by L M Krier
'Yes, boss, sorry, boss,' Ted said meekly, although his tone was ironic. Then, after a pause, he asked, 'What's wrong, Jim? I'm sensing you're not your usual sunny self this morning.'
There was another silence, apart from a long exhalation at the other end of the phone.
'Sorry, Ted. I was just in the mood to rip someone's head off and piss down the soggy end and you happened to be in the line of fire.'
'Want to tell me what the problem really is?'
Another sigh. 'Bella and I had our first row this morning. A really heated one and she flounced off out. It wasn't even my fault. Apparently I was talking in my sleep last night, pretty passionately, from what she said. Only the name I kept mentioning wasn't hers.'
Ted suspected it was not the right moment to chuckle, although he felt like doing so.
'I tried pointing out I'm not responsible for what I dream. And that I don't even know a bloody Monica, as far as I'm aware. But that seemed to make things worse. I'm not quite sure what to do next. I've tried phoning her but she won't answer and she's ignoring my texts of apology.'
'Flowers and a meal out usually works for me, with Trev.'
'But what sort of flowers? I don't want to get something else wrong.'
'It's always a single red rose for us. It's an in joke between me and Trev. Why not ask a florist? They must have some sort of grovelling scale for bouquets. And don't worry about it. Every couple has arguments, it's only natural.'
'You and Trev don't.'
'We're the exception that proves the rule. Right, I'd better get over there, in the official car, with a driver and do DCI sort of stuff to find out what's going on. I'll update you as soon as I know anything.'
'Thanks, Ted, and sorry, once more. I know you'll look at it from all angles, screw a guilty person to the wall but not let an innocent man go down for it. That's what we need on this. What's left of the old team there, even with a strong new DS, hasn't got your skills, which is why I want you there in person.'
Ted went back out of his office, in search of Mike Hallam. With any luck, he could sort things out up in South Manchester in an hour or so and get back to the Tyler Bradbury enquiry. He didn't much like the idea of someone deliberately pushing an elderly woman under a bus, especially not on his extended patch. If he could just set things in motion, he could probably safely hand the enquiry over and concentrate on the other case.
'Mike, you and I are needed up at South Manchester to check something out. I've just got a few ends to tie up, so please can you go and get my official car and I'll meet you in the car park in five minutes.'
Mike laughed. 'You're taking it out twice in a week, boss? You'll wear the tyres out.'
'I'm under increasing pressure to use it or lose it. And just for your cheek, you can drive and I'll sit in the back seat, like a proper SIO.'
He didn't, of course. He wouldn't dream of it. He sat up front with Mike and told him all he knew so far about the incident they were going to investigate.
'They've got a good new sergeant there, and just two DCs now. You possibly know her? DS Rakale?'
'Leona? Yes, I know her. Very good. She'll bash that shower into shape if anyone can.'
Ted had been instrumental in an enquiry into police corruption in the division which had seen the former DS leave the force by mutual consent, and had left a DC on remand for perverting the course of justice.
'I would have said Leona would be more than capable of handling this one on her own, even if it does turn out to be a murder enquiry, boss,' Mike went on.
'Orders from the DSU, Mike. He wants me to oversee it. Ours not to reason why.'
The DS was waiting for them in the CID office once Ted and Mike had signed in. She was the only one in, and stood up to greet them. Most other officers towered over Ted's small frame but she was exceptionally tall and dwarfed him. Ted hadn't met her before but had heard good things about her.
'Hello, sir, it's nice to meet you. Mike, good to see you again,' she greeted them, then indicated chairs so they could sit down together while she told them what they had so far.
'The deceased is a 78-year-old local woman, Mrs Joan Murray. She was walking home from the shops. The bus was being driven by Owen Arnold, who's been doing the job for twenty years without incident and has a completely clean driving licence. He was interviewed and breathalysed at the scene. Breath test was clear, but he was brought here for questioning pending more information.
'I've spoken to him briefly myself. His story has never wavered. He claims to have seen a teenager in a hoody deliberately push the old lady straight into his path and he had no chance of avoiding her. Traffic are still investigating and measuring up but their sergeant told me that, from the initial marks on the road that he's seen, the story checks out.'
'What news of the alleged killer?'
'Had it away on his toes, sir, according to witnesses. I've sent DCs Winter and Eccles out to start getting witness statements, with extra help from Uniform. And the good news is that there's CCTV just higher up the road from the incident site. So if he ran off that way, which is what we've been told so far, we might well have some footage of him.'
'Definitely a male?'
'That's what everyone has said so far, sir, and we have quite a few to question. There were several passengers on the bus, some of whom had to be treated for mild shock, some passers-by and a few passing drivers who stopped. Everyone so far says a young male, like a teenager, wearing jeans and a hooded top with the hood pulled up, so there's no description of his face at this stage. I'm organising the CCTV for you. It should hopefully be here by the time you've done your initial interview with Mr Arnold. If it comes in earlier and shows anything you should know about immediately, I'll come and find you.'
Ted was impressed. She'd been picked because she was a strong DS who could build a solid team out of what was left from the cull. She certainly knew her job.
She showed Ted and Mike downstairs to an interview room where Owen Arnold was waiting patiently, then left them to it.
Ted introduced himself and Mike as they sat down opposite the driver. He was cradling a cup of tea, his hands shaking slightly, but he appeared calm and composed, though pale.
'Mr Arnold, at this stage you're not under suspicion of any offence; you're a key witness to a possible one. I'd like you to tell me, in your own words, exactly what happened in the moments before the bus you were driving came into collision with Mrs Murray.'
'I've already gone over it with the other officers, twice. But I'm happy to do so again if it'll help you catch the person responsible. It's a terrible thing. I knew the lady by sight, I'd often pass her on my rounds.
'I know the route and the road conditions well. I've been driving it for twenty years without incident. I saw the lady coming along the pavement towards me. I'm always careful, always well within the speed limit, and keeping an eye out for possible hazards.
'I saw a young lad jogging up behind the lady, who was pulling a little trolley. I was going slowly, in the bus lane, so I could see quite well that the lad seemed to grab something from the trolley. Then just as he got alongside her to go past her, he gave her a real shove with his shoulder and she just fell into the road, right in front of me. I hit the brakes straight away, as hard as I safely could, but there was nothing I could do. She went under the wheels.'
'Did you see what happened to the youth?'
'Inspector, I had a bus half full of passengers, on a busy road, with an old lady under my front wheels. I was doing all I could to prevent the accident being any worse by losing complete control and the bus perhaps mounting the pavement and hitting other pedestrians. I'm afraid watching where the lad went was the last thing on my mind.'
'And from what you did see, you're sure that this was a deliberate action by the youth?'
'It all happened very quickly, the whole thing. But in a sense, I think I realised what was going to happen by the way he positioned himself alongside her. I'm pretty sure I was already hitti
ng the brakes when she started to fall. I'm only sorry there wasn't more I could have done to prevent her being killed.'
'Genuine, do you think, sir?' DS Rakale asked Ted, when he and Mike went back upstairs after talking to the bus driver.
'I'd put money on it. Any news of the CCTV or any other witness statements?'
'I'll arrange to get the tape sent to you. Are we treating this as a murder enquiry then, sir?'
Ted nodded. 'I think we have to, based on what we've got so far. If you think Traffic will confirm what the driver says, he's in the clear. And if we can find any other witnesses who saw this young lad, especially anyone else who saw him push our victim, then we need to go from there. I just need to phone the DSU to let him know where we're up to. We'll start with some media appeals for more witnesses. A cup of tea wouldn't go amiss, if that could be arranged, before we go back.'
Mike and Leona went off to make tea and catch up, as they knew each other of old, while Ted put his call through.
'Jim, you were right, this looks deliberate. Are you all right with me leaving DS Rakale in charge for now while I go back to Stockport? She's going to send CCTV over and we'll have a look at what we've got, but I just want to touch base with the other enquiry.'
'Run it how you see fit, Ted. You don't need me to tell you how to do your job. I was behaving like a complete dickhead this morning, but all is now back to normal. Bella's been in touch, I'm taking her out to dinner tonight so all is well with the world once more.
'Just keep me in the loop at all times, but it's up to you how you handle things. If you want to take one case and leave Jo on the other, or head them both up, that's up to you. Just don't spread yourself too thinly. We need some quick results, if you can do that. What's our killer looking like for this one?'
'Too early to be sure, but possibly a teenage lad.'
'And the Stockport one is another teenager or a small adult? You don't think there's a connection?'
'I'm not ruling anything in or out at the moment, Jim, but on the face of it it's improbable, I would say. I'm going to shoot off back to Stockport now and leave Leona in charge here. I want to get to self-defence tonight and see if any of the kids there can help me with the Tyler Bradbury case. If anyone knows about older kids bullying younger ones on our patch, it's likely to be one of them.'
Chapter Six
Young faces in a semi-circle looked at Ted as he spoke, taking in everything he said. The boy Philip, known as Flip, was particularly rapt. He was a big fan of Ted, so much so that his stated ambition was to become a policeman himself.
Ted spoke quietly, requiring them to pay attention. It was a trick he found useful when talking to coppers other than his own team. It forced them to listen to what he was saying. He was talking to the youngsters about a subject most of them knew too much about from personal experience – bullying.
A lot of the children who attended the self-defence classes were there because they'd been picked on at school. Ted suspected that a couple of the teenage girls were simply there because they fancied Trev, as they spent a lot of time gazing adoringly at him and giggling when he spoke to them. Ted often wondered what they would think if they knew that it was his bed which Trev shared every night. The two of them made no secret of their relationship but they always tried to tone it down in front of the youngsters. Some of their parents were reluctant enough to let them attend the club. There were still those who might stop them from attending at all if they knew they were in the company of two gay men.
'So if any of you hear or see anything at all, especially where older children seem to be bullying younger ones, it's fine to tell someone about it. It's not telling tales; it's helping to stop someone getting hurt and being made to feel their life is miserable.'
He uncrossed his legs and moved to a kneeling position.
'Right,' he said, 'let's get started. Make you all a bit safer.'
He bowed formally, mirrored by a chorus of heads dropping towards the mat. Then they were on their feet and Ted and Trev were moving among them, showing them defence techniques, stressing that the best line of defence was always to run away where possible.
'This case has got to you, hasn't it?' Trev asked as they walked home after the kids' club had finished and they'd enjoyed their own judo session. 'With the little boy, I mean. I know the drowning aspect makes it especially hard for you. Do you want me to cancel the trip to France, so I'm here for you?'
'No, don't be daft, you're really looking forward to it. It's a kind offer, but you go, have some fun.'
'Well, if you're sure... Because if I'm going, it's going to be this Friday evening. But only if you really don't mind.'
'So soon?' Ted felt a sudden grip of panic. He relied so much on his partner to bring some stability to his life.
Trev reached for his hand in one of the spontaneous gestures of affection which came naturally to him. The slow, suggestive smile Ted knew so well spread over his face as he broke into a slow jog, pulling Ted with him.
'We've got tonight. Who needs tomorrow?'
Ted's response was under his breath so Trev didn't notice it, as he added the next line from the country song.
'Why don't you stay?'
Ted had barely got through the door of his office the following morning when his mobile phone rang. Jim Baker.
'Morning, Darling.'
The voice was certainly much more cheerful that it had sounded the previous day, so Ted completed the old joke.
'Morning, Super.'
'Ted, you're bloody brilliant. If you ever get fed up with CID, never mind going to join that lot in Complaints, you should become a marriage guidance counsellor. Seriously. A big bunch of flowers, a posh restaurant, and things are back to where they should be between me and Bella. Better than ever. It was certainly her name I was shouting when things got passionate…'
'Whoa, Jim, have to stop you right there. This is quickly descending into the realms of Too Much Information,' Ted told him with a laugh.
As far as Ted was concerned, sex lives were private, kept behind closed doors. He never talked about his to anyone. As it happened, he'd spent an amazing evening with his partner, which made the prospect of him going away even harder. He was pleased Jim was in a better humour but he really didn't need to know the details.
'Well, I just wanted to say your advice worked so I owe you a drink or something. Keep me posted on the cases.'
Ted wanted to catch up with the Ice Queen before morning briefing. He knew that she was always in early, as he was. It was a good excuse to start the day with a decent cup of coffee. The South Manchester case wasn't on her patch, but as a courtesy, he'd keep her in the loop in case it took him away for any length of time.
'We need to launch a press appeal for witnesses in the Tyler Bradbury case,' he told her, 'and I need to do the same for South Manchester. Do you want to arrange a press conference for our case, or shall I just talk to Alastair for now?'
'We'll do both. Like I said, no stone unturned for this one. Talk to your friend as soon as possible. You seem to have something of a working relationship of late, so build on that. Let him know he's getting an early lead. I'll talk to the Press Office and organise some wider coverage. We certainly do need the public's help on this if we're going to get an early result.'
Ted thought calling the local reporter, commonly known as Pocket Billiards, his 'friend' was taking it a bit far. But he had been useful to them of late, so he made a mental note to force himself to meet him during the day and buy him a pint of his favourite lager top. He hoped he could avoid eating with him, which was always guaranteed to kill his own appetite. But he was prepared to do whatever it took to bring the little boy's killer to justice.
True to her word, DS Rakale had sent over the CCTV footage which briefly showed the hoody, the prime suspect in the killing of the elderly woman, sprinting towards the camera then running on past. The face was obscured and shadowed by the large hood so it didn't tell them much. After they'd all watche
d it through a couple of times, Ted asked for observations.
'It's not easy to see much, but he certainly looks short and slight,' Virgil Tibbs observed.
Jezza had been watching more attentively than anyone, bending forward for a better look at the image, which was not clear.
'Boss, I don't think that's a he. I think it's a she.'
'Really?' Ted was surprised. All the witness statements he'd seen so far had suggested the figure in the hoody was male. 'Are you sure, Jezza?'
'Well, the last time I checked, I was a woman, boss. I also work out and do kickboxing with other women. And I'm pretty certain that figure is female, not male. It's the way they move.'
'You can't tell for sure from just that blurred clip, surely? The figure's not got any… well, it's not the right shape for a girl, is it?'
Maurice Brown, trying to be tactful, raised a small chuckle from the rest of them. Even Ted smiled.
'I'm not that sure, Jezza,' Megan Jennings put in. 'It's really hard to tell.'
'I looked like a boy until I was in my teens,' Jezza put in. 'Some girls are quite androgynous, and some even stay that way. I just don't think we should get hung up too much on the gender thing.'
'Give me a bit of time and I'll see what I can do to enhance the image, see if that helps at all,' Océane put in.
'I agree with Jezza. At this stage, let's just concentrate on what we can tell for sure, even if it's not a lot,' Ted told them.
'Small and slight, and we can't tell skin colour,' Sal voiced what they were all thinking. 'It doesn't really get us very far, boss.'
