Broken

by Oliver T Spedding

  "Mister Gilmore." the captain said. "We're investigating three robberies that occurred in the Rosettenville area over the past six months and during our investigation your name came up in connection with all three of the crimes. So we need to ask you a few questions."

  I nodded and tried to look confused.

  "Please understand that this is a routine enquiry and we're not accusing you of any complicity at this stage." the policeman said. "But we have to follow up on everything that has any relationship to the three crimes. Do you understand?"

  "Yes." I said, still trying to look confused.

  "The first robbery took place last November on the Monday morning immediately after the Charity Mile horse race at Turfontein." the captain said. "The man who was robbed was a book maker by the name of Edward Eksteen. Unfortunately, during the robbery Mister Eksteen was struck on the head by the perpetrator and died from his injuries. Firstly, we've learnt from the other book makers at the betting hall as well as some of the punters, that someone answering to your description was seen placing bets with Mister Eksteen several times before the robbery. Secondly, some of the punters also claim that someone answering to your description but wearing a dark blue beanie was seen in the vicinity of the betting hall on the morning of the robbery."

  "Yes, I did do most of my betting with Mister Eksteen." I said. "And I also remember the day that Mister Eksteen was robbed. I heard about it that evening on the television. But I was nowhere near the betting hall on that day."

  "Can you prove this?" Williams asked. "Do you have any witnesses as to your whereabouts on that morning?"

  I shook my head.

  "Although I remember hearing about the robbery that day I don't remember anything else about the day itself." I said. "I only go to the betting hall to place my bets on a Tuesday and a Friday and, as the horse that I backed in the Charity Mile didn't win, I had no need to go to the betting hall on the Monday."

  The captain nodded.

  "The second robbery involved a Mister Whiteside from the Ace Dry Cleaners." Williams said. "He was robbed while carrying the week's takings to the bank. Fortunately he wasn't injured during the robbery. We've since found out that the girl that lives here with you, Miss Bedford, was employed at the Ace Dry Cleaners at the time of the robbery."

  "Yes, she was." I said. "She told me about the robbery."

  "Can you remember where you were on the morning of the robbery?" the captain asked. "It took place on Friday the seventh of March this year."

  "Again I have to say that I don't even remember the day." I said. "So I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where I was that morning."

  "Were you at work?" the policeman asked.

  "No." I replied. "At the moment I'm unemployed."

  "The third robbery took place two weeks ago." Captain Williams said. "It involved a money lender by the name of Bogdanovic and involved considerable violence. According to Bogdanovic's records, you borrowed ten thousand Rand from him six weeks before the robbery."

  "That's right." I said. "But I paid him back."

  "We find it interesting that you paid Mister Bogdanovic in full eight weeks earlier than arranged." the policeman said. "In fact, you paid him eight thousand eight hundred Rand two days after Mister Whiteside was robbed. Where did you get the money to pay back such a large sum in one payment?"

  "I won it on the horses." I said.

  "Can you prove that?" Williams asked. "Do you have the payment slip from the bookmaker who paid you out?"

  "No. I threw them away." I said.

  "Can you tell us which book maker you placed the bet with?" Williams asked.

  "It was some of the bookies at the Turffontein Race Course." I said. "I don't remember which ones though. There are dozens of them. I always spread my bets over a number of bookmakers so that I don't upset the odds."

  The two policemen stood up.

  "Thanks for your time, Mister Gilmore." Captain Williams said. "If you think of anything that might help us in our investigations, please contact me."

  The policeman handed me one of his business cards and he and his companion left.

  ***

  So as not to frighten her, I didn't tell Cindy about the visit by the two policemen. I knew that they didn't have anything that they could pin on me or Cindy. Obviously they were hoping to frighten us into doing something rash but, as I was certain that I hadn't left any evidence of my complicity in the robberies, I relaxed. They would never catch me.

  Two days after the policemen's visit Cindy and I were sitting in the lounge watching the early evening news on television when someone knocked on the front door. I gently eased one of the curtains aside and peeked out onto the veranda. Captain Williams and four other men stood watching the door expectantly. I closed the curtain carefully and went to where Cindy was sitting.

  "It's the police." I whispered. "But don't worry. Just relax. We know that they've got nothing on us. Leave all the talking to me and if they do ask you anything just play ignorant."

  I walked to the front door and opened it.

  "Good evening, Mister Gilmore." Captain Williams said as he held out an official-looking document towards me. "We have obtained a warrant to search your house. Please let us in."

  I looked at the document and shrugged my shoulders. I stepped aside.

  "Please come in." I said.

  The five policemen walked into the house. I closed the door. The captain nodded to Cindy.

  "While we're searching the house I think that it would be best if you and Miss Bedford sat in the kitchen." Williams said. "We'll be as quick as we can but the search may take a considerable time."

  Cindy stood up from the couch and we walked along the passageway to the kitchen.

  "One of my men will stay here with you while the rest of us search the house." the captain said.

  "May I get myself a beer?" I asked.

  "Yes." Williams said and walked out of the room. He joined the other three men and I heard them go into my old bedroom.

  "Would you like a beer?" I asked the policeman standing with us. He shook his head.

  I tried to appear as calm and relaxed as I could, hoping that it would help Cindy to relax. I heard the policemen moving about and talking quietly. They moved into the main bedroom and I heard them moving the furniture and opening the cupboard doors. Then they moved into the lounge. I heard them moving the furniture and then I heard them talking quietly amongst themselves. A short while later Captain Williams walked into the kitchen. He held out his hand. In his fingertips he held a delicate flat item.

  "What can you tell me about this, Mister Gilmore?" he asked.

  ***

  "Your Honour." Paul Greave said looking up at Judge Bester. "I would like to interrupt Garth Gilmore's testimony at this point and call Captain Williams of the South African Police Service to the witness stand."

  "You may, Mister Greave." the judge said.

  The policeman was neatly dressed in beige slacks, a white shirt, red tie and a pale blue jacket. He took the stand and was duly sworn in.

  "Captain Williams." my attorney said. "You are the officer in charge of the investigation into the three robberies that took place in Rosettenville during the last six months. Is that correct?"

  "Yes." the policeman replied.

  "Please tell the court how you came to obtain a warrant to search the defendant Garth Gilmore's house and what the outcome was." Paul Greave asked.

  ""Right from the beginning of the investigation I realised that we were dealing with a very meticulous individual and that we were unlikely to find any evidence that would lead us directly to the perpetrator." Captain Williams said. "And, as the investigation continued this became more and more evident. There were no fingerprints at any of the crime scenes and in each case the perpetrator had planned his escape with meticulous care. As we moved forward we realised that we had to change our focus and begin looking for anything and anyone that might be common to the three crimes. We were convinced that all
three robberies had been carried out by the same individual. We began to look carefully at all the people who had had dealings with the three victims and gradually we whittled the number of people down to one person: Mister Garth Gilmore."

  "Mister Gilmore had had dealings with all three victims?" Paul Greave asked.

  "Not exactly." the policeman replied. "He had dealt directly with the book maker Mister Eksteen and with the money lender Mister Bogdanovic, but not with Mister Whiteside, the owner of the dry cleaning business."

  "So what was the connection between Garth Gilmore and Mister Whiteside?" Paul Greave asked.

  "Mister Gilmore's girlfriend who lived with him, Miss Bedford, was employed by Mister Whiteside at the time that he was robbed." Williams said.

  "And on the strength of this you obtained a warrant to search Mister Gilmore's house?" my attorney asked.

  "That's correct." Captain Williams replied.

  "And what did you find during the search?" Greave asked.

  ""Lying on the floor behind the couch in the lounge of Mister Gilmore's house we found a small piece of blue carbon paper." Captain Williams replied.

  "And could you read anything on the piece of carbon paper?" Paul Greave asked.

  "Yes." the policeman replied. "Fortunately the carbon paper had only been used once and the words Edward Eksteen - Bookmaker and the amount of eight hundred and fifteen Rand could be clearly seen. There was also a series of eight numbers. Later we checked Mister Eksteen's bank account number and it was the same as the eight numbers written on the carbon paper."

  "And what happened when you showed the piece of carbon paper to Mister Gilmore and Miss Bedford?" my attorney asked.

  "Miss Bedford immediately broke down, began to cry, and said that she wanted to make a statement." Captain Williams replied. "I read her her rights and she confessed to having known about the robberies of Mister Eksteen and Mister Whiteside and had taken part in the robbery of Mister Bogdanovic."

  "And Mister Gilmore?" Paul Greave asked. "What was his reaction?"

  "At first he was defiant and claimed that Miss Bedford was lying." the policeman said. "But when I persisted with my questioning about the presence of the piece of carbon paper in his house with Mister Eksteen's name on it as well as the man's bank account number, he confessed to being the perpetrator of the three robberies."

  ***

  "Your Honour. That concludes this hearing with regard to the effect that the traumatic events that Miss Bedford and Mister Gilmore experienced during their formative years had on them during their later years." Paul Greave said, addressing Judge Warren Bester. "Although both Miss Bedford and Mister Gilmore pleaded guilty to all the charges brought against them, my colleague, Mister Foster, and I hope that this hearing will have shed some light on the devastating effect that child abuse in any of its forms can and does have on its victims. Whether child abuse will ever be eradicated, I don't know but we strongly believe that we all need to become more aware of the traits that child abuse victims display so that we can steer them towards the help that they so desperately need. We have not used this hearing to try to make excuses for our clients' behaviour but we hope that the horrors that they experienced in their early years will be used as mitigating circumstances when you consider their retribution."