"I'd not been feeling too good so Ewan let me go home early. I was feeling a little queasy so the idea was to come home, take a few aspirins and collapse in my bed." The young boy stopped talking and took a deep breath before continuing. "The lights were out so I guessed my brother was asleep. He always was."
"Right."
"So I didn't turn on any lights because the lights are really bright in the flat so I moved through to the kitchen. That's when I saw her stood at the fridge in nothing more than my brother's shirt. I thought that was weird because Ralph had never mentioned having a girlfriend. I flicked on the kitchen light and she panicked, dropping the milk she'd been taking out because she didn't know about me."
"She didn't know about you?"
"Ralph didn't like to share family details. Especially not about me. I was lucky he took me in. He hated knowing that his father had an affair behind his mother's back."
"Right. What happened between you then?"
"I apologised for scaring her and made an introduction. She was gorgeous and all I could see was the long legs peering underneath the shirt and I knew she was wearing no underwear. I kissed her."
"You're a fast mover."
"What's the point of going slow when you can get the same results with going fast?"
"Great philosophy. How did Sarah react?"
"She tried to push me away but then eventually relaxed against me. We did it on the kitchen table as my brother slept." The guy laughed as he looked at Robbie, his grin one of many stories. "There was that adrenaline of being caught by him. He wasn't a light sleeper but there was the odd morning where he got thirsty and came out for a drink."
"How often did you and Sarah meet in the kitchen?"
"Eventually we moved away from the kitchen and to my room because Sarah was afraid that we'd wake Ralph." Denzel leant forward on the chair, getting nearer to Robbie. "She was a screamer, you see." He laughed leaning back away. "Do you not think the screamers are the best?"
"I wouldn't want to comment. I need to work with Detective Reid."
"Ah, our catholic prude." Denzel laughed.
"Are you the father to Sarah's child?" Robbie bluntly asked.
"Oh God, I fucking hope not. Do you know what that would mean? I'd need to tell Ralph!"
"Ralph never learnt about you two then?"
"We called it off because we realised that hurting Ralph wasn't what we wanted."
Robbie straightened in his chair as he looked over at him. "See, Sarah told Ralph a completely different story. A story of her being in love with someone else so she was leaving him."
The young boy's face fell as he looked over at the detective, his hands tightening in fists. "No. We wasn't stupid enough to fall in love! We wouldn't do that! We're too young to feel love!"
Now sat in front of Robbie was the impression of a scared little boy who'd decided to cross into a world that he'd never completely understand and he knew it. Robbie shrugged his shoulders as he leant forward to look at Denzel.
"That's the problem with girls, Denzel, they fall in love really easily. One simple guy whispers in their ears that they're beautiful and wonderful and they're smitten." Robbie smiled. "How many times did you tell Sarah that she was beautiful, that you was happy to be spending them few moments with them?"
"Several times." The kid said with less confidence.
"That's what happens when children decide to play adult games. You leave mangled lies so that people get hurt."
"I didn't hurt Sarah!"
"She still ended up pregnant and dead!" Robbie barked.
"And it has nothing to do with me!"
"Well then you wont have any problem with us taking your DNA, will you?"
The guy panicked as he looked at him before shrugging his shoulder, "if you really want it."
***
"Does anyone think Denzel is the father of the child?" Burke asked as he moved to sit in his chair, his hands rubbing over his head as he nibbled his lip.
"He looked like the type to use protection. He does this kind of thing all the time. He's the ultimate player." Jackie commented sitting down on one of the seats, her hand rubbing her jaw as she sighed. "I don't think he'd make the mistake." She sighed. "I can't believe it's not Ralph's."
"What about Ewan?"
"Never met her. He actually looked as if he didn't know her when I mentioned her name." Robbie commented.
"Whereas when you talk to Denzel there was that recognition in his eyes that he knew her and he knew her well." Jackie chipped in on the end before turning to look at them.
"Anyone else think we're barking up the complete tree?"
"How do you mean, Stuart?" Burke asked looking over at the blonde guy that had just entered the office.
"Well I've been just looking at her bank deeds. She'd been receiving a steady balance of £10 000 every two months but then that eventually dried out and the same amount was being withdrawn."
"Who was making the payments?"
"Her father."
"When did the payments stop?"
"A few months ago."
"When she learnt she was pregnant."
"Daddy stopped her bank balance because there wasn't anyway she was going to be able to finish her education due to the simple idea that she'd need to be a mother."
"Yeah but money has been coming back into the bank account by this name."
Burke looked at it and sighed. It was one of their well known pimps.
"That doesn't look good."
***
Stuart sighed that night as he stepped into the nightclub. He'd been enchanted by the place since the first time he'd come into investigate. He didn't know why but it was just… cosy. He headed to the bar and ordered a drink, watching as everyone danced on the floor.
"Didn't think I'd see you in here, detective!" Stuart turned to look at the man stood behind the bar and smiled at Ewan McIntyre.
"Us detectives need to relax and leave the job some time too…"
"I understand. It's a tough job." Ewan smiled tapping the bar indicating for the man to pull up a seat. Stuart sat and smiled at him.
"You get used to it after a while." Stuart said shrugging as he put a straw in his glass - he had a thing about drinking out of glasses, you didn't know how dirty they were - before looking at him. "It's probably as stressful as owning a nightclub."
"You look like a tough guy who can handle it though." McIntyre drawled in a voice that Stuart didn't know if he trusted but found himself smiling anyway.
"I am a tough kind of guy who can handle it."
