thing. Either way, it was not within his control ad he would just have to accept what would come, at least until his exam results came through and he could see if any offers followed.

  As Paul Moore brushed past him, Oliver realised that he hadn’t actually moved from the spot since the briefing and everyone else was already busy looking into their assignments and making a move.

  He went back to his desk and picked up his phone to get the details of the assignment.

  Underneath the e-mail showing DS Glover’s full contact details was the message;

  Mugging late yesterday afternoon on St. George’s Terrace, Jesmond. Victim Tanya Golding had her bag containing purse, mobile phone and other items snatched. Address and phone number listed below. Interview victim and draft report on possible future actions.

  “Ok” thought Oliver to himself, “I might not be involved in this body in the bin business, but I can still do a job here. Perhaps this is what Jack wants me to do, to show I can be a good policeman. Either way, the lady in question is still a victim and she deserves as much of my attention as anyone else would”.

  He picked up the landline phone from his desk and dialled the number that DS Glover had sent to his mobile. As the phone started ringing however, he couldn’t resist the temptation to glance up at Jack’s office door and wonder what was being said behind the closed door.

  Chapter 5

  “Anything else I need to know before we head off to Byker?” asked Jack after Jason had closed the door behind him.

  Jason opened the notebook in his hand;

  “Body found early this morning by a team of binmen operating in the Byker area sir. The bin in question is an industrial sized bin in the back street behind Shields Road, used by a couple of the shops on the stretch. Apparently the binmen were a bit lucky to find it. They only noticed because the body was pretty wedged into the bin and caused a problem. Otherwise it might have been on the nearest tip before it was discovered”.

  “Any ID?”

  “Not yet. The guys left everything as they found it and called it in straight away. Uniform is already there sealing off the area and Dr Crosby and his team have been notified, I guess they will be on their way already”.

  “Maybe it’ll be a simple accident. Some drunk fell in, or maybe someone was sleeping rough; cold night last night”.

  “Unlikely sir. The reason the body got wedged in the bin was because it had been rolled up in a rug, sounds like a potential murder to me sir”.

  “In a rug! That’s a new one. Right then, we better get along and have a look. I’m sure Gordon will be able to give us chapter and verse when we get there”.

  “Anything else sir? From the briefing perhaps?”

  “No Jason, I’m sure you have everything in hand” said Jack as he grabbed his overcoat and cloth cap from the coat stand behind his desk. “My car I think”.

  “Yes sir”.

  Jack led the way through the main office to the ground floor and out into the car park, glancing briefly at Oliver as he passed by. Oliver’s demeanour gave nothing away, but Jack knew that he would be curious to know why he wasn’t involved in the beginnings of a potential murder investigation.

  Then he thought again as he opened his car door and realised that “curious” probably wouldn’t exactly describe Oliver’s feelings at the moment.

  Chapter 6

  Oliver put down the phone and switched off his computer.

  Jack had walked past him with barely a second glance, the new DS following in his wake. Clearly they were off to see Dr Crosby and the body found in the bin and, equally clearly, he wasn’t to be involved. At least not at this stage.

  He picked up his car keys from his desk, pulled on his jacket that had been draped around the back of his chair, and headed out of the office. Hopefully, the interview with the mugging victim would not take up too much of his time, although time was certainly something he had plenty of at that moment. After that, a simple report was needed with some sort of indication of future action included. What exactly he would be able to do or recommend, he didn’t know. These types
of crimes were just about impossible to resolve, at least in the sense of catching the person responsible. It was more likely that he would simply be able to issue a crime number for the victim to make an insurance claim. He sighed at the prospect of spending the rest of the morning achieving nothing more than telling someone they should claim on their insurance. Hardly the best use of his skills he thought.

  Half an hour later he pulled into a tree lined avenue in Gosforth, an attractive and expensive suburb just a couple of miles north of Newcastle city centre, and drove to the end of the road in search of a block of apartments.

  “Maybe not a routine mugging after all“ he thought briefly, “anyone who lives here would certainly be a person of means and therefore perhaps targeted”.

  Then he pulled himself together as he climbed out of the car,

  “Don’t go looking for something that isn’t there Oliver. It’s 99.9% certain to be routine” he told himself as he locked the car and crossed the road to the entrance of the apartment block.

  Quickly he scanned down the list of names on the buzzer control and found the name Golding alongside apartment number 17. He pressed the buzzer and the door opened without him needing to say a word. Clearly his arrival had been noticed, presumably from an overlooking window.

  He entered the building and climbed the flights of stairs until he arrived at apartment 17.

  Tanya Golding was waiting for him at the entrance to her apartment, and she wasn’t exactly what he was expecting.

  She was in her early twenties, or so he thought, and strikingly beautiful. Even in her bare feet she stood as tall as he did, and she was dressed in a long white day dress with gold bangles decorating both her wrists. Her long flowing black hair hid the hint of a smile as she spoke to him.

  “Mr Cole?”