Fireflies (21 page)

‘Meaning?’

‘That you don’t have the first idea of how to communicate across
class’.

Jeff’s blood was starting to boil. ‘Oh is that right?’

‘Yes it is’ Clarissa insisted. ‘I had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder of Piers’.

‘You’re lying’ said Rebecca.

‘Prove it!’

‘Oh we will’ said Jeff. ‘I’m terminating this interview at 1521 but it’s only the start of questioning for you. We’ll be back’.

Ollie Wright had been working so hard on the case that he hadn’t even noticed all the blatant manipulation that was going on behind his back and orchestrated by Jonathan Freeman. The whole squad was busy but Freeman still managed to play his games like his life depended on it. He was listening to one of the other police officers who
was telling him about his opposition to the recent change in the law allowing gay marriage. They were standing behind a temporary partition in the office and Freeman knew that Ollie Wright, sitting at his desk but out of sight of where Freeman was with the other police officer, would be able to hear the other officer but might struggle to hear Freeman because the photocopying machine was between them and that made a rather loud noise.  

‘Well that was an interesting conversation’ said Freeman when he returned to his desk opposite Ollie. ‘You know where you stand with that guy’.

Ollie decided to try and not rise to Freeman’s goading. He was too busy and too knackered to get into it with him now.

‘Sorry, mate, but am I invisible or something?’ Freeman went on.

Ollie sighed. ‘What?’

‘Well I spoke to you and you didn’t have the courtesy to reply’.

‘I’m busy, Jonathan. Just what is it you want?’

‘Well a little courtesy and respect might be good’ said Jonathan. ‘I did stick up for you the other day with the boss, remember?’

‘For which I was grateful and told you so’.

‘Well, you’ve got a great way of showing it’ said Jonathan, under his breath.

‘What did you just say?’

‘Annette Bryson’ said Jonathan. ‘Hooked herself a nice white man who then went and got himself murdered. You blacks don’t have much luck when you try and integrate with the more accepted part of society, do you mate? Hope you have better luck with your white man’.

‘Alright, that’s enough!’

Jonathan made it look like he’d been totally taken by surprise with Ollie’s reaction to his taunting. ‘Sorry, mate. Are you ashamed of
who you are?’

‘I’ve never been ashamed of who I am’.

‘Is that why you keep that copy of Gay Times hidden away in your top drawer instead of on top of your desk for everyone to see?’

‘I do not keep …
‘ Ollie stopped and opened the top drawer of his desk. And there was a copy of Gay Times. Freeman must’ve planted it there. ‘What have I ever done to you?’

‘You’re alive’ Freeman snarled. ‘That’s enough’.

‘Okay, that’s it! I’m going to make a formal complaint against you’.

‘Oh well be my guest’ said Freeman who then stood up. ‘Because I relish the chance of telling everyone that you, DC Ollie Wright, are nothing more than an anti-Semitic bully. That’s right, mate, I’m Jewish. And you are so going to regret taking me on’.

FIREFLIES EIGHTEEN

The last thing Jeff needed to deal with was the official complaint of anti-Semitism brought by Jonathan Freeman against Ollie Wright. The timing was lousy in the extreme but it was made even worse by the fact that Jeff didn’t believe for one second that Ollie was in any way anti-Semitic. He’d interviewed Freeman himself on the basis of a background check carried out by human resources. Freeman had come across well at that interview and Jeff had been keen to get the kind of help for Ollie that Freeman could provide. Maybe he should’ve checked on the extent of that background check and seen through what he now saw as Freeman’s act.   

‘We have to follow this through, Jeff’ said chief Superintendent Geraldine Chambers who’d called Jeff to her office to discuss the matter.

‘I don’t believe Freeman’s allegations, ma’am’.

‘And I accept your judgment, Jeff’ said Chambers. ‘But Freeman is adamant that Ollie Wright subjected him to a constant and unrelenting barrage of anti-Semitic abuse and he feels particularly aggrieved as he claims to have been wholly and utterly supportive of Wright’s homosexuality’.   

‘Well at the risk of repeating myself, ma’am, I just don’t buy any of this’ said Jeff. ‘Firstly, DC Wright is one of my most trusted and valuable officers and I can certainly back up my claims with facts. Second, this is calling into question the professional ethics of DC Wright which is something I simply cannot accept, ma’am’.

‘I understand your feelings, Jeff’ said Chambers. ‘Really I do. You’re standing by one of your officers and I understand that more than most, believe me, because I’ve had occasion to do the same in the past. But that doesn’t change the fact that an official complaint has been made and it has to be followed up’.

‘Can we at least put it on hold until after this investigation is concluded, ma’am?’ asked an exasperated Jeff. ‘I’ve got suspects in custody with the clock ticking on whether I have to either charge them or release them, two more who we’re out there searching for, and one, Melanie Cartwright, who let herself be bullied by two of the most manipulative young women I’ve ever come across. Freeman knows all that very well and I’m angry that he’s chosen this time. Ma’am, this is attention seeking of the worst order’.

‘You may be right’.

‘I believe I am’.

‘The case you’re dealing with is complicated’.

‘You’re telling me, ma’am’.

‘And do you have any conclusions at this point?’

‘Ma’am, Sophie Cooper and Clarissa Dalton-Wood somehow used Andrea Kay to commit murder on their behalf. What’s still open to debate in my mind is how far Andrea Kay’s father, Brian Curzon, was involved in the killings, and how far the reach of the murders goes back to our old friend Bernie Connelly’.

‘The man who you’re convinced had your friend Andy Kirkpatrick killed?’

‘Yes, ma’am.
I’m not saying this is some kind of personal crusade that risks blinding me to the truth. But let’s just say that if we are able to nail Connelly then I will be personally very satisfied’.   

‘How’s Ollie, sir?’ Rebecca asked as she and Jeff made their way down to the interview rooms.

‘Not entirely surprised’ said Jeff who’d been trying to damp down the uproar that Jonathan Freeman’s allegations against Ollie Wright had caused. The squad room was on fire with it all. ‘He’d had the feeling that Freeman was cooking something up against him. He’s now made a counter charge of racism against Freeman who now contends that because the
squad are all lined up behind Ollie then there’s some kind of anti-Semitic conspiracy going on. It’s added power to his cause. He’s going to the press with it all. This is not going to look good’.

‘How do you think it feels for me? I was sleeping with Freeman’.

Jeff felt a rush of embarrassment before asking. ‘Did you have any idea of his feelings?’

‘I had a feeling that Freeman held certain prejudices but I shrugged it off’ said Rebecca who was ashamed of the way she’d turned a blind eye to Jonathan Freeman’s obvious racism. She shouldn’t have let sex get in the way of that. ‘I didn’t really give it any serious thought to be honest’.

‘Well now is the time to think about it seriously because you’ll need to tell what you know to Chief Superintendent Chambers’ said Jeff. ‘Maybe we can head off an official enquiry and Ollie can get out from under the shadow Freeman has placed over him’.

‘Ollie is no anti-Semite, sir’.

‘Of course he isn’t’ said Jeff. ‘And one way or another we’ll prove that. But for now let’s get to Sophie Cooper. I want results and conclusions and I want them today’.

Rebecca wasn’t quite sure how to read Sophie Cooper. She was some ways defiant, some ways contrite, some ways looking for any excuse to get
herself out of trouble. She was a complicated picture but no more so than either she or Jeff had dealt with before.

‘My client is prepared to do a deal, detective’ said Barbara Matthews, Sophie Cooper’s brief. ‘She will tell you everything she knows about the murder of both James Clifton and Piers Jones in return for immunity from prosecution’.

No chance, thought Jeff. ‘I’d like to hear what your client has to say first before I agree to any deal. DS Stockton?’

‘Sophie, what happened after you switched ID cards with Melanie Cartwright and left your crew reporting centre on the night of the murder of James Clifton?’

Sophie took a deep breath. ‘I needed justice for the way James had betrayed me. I was possessed by this need to get my own back. Clarissa was waiting for me outside and I got into the car with her and headed to her place. I got changed there and then we sat and waited for a call from Andrea. Andrea had two phones, one that she used for normal stuff and one that she used for other things’.

‘Why was Andrea Kay doing all this for you?’

Sophie smirked. ‘When Clarissa and I were sent to Willowbrook comprehensive she was desperate to be friends with us. We accepted that because we saw her as someone we could use’.

‘Did she murder Kim Barnes in the Manchester Hilton three years ago?’

Sophie took a deep breath. ‘Yes’ she said.

‘At your instigation?’

‘Yes again’ Sophie answered with a sideways glance at her lawyer. ‘I felt very betrayed by Malcolm. I wanted him to suffer and to cry as many tears as I had when he dumped me for that bitch. I wanted revenge but I didn’t just want to get even. I wanted to go further. I really wanted him to feel such intense pain for the rest of his life for having dared to betray me. So the three of us, Clarissa, Andrea, and me came up with the plan to rip his wedding night apart. I felt right about doing it. That may sound abhorrent to you but it’s what I needed’.

‘So tell us what happened with James Clifton, Sophie?’

‘Look, am I going to get my immunity or what?’

‘I don’t think you’re in a position to call the shots, Sophie’ said Jeff. ‘You’ve already confessed to conspiracy to murder in the case of Kim Barnes and you’ve implicated two other people. Now carry on with what you have to tell us and then I’ll decide on what happens next’.

‘I just want this over with’.

‘Then carry on talking and don’t stop until you’ve told us everything we need to know’ said Jeff. ‘And don’t even think of playing any games with us’.

‘Games! You think I’m just playing games?’

‘We don’t know all of what you were doing yet, Sophie’ said Rebecca, firmly. She was surprised by how easily Sophie Cooper was capitulating. There was a look of disturbance on her face that was holding down her usual defiance. ‘We haven’t got all the answers we need from you yet, not by a long stretch’.

Sophie exchanged whispers with her lawyer briefly before continuing.

‘Okay …. ‘

‘ … the night of the murder of James Clifton if you wouldn’t mind, Sophie?’

‘Alright, I’m getting there!’ snapped Sophie.

‘That’s better’ said Rebecca.

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Well we’re not used to Sophie Cooper being so quiet and reasonable’ said Rebecca. ‘Usually she’s like a tiger with no teeth’.

‘Oh that’s it, belittle me. You lot are so good at doing that’.

‘Just get back to the matter in hand, Sophie’ said Jeff.

‘I kept Andrea apart from all my other friends and so she could be close to James and report back to Clarissa and me. Then we got a message from her that Tina Webb was taking James home. I screamed out with anger. I hated James at that moment and I couldn’t believe the same thing was happening to me again that happened with Malcolm all those years ago.  What is it with me and stag nights? That’s how I lost Malcolm to Kim and that’s how I saw red when it came to James’. She started to cry. ‘We,
that’s Clarissa and me, drove round to Tina Webb’s place and waited nearby in the car. A little while later we were joined by Andrea and then we saw James and Tina arrive in a taxi. They went into her flat and we waited again. As you can imagine it was pretty painful for me. Then James came out on his own and Andrea went up to him. I don’t know what she said but she got him into her car where she administered the rohypnol. Then she drove off and that was the last I saw of her or James that night’.

‘Did you actually discuss murdering James with Andrea?’

‘Andrea knew that I couldn’t take James cheating on me again. I wanted him dead for sure and I knew that Andrea would take care of that for me’.

‘Just like that?’ said Rebecca.

‘He cheated on me and I didn’t deserve it! I owed him nothing but he deserved to pay’.

‘Most people would’ve just ended the relationship and moved on’ said Rebecca who couldn’t mistake the look of absolute hatred in Sophie’s eyes. She was certainly the jealous type alright.