Sheelagh finished what she was doing then lay her head back against the seat and starred up at the ceiling trying to collect her thoughts.
"Ready for the off then, Sarge?" asked Des parking himself in the driver's seat, closing the door with a noisy clunk and starting the engine up.
"Thanks Des, but my own car is just a short walk down the hill," she replied impatiently.
"You wanna get back to the nick before the scum don't ya? I can always run you back later once they're all tucked up, it's no trouble at all," Des retorted.
"I suppose so," Sheelagh sighed, she just wanted to get it all over and done with and get back home. "Shouldn't we wait for Reg?" she asked, noticing Des's partner in the rear view mirror standing next to Nick Klein looking surprised and quite forlorn as they started to drive away.
"He's quite a gent is our Reg and he insisted on giving up his seat to a lady. 'I don't care, Des' he told me 'as long as the lovely Sergeant Murphy arrives in comfort and style I don't care if I 'ave to walk the length and breadth of Canley High road to get back it'll be worth it' he said. He's a forty-two carat treasure that man," he added with a smile.
"What about the back seat?"
"He's a very tall lad, you can't expect 'im to squash into that 'ole. It'll just be the two of us so it looks like you've got the mean machine all to yourself…and the car too," he replied with a grin.
"Is this another one of you pathetic attempts to chat me up, PC Taviner? Might I remind you for yet another time that I am a happily – very happily – married woman and I doubt that even Brad Pitt himself could convince me to break the Seventh Commandment let alone you!" replied Sheelagh harshly. "Actually shouldn't your shift have finished hours ago?"
"Me and Reggiebabe decided to stay on for a bit of overtime, help out 'B' relief and get a bit extra beer money. Glad I did now, gave me a chance to ride in on me white 'orse and save the day. Why were you up there at this time anyway?"
"White horse! I didn't need rescuing thank you very much and I might've got a better result if you hadn't shown up earlier than I had specified and stormed in like the SAS!" she replied curtly.
"I don't know, I think there are certain things I share with a white 'orse…"
"Aarrrgh! Des can you stop doing this! Can we just talk about something, anything, else please? Tell me, tell me why you decided to join the Police?" Sheelagh pleaded.
"Bit of an old chestnut, isn't it?"
"Just…tell me."
"Ok, well growing up where I did it would've been so easy to fall into crime. It was rife, our estate was riddled with it, pouring out of every quarter and you were either with the gangs or against them. Im not sayin' I never 'ad my close shaves but I still stayed on the right side for the most of it. As I watched my family and friends become either victims of crime or seduced by it, easy money and all that, I really wanted to do something about it. I remember one day this girlfriend of mine at the time, Sarah I think it was, yeah Sarah Preston, dragged me to this psychic fair thing over at the Albert Dock. She was into all that stuff, never believed in it meself. Sarah took us into this mad old bint's tent, Madame Zaora. Reading my palm for a while she 'ad a vision, she told us that I would die in a police jail cell. A dirty, stinkin' cell. Made up my mind there and then to join up, be on the other side and ensure it never 'appens," explained Des.
"So it was more about self preservation than a sense of doing what was right?"
"It just made up me mind for us that's all, I'd been thinkin' about it for a while. Wish you would reconsider my offer you know, Sarge. Got a lot of good things going for us we scousers too. Honest 'ard working and we 'ave produced some of the best music in the known world."
"Really," said Sheelagh indignantly.
"Course, The Beatles, obviously, Merseybeat, Echo and the Bunnymen, even the very sexy Atomic Kitten. Not that the Irish haven't bashed out a few decent tunes over the years though, Thin Lizzy were good, U2. We can forgive you lot for The Nolans y'know."
"I happen to like The Nolans," replied Sheelagh coolly.
"Acquired taste I suppose. I don't mind admitting I'll bop to anything on the dance floor, like a good 'un, when I've 'ad a few inside me," Des replied.
"Does 'Top of the Pops' know you're wasting away in the Met, Des? You could be one of Pans People."
"Mmm, Big Babs, those were the days, don't distract me when im drivin' Sheelagh. Not that I can keep my mind on the job wi' you warming the seat next to me," said Des smoothly. He drove in through the large iron gates of Sun Hill Police Station quite fast and screeched to a halt in one of the spaces.
"That's Sergeant Murphy to you, Constable Taviner now thank you for the lift and enchanting conversation but I have prisoners to book in and I'm sure Reg Hollis is going to want a few words with you," noted Sheelagh sharply. She gathered her things together and grabbed at the door handle only to find it locked. "PC Taviner open this door now!"
"Not until you agree to come out with me. Come to dinner, just once, you can choose the place, anywhere and anythin' you want. Somethin' Irish, like Irish stew. In the name of the law," he laughed, climbing over his seat towards her.
"Des!"
"I'll let ya kiss me Blarney," he replied, drawing closer.
Sheelagh grabbed the gear stick quickly, forming a fist around it, and shoved it into his groin. Des's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and started to water as the pain hit him and made him retreat back into his seat. Then she yanked the door lock up, opened the door and stepped out.
"I'm a fair woman, Des and like the many I can only be pushed so far. I'm new here and I'm not one for rocking the boat which is why I'm not going to go straight to Inspector Gold and file a sexual harassment charge but I warn you if it persists much longer then I will not be so tolerant. It's about tolerance, what a person can take, how much they can take and for how long a time but it grates, Des, it wears away at you day after day until you can't face another. You can only push my tolerance and loyalty so far you know. Next time it won't be just a charge – I'll castrate ya, meself!" Sheelagh cried harshly. Des was hunched over the seat with his head on the steering wheel once again and not uttering a word. Sheelagh felt a little sorry for him but felt quite shaken up after it and especially by the preceding events, she would doubtless give him a small apology tomorrow morning but for now she lifted her bag onto her shoulder, straightened her coat and marched into the Custody Suite.
"Where've you been? Reg said this little lot's down to you," asked Matt Boyden the minute Sheelagh walked into Custody. The three prisoners had been herded in five minutes earlier and Reg had insisted they wait for her.
"Correct, so lets get the circus started," Sheelagh replied wearily.
"Not just yet. Reg and Des can do the booking in. Where is Des anyway?"
"No idea, I think he's ill."
"I'd better go and check on 'im, Sarge, er, Sarges. He might want another of my magic pills," said Reg.
"I'm not even going to ask. Go on, five minutes," Matt said to Reg. "Oh and Sheelagh CID want a word with you first, probably come up with some ingenious new system for taking all the credit," he indicated with his pen to the door. Sheelagh turned around to see Acting DI Samantha Nixon stride into the room wearing a grey trouser suit and pink shirt that amply covered her small frame. She pushed her short blonde hair back and flashed a grin.
"Sheelagh, good result, I understand you were responsible for catching these three in the act. Lucky you were there, why were you there in the first place? It's hardly one of Sun Hill's leading beauty spots," she asked smiling.
"Thanks Guv, I was in the right place at the right time I suppose. It just so happens I was following up another case in my spare time on a basic hunch more than anything else," explained Sheelagh.
"Well it's good work whatever led you there and I hope you found what you were looking for, I only wish some of my team were as dedicated. Did you recognise Frank Finlay when you first saw him?" Samantha continued.
"Frank Finlay? No I'm sorry, the name doesn't come to mind even now. Who is he? " asked Sheelagh, feeling for a minute like she was back in the Traffic office with Alastair Greig.
"Frank Finlay's a head boy of the old school of villains, record as long as your arm. The numbskull with the nose like a dripping tap's his son, Peter. We don't know who the buyer is as of yet, probably some jumped up twerp from the City, but judging by the amount he's blubbering we won't need the Spanish Inquisition. By midnight we'll probably get everything from his name to his mum's shoe size. Will you sit in on the interviews?" Samantha added with a spark of happiness and enthusiasm in her voice.
"Love to, Guv. Just give me a couple of moments to freshen up," smiled Sheelagh pointing to her dirty face, clothes and hair.
"Ok, interview room five as soon as," nodded Samantha walking back through the double doors. Sheelagh started brushing the dirt off her clothes and walked off in the direction of the toilets just as Matt was booking in the last of the three prisoners.
"You been mud wrestling again?" he joked as she walked past.
"Yes I'm sure you, Des Taviner and all the other males on the relief would love that wouldn't you. For your information tonight I've slipped over, tripped up, nearly been frozen half to death in a hole…" she shouted back.
" Easy, it was just a joke," Matt replied slowly. "So whatever happened to the case of the missing taxi cab then? Nick any little green men while you were playing about the old relics?" He produced the number-plate from behind the desk and propped it up on the top.
" I've just about had it with that thing. I think I've found out how the driver couldn't hear it driving off but as to what devil ran off with it I guess we'll never know. Perhaps I could go back to Dorrell Road in the morning and see if there's anything there but I'm fast losing hope with this one now. Just another stolen car lost in London, another addition to the statistics."
" So? That's what it always was, you complaining just because some toe-rag from Tottenham ran off with it instead of Marvin the Martian?" added Matt.
"I suppose I enjoyed the mystery of it all and now it's unravelled, or at least it's beginning to, it seems less interesting now. Don't get me wrong I'll continue to follow it up until I'm faced with dead ends and who knows what I might turns up, just look at today. I've still got Dorell Road to check out but tomorrows another day," Sheelagh said wearily.
"Yeah, never know you might stumble on a paedophile ring on their holidays next time," Matt smirked but Sheelagh was already out of earshot.