My thanks to Sylvain for the beta work

Spectre

Part 21

Jackson had stood up to greet David Smith, the two men shaking hands and exchanging a few friendly words before the older man's attention had settled on him. Smith's eyes had narrowed, a frown forming on his face. Aaron wasn't sure what to make of the grave look he was giving him. For a second he thought it was because the practiced eye could see his guilt, but it was soon clear it was down to concern.

"Aaron. You look dreadful! Are you sure you're up to this? I could come back tomorrow, delay the police interview a day or two..."

"No. I'm fine, I don't want them thinking I'm avoiding talking to them, that I've got something to hide..."

"Only, he's not fine," Jackson interrupted. "Far from it..."

Aaron listened incredulously as his boyfriend went on to detail not only his injuries but also the recent complication, going on then to make way too much of the fact the doctor had refused to discharge him that morning because of his concerns.

"Maybe I should speak to the doctor? Get his advice?"

"No!" He was getting annoyed now, Smith had addressed that question to Jackson, like he wasn't there, ignoring him like he was a kid, one that didn't know what was good for him. Alright, so he'd let Jackson take charge earlier, but that was different, this was his decision and his alone to make. He wanted to get it over with, hopefully then he would have some idea of where he stood. As it was now, he felt completely in the dark about it all. He wanted answers too, even if they weren't what he wanted to hear. "I said I'm fine and I am."

"But are you thinking clearly? You have a temperature, you're on medication, both can cloud the mind..."

"I told you I'm fine!" He hadn't meant to snap, but despite what he'd said, he really was feeling rough, and that made him all the more irritable. He held Smith's searching gaze determinedly, relieved when the older man finally eased himself into the chair Jackson had just vacated. He could tell by his posture that Smith was now in business mode, his tone of voice echoing the fact.

"Alright, let's get started."

As Smith opened his briefcase, removing what he needed from it, Aaron forced his gaze to meet Jackson's. He'd been expecting an exasperated look in return, but all he'd seen in the brown eyes was concern and love. He took strength from that, and as Jackson sat on the bed beside him, he turned to look at his solicitor.

"So...did you do it? Did you stab Christopher Davies through the heart?"

"No!" He'd forgotten just how direct Smith could be with his questioning, how he threw you a curve ball when you least expected it. He'd caught him out that way before, and Jackson, Chris, too, when he'd been in the dock, he'd skilfully shown him for what he was. David Smith had the knack of getting to the truth, but would he be able to get it from him? "I ... I mean I don't know. I don't remember, I don't remember what happened."

"What does the doctor say about you not remembering?"

He could only shrug; he'd not spoken to the doctor about it. He looked over at his boyfriend; Jackson was going to have to fill Smith in on that bit. He was annoyed at himself for not having asked, it was important after all, and that omission on his part now gave credence to Smith's earlier concerns.

After Jackson had elaborated, Smith had said, "I'd like to speak to the doctor concerned, but I'll need your consent."

"You've got it." He couldn't see how it would help but then, what did he know?

"The night it happened, the night Davies died, I believe that wasn't your first contact with him since his release from prison, correct?"

"No." Aaron guessed Paddy had filled Smith in as best he could.

"Right, from the start, I want to know everything, don't leave anything out."

He'd started off by telling Smith about finding the holdall at the garage, Smith interrupting him mid-flow to ask if he'd told anyone about it at the time, if anyone had seen Chris that morning. He'd had to say no, that he'd purposefully kept it from everyone; he had to keep repeating that line as he worked his way through the sorry tale.

"So, although Jackson, Paddy and a Mr Marlon Dingle were all at that club with you that night, not one of them saw Davies? They didn't see this lad Davies was with either, Joel, the one you warned off?"

"No."

"Do they have CCTV there?"

"I don't know, probably." He hadn't noticed any, but most places did now, if so it might well have recorded Joel, that would help track him down.

"I'll check, but the police will no doubt have been in touch with them already."

Picking up where he left off, he told Smith how the police had called at the house the next day, that Davies had reported him for making threats against him.

"Did they mention this Joel?"

He'd had to think about that, but no, they hadn't. He'd moved then to how Joel had eventually phoned the garage asking for him, only remembering then that Cain had taken the call, his uncle would have no problem confirming that. He couldn't remember exactly how long it was after that that Joel had phoned again, turning up later that day. Smith wanted dates and times, telling him the police would insist on them, he though just couldn't remember, not exactly, but he was going to have to, somehow.

"Was anyone around at the time, could anyone have seen him?"

"I don't remember." He hadn't taken any notice of what was going on around him; he'd been desperately trying to make Joel see sense where Chris was concerned.

"What about his car? You're a mechanic, you have an interest in cars, what do you remember about it?''

He had to wrack his brains for what little information he had absorbed, it was a red Peugeot, at least he thought it was, it was definitely red, he'd not taken much notice of it, his mind had been focused on Joel, not on the make of car he was driving. He certainly hadn't taken any notice of the number plate, why would he? He knew he wasn't being of much help, his details of something that could be important little more than sketchy; how would the police see all this, the secrecy especially showed him in a bad light. He was losing concentration now, his mind wandering, Smith having to encourage him on. He was now telling him about the phone call he'd received from Chris, detailing the one-sided conversation, the threats Davies had made, Jackson hearing them for the first time. He couldn't look at his boyfriend as he repeated them; he didn't want to see the emotion he had to be feeling right then.

"Again, you didn't tell anyone?"

"No, I planned on telling Jackson in person, and Paddy when I got back. I was just trying to keep a lid on things, if I'd known what was going to happen... I didn't want Davies dead."

Smith was nodding, but he couldn't read his expression, he had the sudden urge to ask him what he thought, if he believed he'd killed Chris. The words stuck in his throat, he was suddenly scared of his answer, and Smith had moved on anyway.

"So, what do you remember of that night?"

"Joel knocking on the door, he'd taken a beating, he said he had nowhere else to go, so I told him he could stay. I made him something to eat. Rang Jackson, let him know Joel was staying at ours and why. Then I moved Joel's car off the road, I remember going to bed... the next thing, I was waking up here."

There was an agonizing silence while Smith finished making his notes, finally his gaze met his, and he knew he wasn't going to like what the older man was about to say.

"It's not looking good, but that could and hopefully will change. I've spoken to the police, they've shared some of what they know. It's damning if taken at face value. They told me they've found no evidence of anyone else being in the house at the time of Davies' death. And that the only fingerprints found on the knife used on Christopher Davies were yours."

TBC

My apologies for the delay in updating this and my other stories.