Chapter 5

"God, this takes me back" Ted said opening the police record of DS Christopher Wright in his office while Steve and Kate sat on the other side of his desk. Although there were scanned versions of the documents that they got access to from their online personnel database quickly, it looked like the file was scanned when scanning was a new concept because it was badly done and some of it was intelligible due to some documents having used pencil rather than pen. It took a week for the physical original record to be found and sent to Ted. Holding it in his hands took him back to when he first joined the force. He wondered what his record would look like.

There were some rips and general wear and tear but overall it was a pretty good file so a promising start. When Ted opened it he found on the inside cover of the file an ID picture of a young man. He was thin of face with short strawberry blonde hair with a slight curl. He had high cheek bones and striking clear blue eyes.

"He's handsome" Kate observed but Ted and Steve didn't respond to it.

"Well looking through this, it looks like he was completely clean. No performance issues, no disciplinary procedures and a clean criminal record. He has glowing recommendations from the Northumbria constabulary and was well respected. Did you manage to find anything on the bank robbery?"

"Yes, having gone through public records and police files we think it is a Manchester and Salford Savings Bank. They closed doors as an independent bank in 1975" Steve said.

"Manchester? The articles said it was located in central Birmingham" Ted asked.

"Yes but going through details of the civilians and details on the robbers, there was the one that matched on our systems. This could be why Lottie hit a brick wall, she kept focus on Birmingham. It could be bad reporting by the papers, it could be something else. Either way, Manchester would make more sense given the location of his unit and their allocated area to police. If the Birmingham reference is correct then it is a bank that never existed which automatically raises flags. The fact though that every paper refers to Birmingham explicitly and even give the banks name as having the reference 'Birmingham' in it stands out" Kate explained.

"Like him wearing a constable uniform when he was a DS. Stands out as being completely wrong but blends in" Steve added.

"The bank closed in 1975?" Ted asked.

"Technically no, it merged with several other banks following the Trustee Savings Bank Act of 1975 to form TSB North West Central. The act came about after a number of things including the stock market crash of 1973 – 1974 and the secondary banking crisis of 1973–1975. That one meant that dramatic crashes in the property market triggered smaller independent banks going into bankruptcy" Steve continued.

"I remember that happening. Inflation through the roof and unemployment as well as homelessness climbed so quickly. Rationing electricity and rolling blackouts meant three-day weeks and a pay cut to reflect it. Some people were just going to the banks and handing over their house keys as there was nothing they could do to pay the mortgage" Ted reminisced bitterly.

"So people are desperate, not able to pay bills, losing jobs and having to watch their families suffer terribly. Crime went through the roof and so bank robberies became common place. Now you could argue then that perhaps the articles got details of one bank robbery and another mixed up which could be genuine. Lottie is right though, with so much bad press what Christopher did would have been national front page headline news but for some reason it isn't. It is making us ask more questions than getting answers" Kate explained.

"Is there any way to categorically confirm if the Manchester and Salford Savings Bank is the one we are looking for?" Ted asked.

"Through records? Yes but not ours. We would need to get in contact with TSB and determine if they have records of it at all and we can't do that without an official case. There is another way we might be able to though. In the photo Lottie found you can see above the bank doors a piece of stone work with a pattern that looks like thorns, at least that is what it appears like. If the building still exists then the stone work hopefully is still there and if that matches the address of the Manchester bank we will know. So this is the point where we decide if this goes any further" Steve replied.

It was a wet and windy October day so Lottie's ability to sit outside a pub with her black acoustic guitar was a no go. She had no problem sitting inside but she was in the middle of writing a song which would mean that she would need to play her guitar as she worked through it and she didn't want to annoy anyone that random Thursday afternoon. Having gotten used to her college routine by now and feeling more confident about exploring the city, she would find herself exploring the city alone and let her imagination run wild. Her creative ability was at a new high that day so her song was the key thing to her. She tried to remain outside as long as possible but she gave in and went inside. There weren't too many people in the pub but she deliberately chose a quiet corner and decided she would only strum on her guitar if absolutely necessary and as quiet as possible. For the next hour she worked on her song whilst consuming a soda and lime and a packet of crisps. She quickly took a trip to the bathroom and when she came out she froze. Sat in her seat and re-tuning her guitar was a random man. Her was wearing trainers, jeans, a polo necked jumper, jacket and a baseball cap covering a load of his shoulder length jet black hair. He looked like he didn't quite fit with the aesthetic of the season or the pub at all. A shabby chic she couldn't help but look at. She didn't recall seeing him in the pub the whole time she as there and with him touching her property she was getting angry.

"Excuse me, what the hell do you think you are doing?" she asked approaching the table.

"I'm doing you a favour" the man replied continuing to tune her guitar, not looking at her.

"What?! Give me my guitar!" she demanded holding out a hand.

"In a minute, I'm nearly done."

"Not in a minute! That's my property! I didn't give you permission to touch it so give it to me." He strummed on the strings and smiled.

"Better now." Finally he looked at her and handed over the guitar. "You were a bit out of tune so I fixed it for you." She looked confused and strummed the strings herself. Shit, he was right and she hadn't noticed.

"That's kind of you but next time, just ask. For all I knew you were going to run off with it."

That made him laugh. "Run off with that basic acoustic guitar? Please! There are more valuable instruments out there; it's not that great a guitar."

"It's valuable to me. Not everyone can afford the most expensive equipment" she spat back and put her guitar in her case. He could see that he had upset her and felt bad.

"Sorry" he tried to apologise but too late. Lottie packed up her stuff, ignored the man and walked out. At that moment her mobile rang. It was Steve.

"Hey, you free to talk?" he asked.

"Yep, what's up?"

"Can you come to the Winslow in an hour?" he asked. That surprised her.

"On a Thursday? You shifting your weekly drinks evening?"

"Just for today" he clarified.

"Sure, why exactly?"

"You'll see." With that Steve hung up and the rain started again. Lottie had two choices, go back in the pub until the rain stopped and have to put up with the obnoxious man or head to The Winslow now and get wet. Winslow it was.

Getting to The Winslow Lottie thought she was safe in the warm and in a pub where she felt she could relax. Alas no. As soon as she arrived, she got wolf-whistled by a random man whom she ignored. She never regarded herself as physically pretty in any form so didn't understand why people would think she was either. Thankfully, as a fan of music, she would drown them out via headphones and carry on not caring. Today however she couldn't exactly ignore it. She was happy to see Pete, the owner behind the bar and he smiled warmly at her.

"Hey Pete" she greeted him as she walked over and stood her light weight material guitar case on the floor beside her.

"Lottie! Good to see you. Isn't it Thursday? Not used to seeing you here."

"Steve summoned me. Can I have a hot chocolate? It's freezing outside."

"You got it." He turned away and walked down the length of the bar to the coffee machine leaving her alone. It was then out of the corner of her eye she saw a man who could have been old enough to be her father watching her.

"I can get you something stronger if you prefer" he offered. Clearly he was a bit drunk but was still stable enough to know what he was doing.

"No thank you. I'm perfectly fine as I am." The man walked down the length of the bar to stand next to her. She started to feel uncomfortable and wished for Pete to come back.

"What's your name?" the man asked leering at her.

"That's none of your business."

"Alright, there's no need to be such a bitch about it."

"Just as there is no need for you to be such a dick in a bar" she retaliated. He didn't like that.

"I'm only being friendly."

"There is a fine line between friendly and being a sexual predator, mate. Take the hint and back off. No means no" The man wasn't taking no for an answer. He moved a hand to her lower back and now she was getting scared. Thankfully at that moment a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the man's wrist at her lower back.

"She said no" Lottie heard Steve's voice behind her.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"The guy who knows what no means. Get the hell out." At that moment Pete reappeared with Lottie's hot chocolate and was instantly drown to the scene.

"What's going on?"

"Sorry Pete but you have a guy trying to hit on an under aged girl here in your pub. We all saw it." It was only then that Lottie looked round and realized Steve also had Ted and Kate with him.

"Underage? Yeah right! She wishes. She's not that pretty!" the drunk man laughed. Insulting Lottie in that moment wasn't a good idea.

"Get out" Pete said to the drunk man.

"You see him assaulting me?" the drunk man responded indicating to Steve's grip on his wrist.

"No, I see a police officer doing his job." At that moment Steve, Ted and Kate all produced their badges and showed them to the drunk man. His face fell.

"I think the law is on our side mate. Now get out" Steve hissed.

"Make me."

Lottie closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. Those were the wrong words to say. Steve took the man's wrist, twisted it and got the man's arm twisted around his back. The drunk man yelled out and tried to swing at Steve with his free arm but Ted stepped in and got hold of the man's other arm. Lottie stumbled back to give them room given the man was thrashing around to try and get out of their grip and tripped over her guitar case sending it toppling forward. Everything was happening in slow motion as the tossle to get the man out of the bar escalated and he stamped hard on her fallen guitar case. She couldn't afford a hard case so she had used a thin light weight material one. It didn't stand a chance. She heard the strings inside react to his foot and knew it was destroyed. She didn't pay attention to the rest of the scuffle to get the man out. She opened the case and her heart broke. It wasn't just slightly damaged like a crack had formed in the frame. The whole neck had snapped off, the strings were all over the place and the upper bout had been caved in. She felt numb. This was her only guitar which she got when she was eleven. It had been with her through a lot of things and now it was gone. She was devastated.

"Lottie, I'm so sorry" Kate said seeing the crumpled mess that once was her prized possession. Steve re-entered and saw the destruction left behind.

"Whoa, what happened here?" A voice came from behind the bar. Lottie knew that voice. She looked up and saw the guy from earlier that day, now without his baseball cap and her long hair tied back. He was working at The Winslow. The two caught each other's gaze and they both had a 'what the fuck' expression on their faces that Steve managed to catch before Lottie turned away.

"Not anyone's fault but mine. I knocked it over." Despite Lottie's words, Katie and Steve could hear the sadness in it. Lottie didn't pay attention to the voices around her. She zipped up the case and was guided over to a table by Steve. Pete came over with an extra large hot chocolate for her with whipped cream but now it wasn't as appealing as it was before.

"Is there any way it can be repaired?" Ted asked. He had no clue about guitars and what could be done.

"No. It's too far gone. I won't be able to replace it either. Too expensive and I've had it for six years. You can't put a price on memories you know?" she said disheartened.

"I'm really sorry Nushka" Steve said and she nodded.

"I know … So why did you summon me here?" she asked wanting anything to change the subject. Ted pulled out his phone and handed it to Lottie. On the screen was a picture he took of Christopher's picture. Lottie couldn't speak. It was him, the man who has haunted her dreams but he looked alive and strong and healthy. She expanded the picture and took in his features.

"He's really pretty" she commented with a smile.

"I know, right?" Kate added which relaxed Lottie but not the men at the table.

"So you found his file?" Lottie asked handing back the phone.

"More than that. We found some irregularities with the burglary, so much so that we are opening the case." Lottie's mouth fell open.

"You're going to find him?"

"We'll try our best but we can't guarantee anything. We are keeping this on the low as much as possible though as if another department hears about it and there are doubts that it is corruption, it will be taken off of us. So no coming to the office Lottie as you promised" Ted explained and she nodded.

"Can I ask you questions so I can keep updated at least?"

"Sorry, no. If there is any indication that a third party knows of what was going on it could mean the case is thrown out. From now on, Christopher is off the record." Steve explained.

"Got it."

Lottie went to the ladies to freshen up after the ordeal of losing her guitar. She had a little cry but made sure when she came out she didn't look puffy eyed or upset. To her surprise, when she headed back to the bar she found the man from earlier in the day waiting for her.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Just to say I'm sorry about your guitar. It was important to you, I can see that. It was a really nice one too."

"Despite being so basic?" she asked and he clearly felt guilty having said that.

"Look I'm trying to say I'm sorry."

"Forget trying to apologise as I don't accept it. Next time you want to do something, think about the people you might hurt in your wake. The world doesn't revolve around you mate. I don't like people touching my stuff!"

She brushed passed him and headed back to the table where she asked Steve if they could leave. When Lottie woke up the next day she hoped that it was going to be a better day than the one before. Little did she know this one was going to be far worse.

Steve couldn't help looking up from his desk when Kate rushed into the AC-12 office looking flustered late in the morning. Ted, across the room was alerted too.

"Kate? What's going on?" Steve asked a bit perplexed.

"Just took a call from downstairs. Lottie is here in the cells," Kate said looking confused as she said it.

"What?!" Steve asked in shock.

"Arrested for assault of a police officer and possession of drugs with possible intent to distribute."

"That's ridiculous!" Ted retorted.

"It gets worse. The assaulted officer who also arrested her was Dot."