Closure Part 19
Authors note: I'm not a police officer so sometimes I may get things wrong. It fits in the story, I use it. Smack rat= drug abuser - It's common slang from where I live in Manchester and Liverpool.
Authors note 2: Talking of my proof reader, if you like this couple, check out her YT channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/spofmonster. In-between proof reading for me, she puts a lot of effort into them. Leave her some reviews if you feel like it. Ta ;) She has some great videos too.
Authors note 3: My characters swear. I've told them to pack the effing hell in, but they carry on regardless.
x-0-x
“I'm sorry. I love you”.
Yeah right. Screwing the note up and shoving it in my pocket, I left my past behind me and drove to Manchester with Ryan.
x-0-x
“Shit”
I looked across at Dan.
“Yup.” The rest of it I'd explained to Dan. Ry's mum Michelle had treated me like a daughter and mothered me completely, which was just what I'd needed. I'd nurtured the insane idea of joining the police. Talked over with her about how I wanted to help people like PC Martin had done for me, and after calling the friendly policewoman, had gone for it with the knowledge if there were any questions about that incident she would deal with it.
And amazingly it had taken six months and PC Martin had been true to her word and had informed the Human Resource department of her investigations when the incident had been brought up, but ironically confidentiality preventing me from knowing the full details. Still, I’d got in to Greater Manchester Police. Michelle had made me stay with her even when Ryan had gone off on his travels, letting me use my wages to save up for my own place and dragging me out to the Village for drinks too, helping me start living again instead of just existing. The guys had met her and loved her instantly, and I missed her terribly now she'd gone away with her man Keiran while he worked on a cruise ship. I could have done with her wise words and comforting shoulder to cry on.
Everything else he knew. I'd lucked out on my stationing and ended up with him and Claire and the rest of them which helped me with slowly coming out of my shell again. And then, bam, seeing her in the Village and it had brought it all out again.
I looked at him with tired eyes as we continued patrolling in the pissy Manchester weather, my throat sore from all the talking and the emotion of those awful last few weeks. “So now will you leave me the fuck alone about it Dan?” He kept his eyes on the road as we drove around for the remaining time of our shift, moving his hand across to pat mine in sympathy once or twice, new age man that he was.
Thankfully, the shift was a bust, we headed in for the final half an hour for a debrief and quick filling in of any paperwork before heading for home. Changing into my street clothes, I headed past Claire's office door as she finished her handover to the day crew, stopping when she told me to wait for her. Walking out after finishing her report, she slung an arm around my shoulders as we walked to the car park, nodding greetings to officers we knew on the way.
“Sooooooo, don't have a go at Dan, but he told me what had gone on tonight.” She paused, waiting for me to kick off at her, but I was too tired to bite and I knew Dan had only done the right thing. Claire was not only my friend but also my sergeant and superior officer, and I knew she was worried really. I nodded and gave her a tired smile. “That's all in the past Sian, but you need to deal with it and not let it affect your work OK?” We stopped by my car and I opened the door, ready to go as Claire left me with her parting words. “You need to sort things out Sian, maybe now is the time to ask her why she didn't stick up for you so you can move on. You've got us now, she can only hurt you if you let her. We're your family.” she gave me a sly smile, “and you're not getting out of dinner with me Ash and the kids either. They've missed you. You're their favourite toy.”
I laughed at her and agreed. A meal with Claire's family was always fun and her kids did indeed treat me like their favourite toy, climbing all over me and then normally falling asleep on me once they'd exhausted themselves. No wonder she loved me so much. With a wry 'goodnight' to each other (it was seven across in the morning after all) we headed in our separate ways.
Heading home by way of a McDonalds to pick up one of their breakfasts, I ate my food while switching my laptop on and letting my emails load up. Stuffing one half of a hash brown in my mouth, I checked the screen as it beeped at me to say I had new mail.
Sweet. Mail from Ry, Ben and Michelle, Ry's mum.
Raising my eyebrows at the size of the file Ryan had sent me and not wanting to be up too long I moved on to Michelle's email, opening it and laughing at the block capital typing yelling at me, demanding to know 'what the fuck was going on'. She'd had a garbled message off Ryan about “that bitch Webster” and did I want her to fly back? Oh and Keiran says hi, and congratulations on not being a puppy any more. I smiled at the email. Michelle had always been great and asking if I needed her to come back at the drop of a hat just showed how fantastic she was. Skipping through some photos of the cruise ship and her and Keiran in various exotic destinations I closed the email and opened Ben's. Laughing at his jokes and his descriptions of his day to day life in California. Reminding me that I’d promised to visit him again and that being as I got a proper wage I could afford to. Oh, and I’d better be there at his graduation in a years time.
Finishing my breakfast and throwing my plates and cutlery into the bin (ahhh the wonder of McDonald's disposable packaging), I headed to bed, thankfully being too tired to dream any dreams of Sophie or anything else.
I'd managed to have hours of dreamless sleep, well I couldn't recall any dreams and was feeling OK when I signed into work, sitting in my usual place in the briefing room, cup of coffee in hand and enjoying a laugh and joke with the boys. Twenty five minutes after that, Dan and I were were back out in our faithful Batmobile patrolling a similar area to the previous night.
x-0-x
The next week flew by.
We'd had the usual shifts, a mixture of busy, slow, chaotic and funny. Dinner with Claire, Ash and the kids had been a blessed soothing balm on me. The kids using me like a chew toy and then beating the crap out of me on their Kinect system while I pleaded I was used to my PS3 being the highlight of my evening.
I'd finally checked out Ryans email, laughing at the number of photos he'd sent me of his travels and the work he'd been doing with an aid agency which enabled him to do all his travelling. Various photos of Ryan covered in mud, muck and Christ knows what else as he was building a well I think. I'd laughed reading it and sent him a nice long email in return, with a small bollocking for grassing me up to his mum and worrying the poor woman who'd been more of a mother to me than my own mother.
Back in work after my days off and back in the Batmobile with Dan, I was on spotting duties for a known local smack rat we were hunting when his personal radio started ringing. Grumbling slightly he stopped out car and answered it. Not knowing who was on the phone, I pointed outside to let him know I was going for a quick scout around to give him his privacy, and to look for the smack rat who'd been making peoples lives a misery.
Hearing Dan calling me back over my radio, I trotted back empty handed to find him gunning the engine on our car, blues and twos already started. Strapping myself in to my seat, he took off, expertly winding his way through the traffic and telling me he'd had a call from a certain Katy Armstrong who thought she'd seen the burglar in the back alleyway again. Grimacing at having to go back, and silently cursing Dan for being the consummate professional in giving her his card and contact details, I found my professional armour, donned it and called our job into HQ as Dan got us there in a blink of the eye.
The same as last time, I was out of the car and off like a whippet before Dan had even brought the car to a screeching halt. Running down the alleyway behind the neat terraced houses, I caught a glimpse of an open gate as I ran past, smashed rear windows in my peripheral vision as I pushed my body to the end of the alley and followed it round a corner, FINALLY catching a glimpse of my prey.
Yelling at him to stop, I was almost pleased when he took off like a startled gazelle. Taking off running after him again, I managed to radio to Dan I was chasing the scrawny little shit, gasping out where I was as I sucked lungfuls of air into my lungs, trying desperately to keep up with him in my heavy work gear. Chasing him round one final corner back onto where I knew the road was I slowed to a halt as I found a large police car with an equally large Dan cuffing the guy who'd ran. With a quick check that this was the guy I'd chased and with a little detective work backtracking to the open gate, we realised we'd disturbed him in the act of robbing another house. Fucking champion. It wasn't the smack rat we'd been looking for earlier, but as evenings went, it sure perked up our shift.
We'd bundled him in the back of our car until the little shit started kicking the crap out of it, so a van had been called and the little shit duly dragged off to the nick to be booked in which meant one of us could take quick notes from the person who'd called it in whilst the other checked the burgled house. Dan offered me the burgled house but I decided to take the bull by the horns and talk to Katy. Which meant, yup, you guessed it, I had to go into her house and face up to my past a little more.
I wasn't going to let this or her or Sophie beat me, I was different now, I’d show her.
Walking up to the front door of the little terrace house, I waited for the door to open and a nervous and scared looking Katy to open the door and invite me in. The door opened and I didn't get a nervous and scared looking Katy. No ma'am. I got a nervous and scared looking Sophie opening the door.
Actually I think you could add surprised, delighted and terrified to that list of emotions too. I wasn't a copper for nothing now, I'd learned to read people a hell of a lot easier than two and a half years ago. If I wasn't so surprised at seeing her (although I probably shouldn't be), I'd probably have laughed at the sight of the emotions blatantly chasing each other other across that expressive face.
Putting my professional façade fully in place I gave a grim smile as she stuttered through a greeting and gestured me into the house.
“I need to take a few details from Miss Armstrong please”.
I followed the same hallway from my earlier visit towards the kitchen as I heard a startled Sophie trot after me, babbling about how it was a nice surprise to see me and Katy had mentioned I'd been one of the coppers who'd attended her previous call. I'd blanked her out, only concentrating on talking to Katy and taking down the details I needed and listening to my works radio through the earpiece I wore when Sophie grabbed my arm to stop me.
Wee bit of a mistake that.
“Sian, did you hear....”
I pulled my arm out of her grasp as if her touch was poison, which to be honest, it was. Putting enough space between us, I stood in the doorway to the kitchen, spotting Katy sitting at the kitchen table. Glancing back at Sophie, I gave her a grim smile. One of the nastier ones I’d perfected, you know the type, the ones that don't really reach your eyes.
“It's Constable Powers to you Miss Webster,” I was unable to resist one final dig, “it IS still Miss Webster isn't it?” Ignoring her strangled gasp and retreating footsteps and turning to Katy, I gestured at an empty chair, silently asking if I could sit. Katy stared at me before nodding at the chair, granting me permission to sit.
“Still a fucking idiot then Sian, or should I say Constable Powers?”
Ouch. Still I wasn't going to let that go lightly. Staring back, I growled.
“I've come to do my job Miss Armstrong, and you and I and Sophie know what happened in the past, so lets just leave it there OK?” She wasn't letting it go easily though.
“No, Sian, you DON'T know. You never bothered to wait around did you? You just....” I snapped.
“ENOUGH”
Katy snapped her mouth shut mid sentence.
Throwing my notebook on the table and digging a pen out of my pocket, I made it obvious what I was here for. “Right, I need some details off you and then I'll need to know if you'll make a statement and possibly appear in court alright?” And I left it at that, fifteen minutes later leaving with all the details I needed whether I wanted them or not.
Detail number one I didn't need: Katy house shared with Sophie.
Detail number one I did need: Katy was happy to give a full statement, do a line up and go to court.
Detail number two I certainly didn’t need: I was going to have to see more of Miss Webster. Whether I liked it or not.
I certainly didn't like it.
Fuck it.
x-0-x
Authors note 2: Talking of my proof reader, if you like this couple, check out her YT channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/spofmonster. In-between proof reading for me, she puts a lot of effort into them. Leave her some reviews if you feel like it. Ta ;) She has some great videos too.
Authors note 3: My characters swear. I've told them to pack the effing hell in, but they carry on regardless.
x-0-x
“I'm sorry. I love you”.
Yeah right. Screwing the note up and shoving it in my pocket, I left my past behind me and drove to Manchester with Ryan.
x-0-x
“Shit”
I looked across at Dan.
“Yup.” The rest of it I'd explained to Dan. Ry's mum Michelle had treated me like a daughter and mothered me completely, which was just what I'd needed. I'd nurtured the insane idea of joining the police. Talked over with her about how I wanted to help people like PC Martin had done for me, and after calling the friendly policewoman, had gone for it with the knowledge if there were any questions about that incident she would deal with it.
And amazingly it had taken six months and PC Martin had been true to her word and had informed the Human Resource department of her investigations when the incident had been brought up, but ironically confidentiality preventing me from knowing the full details. Still, I’d got in to Greater Manchester Police. Michelle had made me stay with her even when Ryan had gone off on his travels, letting me use my wages to save up for my own place and dragging me out to the Village for drinks too, helping me start living again instead of just existing. The guys had met her and loved her instantly, and I missed her terribly now she'd gone away with her man Keiran while he worked on a cruise ship. I could have done with her wise words and comforting shoulder to cry on.
Everything else he knew. I'd lucked out on my stationing and ended up with him and Claire and the rest of them which helped me with slowly coming out of my shell again. And then, bam, seeing her in the Village and it had brought it all out again.
I looked at him with tired eyes as we continued patrolling in the pissy Manchester weather, my throat sore from all the talking and the emotion of those awful last few weeks. “So now will you leave me the fuck alone about it Dan?” He kept his eyes on the road as we drove around for the remaining time of our shift, moving his hand across to pat mine in sympathy once or twice, new age man that he was.
Thankfully, the shift was a bust, we headed in for the final half an hour for a debrief and quick filling in of any paperwork before heading for home. Changing into my street clothes, I headed past Claire's office door as she finished her handover to the day crew, stopping when she told me to wait for her. Walking out after finishing her report, she slung an arm around my shoulders as we walked to the car park, nodding greetings to officers we knew on the way.
“Sooooooo, don't have a go at Dan, but he told me what had gone on tonight.” She paused, waiting for me to kick off at her, but I was too tired to bite and I knew Dan had only done the right thing. Claire was not only my friend but also my sergeant and superior officer, and I knew she was worried really. I nodded and gave her a tired smile. “That's all in the past Sian, but you need to deal with it and not let it affect your work OK?” We stopped by my car and I opened the door, ready to go as Claire left me with her parting words. “You need to sort things out Sian, maybe now is the time to ask her why she didn't stick up for you so you can move on. You've got us now, she can only hurt you if you let her. We're your family.” she gave me a sly smile, “and you're not getting out of dinner with me Ash and the kids either. They've missed you. You're their favourite toy.”
I laughed at her and agreed. A meal with Claire's family was always fun and her kids did indeed treat me like their favourite toy, climbing all over me and then normally falling asleep on me once they'd exhausted themselves. No wonder she loved me so much. With a wry 'goodnight' to each other (it was seven across in the morning after all) we headed in our separate ways.
Heading home by way of a McDonalds to pick up one of their breakfasts, I ate my food while switching my laptop on and letting my emails load up. Stuffing one half of a hash brown in my mouth, I checked the screen as it beeped at me to say I had new mail.
Sweet. Mail from Ry, Ben and Michelle, Ry's mum.
Raising my eyebrows at the size of the file Ryan had sent me and not wanting to be up too long I moved on to Michelle's email, opening it and laughing at the block capital typing yelling at me, demanding to know 'what the fuck was going on'. She'd had a garbled message off Ryan about “that bitch Webster” and did I want her to fly back? Oh and Keiran says hi, and congratulations on not being a puppy any more. I smiled at the email. Michelle had always been great and asking if I needed her to come back at the drop of a hat just showed how fantastic she was. Skipping through some photos of the cruise ship and her and Keiran in various exotic destinations I closed the email and opened Ben's. Laughing at his jokes and his descriptions of his day to day life in California. Reminding me that I’d promised to visit him again and that being as I got a proper wage I could afford to. Oh, and I’d better be there at his graduation in a years time.
Finishing my breakfast and throwing my plates and cutlery into the bin (ahhh the wonder of McDonald's disposable packaging), I headed to bed, thankfully being too tired to dream any dreams of Sophie or anything else.
I'd managed to have hours of dreamless sleep, well I couldn't recall any dreams and was feeling OK when I signed into work, sitting in my usual place in the briefing room, cup of coffee in hand and enjoying a laugh and joke with the boys. Twenty five minutes after that, Dan and I were were back out in our faithful Batmobile patrolling a similar area to the previous night.
x-0-x
The next week flew by.
We'd had the usual shifts, a mixture of busy, slow, chaotic and funny. Dinner with Claire, Ash and the kids had been a blessed soothing balm on me. The kids using me like a chew toy and then beating the crap out of me on their Kinect system while I pleaded I was used to my PS3 being the highlight of my evening.
I'd finally checked out Ryans email, laughing at the number of photos he'd sent me of his travels and the work he'd been doing with an aid agency which enabled him to do all his travelling. Various photos of Ryan covered in mud, muck and Christ knows what else as he was building a well I think. I'd laughed reading it and sent him a nice long email in return, with a small bollocking for grassing me up to his mum and worrying the poor woman who'd been more of a mother to me than my own mother.
Back in work after my days off and back in the Batmobile with Dan, I was on spotting duties for a known local smack rat we were hunting when his personal radio started ringing. Grumbling slightly he stopped out car and answered it. Not knowing who was on the phone, I pointed outside to let him know I was going for a quick scout around to give him his privacy, and to look for the smack rat who'd been making peoples lives a misery.
Hearing Dan calling me back over my radio, I trotted back empty handed to find him gunning the engine on our car, blues and twos already started. Strapping myself in to my seat, he took off, expertly winding his way through the traffic and telling me he'd had a call from a certain Katy Armstrong who thought she'd seen the burglar in the back alleyway again. Grimacing at having to go back, and silently cursing Dan for being the consummate professional in giving her his card and contact details, I found my professional armour, donned it and called our job into HQ as Dan got us there in a blink of the eye.
The same as last time, I was out of the car and off like a whippet before Dan had even brought the car to a screeching halt. Running down the alleyway behind the neat terraced houses, I caught a glimpse of an open gate as I ran past, smashed rear windows in my peripheral vision as I pushed my body to the end of the alley and followed it round a corner, FINALLY catching a glimpse of my prey.
Yelling at him to stop, I was almost pleased when he took off like a startled gazelle. Taking off running after him again, I managed to radio to Dan I was chasing the scrawny little shit, gasping out where I was as I sucked lungfuls of air into my lungs, trying desperately to keep up with him in my heavy work gear. Chasing him round one final corner back onto where I knew the road was I slowed to a halt as I found a large police car with an equally large Dan cuffing the guy who'd ran. With a quick check that this was the guy I'd chased and with a little detective work backtracking to the open gate, we realised we'd disturbed him in the act of robbing another house. Fucking champion. It wasn't the smack rat we'd been looking for earlier, but as evenings went, it sure perked up our shift.
We'd bundled him in the back of our car until the little shit started kicking the crap out of it, so a van had been called and the little shit duly dragged off to the nick to be booked in which meant one of us could take quick notes from the person who'd called it in whilst the other checked the burgled house. Dan offered me the burgled house but I decided to take the bull by the horns and talk to Katy. Which meant, yup, you guessed it, I had to go into her house and face up to my past a little more.
I wasn't going to let this or her or Sophie beat me, I was different now, I’d show her.
Walking up to the front door of the little terrace house, I waited for the door to open and a nervous and scared looking Katy to open the door and invite me in. The door opened and I didn't get a nervous and scared looking Katy. No ma'am. I got a nervous and scared looking Sophie opening the door.
Actually I think you could add surprised, delighted and terrified to that list of emotions too. I wasn't a copper for nothing now, I'd learned to read people a hell of a lot easier than two and a half years ago. If I wasn't so surprised at seeing her (although I probably shouldn't be), I'd probably have laughed at the sight of the emotions blatantly chasing each other other across that expressive face.
Putting my professional façade fully in place I gave a grim smile as she stuttered through a greeting and gestured me into the house.
“I need to take a few details from Miss Armstrong please”.
I followed the same hallway from my earlier visit towards the kitchen as I heard a startled Sophie trot after me, babbling about how it was a nice surprise to see me and Katy had mentioned I'd been one of the coppers who'd attended her previous call. I'd blanked her out, only concentrating on talking to Katy and taking down the details I needed and listening to my works radio through the earpiece I wore when Sophie grabbed my arm to stop me.
Wee bit of a mistake that.
“Sian, did you hear....”
I pulled my arm out of her grasp as if her touch was poison, which to be honest, it was. Putting enough space between us, I stood in the doorway to the kitchen, spotting Katy sitting at the kitchen table. Glancing back at Sophie, I gave her a grim smile. One of the nastier ones I’d perfected, you know the type, the ones that don't really reach your eyes.
“It's Constable Powers to you Miss Webster,” I was unable to resist one final dig, “it IS still Miss Webster isn't it?” Ignoring her strangled gasp and retreating footsteps and turning to Katy, I gestured at an empty chair, silently asking if I could sit. Katy stared at me before nodding at the chair, granting me permission to sit.
“Still a fucking idiot then Sian, or should I say Constable Powers?”
Ouch. Still I wasn't going to let that go lightly. Staring back, I growled.
“I've come to do my job Miss Armstrong, and you and I and Sophie know what happened in the past, so lets just leave it there OK?” She wasn't letting it go easily though.
“No, Sian, you DON'T know. You never bothered to wait around did you? You just....” I snapped.
“ENOUGH”
Katy snapped her mouth shut mid sentence.
Throwing my notebook on the table and digging a pen out of my pocket, I made it obvious what I was here for. “Right, I need some details off you and then I'll need to know if you'll make a statement and possibly appear in court alright?” And I left it at that, fifteen minutes later leaving with all the details I needed whether I wanted them or not.
Detail number one I didn't need: Katy house shared with Sophie.
Detail number one I did need: Katy was happy to give a full statement, do a line up and go to court.
Detail number two I certainly didn’t need: I was going to have to see more of Miss Webster. Whether I liked it or not.
I certainly didn't like it.
Fuck it.
x-0-x