Chapter 5 – The Morning After

At seven o'clock in the morning, in the school assembly hall, hundreds of people were either groggily waking from broken sleeps, many stretching aching backs, necks or shoulders, or looking haggard from having had little or no sleep. Jenny and Pete were sitting on a bench at the side of the hall looking after an inconsolable Tiffany who was still sobbing in grief. There had been awkwardness in their group when Karen had returned to the hall upset about what was happening to Adam. Jenny and Pete wanted to be there for her but felt unable to leave Tiffany all alone and make her think they thought her a liar. Karen had tried to give her condolences and be understanding of her position but had had to make herself scarce when Tiffany had begun to shout 'It was your man who killed him! I saw him!' Consequently, Karen had ended up on a mat next to her ex-husband David who had very reluctantly had to accept accommodation in the hall following his fruitless search for a more private sleeping space. None of them had slept at all but they all felt more numb than tired.

'Oh David, what if they can't prove Adam is innocent and he ends up going to prison! That would be awful anywhere, but what on earth would the conditions be like here?!' Karen voiced her latest anxiety, feeling almost delirious with jetlag and sleep deprivation.

'Don't they have to prove he did it before they can charge him?' David reasoned.

'At home, yes, but is it the same here?'

'You said the Detective Inspector was Irish, didn't you? Surely he wouldn't stand for unfair convictions?'

'That's true, hopefully you're right'

'And anyway, we are acquainted with the best lawyer aren't we?

'I suppose so'

David put his arm around Karen as she buried her head in her knees yet again.

Jack had not slept much either and was on his way to the canteen to get a much-needed coffee to enable him to focus on the investigation that would begin in the next hour or so. He hoped he would have time to go over to the medical room to see how Florence was today before meeting with the Commissioner, J P and Ruby.

'Jack!' he heard a shout from behind him and was surprised to see Florence herself running to catch up with him.

'Good morning, Florence, how are you feeling today?' he gave her another hug.

'Much better, thank you' she assured him.

'That's good. And how is your dad?'

'Still recovering. At least he is in a comfortable bed and getting the rest he needs'

'Glad to hear it'

'Listen, I heard about the man who was murdered, everyone in the school is talking about it. I can't believe another poor girl has lost her fiance!'

'I know. I'm sorry you had to witness that scene last night. I can't imagine the horrific memories and feelings it must have brought back'

'Yes, it did, and I was awake most of the night thinking about it, but more about the bereaved young woman and the thing is, I know I am going to have to do whatever I can to help her'

'I agree it would be good for her to have someone to talk to who knows what she is going through. I believe she and her deceased fiance were over here by themselves and she doesn't know anyone except some people they met yesterday. The Commissioner and I will be interviewing her this morning to find out exactly what happened, and I will offer her the opportunity to talk to you'

'Sure, I will do that, but I need to do more. I have to help her get justice. I need to help you with the investigation'

Jack reached for Florence's arm. 'Are you sure that's a good idea? After all you've been through? You seemed traumatised last night!'

'It was just a shock to see that in a place I didn't expect to. But I am more together today, honestly. Please will you let me work with you one more time?' she looked at him pleadingly, and as sure of herself as she had been when she was her old self.

'OK I'll speak to the Commissioner' he yielded but decided to wait until he got the go-ahead from the top before officially letting her return to the team. 'Now, why don't you come to the canteen for coffee with me? Catherine will be serving breakfasts and I'm sure she will be delighted to see you'

'Sure, that would be good' They set off into the canteen together.

Adam opened his eyes slowly, yesterday's jetlag and shock and lack of sleep making him fuzzy-headed and at first making him hope against hope that he was just waking up from a very bad dream and that he would find himself at home in Manchester, in his hotel room with Karen, or at the very least on a mat in the school hall with all his friends. But no. He opened his eyes fully to take in the drab décor of the head teacher's office where he was being held, the large desk around which he had been interviewed the night before and the small window, out of which he could see it was still raining heavily with very powerful winds. So, he had to take in that he was really accused of murder and facing some frightening uncertainty in his life. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost half past seven so he suspected it would not be long before the detective and Commissioner from the night before (did he remember correctly that the detective was Irish, Southern he suspected, and was that good news or bad?) or another member of the police force came to get him for further questioning. Would he get food? He began to realise he was a little hungry although he would probably be unable to eat much.

As if reading his mind, a key was inserted into the lock and turned, and Adam was surprised to see Polly from the hotel entering with a breakfast tray.

'Oh my goodness, it's you!' she exclaimed, taking in Adam's equally puzzled expression.

'Yes, it's me' he answered in embarrassment.

'Well, it so happens I'm helping out here. So, here's some tea and toast. I believe the police will be up at around nine'

'Thank you' Adam replied, not in the mood to engage in any further conversation.

'Well…see you later…maybe' Polly left and re-locked the door.

The school canteen was already busy with people indulging in coffee or rationed breakfasts, many of them bleary-eyed. Catherine had warmly embraced Florence and was now taking a well-earned break from her temporary canteen job to properly catch up with her and Jack. David had just joined the queue at the counter to get coffees for Tiffany and their group, along with Pete who had volunteered to help him.

Two minutes later J P entered and walked up to Jack, Florence and Catherines' table.

'Good morning Sir, Serge. Good morning Catherine, what's for breakfast?' he started to walk back towards the queue getting puzzled looks, but suddenly stopped and turned around as it finally clicked that Florence was not meant to be there. A combination of sleep deprivation and having worked with Florence for so long and having been so accustomed to seeing her among his colleagues had prevented him from registering the situation.

'Gosh, I'm sorry Serge. How are you? It's good to see you. How come…'

'It's a long story' Florence began as she stood up and gav hug. While they were still embracing they were suddenly bowled over from Florence's other side as Ruby jumped on her back.

'Serge, you're back! How awesome!' she screamed and it became a noisy three-way hug.

Pete and David looked on at this scene and shook their heads. 'If that's how professional the police are here it's no wonder they get the wrong people for serious crimes!' commented Pete.

'Indeed so' agreed David.

Half an hour later the police said goodbye to Catherine and set off for the staff room for a briefing with the Commissioner. Jack turned to the others as they approached the room 'Could you wait out here for a minute please?' he asked them, entering the room to speak to the Commissioner alone.

'Good morning Inspector Mooney' said the Commissioner. 'Will the others be joining us shortly?'

'Yes, in fact they are just outside, but I wanted to quickly run something by you before we begin the investigation' Jack explained about Florence turning up and wanting to help with the investigation, stating his reservations.

'I see Inspector' the Commissioner began when Jack had finished. 'Well, I do understand your feelings on the subject, however we are very short of personnel in here as it is, and our resources are going to be even more stretched now that we are having to carry out a murder investigation as well as keep order in the shelter, so we really need all the help we can get. And I know that despite everything Detective Sergeant Cassell is a very strong young woman and very professional and good at her job so I am inclined to accept her offer of help since she is here'

'OK very well Commissioner. I will ask Sergeant Cassell and our other officers to come in now' Despite his anxieties about Florence's state of mind Jack was secretly pleased that she would be working with him on the case as he had missed her insights on police investigations.

The briefing quickly got underway and decisions were made. 'I think we need to make an announcement using the school tannoy, if we can get it working, to appeal for any witnesses that we might not have got a hold of last night' the Commissioner suggested. 'I will let you organise that, Inspector' Jack nodded. 'And we also need to round up as many army and other volunteers as possible to help us search the entire school for the murder weapon'

'I assume we will interview the fiancee and ask the suspect you have in custody some more questions' said Florence, 'but what else can we do while we are unable to get the body and the murder weapon and any other exhibits to Guadeloupe?'

'That's the main question we have been contemplating all night' advised Jack. 'We have no way of knowing how long it will be until it is safe to leave the school so we can only hope and pray that it will not be so long that vital forensic information will be compromised. I don't have a good feeling about this case'

'And how long can we hold this Adam Williams in custody in the Head's office?' enquired Ruby.

'Normally, as you know, we can only hold a suspect for twenty four hours without charging them' Jack stated, 'but in these circumstances it would surely not be wise to release a suspected murderer in a building people are locked in?'

'I would agree' said the Commissioner. 'In circumstances like this I would be happy to authorise holding the suspect for longer'

'And how are we supposed to do the usual background checks on Mr Williams and any other suspects that materialise when the internet and phone lines are down and we have no way of accessing the police database? J P poined out.

'Yes, it is going to be a very difficult investigation and we are unlikely to be able to conclude it until we are able to confirm some of the details' Jack agreed. 'In the meantime, we are going to have to identify reliable witnesses to confirm things like alibis for the time of the murder' The team nodded.

'So, I will speak to the army Commander to organise the search since he is an old friend' said the Commissioner.

'Great. I will make the appeal over the tannoy – where would I access it?' asked Jack.

'In the school office' said Florence. 'I'll show you'

'Fantastic. J P, Ruby, you will make yourselves available in the foyer outside the hall for an hour or so after the announcement to take details from any witnesses that come forward' Jack continued, 'then you will join in with the search while Florence and I speak to Tiffany Smith, the victim's fiancee, and Mr Williams. We will see what other leads, if any, we have after that'

And with that the team dispersed to begin their assigned tasks.