Hohenbruck Army Base, Germany
Day 4
10:00 hrs, Thursday
Roper kept his eyes closed, hoping that Sas would not notice he was awake. The patter of Claire's little feet pattered past the sofa where he stretched out. He could smell eggs cooking in the kitchen and heard Sas talking to Andrew, perhaps. As soon as he heard Claire in the kitchen, he looked under the blanket at his watch. He did not have to be in the office today, which meant a whole day of dealing with Sas. To make the day even better, he knew that she was going to call him on the fact that he had not come home at all Thursday night and arrived home so late the night before that she had all ready been in bed. He could not keep this up much longer. He had no place to go. Home meant constant fighting with Sas and the overwhelming guilt of what he was putting his children through. The office, haunted by Jo's empty desk, proclaimed what he had almost had but let slip away.
He felt the vibrations of Claire's little feet as she tiptoed to the sofa. He felt her patting his nose with her little girl finger, trying to keep the smile off his face but failing.
"Daddy," she whispered in his ear, "wake up. It's breakfast time." She patted his cheek with her hand until he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up on him, hugging her tightly. Her sweet giggles were music to him. She wiggled like a worm, twisting around and planting kisses all over his cheek, rubbing her nose against his.
"Are you getting up, Phil?" Roper frowned at Sas's question. The pristine moment of happiness with his daughter dissipated. "I'm making breakfast. Andrew is setting the table now." Sas smiled down at him. She was in her serene, happy family mood today. He might be able to get through fifteen minutes before she started in on him. He hugged Claire tighter, making her squirm, wanting to get back to the moment before. "Why don't you go brush your teeth and wash your face. Breakfast should be done by then." Roper pulled back from her as she ran her fingers through his hair. She did not seem to notice, padding back into the kitchen, her silk robe swirling behind her.
"Daddy?" Claire looked up at him as if she were going to cry. Roper tried to erase the scowl on his face, smiling down at her, kissing the top of her head.
"Go help Andrew set the table." He patted her head to reassure her as he got up. Claire hesitated for a moment before dancing back to the kitchen. Roper gathered up the blanket and pillow he had slept with, stowing them in the closet on his way to the washroom.
Roper stared at the face that looked back at him from the mirror over the sink. He did not even recognize himself anymore. It was not just the dark circles under his eyes. The man staring back at him looked weary of life. He thought back to not more than two weeks ago when he had first realized that there might be more to life than guilt, more than constant pressure, something more than just getting through each time as best he could. That was the night that he realized that something as simple as a soft body against his could turn his world completely around. That was the night that he realized he could be something more than just a pawn in someone else's game. He had tasted just a hint of what life could be like. He could not go back to what it had been.
"Phil, breakfast is ready." Sas called. Roper brushed his teeth quickly and washed his face, heading out to the kitchen.
Andrew grinned at him as Claire went about straightening all the silver before taking a chair. She patted the chair next to her for Roper to sit. Roper tousled her hair, sitting down. Sas set plates of eggs, meat and toast on the table, taking the chair next to Andrew. She smiled at Roper. He filled Claire's plate first and then Andrew's. Sas handed hers to him, irritating him at her presumption. Not wanting to start with her in front of the children, he put some food on her plate, dropping it on the table in front of her. Eggs scattered on the table. Sas shot him a look. Roper ignored her while he served himself.
"What are you doing today, Daddy?" Claire asked around a mouthful of eggs.
"Don't talk while you eat." Sas reprimanded her.
"Working. What are you doing today?" Roper asked Claire.
"There's a fair in the market square today." Sas answered him, not giving Claire a chance. "I thought we'd pack a picnic lunch and walk around."
"You and the children?"
"I thought we could all go, make it a family outing." Sas answered, not looking up. Roper put down his fork, pushing back the irritation. "Kenny Burns would let you go if you asked him."
"Why are you doing this?" he asked as quietly as he could. Sas looked up, puzzled.
"Doing what?"
"Pretending that we're some happy family?" Andrew and Claire went quiet, watching. Sas slammed down her fork on her plate so hard that the porcelain chipped, the piece ticking across the floor.
"At least I'm trying." Her face twisted.
"Trying what?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know exactly what she thought was going to happen here.
"I'm trying to give my children a family and some stability, not like you who can't even tear himself away from his slag to come home to put his kids to bed." She shot back at him. Claire started sobbing. Roper put his arm around her to comfort her, hating himself. "You can't even be bothered to come home at all."
"Andrew, take your sister to your room." Sas stood up, pushing Andrew back into his chair.
"No. Let them stay. Let them see how much their father loves them. Why don't you tell them? Why don't you tell them where you were the other night." She yelled over the table at him.
"Saskia!" He finally raised his voice, not believing that even she would subject Andrew and Claire to this. She took a step back, the look on her face told him she knew she had gone too far. "Andrew, take Claire and go to your room." Andrew got up, taking Claire's hand. He led her slowly out of the kitchen. He waited until they were clear of the room before turning back to Sas. He kept his voice as even and low as he could manage. "I do not care what you say to me but don't you ever talk like that in front of my children ever again."
"Or you'll do what? Hit me again?" She simpered at him, beginning to clear the table. Roper restrained himself.
"You can only use that card so many times. I mean it. Don't ever talk like that in front of my children."
"They're my children, too. They're more mine than yours. At least I'm actually here for them everyday. Why do you even bother to come here? Did you at least take a shower before you walked through our door?" Roper shook his head.
"I was on base, chastising a group of drunk soldiers about driving around APCs." He did not know why he tried to defend himself. Sas snorted.
"Whatever. Is you that two's cover story?" She sniped.
"Jo isn't even here anymore. She's taken a posting in Basra." Roper wanted to get off the defensive. Sas actually smiled at him.
"Good. Maybe she'll get what she deserves there. I hear bullets and rockets are still flying about." Roper advanced on her. It took everything in him not to grab her. The depths that she would resort to left him cold. Sas's eyes got huge. She started backing up, bumping into the counter. "I mean, maybe she finally understands that your family is more important than a quick fling." Roper stopped right in front of her.
It was at that moment that he realized that he hated her. He hated her for what she had turned him into. He hated her for what she made his children endure. He hated her for the repulsive person that she had become. She was not worth one more moment of his life.
Roper turned, heading into the bedroom. He grabbed a pair of jean and shirt, dressing in the washroom. He hunted around for socks and sneakers before heading into the kids' room. Andrew had Claire curled up on his lap, the television playing her favourite programme. He kissed both their heads, tousling their hair.
"I love you both." Andrew nodded. He smoothed Claire's hair away from her tear stained face, tweaking her chin. Claire choked back a sob. Roper left before he started sobbing himself.
He slammed the car door closed, squealing the tires as he accelerated out of his parking spot. He flipped through the radio stations looking for music to suit his mood. He stopped when he heard an announcer talking about red caps. He almost crashed into a car in front of him as he listened to the news report.
"Eleven British army military police are confirmed dead in the attack. Seventeen soldiers are still listed as missing as the army continues to clear the wreckage of the destroyed vehicles. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Now for the weather…" Roper tuned out the announcer as he sped through the streets. He nearly drove right through the main gate, causing the guard to jump out of the way as the gate swung up. He screeched the car to a halt in front of the office, tearing into the office.
The desk staff stood transfixed in front of the television monitor blaring pictures of burning bodies and trucks. One young soldier standing next to him started crying, the only noise that broke the silence.
"What's going on out here?" Roper jumped at Burns voice. Burns looked around at everyone. "What is it?"
"Have you heard this?" Roper asked him, pointing to the monitor. Howard came striding in the door.
"What happened?" Burns asked him. Howard scowled.
"A convoy of trucks carrying RMPs out to a warehouse they were going to search got attacked yesterday." Howard growled.
"What about Sgt. McDonagh?" Someone asked the question that would not loose itself from Roper's throat. Howard shook his head.
"This is an ongoing, high profile case. I doubt McDonagh was working on it. She's probably still settling in. I've been trying to get hold of Captain Bylth all morning. Things are quite busy down there. I haven't been able to reach him yet." Howard stormed past them into the incident room.
"Bloody hell." Burns muttered. He looked up at Roper. "He's right, you know. She probably wasn't even there." He looked Roper up and down. Roper did not answer, watching the screen for any glimpse of Jo on the screen. Cold crept over him, remembering Sas's comment. "Phil?" Roper looked over at him.
"I…" Roper could not come up a word.
"Come on," Burns took Roper's arm, leading him away from the group. Roper followed him into his office. Burns went right for the bottle. He poured two glasses, handing one to Roper. Roper drank it all in one swallow, slumping down into the chair in front of the desk, rolling the glass between his hands. "She probably wasn't even there. Our Jo." Burns snorted. "Causing me grey hairs and she isn't even one of my people anymore." Roper looked up at him. "Phil, what are you doing here?"
"I was going to go over some financial records." Roper finally came up with.
"Why don't you spend the day with your family. The records can wait." Burns said gently. Roper scowled at him.
"With all due respect, my life outside the office is none of your concern." Roper did not want to hear Burns' fatherly lectures.
"Phil, all I am saying is that you've got a chance here."
"Thanks to you?" Roper shot at him. Burns had the decency to look guilty. "Did you get rid of Jo to make sure I took the wonderful chance to make my family look like the Swiss family Robinson?" Burns spun himself around, straightening his tie.
"Howard made the decision to offer McDonagh the posting. She accepted it. That is all there is to it. Her reasons don't mean that you shouldn't take this opportunity." Roper cocked his head, staring him down hard. He wanted to know what Burns had actually said to Jo. If he knew what her reasons were, then he must have said something to her. Her reasons would not matter if she took the posting simply because she wanted to be near the action. Now eleven red caps were dead and seventeen missing, and Jo was in the thick of it all.
"What my opportunities are is my business. I would appreciate it if you confined yourself to being my boss instead of my father." Roper turned on his heel, walking out.
He sat down at his desk, looking, without seeing, the piles of papers. He heard Burns' door slam shut.
The breeze as Roper got out of the car in front of the depot did nothing to sweep away the numb gripping him.
"Sgt. Foley?" he asked the desk clerk. She motioned back into the depot. "Mike, you coming?"
"Yeah, yeah." Mike grumbled, coming along.
"Can I help you two?" Roper came up short.
"Sgt. Foley, I'm Staff Sgt. Roper. This is Staff Sgt. Donnell. SIB. We need to talk to you about one of your boys, Corporal Shane." Sgt. Foley, a tall, neat soldier, frowned. Roper noticed that Foley's boots were shined to dress standard. Foley walked past them, stowing his clipboard neatly in the slot on the wall.
"Corporal Shane? What does SIB want with him? He's not in any trouble, is he?" Foley asked without turning around. Roper shot Mike a look over his shoulder to see if he was seeing what Roper was. Foley's fatigues were actually pressed. Roper could see the lines left by the iron. Mike frowned. Roper looked down at Foley's boots. Mike saw it, grinning, too. They followed Foley into a side office. "Have a seat." He motioned to the chairs as he sat down at the desk. The office was just as neat as his uniform. "Now, how can I help you?"
"Corporal Shane, how well do you know him?" Mike asked congenially. Foley straightened the blotter on the desk.
"Pretty well, I would say. He's been here a couple of years." He clasped his hands on the desk. "I really can't see how Shane could be in any trouble. He's as straight as they come. Can you tell me what this is all about?"
"He's a witness to a crime. We're just doing some background checks on him." Mike hedged.
"You said the corporal is a straight arrow?" Roper prompted Foley. The sergeant looked over at him. Roper could not read his expression.
"Right. Yes. He's a solid lad. Good worker." Roper watched Foley.
"He ever caused any problems?" Mike asked.
"No, none that I've ever heard about." Foley shook his head. His face never changed, friendly, eager. "What kind of problems? What are you looking for?"
"Any problems with friends, girls?" Mike pushed. Foley smiled, a gleaming flash of white teeth.
"Well, he's been in a dry spell for a while but no problems that I know of."
"Money problems?"
"Nope."
"Working problems? Has he been late, anything like that?"
"No. He's always the first one here and the last to leave. Wish I had a hundred like him; he gets more done than two of the others."
"Any changes in his behaviour recently?" Foley cocked his head, looking closely at Mike then at Roper.
"What is all this about?"
"As I said, the corporal was a witness."
"A witness to what?"
"I'm sorry. We can't discuss that." Roper cut him off just to see what he would do. Foley sat back in his chair, regarding both of them seriously.
"What was the question?" Foley asked smoothly.
"Any recent behaviour changes?"
"No, not that I know of but you should probably talk to the lads about that. They would probably know better than me."
"Do you know who he hangs about with?" Roper asked. Foley looked over.
"Corporal Lightner, Private Westlake." Roper rolled his eyes, suppressing the groan. Foley laughed out loud. "Met them all ready, have you? They're off duty so you should be able to find them at the barracks."
"Any gambling problems, anything like that?" Mike asked.
"No, nothing like that. A friendly card game every once in awhile but that's it."
"What are the corporal's duties?" Roper almost missed it. Foley's face hardened for just a minute then smoothed again.
"The usual, loading, unloading, packing, unpacking, things like that."
"He checks in boxes as they come in?"
"Yes, he checks manifests."
"Anything else?"
"He transports supplies."
"Off the base?"
"No, no, just here."
"He transports supplies coming in from the UK?" Roper broke in. Mike looked over at him. Foley frowned.
"Well, yes."
"But never off the base?" Roper looked straight at him as he asked. Foley never blinked.
"No. Why are you asking this?"
"Sgt. Foley, could Corporal Shane be involved in smuggling?" Foley reacted immediately.
"No. Shane's a good fellow, as good as they come. He would never be involved with something like that. For god's sake, he still calls his mum every Sunday."
"So what you're telling us is that this Shane is an absolute angel?" Mike asked cheerfully. Foley grinned.
"And don't you even think about stealing him away. He's my lad and I'm keeping him." Mike looked over at Roper. Roper nodded.
"Well, thank you very much for talking with us." Roper stood up.
"Anything I can do for SIB." Foley followed them out. "You do this for all witnesses?"
"Well, wouldn't want anything embarrassing to come out when we least expect it. Prosecutors really frown at us when that happens." Mike joked. Roper kept walking.
Foley saw them out to the car. He even waved as they pulled away.
"Can you believe that guy?" Mike asked once they were away. Roper was silent, thinking.
"Let's go talk to these friends of his. See if their stories match up." Roper finally said, turning the car back toward the barracks.
"You think he was lying?" Roper did not know exactly what to think today. Something was just wrong about Foley.
"Keep your head down this time." Mike joked. Roper smirked at him as they pulled up in front of the barracks. "And watch out for flying objects." The smirk faded. Somewhere far away, Jo was in trouble and he could not help her.
Roper got out of the car, striding into the building. Roper could hear the two of them down in the common room at the end of the hall. He checked through the door before stepping in this time.
"Staff." Westlake recognized Roper immediately.
"Private Westlake. Corporal Lightner." Roper nodded to Lightner.
"Are you going to arrest us?" Westlake asked nervously. Roper cocked his brow.
"Why would we be arresting you?"
"For hitting you on the head?" Roper saw Mike smother a laugh.
"No, that's not why we're here."
"Is this about the shooting at the club still?"
"We're investigating some inconsistencies in Corporal Shane's story." Lightner sat down on the sofa next to Westlake.
"What about? Is he in trouble or something?" Lightner asked.
"We're just doing some background to determine if he was just too pissed to give a correct statement."
"Well, we were all pretty pissed, Staff." Lightner confirmed. "Oh, sorry, have a seat." He apologized when Roper pointed to the other sofa. He and Mike sat across from the two.
"When we talked before, you said that Shane was having a bad time of it lately? What was that all about?"
"I don't know, Staff. It started before his car was stolen but that seemed to really break the camel's back, if you know what I mean?" Roper nodded. "He's been really nervous, you know? Jumpy. Like he'll jump all over you and then five minutes later, he's apologizing for it. He used to be a pretty mellow lad, now…" Lightner trailed off.
"What?" Roper prompted him.
"I don't know. Its almost like he's afraid of something." Lightner admitted haltingly.
"Afraid of what?" Lightner shook his head.
"I don't know. I asked him straight away but he wouldn't tell me."
"Did anything happen right before his car got stolen?" Lightner shook his head.
"A lot of the cars that have been stolen are from friends of Shane's, aren't they?" Lightner nodded. "Could Shane be involved in that?" Lightner shook his head vehemently.
"He's not that sort of lad." Lightner started picking at his nails, then looked up at them. "Shane's in trouble, isn't he?"
"I don't know." Roper lied, actually feeling bad about it. Lightner seemed a good bloke, genuine. "Do you remember anything at all happening right before his car got stolen?" Lightner shook his head without speaking. "Do you know if Shane gambled?"
"A friendly game with the lads now and then."
"Yeh? Was he any good?" Roper asked gently.
"Average, I guess. Won some. Lost some." Lightner shrugged. "They were friendly games, nothing too steep."
"Can you think of anything else that's been different about him since he changed?" Lightner seemed about to speak then stopped. "What is it?"
"Shane was the kind who always wanted to be a soldier, you know?" Roper nodded. "Used to be, he was always on time, laid into any one of us if we were late. Showed up all of us. Did more than the rest of us put together. You just couldn't stop him."
"And now?"
"He always late. He does the work that he's given and nothing more. No joking about, nothing. Does his work and then leaves. Its like he used to like his job. Now its like he hates it." Roper did not miss Mike's pointed look.
"All right. Anything else? Girl problems? Money problem? Things like that?"
"Honest, Staff. I would tell you if I knew. Shane's a good lad. Maybe he's just gotten into something over his head."
Roper stood, Mike following his lead.
"If you think of anything, you'll ring me?" Roper asked.
"Yeah." Lightner said miserably. Roper and Mike walked out. "Staff." Lightner had followed them outside. Roper turned to him. "This isn't about witnessing the shooting, is it?" Roper did not respond. "You can't tell me, can you?"
"No."
"Right. Right." Lightner nodded. "Could you just remember that he's a good lad?" Roper nodded. "Thanks." Lightner went back inside.
Roper got into the car.
"Do you think Foley wouldn't notice that Shane was showing up late?" Roper asked, not really needing an answer.
"Did you see his desk?" Mike asked back. "Do you think his mates would lie?" Roper shook his head. "That's what I thought. What have you gotten me into?"
"I didn't get you into this." Roper said innocently.
Shane had lost some of his bravado. Roper watched him fidget through the window of the interview room. He turned when Burns came in.
"Who's this?"
"Corporal James Shane. He was at the club Sunday night." Roper muttered. "I'm just waiting for Donnell to get back for us to talk to him."
"You all right?" Burns asked, looking through the glass. Roper eyed him.
"As can be expected." Burns turned suddenly, startling Roper.
"She'll be all right. She's too good to…"
"Ready?" Mike walked in. Burns shut his mouth.
"Yeah, let's get on with it." Roper muttered. He did not want to talk to Burns. He did not want to talk to Shane, either. What he wanted to do was catch the first flight to Basra, find Jo and bring her back, to him, to where she belonged. He followed Mike into the interview room instead.
Shane jumped when they came in, eyeing the both of them.
"What do you want now?" Shane tried to muster some anger. Roper stared him down. Shane fell into himself, back into his chair. Roper paced the length of the room while Mike took a seat at the table.
"We have some more questions for you, Corporal." Mike said congenially. Shane shifted in his seat.
"I all ready told you everything."
"And that's that you left the club before the shooting?" Mike maintained his easy-going demeanour. Roper kept quiet.
"Yeah." Shane muttered.
"Then maybe you can explain why we have you on CCTV tapes only minutes before the shooting took place?" Mike placed a picture printed from the tape of Shane at the bar. The time stamp stood out on the corner of the picture. Shane flicked a look at the picture.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Mike prodded gently.
"No. What do you want me to say? I was drunk." Mike nodded. Roper muttered to himself, making Shane glance at him.
"Drunk. "Pissed" was the word you used."
"Yeah."
"Well, you are an incredibly coordinated drunk, then." Mike placed another shot from the video of Shane carrying three glasses of beer. "I can barely carry my own glass, much less three." Shane chewed on his lip.
"I don't know what to tell you." Mike nodded at the non-substantial answer.
"So, it is possible that you were there right until before the shooting?"
"I guess so. I mean, you have the picture."
"And you didn't see anything?"
"No. I left before it happened." Mike leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands on the table and smiled at Shane.
"Not more than a second after the first shot fired, people were running from the club."
"And?" Shane did not see where Mike was going.
"Even if you are the most coordinated drunk in the world, you could not have been more than a block away when people started running from the club." Mike tipped his head. "But you didn't see anything?" Shane just stared at him. Mike calmly put the pictures into the folder in front of him. "Why don't we come back to that?"
"What happened four months ago?" Roper spoke up. Shane jumped, staring at him.
"Pardon?"
"Four months ago, what happened?" Roper paced while he talked, making Shane turn to keep him in view.
"I – I don't know." Mike placed copies of Shane's financials in front of him. "What's this?"
"What happened four months ago?" Roper repeated. Shane stared at the papers.
"I – I don't know what you mean," he stuttered. Roper leaned over and pointed to the four withdrawal notations.
"What were these for?"
"Uh, I don't…I don't remember."
"Two thousand quid and you don't remember?" Roper asked sarcastically. Shane shook his head. "Two thousand quid and you don't remember." Roper shook his head. "I don't believe you." Shane started visibly sweating.
"I gave it to my mum." Roper snorted. "I swear. She needed a new refrigerator." Roper snorted again.
"That's what? A couple hundred quid? What about the rest of it?"
"I don't know. I'm not her bookkeeper. What's this got to do with the club, anyway?"
"We'll get to that." Roper snapped.
"Can you explain how you didn't see anything at the club?" Mike interjected.
"No." Shane's response bordered a yelp. Roper started walking around the perimeter of the room, behind Shane.
"But you've been to the Blau Tur before?"
"Yeah, a couple of times."
"So, you're something of a regular there."
"No."
"But you've been there a couple of times." Mike kept on him. "How'd you find out about it?"
"Don't know." Shane mumbled. "Stumbled on it, I guess." Mike hummed to himself.
"Stumbled on an out of bounds club. That's going to look right lovely on your jacket."
"Look. I don't know what you want from me. Maybe if you told me what you wanted, I could tell you, yay?"
"What we'd really like to know is how you managed not to see anything when a murder took place right in front of you and why you left the scene." Roper barked.
"I told you, I left all ready!"
"And physics state that even if you did leave, you still would have been close enough to see something. Maybe someone running from the scene?" Roper prompted. "Do you know that?" Shane shook his head miserably.
"We'd also like to know how you managed to get back to base if you left your mates at the club to fend for themselves. Do you know that?"
"I told you, I walked."
"Well, the base gate doesn't say the same thing, Corporal." Roper lied. Shane looked panicked.
"But I did! I did. I don't know why they would say that?"
"Are you saying the guard is lying? Why would he do that?"
"I don't know."
"We'd also like to know what you spent that two thousand quid on. Do you know that?"
"I gave it to my mum. I told you." Roper slid down into the chair next to Mike.
"Easy enough to check. We'll just have your mum's financials pulled." Shane looked up.
"But I gave her cash." Roper nodded, smiling.
"And we'll send someone round to check out her kitchen." He hit a nerve. Shane started looking for an escape. "What did you really do with that money?"
"I gave it to my mum."
"Then why are you getting all nervous about us going and asking her about it?"
"I'm not."
"What did you really do with that money, Corporal? Its over two thousand quid. You even missed a car payment and your mates tell us that your car was the closest thing to your heart. A bit odd, I think, a lad like you mooning over a car instead of a girl." Mike commented to the side. Roper smirked. Shane remained silent. "Did you get yourself into something? Something you can't get out of?" Mike asked, gentling his tone, almost fatherly.
"My dad loved cars, before he died." Shane whispered.
"And you don't even have that now. Pity." Roper rather enjoyed playing the bad cop, especially in his present mood. "And what about all that insurance money?" He flicked a look at the paper on top of the folder. "Another ten thousand quid there. What's a soldier like you need twelve thousand quid for?"
"I still have that."
"Really? Why haven't you bought a new car if they're so important to you?"
"Well, you lot haven't caught the thief yet, have you?" Shane shot back, getting back some of his mouth. "What's the point of buying a new one just to get it nicked?" He crossed his arms over his chest, a self satisfied smile on his face.
"So where is it?"
"Where is what?"
"The money."
"What money?" Roper resisted the urge to box his ears.
"The insurance money."
"I've got it."
"Where? It isn't in the bank. We've checked." Shane frowned.
"Why are you looking at my bank account? Don't you need some kind of…" He searched for the word.
"Subpoena? Mike offered cheerfully. "Don't you worry It was all legal. So why don't you answer Staff Roper's question. Where is the money?"
"I gave it to my mum for safe keeping." Roper snorted, covering his laugh.
"Quite the mum's boy, there, aren't you?" Roper smirked.
"Don't talk about my mum." Shane threatened. The absurdity of the situation hit Roper.
"So when we check out the fridge, we can check this out, too." Mike commented.
"You leave my mum alone. She doesn't need to be harassed by you lot." Shane threatened again.
"Is there some particular reason you don't want us talking to your mum?"
"She just…she just doesn't need this and I don't see what this has to do with anything anyway. What you after?"
"Well, Corporal, you have to look at it from our perspective. We've got a potential witness leaving a murder scene without giving a statement, lying to us after the fact. His story doesn't add up with the evidence we've got. On top of that, he's just gone through twelve thousand quid and has no good explanation for it." Mike sat back. Shane just looked back and forth between them.
"Well?" Roper prompted him.
"What do you think I've done?" Shane asked.
"Well, what have you done?"
"Nothing. I haven't done anything. I don't even know how some murder and my bank records even…well, they aren't even connected and I haven't done anything wrong in either case." A rap sounded on the window. Roper glanced behind him, nodding.
"Interview suspended, 17:00. Staffs Donnell and Roper leaving the room." Mike clicked the recorder off, following Roper out. Burns waited for them.
"I thought you might have had him there for a moment."
"Definitely has a soft spot for his mum." Mike joked.
"Well his bloody sergeant has been raising holy hell out here."
"Sgt. Foley?" Roper asked. Burns shot him a look.
"He's rather agitated about having to lose 'one of his best lads'." Burns paced. "Have we got anything on this character?"
"Nothing solid, Boss, just some things that aren't adding up." Roper admitted.
"Did he give you anything at all?"
"Well, we can check that bit about giving his mum the money out. Maybe having a go at his mum will rattle him."
"And we think he's the one getting the drugs through the base?" Burns asked.
"He could be. Foley said that he transports around the base. We don't want to warn him off that. If he thinks this is just about a soldier getting shot, maybe he won't stop his other activities."
Burns rubbed his head, starting to pace again.
"Right. All right. Let him go. We'll keep an eye on him in the meantime. Check him out. Check all of it out. Bugger his mum if that's what it takes." Burns dismissed them.