Playing with Trouble- New Tricks Chapter 4 This chapter features just Sandra and Jack, as they head to Nottingham to visit Douglas, plenty of shocks and surprises lay in store over the reinvestigation of the case. Gerry and Brian also feature briefly, I've added a touch of humour within their scenes, winding each other up while being bored with not much to do, the only way they can. Another massive thanks to smallhobbit for beta reading this latest chapter.
Thursday morning; The UCOS detectives fully hoped Douglas would open up and reveal his precise whereabouts on that day 30 years ago. Where did he go after the final whistle blew, what time did he leave the football match, how well did he know young Vinny Baxter, did they clash days before over unpaid money that the young man owned? There were so many questions that Sandra wanted to be answered. There was no time to waste, she'd be driving up there with Jack, seeing as he'd been the first person in UCOS and needed cheering up, rather than drinking his cup of tea and reading today's news headlines in the Daily Mirror.
"Hmmm. No sign of Gerry yet ...he's usually first in here every morning,...with a hot cup of coffee on his desk.?...moaning about his bad back" Sandra asked, leaning in from the doorway of her small office, holding her own cup of coffee, eyes frowning, wondering when he might show his face. His desk had been deserted, untouched since yesterday; he never liked anyone moving items around, always make a big fuss about nothing really. The bloody cheek of him, she thought, probably will end up swanning in wearing his long black overcoat and give the details to Brian on how well the date went last night.
"Oh I can't imagine Gerry will be in early this morning... mostly likely be nursing a horrible hangover or still fast asleep in bed at home...he had that big date last night...yesterday he couldn't stop reminding himself about it." Jack knew what his friend was really like when it came to women and restaurants, sometimes he'd occasionally like the odd glass of French wine, always showing that touch of Frenchness within him. The guys still couldn't help but make some jokes about Gerry's French name. He hated being wound up, his eyes showing secret hurt in their depths.
The office was more peaceful for a change and had a perfectly relaxing air about it, so Sandra could concentrate more in thinking. They had to leave within an hour, no time for hanging on waiting for Gerry to show up. They had a long journey to make from London to Nottingham, hoping no traffic delays would slow the trip to that city.
"No Brian either?...Not like him..hope he hasn't been keeping himself up late every night watching those detective programmes on BBC1 especially that Silent Witness" She asked, taking a sip of coffee and looking at anyone who passed by the UCOS door, a flicker of blond hair catching in her eye, to be brushed away.
A heavy sound of feet clattered upstairs into the busy corridor, a man's loud voice shouted, echoing throughout the building and its long corridor.
"I'm coming...I'm coming ...Sorry I'm late..Stupid traffic piling up on the main road...Some moron nearly knocked me off my bicycle" this person clearly seemed to be disgruntled and out of breath from running.
"Guess that'll be Brian...with an explanation on why he's late...have you informed Strickland about us going up to Nottingham to question Douglas?" Jack smiled, turning in his chair, with today's newspaper rolled up underneath his arm. He'd already filled in today's Sudoku and crossword puzzle, he enjoyed doing them as they kept his mind refreshed while working.
"At first he said we should have Douglas been interviewed in UCOS...but he agreed with me in the end"
"What time do you call this?" Jack wondered, looking at the clock upon the wall, which displayed 9.30am exactly.
Brian burst through the door, holding his bicycle up high, careful not to knock any of Gerry's desk items over. He quickly explained "I'm not that late...Oh Esther had me watching a Harrison Ford film on BBC1, where he played the President and some terrorist tried to blow up the plane he was on...didn't finish till midnight...I still feel like yawning now." Covering his mouth, he lazily yawned.
"Erm, Sleepy head...Brian...Jack and I will be leaving to drive up the M1 to Nottingham in a short while....could you mind the office and, when Gerry decides to finally come into work, fill him in on what to do while I'm out of the office for a couple of hours."
"I'll try...and I'll also try and get a list from my computer of the people that were previously questioned about Vinny's murder.."
"Thanks Brian...if you find anything...ring me on my mobile to let me know" she appreciated his hard dedication to work, how he didn't want to let the team down by making a mistake.
Brian took his bicycle helmet off and placed it on the handles, his hair ruffled messily. He unzipped his bike gear and threw it over the back of his chair, he was wearing his usual favourite blue and yellow top.
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After they left UCOS, they made their way the downstairs, talking about how long it might take to find the road Douglas lived in. It was known to be hidden away, one of a small secluded set of cottages by a massive park and forest, which Nottingham was well known for.
Jack had brought a bag of sandwiches to eat for his dinner, or whenever he became hungry, (tuna mayonnaise was his favourite sandwich). He hurried behind Sandra who seemed to be in a rush.
"Wait up Sandra... I can't run that fast..." He walked at a slower pace, not happy they had to use the stairs instead of the staff lift.
"Jack...I haven't got all day to wait around... I just need to see what he remembers...I need to be sure he tells the truth"
"So are we treating him as a suspect?" Jack felt confused. He remembered this particular case, Corden police station in East London had investigated it. He had always thought that anyone who worked at that police station was either shifty or taking bribes. On the day they announced to the media that the case was closed because someone had come forward to confess to Vinny Baxter's murder, Jack knew that wasn't true, that there must have been something fishy going on, but he had never got round to seeing what it was.
"Until I can be fully sure...we're only treating him as a witness in our lines of enquiry...plus he's 71 years old...we have to be patient and see what he can help us with." She opened the passenger door for Jack to climb in, rain tapping against the windscreen waiting for the car wipers to move it away. She tidied and sorted some folders before putting them on the back seat.
"Do you think it was a good idea to leave Brian in charge?...I don't want him taking his eye off the importance of this case... I know things between him and Thomas were strained especially after he left yesterday... What I want to know is why did he seem so convinced that George killed his brother?.. Do they have a big history that we haven't found out about just yet?... Something just does not feel right." She decided she had made a good choice to trust Brian, he'd surely put Gerry in his place.
Some minutes they left the station car park in her Saab 93 convertible.
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They travelled in Sandra's Saab 93 at great speed down the M1, the wheels throwing up dust in their wake. If she was pulled up for speeding she had a pretty good idea what to tell the traffic cop, if he had sufficient brains to listen that is. She sighed, feeling some small indications of tension in her shoulders, rotating them slowly.
"Shoulders are aching...too much pressure building up for me...Not gonna let this case slip underneath the surface for the second time...Thomas Baxter is relying on us after all..wanting justice for his brother."
"A lot to do...so little time to discover the truth of what happened on that day...Let's hope Douglas can be more helpful in answering our questions" Jack replied, perfectly comfortable in his passenger seat.
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"Two hours late Gerry....You're lucky Sandra didn't drag you into her office by your ear...and shout remarks at you" Brian pointed out, having spent ages searching through endless names of people....Howard Ball... Carl Denton... David Quinn. How on earth would they have time to interview all these people again? Most of the other names he checked upon were either deceased or emigrated to China, Australia or New Zealand. He adjusted his reading glasses, puffing awkwardly. Should I phone her now or leave it until later this afternoon?
"What's up mate..you look like you've seen a ghost or something?" Gerry wondered, frowning as to why Brian appeared to be very edgy, and decided on heading over to have a look at his computer.
As he took a closer peak Brian replied, "Sandra and Jack have gone to visit Douglas in Nottingham, wanted to get there early..so she's left me in charge."
"Does Strickland know about this?...if he doesn't he's gonna flip big time about not being informed"
"Think so... she wasn't quite clear"
"God, you'll be kept glued to your computer for the rest of the day... want me to help out?" Gerry offered politely, secretly fiddling with the glasses in his jacket pocket.
"Much appreciate it Gerry.... need a coffee soon to stimulate and refresh my brain... into thinking intelligently"
"Blimey...Is that your way of being a smarty pants... mate?" Gerry chuckled with amusement, pressing the start button on his desk computer.
"It'd help me to work faster so I can contact Sandra as to what to do next." Brian decided on taking a ten minute break, pausing to make himself a drink.
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The silver Saab 93 came off the M1 at 50mph and entered into the area around the city of Nottingham, passing through some beautiful countryside, with large fields and animals wandering among them. Sandra hadn't been out of London since she was 10 years old, so it was uncharted territory to be driving through, a new environment. They couldn't stop to grab something to eat as they needed to be heading back out of Nottingham within a matter of hours to get back to UCOS for an end of day briefing.
Jack liked what he saw, idyllic country cottages, where anyone could retire to and live in. Mary used to tell him that she would enjoy visiting the countryside once in a while, they had never got an opportunity to, which had left them disappointed, work having remained a priority every time. He felt glad to be out of UCOS main office for today, he needed fresh air gushing against his forehead and cheeks. Turning into a narrow lane, shops could be spotted in the distance: newsagents, bakery shops and sweet shops. A cyclist riding close by swerved in front of the Saab 93 causing Sandra to halt her car, "Why did he cut across...there seems to be plenty of side roads to cycle down... some idiots, eh, can't see the bloody road signs properly?" She beeped the car horn in frustration.
"Don't get yourself worked up...I think we're nearly there... I'd guess it'll take another 15 minutes... shouldn't be far away" Jack estimated, looking at every road name they passed. They all started alphabetically. The road ahead narrowed into one lane, how did large vehicles even manage to drive down it? Tall trees with leaves that dangled half way down, she didn't fancy taking the chance of driving underneath them.
"Where are we going?"
"Just a shortcut..." she didn't know why, but she did sense it was one of two roads a couple of metres away.
"Did you decide on that or did the SatNav?" Jack queried. "Oh, hang on this is the road... lucky you had that quick thought."
Congratulating her happily with a pat on the shoulder, he unfastened his seatbelt and climbed out first, stepping on to a sloping pavement kerb. He stretched his sore left arm and then followed Sandra, who had spotted Douglas' house door number. A sudden cold breeze blew green leaves, scattering them everywhere across the road and nearby pavements. Sandra shivered in her black jacket, regretting not wearing a warm jumper underneath. Two young kids dribbled and passed a football between themselves in the background, kicking it high up and almost setting off Sandra's car alarm. They ran and fought over it as they collected the black striped ball.
"Kids these days aspire to be the next Wayne Rooney, in the 1960's they wanted to be George Best, dreamt of becoming a great player like he was when playing for Manchester United" Jack got carried away, he'd had that same dream too.
"Yes, alright, we've got someone to visit here. Let's see if he's waited in for us to arrive." She entered through the black gate, walking carefully up the stony pathway, heels avoiding being caught in any gaps. She studied the surroundings of Douglas' beautifully stunning garden, "must do it himself...must be a keen gardener of some sort." She stepped up the stone step and knocked on the bronze shiny letterbox, knocking twice in succession. No movement could be heard from within the front living room, so she gave a harder knock on the letterbox, frustration threatening to build up, lips pouting at the idea of waiting longer.
"Bloody men..." the door eventually creaked open, as a large male figure appeared. He looked around about 60 years old, black middle length hair, many black curls draped on both sides, making him look like a rock star without his guitar.
"Oh you must be from UCOS, we spoke yesterday on the phone.. apologies for me getting to the door late... fell asleep on my couch watching Morning television...please come in" he offered, stepping aside to allow Sandra and Jack to enter and go through into the confined living room. There was a small 14 inch television and a red two seater couch both placed in a corner of the room and a double sided dinner table was situated in the next room. He'd done well for himself, earned a good living, even though it seemed to be a nasty job, it had provided excellent family support for his children and grandchildren.
"Sorry about this mess...I'll move these magazines out your way.. put them in the box." Douglas obviously liked his house to be ideal and spotless.
"Douglas if we could have a few minutes of your time...please...we don't be want to be kept waiting any longer" she stood impatiently, hating certain household items getting in the way of her attempts to ask some simple questions. Jack didn't see the need to argue, as he sat down on the two seater settee, choosing to sit forward.
"I understand why you're here....like you said on the phone yesterday, seeing how important it was, you wanted to get my side of events on that day..."
"Alright. Can you explain to us where you were and who you were with on that exact day?"
"I was at Stamford Bridge ...It's difficult to remember actually. See sometimes I suffer with memory loss. It's mainly because I suffered a head injury in a car crash 10 years ago ..I know I went with a former girlfriend and we sat in the E stand....we never saw Vinny or George anywhere.."
"Did you have any sort of disagreement with Vinny?...Thomas told us almost everything....about how you turned up outside his family house and then you rushed away, in a cowardly fashion when his mother answered the front door."
"You do realise Thomas is kidding himself... he's looking for someone to blame for all this...and bam he's picked me as a potential target...Yes I did badger his brother for money - it was my job to... he never did pay up...made up an excuse to stall time, which wasn't a good thing to do."
Sandra took in every word, nodding in understanding, while Jack wrote a few important notes down in a small lined notepad, fixing his glasses to double check.
"What was your opinion of Vinny? Did you think he acted weakly or was terrified of what to do?"
"How am I supposed to know?...I wasn't him... I didn't have his life and besides I never knew him for long...only two months.. I know he acted completely foolishly and was stupid about how he went round refusing to give in to my demands..in the end my boss told me to beat him up... even to threaten him..... I nearly did but then I saw that flash of panic and sorrow within him... I just couldn't...no one deserved that....Went back and I lied...covering my tracks."
Sandra and Jack weren't sure what to ask, they could tell Douglas wasn't lying, he didn't show a single sign of flinching nor even fidgeting with his fingers, he acted calmly and extremely positively.
"One more thing Douglas, who did you work for?" she asked, the palm of her haands rubbing into the couch as she sat forward not backwards against the cushion.
"A man called Donald Young... apparently he died five years ago....he ordered us about... like a group of heavies.. I never wanted any part of it... I thought violence wasn't an ideal option for sorting troublemakers out.... can I ask you something Sandra.... I hope you get Vinny's murderer and make damn sure he never gets released from prison again...."
"Why are you so interested in who we eventually charge?" she frowned. Did he know who might have killed young Vinny and had kept it secret for over the past 3 decades?
"I dunno... those days were the hardest I ever encountered... Police had so many of us locked in cells... and didn't know who to charge...They pointed George out as the main suspect but had nothing to charge him with... absolutely pointless the way they did things back in the early 1980's"
"Got a hatred for the Police?"
"Not particularly Well...I'm not a fan of theirs... You and your colleague here are alright... seem to have a better approach..." he smiled, the smile fading away quickly, as he rested his head against a cushion, sadness filling his eyes. "I did visit Thomas just once... Tried to make him believe me that I never laid a finger on his brother... someone or something convinced him I did...and I listened to a friend's conversation that he planned to find out where I lived and to warn me to stay away... this lead to me quitting my job...it was too much hassle - would have run me into an early grave if I stayed on in it."
Douglas had explained everything clearly. They still suspected perhaps he wasn't being entirely truthful as he made himself out to be, some answers didn't make any sense and indicated he might still be covering for the real killer, covering up some potentially vital clues.
They'd been there for almost an hour and thought it was best to be leaving, still with no clear evidence. As they climbed back in Sandra's silver Saab 93, her phone vibrated, an incoming phone call.
"Hello Brian....what've you found out? ..... Alan Wright...yeah I think we should bring him in and see what he knows...thanks for informing me."
"Who's Alan Wright?" Jack hadn't heard of that name before.
"He was the son of the Wright family that lived next door to the Baxters.... Brian just said he was a trouble maker who made their life hell, even throwing a brick through their window.. I'm not certain but I think he never got questioned in 1980 in the original investigation. He was never treated him as a suspect at all...so I reckon we should bring him to UCOS for questioning, because if we don't solve this case the tabloids are going to have a field day and we'll be out of our jobs and followed by Strickland"
End of chapter