by Ford, P. F.
‘Norm!’ called Slater. ‘Am I glad to see you. Are you okay?’
‘Oh yeah. Just peachy,’ Norman said, sighing. ‘Never better.’
He took one hand from the doorframe to shield his eyes.
‘Jesus, that light’s bright,’ he said with a feeble smile, and then slowly, almost majestically, his legs seemed to fold beneath him and he slid down into an untidy heap in the doorway.
‘What’s the matter with him?’ asked Goodnews.
‘Norm?’ called Slater, stooping down over his partner. ‘Norm? Can you hear me?’
Concerned, he felt for a pulse and was immediately relieved to find he wasn’t dead.
‘He’s passed out,’ said Slater. ‘We need an ambulance.’
‘Try and make him comfortable, and stay with him. Steve Biddeford’s out here. He’s caught Jolly. We’ll get you an ambulance, somehow.’
Slater wondered how on earth she was going to call an ambulance with no phone signal.
Chapter Thirty-Six
As luck would have it, the farmer had arrived, to lead his cows in for milking, just minutes before Goodnews arrived back in the meadow. He had been angered by the sight of Biddeford and Tim Jolly wrestling in the middle of his meadow, and had used his own mobile phone to call the police and report what he assumed was two yobs fighting.
Fortunately, the duty sergeant had pre-warned the call centre about a possible incident just outside Little Balding. As soon as the farmer’s call came in it was diverted to Tinton where a team was already on standby and ready to go almost instantly. Realising this was probably all to do with finding Norman, the duty sergeant had thrown all caution to the wind and paramedics and an ambulance were quickly dispatched as well.
In less than half an hour, the unconscious Norman had been carefully loaded onto a stretcher and, accompanied by the walking wounded Dave Slater, taken off to Tinton hospital.
There followed a heated debate amongst the remaining officers about who would be taking Tim Jolly back to Tinton. While everyone wanted to be involved in the rescue of Norman and the arrest of his kidnapper, their enthusiasm waned somewhat when they got close enough to smell him.
Biddeford’s splendid rugby tackle had brought them both to ground in the middle of an extensive group of cowpats, and the subsequent struggle had seen both of them comprehensively smothered in the stuff. This was particularly bad news for Steve Biddeford, as he was going to have to drive his own car back to Tinton.
Satisfied that Ian Becks and his team were in situ and ready to process the crime scene, Goodnews finally lost patience with the arguing officers.
‘Now listen up, you bunch of wankers,’ she said. ‘My fuse has been burning long enough, and I’m warning you now, you do not want to be in the way when it runs out.
‘I really don’t care how much he stinks, or whose car ends up with a shitty back seat. I just want someone to do their job and take the prisoner back to Tinton and make sure he’s securely locked up until I have time to interview him. And here’s my promise to all of you; if he’s not on the way in the next five minutes, you’ll be in far worse shite than a wee cowpat.’
There were some mumbles of dissent, although no one was brave enough to speak out loud, but it didn’t matter now. Goodnews had heard enough.
‘Right,’ she said, pointing to the nearest two officers. ‘Do you two have a car?’
‘Err, yes,’ replied the nearest.
‘It’s, yes, Ma’am,’ snapped Goodnews. ‘I really don’t care if you hate my guts, but you will respect my rank.’
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ mumbled the now red-faced constable.
‘There,’ she said. ‘That wasn’t so difficult was it?’
The constable shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
‘I’m ordering you, and your partner, to take the prisoner back to the station and make sure he’s locked up.’
She turned her focus from the constable to include all of them and then continued.
‘And take note, all of you – I know DS Norman is one of our own, and I am as unhappy as the rest of you that this has happened to him. However, if anything should accidentally happen to the prisoner before I interview him, every single one of you here will be facing a disciplinary enquiry. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ agreed the constable, reluctantly.
‘And the rest of you?’ she asked taking in all the faces.
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ mumbled the collective voices.
‘Good.’
Then she took another look at the faces around her.
‘Is something amusing you?’ she snapped at another PC.
He shook his head vehemently.
‘Who me, Ma’am? No, Ma’am,’ he spluttered, innocently.
‘Well then, I suggest you take that smirk off your face, or I might just change my mind about who gets the shit job. No, hang on. I’ve got a better idea. You can have a different shit job. You can give me a lift back to the railway station so I can pick up my car.’
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Slater was lying on a bed having the last stitch inserted in his split eyebrow. The nurse who was stitching him up looked up as Goodnews entered the cubicle.
‘Looks like someone’s come to pick you up,’ she said, returning to her work.
Slater tried to turn his head to see who she meant, but this wasn’t a good idea.
‘Ow, Jesus,’ he hissed.
‘Well, keep your head still, silly,’ said the nurse. ‘Of course it hurts. I’m halfway through a stitch.’
‘Is my little soldier ready to go?’ Goodnews’ voice piped up.
‘He will be in minute,’ said the nurse, grinning.
‘My little hero,’ Goodnews said, teasingly.
‘You needn’t have bothered, coming to pick me up,’ said Slater, testily. ‘I’m fine. I’m sure you have better things to do than worry about me.’
‘Don’t kid yourself. I’m not worried about you. I just thought it might be a good idea to have you with me when Norman wakes up, as you know him and I don’t.’
The nurse had finished stitching his head and began cleaning up.
‘He should be kept in for observation really,’ the nurse told Goodnews. ‘He’s had a nasty blow to his head.’
‘Good job it was his head and not anywhere that mattered.’
‘Yes, well thank you for your concern,’ said Slater, as he swung his legs off the bed and sat up.
For a moment, the room began to spin, and he felt rather sick. Luckily, the nurse was watching him and took his arm to steady him.
‘I told you that would happen if you tried to get up too quickly,’ she admonished him.
‘Yes, alright,’ he said. ‘I’ve already got one woman picking on me. I don’t need you to start as well.’
‘If you do as you’re told, I won’t have to pick on you,’ warned the nurse. ‘Just take your time, and move slowly. I’m not sure you should really be leaving at all. I think it would be much better if you were kept in for observation.’
‘I’m fine. I need to go and find my mate. I need to know he’s alright.’
‘Why don’t I get a porter to take you in a wheelchair?’
‘Not bloody likely,’ said Slater. ‘I don’t need a wheelchair, and I’m sure the porters have better things to do than wheel me around.’
‘If you’ve got a wheelchair I can use, I’ll take him,’ volunteered Goodnews.
Slater looked at her doubtfully.
‘You?’ he said. ‘Push me in a wheelchair? You’re having a laugh.’
‘Do you want to stay in overnight for observation? As your senior officer, I really ought to insist you do as the nurse says.’
‘Oh, I get it,’ said Slater. ‘This is you getting your own back on me for what happened earlier, isn’t it?’
‘What do you think, nurse?’ asked Goodnews, with a wicked smile. ‘Will you release him into my care? Or does he have to stay here?’
The nurse
looked at Slater, and then at Goodnews, quickly weighing up the situation. She gave an equally wicked smile in return before speaking.
‘As long as he stays in this wheelchair for at least the next half hour, and he does not leave the hospital without first coming back here so I can check him over, I suppose I can let you take him,’ she said, pointing to a wheelchair in the corner of the cubicle.
‘Right, you,’ said Goodnews to Slater. ‘Get your arse in that wheelchair and let’s go and see if your friend’s awake yet.’
Slater began to protest, but it was no use.
‘That’s an order, Sergeant,’ she said.
The doctor had told them they could have five minutes with Norman, but that he was quite weak from his ordeal and they shouldn’t stress him.
Goodnews steered Slater carefully through the doorway into his room. Norman was sitting up in bed and was awake, just about. He was still rather groggy, and was as stiff as a board from being strapped to the chair for so long, but otherwise he seemed to be okay.
As soon as Goodnews parked Slater’s chair next to Norman’s bed he was up and exchanging a pretty sloppy high five with his mate.
‘Hey, Norm,’ he said, quietly. ‘It’s good to see you. How are you feeling?’
‘Like shit,’ said Norman, huskily. ‘But I’ll live. Who’s your new partner?’
‘This is DI Goodnews,’ said Slater. ‘She was brought in to head the investigation.’
‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ said Goodnews. ‘I was beginning to get worried.’
‘Yeah, I know. The odds don’t get any better as the days pass, do they?’
‘I need to ask you some questions,’ said Goodnews. ‘Do you feel up to it now?’
‘How’s Tim? Did you find him?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Goodnews. ‘He’s locked away where he can’t do any harm. I’ll get to him later. I wanted to speak to you first.’
‘Be careful with him. He’s very fragile, and he’s worried sick about his kids. This isn’t what you think it is.’
‘So you haven’t been having an affair with his wife?’ asked Goodnews.
Norman smiled and looked at Slater.
‘Is she for real?’ he asked Slater.
‘We have to ask,’ said Slater.
‘You should know better,’ Norman said indignantly. ‘If you don’t know me and Jane by now…’
He let the sentence trail away to silence.
‘Tim Jolly has just kidnapped you and imprisoned you,’ said Goodnews. ‘I knew it was him the moment I set eyes on your wife and Jane Jolly. Men tend to go for the same type of woman, you know. You couldn’t get more alike than those two.’
‘Jeez,’ said Norman. ‘Is that the sort of logic that’s enabled you to reach DI so young? You don’t know anything about me, or Jane, or Tim, and yet you think can pass judgement and condemn all of us based on an old wives’ tale.’
‘So, are you saying it’s not true?’ asked Goodnews.
‘What did Jane say?’ asked Norman, not waiting for an answer, ‘She said it was rubbish, right?’
‘Well, yes,’ agreed Goodnews. ‘But if it’s rubbish, why did her husband feel the need to kidnap you?’
‘Because, his kids were threatened,’ said Norman. ‘That’s what I’m trying to tell you.’
‘Jane didn’t tell us about that,’ said Goodnews.
‘That’s because she doesn’t know about it. Think about it. Jane’s the strong one out of those two. If she had been threatened, she would have come straight to us, but Tim? Well, he’s the weak link. Suggesting Jane is messing around with me is using his greatest fear to turn him against me.’
‘His greatest fear?’ asked Goodnews.
‘The fear of losing his wife and his kids,’ said Slater. ‘It would be like losing his whole world.’
‘Well, he’s going to lose them now anyway,’ said Goodnews. ‘He’ll get put away for years for this.’
‘You can’t do that,’ argued Norman. ‘He did it under duress. He’s been manipulated by someone who wanted to get at me. It’s not his fault.’
There was a short silence as they all absorbed this news.
‘And just so you know.’ Norman sounded pissed off now. ‘Not everyone feels the need to jump into bed with the first person who comes along. I don’t know where you come from, but where I come from you can be friends with someone of the opposite sex without having to have an affair with them. And there are still people, me and Jane included, who just wouldn’t cheat on their partner whatever happened.’
‘I just follow where the clues take me,’ said Goodnews, evenly. ‘When a husband harms a male friend of his wife, nine times out of ten it’s because he feels threatened by that man’s behaviour. In other words, he thinks there’s an affair going on. I’m sorry if my methods offend your sensibilities, but it’s how I get the job done. Don’t tell me you’ve never done the same.’
Norman sat and sulked. He didn’t know who this woman was, but he didn’t like her, and he didn’t feel inclined to help her right now.
‘So,’ said Goodnews, when Norman didn’t respond. ‘Do you have any idea who’s been manipulating Tim Jolly?’
‘I could make you a long list of people I’ve pissed off over the years,’ said Norman, wearily. ‘But I have no idea who would be favourite to top that list and take it this far.’
He appeared to be struggling to stay awake now, and right on cue, a nurse came into the room.
‘I think he needs to rest now,’ she told them. ‘He’s still quite weak.’
‘Just one thing, before you go,’ insisted Norman. ‘Get Jane and the kids somewhere safe before you talk to Tim. All the time he thinks they’re in danger he won’t tell you anything, but if he knows they’re safe he’ll probably talk. Whoever is behind this needs stopping before he gets to those kids.’
Goodnews insisted on taking Slater back to A & E so the nurse could check him over before they left. She handed him over with a warning to do as he was told and that she would be back when she’d made a couple of phone calls.
‘Don’t worry,’ grinned the nurse, with a wink at Goodnews. ‘I’ll look after your little soldier until you get back.’
By the time she came back for him, he had been formally released, with a warning to go home and rest, but there was no way he was going to miss out on the end of this case, so he conveniently forgot to tell Goodnews that bit.
‘Right,’ she said, pulling away from the hospital car park. ‘I’ve spoken to Jane Jolly and arranged for her and her kids to be taken to a hotel for the night and for two uniforms to guard their room. We’ll assess the full extent of the risk when we’ve spoken to her husband. If needs be, she can be moved to a safe house tomorrow.’
‘D’you think it might be a good idea to get Jane to come in and speak to her husband?’
‘That’s already arranged,’ said Goodnews. ‘I’ve told her the situation, and that she might, or might not get to see him, depending on how it goes.’
‘And she was alright with that?’ asked Slater.
‘Not really. But she’ll just have to accept this is my show and we do things my way. Do you have a problem with that?’
‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘You’re the boss. I’m not sure I’d know what was the right thing to do in this situation. It’s not one that I ever expected to have to face.’
‘Ha!’ Goodnews sounded amused. ‘It’s not exactly a text book situation, is it? But I’m glad you’re happy with me being the boss, because I’ve decided I’m going to have DC Biddeford assist me with the interview.’
This was a bit of a blow to Slater. He had fully expected to be alongside Goodnews for the rest of this case.
‘Oh,’ he said, unable to hide his disappointment.
‘Don’t look like that,’ she said. ‘I’ve got important stuff for you to do. For a start, I want you to get hold of Tim Jolly’s mobile phone. Let’s see if we can’t find out who’s behind all this.
‘I also
want you to observe the interview, and I need you to speak to Jane when she arrives. You know her better than anyone else so I think it’s best if you talk to her when she gets here.
‘I’m not sure Biddeford’s ready to handle that situation the way I want it done. He’s probably great at being a blunt instrument, but that’s not what I want for Jane. She’s going to need handling with kid gloves. I know I can trust you to do it right.’
Slater wasn’t sure if he was happy with that or not, but then considered who would be the better person to handle Jane when she arrived. Goodnews had been correct in her assessment of Biddeford. He could be insensitive at times and Jane was definitely going to need support. Yeah, he thought, Goodnews was right. He was the best man for that job.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I think you’re right about Jane. She is going to need support, and I know I can do that better than Steve.’
Goodnews nodded her head.
‘Good. I’ll tell you something else. She’s going to need support for quite some time. This is going to be one hell of a test for their marriage.’
‘It’ll never be the same, that’s for sure,’ Slater said, gloomily.
Tim Jolly had been carrying his mobile phone when he had been brought in to the station, and it was amongst the possessions taken from him before he was placed in a cell. Slater signed for the phone and took it with him up to the observation suite. On the way, he collected a notepad and a pen, and then finally a cup of coffee, before he settled himself. He knew he would have plenty of time to check out the phone before the interview started.
‘Right, then Tim,’ he muttered, as he made himself comfortable. ‘Let’s see who’s been winding you up.’
‘Now then, Mr Jolly.’ Goodnews eyed Tim Jolly across the table in the interview room. ‘I’m DI Goodnews, and this is DC Biddeford.’
Tim Jolly looked nervously from Goodnews to Biddeford. Biddeford gave him an evil grin. The duty solicitor, sat alongside Jolly, gave an annoyed cough and Goodnews saw Biddeford drop his grin.
