Beginnings

by L. T. Smith

  ‘Hello Ash. Long time no see?’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  THE JOURNEY DOWN to the cells was completed in pained silence. We had performed the expected hellos and doesn’t time fly, and then we had just stopped. That’s when things started to feel uncomfortable.

  So … without further ado, we silently communicated, mainly with nodding of heads in the direction of the door that now would as good a time as any to go and see Sam. It wasn’t until we arrived outside that Ash decided to put me in the picture about a few things … clearing up the mystery of why she was actually in Norwich in the first place.

  She was in charge of the team who were investigating the thugs they believed Sam was involved with, the gang who Sam thought were just like him … but he didn’t have a clue.

  Now Sam was a git … but even he hadn’t done a fraction of the things the rest of his gang had. He didn’t know it … well they assumed he didn’t, because he would have been singing like a canary if he had the chance.

  Petty crimes like vandalising a school with Sam just made him think they were on his side. He didn’t realise they were using him; making him feel like part of them before they showed their true colours. These included dealing, extortion and fraud. And that’s what the police knew about. They had never been able to pin it on anyone in the group … until they had introduced the new member.

  Up until now, nothing had happened to allow them to step in and name names … and they had had time to ‘import’ some big wig from Manchester Metropolitan Police, as the leader of the band was a Mancunian, Danny Spencer, who had travelled to Norfolk to start a new crime wave. She, DI Richards, had been in Norwich since the beginning of last week, and she was raring to get an arrest.

  So, it seemed as if we had been on Sam’s tail for about the same length of time, and the police needed me to get Sam to talk. Obviously she wasn’t too impressed when I informed her that everything Sam told me would be confidential and couldn’t be used in a court of law … well it could, but we didn’t really like to go down that avenue if we could help it. Puts the kids off when they want to confide … not many of us would open up our soul if we thought the person we were telling would run off shouting it into the wind.

  Then I had to remind her that he had to, by law, have an Advocate with him.

  ‘Bollocks.’

  ‘Excuse me?’ I couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before.

  Ash leaned closer to me and I could feel her breath on my face. Her eyes were steely blue … the twinkle absent. ‘I said … bol …locks.’

  I could feel myself cowering lower as her body imposed itself over mine. No wonder she was a DI … she could frighten the shit out of anyone. I mean … she was six feet tall and solid. Her face brooked no argument, but in my job this kind of intimation was all par for the course.

  Somewhere deep inside me I grabbed hold of an iota of courage and straightened my back, pushing my face close to hers … close enough to feel her breath skit along my skin and send tremors all up and down my spine. Fuck. She was so beautiful. All I wanted to do was lean forward just another inch … and capture her soft lips …

  ‘I said bollocks.’

  That was it.

  ‘And I said it that I cannot divulge a client’s personal details. It is confidential … all about trust. And you …’ I stepped back just a little and casually scanned her from head to toe ‘ should know it wouldn’t stand up in a court of law. An Advocate is required … he’s a minor.’ I finished with a smug smile, which made her grit her teeth.

  I didn’t just see her grit them … I heard it. And it made me smile wider. ‘So you see, Detective … I can’t help you. This is a waste of both our time.’ Then I turned to go.

  Her hand gripped the top of my arm and held me in place like a vice.

  ‘Not so fast, Miss Turner.’

  ‘Get your hand off me.’ I attempted to prise her hand off me, but she was holding on tight. I was tempted to kick her in the shin and make a run for it, but then I remembered I wasn’t thirteen. So I relaxed my body and just gave her a bored expression.

  Her face showed she had been expecting the kick, and my relaxing and looking at her like she was pond life completely threw her. That beautiful face creased into thought, and I could tell she didn’t exactly know what to do next. Blue eyes shot to her hand, and she creased her face even more before slowly prising her fingers from me, watching them with fascinated intent.

  ‘Thank you.’ Short and to the point.

  ‘Sorry … I …’

  ‘Apology accepted. Now … if you’ll excuse me, I have a bed calling my name.’ I turned to go, but my heart stayed facing her, shouting ‘Do you remember me? Do you remember how you left me to curl up and die?’

  For some unknown reason, I felt the tears sneak up behind my eyes and threaten to expose me. I began to walk away, hoping beyond hope that I wouldn’t embarrass myself.

  ‘Lou …’ It was spoken so softly … and trickled through my ears and down deep inside me. ‘Please … Lou … I’m sorry … I …’

  I stopped and turned to face her. I wanted to ask her what she was sorry for. Whether it was because she had tried to force me to find out information for her case. Or sorry for breaking my heart … sorry for fucking up my life …

  Or sorry for making it impossible for me to forget her.

  She stepped towards me, and I instinctively stepped back. I could see the hurt on her face, which she quickly masked with a cough and the straightening of her shoulders. Coldness slipped into place, and she once again became the professional.

  ‘Look. I’ll be straight with you.’ Weren’t you always … that was the problem. ‘We need to get the ringleader behind bars. I don’t know how long I can stay in Norwich … so we need information fast. This bloke is a nasty piece of work … very nasty.’

  ‘Sam?’

  ‘No … Danny Spencer. He is the new gang leader. The old one found himself slumped over the steering wheel of his car as he was waiting for the traffic lights to change.’ My eyebrows decided to come into action and lifted in surprise. ‘And Danny decided a nice get away to Norfolk is exactly what he needed until everything calmed down.’

  ‘Bugger.’

  ‘Exactly. We know it was him … but we also can’t prove it. Not that we miss the bloke who he disposed of … It’s just a way to get the little bastard locked up for a long time.’

  ‘And where exactly do I fit into all of this?’ I stepped closer to her again, feeling the aura of her body envelop me and my eyes fluttered closed and felt the vestiges of the love I felt for her try and make an appearance.

  I coughed. Composed myself. Adopted the countenance of someone who is trying to pay attention.

  ‘You could be the link.’

  ‘Link? How can I be the link? I don’t even know Sam … and he doesn’t know me. I was only assigned to his case last week.’

  ‘All the better. Look …’ She reached out to take my arm, and I saw her stop and pull it back to her, securing it in place at her side. ‘Look … Sam is the key. Danny is a bigheaded little fucker and loves to brag about what he’s done. But he’s not stupid. We have to find out what Sam knows … and if he doesn’t know you, then maybe he will try to show off.’

  ‘I doubt that. He’ll close up more than anything.’

  ‘Maybe … but we have to try.’ Her look was softening and a smile played around her lips. I know … I know … I should have told her to shove it and walked away. But that smile … those eyes …God …

  I was a goner.

  And this was the start of something I can only describe as a love hate relationship. Now … I’m not going to explain that comment. You’ll have to read on if you want to find out why I loved to hate Detective Inspector Richards.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  BEING IN THE cell with that little shit was tantamount to torture. After the initial ‘Fuck you, bitch’ and other lines of poetry, he settled down to grin a moronic grin inter
mittent with lascivious leering at my chest.

  I honestly don’t know how I didn’t slap him senseless. Thirty minutes in his company made me feel nauseous, and I could understand why he was disliked by anyone and everyone. Now … I always try to see some sparkle of good in everybody, but however hard I tried … nothing … he was a bad ‘un through and through.

  Looking at him you could tell he was trouble. A shaved head that left a twattish fringe at the front screamed ‘Jailbait!’ as well as everything else about him. He must have weighed eight stone wet through, and needed high heels to reach the skirting boards … but he had a wiry strength which is ten times worse than facing some six foot body builder. Now his eyes … I still shiver when I think of them … his eyes were cold. Dead. Totally and utterly without a shred of compassion. Cold grey, but quick and sly. I knew he took in everything that was going on like a predator. This boy missed nothing and used everything to his advantage.

  As I said. Trouble. With a capital T.

  Trying to be civil to him was agonising.. I used all the textbook approaches, but it didn’t wash with him. He was too street smart, and demanded he should have someone there to defend him. The station had tried to contact his parents but there was no answer, either to knocking or phoning. Whether they were purposefully ignoring them, I don’t know. They were probably so used to getting call, especially since Sam didn’t give two shits about his court curfew or the ankle bracelet he had to wear to alert the authorities when he stepped out of his boundaries.

  After thirty minutes I’d had enough. I knew if I didn’t get out of there I would pull his grinning waste of space carcass off the bunk and give him a good old-fashioned good hiding. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone violence in any way shape or form … but come on! He could try the patience of a saint.

  Ash was waiting for me as I stepped out and nearly knocked me back inside the cell. I heard Sam shout ‘Evening Inspector’ from behind me, and grimaced as Ash gave him the look. Cold and hard. Fuck. Even I was scared and it wasn’t directed at me.

  ‘You’d better get comfortable, Read, as you’re going to be seeing a lot of this place.’ The self-assured smirk on his face wavered slightly as Ash stepped forward. ‘Get real comfortable, mate.’ The ‘real’ came out as a growl rather than a word, her teeth chewing around it.

  She made a big deal out of slamming the door closed … the echo ringing around the basement of the police station.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Erm …’

  ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘Look … erm … well you can’t expect him to spill his guts on a first meeting.’ I didn’t know why I was trying to soften the blow, and, in effect, sign myself up for more of the same. She raised her brow, her lips turning at the edges. I could see her mind working double time and I knew I was going to regret answering the phone earlier that night.

  ‘Well tha…’ She didn’t get chance to finish the sentence, as the heavy door at the end of the corridor was thrown back and a woman came tearing through it, hair ruffled and, if I’m not mistaken, her blouse was buttoned up wrong.

  ‘Who’s in charge here?’ Stern. To the point. Full of authority. I liked her.

  ‘Who the fuck are you?’ Ash wasted no time in letting the woman know she was not taking any shit.

  The woman stopped inches away from us, and slowly appraised Ash from head to foot. The sneer grew wider as she progressed down the long frame, and when she reached the bottom, she started the journey all the way up to her face again.

  Honestly. I could have cut the air with a knife. They just stood there and glared at each other like a couple of kids who were arguing over a toy. To be perfectly truthful … I was just as bad. Gormless is the word. I just stood looking from one to the other, kind of comparing them in a weird kind of way.

  The woman was only an inch or so shorter and her hair was a shade lighter … but even though she looked like she had literally been hoisted out of bed she was a stunner. And I could feel my mouth beginning to water. But then I looked at Ash and realised that even though I was attracted to Miss No Name … ah … you know … heart and all that.

  ‘Erm … Louise Turner … Lou … Turner.’ I didn’t even realise I had stepped forward in between the pair and turned my back on Ash to hold out my hand to the stranger. ‘Ed Psyche’

  Initially I saw a flash of anger sweep over her face, but then it turned into something softer … more … let me think… more appreciative. That’s the word … appreciative, but not in ‘Oh I’m so glad you introduced yourself’ appreciative. More like ‘What do we have here?’ whilst licking lips appreciative.

  I heard a distinct cough come from behind me, and I could feel Ash becoming restless. The woman’s eyes flicked over my shoulder and briefly landed on Ash before she gave me all of her attention, her hand slipping effortlessly into my own. ‘Gemma … Gemma Jackson.’ And then she closed her hand more firmly around mine. It was almost like a caress.

  ‘Sorry to break up the party girls …’ the sound of Ash’s voice sliced through Gemma’s and my greeting and I knew she wasn’t happy about being left out. ‘Detective Inspector Richards.’ A pause for effect. ‘I’m in charge of the investigation.’

  ‘Really?’ Gemma’s voice came out cold and full of sarcasm. ‘Well … Detective… You wouldn’t mind telling me why I only found out Sam Read was here thirty five minutes ago?’ That explains the hair and the shirt. ‘Don’t you know what you have done is illegal?’ Ash didn’t answer. ‘Under the Child Protection Act, any minor should have an Advocate present at all times.’ Her hand was on her hip, and she half-leaned back to glare into Ash’s face.

  ‘Really?’ Ash’s response was more sarcastic in delivery and I was beginning to feel the tell tale signs of one hell of a bitch fight breaking loose.

  ‘Yes … really. I am within my rights to demand that Sam be released and …’

  ‘Fuck that. That little shi..’

  ‘Ladies. Ladies. Please.’ My tone was coaxing, trying to delay the inevitable blow up. ‘This is not helping anyone.’ I felt Ash stiffen, even though I didn’t see her. Gemma’s face looked as if it was etched from stone. So, I tried the oldest trick in the book.

  I flirted.

  I know. I wasn’t even sure if Gemma was gay, but at least it was worth a shot. The smile was on my lips and my hand was smoothing her arm before anyone could say Jack Robinson. ‘Look … Gemma…’ Another smile. ‘Can’t we just grab a coffee and talk about this … I mean …’ and I looked over my shoulder at a fuming Ash, directing Gemma’s gaze there, and then looked at her squarely in the face before contorting my features into the expression that we should pity the Detective … as she knew not what she did.

  ‘We could just … you know …’ I stepped forward as if I was bringing her into my confidence, but in the process I eliminated personal body space.

  Gemma didn’t back away and I could see a smile play along her lips. Just a little more, Turner.

  ‘We could talk about Sam … and get to know each other a little better.’ A pause – then a hurried ‘in case we will be working together.’ However, the look I gave her said I was interested in anything but work at that moment.

  I could see her conscience fighting with her libido. Her fingers came up and played with stray locks of hair and then move with deliberate agitation to the buttons on her shirt … the ones in all the wrong holes. I could feel a laugh bubbling up inside me, and I had the urge to tell her the buttons were all wrong. But that would have defeated my objective. There would be no way she would agree to anything I wanted if she felt like a prat.

  ‘We could all grab a coffee.’ Ash had decided to come into the conversation at last. To be truthful, yet again, I felt relieved. I didn’t fancy going for a coffee with Gemma alone …and to use an old adage … ‘I had bitten off more than I could chew.’ I looked at her face, and I knew she wasn’t happy about playing along with this woman, but the alternative was Sam Read walking tonight.
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  And after thirty minutes with him, there is no was I wanted him loose on the streets that night or for a long time after. Especially because it would fall into my jurisdiction to take care of him. That was the last thing I needed.

  Gemma didn’t answer, just looked at me and raised her eyebrow.

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ And looked her straight in the face, obscuring Ash’s view of me whilst I made a grimacing face and slightly shrugged my shoulders in forced resignation. Even though inside I felt completely different.

  Ash sighed behind me, a deep dramatic sigh, that said she knew what face I had pulled and I felt the colour in my face begin to darken to a pinkish hue.

  ‘Shall I lead the way?’ With that, she pushed past the both of us and marched to the door, leaving the two of us to stare at each other.

  ‘Is she jealous? Are you two …’

  ‘No way!’ Quite forceful to say the least … Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

  I shot a worried look in Ash’s direction. She had the door partly open and was just standing there. I could only see part of her face, and I couldn’t read anything … it was closed off.

  Shit.

  I don’t even know why I wrote shit there. It’s just a feeling I had at the time. Whether it’s because I felt exposed, or maybe it’s the fact I thought it reminded her of the night she kissed me and ran.

  ‘Come on then.’ And as I walked towards the exit, I felt a little less cocky than I had five minutes ago.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  COFFEE WAS FINE. Gemma wasn’t as hard nosed as I had first thought. The only down side was that Ash seemed off … well … put out is more the expression. All the time we were discussing Sam Read, she answered briefly and could barely make eye contact with me … or Gemma … and kept looking towards the door of the canteen, her mug of coffee gripped tightly in her hand.

  Come to think of it, I don’t think she actually took a sip.

  After twenty minutes, we were all caught up with events. By all accounts, Gemma was no fan of Mr Read and this was definitely not her first visit to the cells on his behalf. Eleven times she had been called out to represent him, twelve including the current one.