Fireflies

by Menon, David

  ‘Sir?’ said Ollie as Jeff walked through the squad room in the direction of his office. ‘We have the report from June Hawkins’.

  Jeff carried on walking and then realised that Ollie had just spoken to him. ‘Yeah? Sorry Ollie, I’m miles away’.

  ‘Sir, there was enough rohypnol in James Clifton’s blood to have completely knocked him out for hours. It’s likely that he wouldn’t have known anything’.

  ‘Lucky him in that case’ said Jeff. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Oh yes’ said Ollie’ I’ve got something to show you’.

  ‘Good news or bad news?’

  ‘Oh I think you’ll like it, sir’ said Ollie who was worried about the way the boss looked. ‘Are you okay, sir?’

  Jeff smiled. ‘Yeah, I’m fine, Ollie, I’m fine’ he said as he stood behind his desk. ‘Go on?’

  Ollie then slid a DVD into the computer on Jeff’s desk. ‘Sir, this is the last image of James Clifton we could find on any of the CCTV sources for that area of the city centre. It clearly shows him walking in the direction of Lower Mosley Street and away from the Paradise club where we’d seen him going in an hour earlier with the rest of his party’.

  ‘Yes’ said Jeff as he eyed the images on the screen and suddenly felt excited. ‘And he’s not alone’.

  ‘Exactly, sir’ said Ollie. ‘And that could be the moment when James Clifton first meets his killer’.

  Ollie Wright had no time for people who play the race card to mask their incompetence. He’d seen it happen. He had a cousin who was the laziest bitch in the world but when her boss threatened her with disciplinary action if she didn’t pull her socks up and stop letting everyone else in the office where she worked carry her, she was proud of the fact that she’d replied with ‘I’m black and I’m a woman. That means I’ve two ace cards against a white middle-aged man like you. So who do you think an industrial tribunal would believe if you dared to try and sack me?’ Ollie had been disgusted with her behavior. She made it even more difficult for black people who really were the victims of racism to plead their case.

  He knew that racism existed in the police force but he also tried not to find it hiding under every bush. That’s why he was struggling with Jonathan Freeman. The squad’s new computer geek who hadn’t shaken hands with him or even looked him in the eye on the day he joined the team, didn’t look anything like a geek at all but had been making remarks that had made Ollie stop and wonder if he was being deliberately wound up. Jonathan only made the remarks within Ollie’s hearing and it was making Ollie feel uncomfortable about being with him.

  ‘Tell me’ said Jonathan. ‘How do you feel when you have to investigate your own people?’ He was inputting to the computer some of the findings from the door-to-door enquiries that uniform had started around the Mayfair hotel. He was sitting opposite Ollie with whom he was sharing a desk.

  Ollie looked away from his own computer screen and paused irritably. He never knew where Freeman’s remarks were going to end up. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Well with so many crimes committed by your people’ Jonathan went on. ‘Statistically speaking’.

  ‘What do you expect me to say to that?’

  ‘No need to be so sensitive’.

  ‘Who said I was being sensitive?’

  ‘It’s written all over your face, mate’.

  Ollie closed his eyes for a moment. How did we go from zero to a hundred in such little time? ‘Just tell me why you asked me that?’

  ‘Well I just meant that investigating your people might be personally compromising for you’.

  ‘My people?’

  ‘Yeah’.

  ‘You mean black people?’

  ‘Hey, listen mate, don’t try and lay the big discrimination ticket on me because I was only taking a friendly interest between colleagues and if you read it as something else then I question your impartiality and professional judgment’.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘Well if you don’t realise you’re doing it, mate, then perhaps it does need to be pointed out to you’.

  ‘Doing what for God’s sake?’

  ‘Well you’re clearly sensitive about the whole race issue’.

  ‘Actually I’m not sensitive about it at all’.

  ‘Well you would say that, mate, wouldn’t you, but the evidence of what you say and how you react suggests to me something quite different’.

  ‘And you think you have a right to say such crap to me because?’

  ‘Oh am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Oh well I’m sorry but I thought this was Great Britain but where you come from the situation is probably different’.

  ‘I come from Rochdale’ said Ollie through gritted teeth.

  Jonathan waved his hand in the air dismissively. ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’.

  Ollie didn’t know how best to react to Freeman’s goading. Bastards like Freeman were very clever and they tended to make sure that their victim ended up looking like an immature and overly sensitive soul at best or the villain of the piece at worst. He sat there seething. Freeman had this evil look on his face, like he was about to join a firing squad and had to focus on ‘the kill’. Ollie stood up and went to get some air. He really didn’t need this.

  When Tina got to work she was immediately confronted by the manager Paula Jones.

  ‘Do you really think I’m going to let you work here today, Tina?’ demanded Paula.

  Tina looked at her guardedly. She knew exactly what Paula meant. She felt sick. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Don’t play the bloody innocent with me! It was you, wasn’t it? It was you in the CCTV footage they showed on the evening news walking away with that man who ended up dead?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’.

  ‘Don’t talk crap! I want you to go home until this matter is settled and then we’ll review your future employment with this company’.

  ‘So much for supportive management’ said Tina. ‘And do you think I could’ve killed someone?’

  Paula shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know what you’re capable of. I’ve only known you five minutes’.

  ‘You bitch’.

  ‘Er, excuse me, lady, you don’t get to call the shots when you could’ve brought this store into your obviously sordid private life’.

  ‘How fucking dare you speak to me like that!’

  ‘I dare because my own son is going out on his stag night this coming weekend’ said Paula. ‘It says in the papers that the killer might be targeting stag parties for their own twisted reasons and I have a duty to my son to protect him when it was clearly you who was walking away with Saturday’s victim. You can deny your involvement all you like but I’m only going to speak to you if there are other people present like there is now’.

  Tina looked round and spotted several of her colleagues looking on with barely disguised embarrassment. ‘What kind of person do you think I am for God’s sake?’

  ‘One who can’t work here whilst you’ve got this hanging over your head’ said Paula, firmly.

  ‘That’s not fair’ said Tina who then started to cry. She’d seen the footage on the news. It had kept her awake all night. ‘I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t kill anyone’.

  Just at that moment the door to the staff room opened and two figures walked in who made Tina gasp with panic when they introduced themselves.

  ‘I’m Detective superintendent Jeff Barton and this is my colleague Detective sergeant Rebecca Stockton’ said Jeff as both he and Rebecca held up their warrant cards.

  ‘And I’m Paula Jones, the store manager’ Paula announced with her usual affected smile. ‘I think you must be here to speak to my staff member Tina Webb here’.

  Tina glared at Paula before turning her eyes to the detectives and asking meakly. ‘What do you want with me?’

  ‘Tina, we received a phone call this morning identifying you as the girl in the CCTV footage walking arm in arm with James Clifton out of the Paradise club on t
he night he was murdered. We need to ask you some questions’.

  ‘You can have my office for as long as you like, detectives’ said Paula.

  ‘Thank you but I’m afraid that due to the seriousness of the matter we think it’s best if Miss Webb accompanies us to the station’.

  ‘Are you arresting me?’ asked Tina.

  ‘We’re asking you to assist us with our enquiries, Tina’ said Jeff. ‘And if you didn’t kill James Clifton then you’ve got nothing to worry about’.

  FIREFLIES SIX

  Jeff managed to put aside his slide back into conscious grieving in order to concentrate on what was emerging in the case. He went into the interview room with Rebecca where Tina Webb was sitting waiting for them. She looked up anxiously when they sat down opposite her with the table in between and switched on the tape recorder. Tina was frightened. She’d never seen the inside of a police station before.

  ‘Tina, we’re interviewing you under caution in connection with the murder of James Clifton’ said Jeff. ‘Do you understand what that means?’

  ‘I didn’t kill him’.

  ‘You’ve already waived your right to legal representation’ said Jeff. ‘Do you wish to confirm that decision?’

  ‘I didn’t kill him so why would I need a lawyer?’

  ‘Okay’ said Jeff who then proceeded to read Tina her rights.

  ‘This is mad’ said Tina. ‘Who told you it was me on the CCTV?’

  ‘Oh I’m afraid we can’t tell you that, Tina’ said Jeff.

  Tina had a bloody good idea who it would’ve been. It must’ve been Paula Jones, the fucking bitch. ‘Am I being charged with something?’

  ‘Not at this point, no’ said Jeff. ‘Did you go out with friends on Saturday night or were you on your own?’

  ‘There were three of us, me, my friend Andrea Kay from work and my friend Donna Price’.

  ‘We’ll need their contact details’.

  ‘Well you can find Andrea at the supermarket where I work on Regent Road. Donna works in an insurance office in town. She’s not a snob though like some of them office girls can be’.

  ‘Did you all go your separate ways on Saturday night?’

  ‘Well we were together until more or less the same time’ said Tina. ‘I’m the only one who pulled though. Andrea doesn’t really do that sort of thing. She’s more of a looker than a player. Donna is normally up for it but she just wasn’t in the mood that night. They shared a taxi home because they don’t live too far away from each other and they both texted me to say they’d got home okay’.

  ‘How long were you talking to James Clifton before you left the club with him?’

  ‘About an hour or so’ said Tina. ‘I mean I can’t be precise because it was well into the night and we’d all had a few’.

  ‘Which one of you suggested you go off together?’

  ‘He did’ said Tina. ‘Andrea and Donna were talking to a couple of the others in the stag party but like I said they didn’t go back with anyone’.

  ‘Tina, you know about the CCTV footage we have of you leaving the Paradise club with James Clifton on Saturday night’ said Jeff.

  ‘I do, yes’ Tina replied in a soft voice.

  ‘Around four hours later his mutilated body was found behind a rubbish bin at the back of the Mayfair hotel in Stockport’.

  ‘I’ve never even been to that hotel’ Tina declared. ‘I’ve never been anywhere near it and that’s the truth’.

  ‘What happened after the two of you left the club, Tina?’ Rebecca asked.

  ‘He came back to mine’ Tina admitted in a soft voice. ‘But look, I swear I didn’t kill him. You’ve got to believe me’.

  ‘So what did happen between you?’ asked Jeff. ‘The sooner you tell us that the sooner we can get this over with’.

  Tina’s moment of inner bravado from moments ago had gone. Inside she was trembling and was beginning to regret her earlier decision not to have a lawyer present. ‘I poured us each a glass of wine. I thought he was going to stay a while but he ended up only staying half an hour or so’.

  ‘Why was that?’

  Tina gulped down some water before recalling the uncomfortable situation that developed that night with James Clifton. ‘He wanted me to do something sexually that I wasn’t prepared to do. He kept on insisting and I kept on refusing and eventually he just kind of lost it. I don’t know how else to put it really’.

  When James Clifton got through Tina’s front door they were all over each other. It was frenzied, drunken, like many of Tina’s sexual encounters and it wasn’t long before they were both naked and entwined on Tina’s sofa.

  ‘I’ll bet you’re a filthy little bitch’ said James.

  ‘I have my moments’.

  Tina knew what she was doing as she went down on James and stuck her finger up his ass but then he said he wanted her to piss on him.

  ‘I don’t do that’ said Tina.

  ‘What do you mean you don’t do that?’

  ‘I can show you a good time but not like that’.

  ‘I want you to piss on me, Tina’.

  ‘Well I’m sorry but I don’t do that’.

  ‘Don’t be such a fucking baby. You walk into the club tonight dressed like everything is on offer and now you turn into a prude?’.

  ‘I am not a prude. I just don’t do that’.

  ‘Fucking prick tease’.

  ‘Hey, now just a minute, James. What’s got into you?’

  James got off the sofa and started looking for his clothes. ‘I’ll tell you what’s got into me. Its selfish little bitches like you who won’t give men like me what we want’.

  Something about the tone in James’s voice and the manner with which he was now grabbing his clothes off the floor was really unnerving Tina. How had it all gone so wrong? It was like there was a different person in the flat from only a few minutes ago.

  ‘Where are you going, James?’

  ‘Away from all the schizophrenic little bitches like you’.

  ‘James, I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me’.

  ‘I pick up tarts like you because I want something different. I can get all the usual kind of shit at home. I want something different from the likes of you’.

  ‘The likes of me?’

  ‘Oh don’t be offended when you were making it pretty clear tonight that your legs were ready and willing to be opened’.

  ‘Well I’m sorry if you’re disappointed’.

  ‘So am I for having wasted my bloody time. Where’s my fucking shirt?’

  ‘It’s in the hall’ said Tina who now wanted James out of there as quickly as possible.

  ‘Oh don’t fucking look at me like that’ said James.

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Like I’m the big, bad boy’.

  ‘Well it isn’t me who’s ruined what could’ve been a good time’.

  ‘Oh listen to yourself’ said James, scathingly. ‘You’re acting like a teenage girl’.

  ‘I don’t know what’s got into you’.

  ‘Oh yeah? Well let me clarify my position’.

  James slapped Tina across the face so hard it knocked her off balance and she fell to the ground sideways.

  ‘Get out!’ Tina demanded.

  ‘Oh don’t worry I’m going’ said James. ‘Where can I find a cab?’

  ‘There’ll be plenty around this time. Just go down to the main road’.

  Tina finished her explanation of that fateful night to Jeff and Rebecca who were both making notes to question James Clifton’s girlfriend to see if there was any history of domestic violence in her relationship with Clifton. Tina then asked if she could go.

  ‘Not yet, I’m afraid, no’ said Rebecca.

  ‘But that was the last I saw of him, I swear to you’.

  ‘What do you think happened after that?’

  ‘I don’t know’

  ‘How were you feeling?’

  ‘Initially frightened that he’d come back and h
ave a real go at me and then as time passed I started to calm down a bit’.

  ‘And how do you feel now?’

  ‘Well now he’s dead and the circumstances … well I don’t know but I can’t stop thinking about him. If he hadn’t been so intent on getting what he wanted then he would’ve stayed for a while and then just gone home I expect. And he’d still have been alive. I just can’t believe things turned out the way they did, detective. I’ve had loads of men and I don’t deny it. That night wasn’t unlike any other when all I wanted was some fun’.

  ‘And it ends like this?’

  ‘Yes’ said Tina who then started to cry.

  ‘With a man dead who you’d been personally intimate with’.

  ‘Yes’ said Tina who was drying her eyes with a tissue. ‘It sends a shiver down my spine I can tell you’.

  ‘Why?’ Jeff wanted to know. ‘Because you’re afraid you might get caught?’

  ‘Caught for what? I haven’t done anything’.

  ‘So you say’ Rebecca sneered.

  ‘Yes I say because it’s true! I didn’t kill him!’

  ‘But some might say you had reason to?’ said Rebecca. ‘He’d been violent towards you because you’d refused to perform a specific sexual act’.

  Tina felt like she was cracking up. She couldn’t believe they were trying to get her to confess to the murder of this man. ‘I don’t know what else to say’ she whimpered. ‘I didn’t kill him. I swear to God it happened just like I said’.

  ‘Did anybody see James Clifton leaving your flat?’ asked Rebecca.

  ‘I don’t know’ said Tina, still trying to wipe her cheeks dry. ‘Will you need to ask everyone in the block and in the street?’

  ‘Yes, that’ll be unavoidable I’m afraid’.

  ‘Oh my God, they’ll all think I did it’.

  ‘And we’ll need to get a warrant to search your flat, Tina’ said Rebecca.

  ‘Tina’ said Jeff, leaning forward with his hands clasped on the table between them. ‘You’ve got to help us here but you’ve also got to help yourself’.