Fireflies (24 page)

Jonathan turned his face away.

‘You’re the bully here, Jonathan. Ollie is completely innocent. You know it and so do I. Now I’m asking you to do the right thing’.    

FIREFLIES TWENTY-ONE

Jeff wanted to confront Bernie Connelly on his own. He drove out to Connelly’s house in
Knutsford, Cheshire where Connelly greeted him from behind his large oak desk in his office.

‘Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton’ he said warmly and with an offer of his large hand. ‘As I live and breathe, which incidentally I’m still doing. Much to your chagrin I expect’.

‘It’s not death I’m interested in when it comes to you, Connelly’ said Jeff who had no intention of shaking Connelly’s hand. ‘It’s justice’.

‘And how are you going with that? Sorry your little raid the other day didn’t come up with anything. It did rather prove though that I’m operating a legitimate business operation here. Of course I could’ve sued for police harassment but I thought no, be generous. DS Barton is still a grieving widower. I don’t want to add to his troubles’.  

‘Don’t even think of mentioning my wife’s name’ said Jeff, his hackles rising.

‘Yes, it’s still painful, I get that’.

Jeff placed the palms of his hands on Connelly’s desk and leaned forward. ‘Let’s talk about your so-called legitimate business operation. Because that’s the biggest piece of fiction there is. We’ve rounded up your associates in the hotel trade including Brian Curzon. You used them all to further the biggest prostitution ring in the city’.

‘What can I say? It’s the oldest profession in the world. Somebody is always making money out of it somewhere. I wish I’d have thought about doing it. I admire whoever did’.

‘Fucking damn you Connelly! We’ve arrested nine men and women all of whom either owned or managed a hotel in various locations across Manchester. They all paid a percentage of their earnings to you. We know that but we didn’t get it from them, not even Curzon would tell us that little nugget. None of them would name you because they were too scared. We got it from other sources’.

‘A certain newspaper journalist?’

Jeff continued to stare at Connelly. ‘Sharon Bellfield is still in hospital and will remain there for some time after being beaten up by your thugs. They left her for dead but luckily someone saw her lying there in that alley and called for help. Someone who was a decent human being, Connelly. Someone who therefore you wouldn’t recognise’.

‘Oh such harsh words, detective’ said Connelly. He sat back in his high backed chair and dragged again on his cigar. ‘That Sharon Bellfield is quite a character. She could drink any man under the table, that’s for sure.
A very tenacious young lady and no mistake. I am sorry to hear of her misfortune though. So sad to see what happens to vulnerable young women on our streets late at night. And you think I had something to do with it?’

‘You were in business with the Curzon’s. Helen Curzon told it all to Sharon Bellfield. But you had your people watching. You don’t like the press sniffing round your business interests. That’s why you had Sharon Bellfield beaten to within an inch of her life. You wanted to scare her into not going into print with what she’d found out’.

‘An interesting theory. But the reality is that you can’t make it stick’.

‘Is that right?’

‘You know I’m right, detective, just like you’ve always known’.

‘I’ll get people back from the other side of the world if I have to, Connelly’.

‘Yes, yes, I know it was Anita Patel who blabbed to Miss Bellfield in the middle of a fit of conscience over her affair with the married Brian Curzon. Full marks to him for being able to pull a lovely young girl like Anita at his age, by the way. But do you really think she would come all the way back from India where she’s safe in the arms of her family to testify against me in a city where she knows she wouldn’t be safe anymore? Come on, detective, I think you may be losing the plot. Anyway, let’s change the subject. How’s Andy Kirkpatrick’s wife? Has she met someone else and moved on with her life?’

‘She is none of your damn business!’

‘I was only asking a question out of natural human concern’ said Connelly. He could see how much he was rattling Jeff and he was enjoying it. ‘You see, that’s another damning indictment of today’s society. People are always thinking you’ve got an ulterior motive for showing that you care for your fellow men and women. I find that sad. Don’t you find it sad, detective?’

Jeff had never wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill Connelly right at that moment. ‘One day I will get you for the murder of Andy Kirkpatrick, Connelly. You can bet your sordid little life on it’.

‘Really? This sounds more like a vendetta than a quest for justice, detective’.

‘Don’t try and twist it, Connelly’.

Bernie Connelly expanded his arms out. ‘Why do you think so badly of me?’

‘You’ve got the nerve to ask me that question?’

‘It’s a fair question as far as I’m concerned’.

‘And one of these days someone is going to ask you certain questions and you won’t be able to hide the answers anymore’ said Jeff. ‘One day, Connelly’.

‘Well I hope you’re a patient man because you’ll have a very long wait, detective’ said Connelly, grinning like the proverbial cat who’d got the cream. ‘Now if you don’t mind, illuminating as this conversation is I do have things to get on with so would you like to let yourself out?’

‘I concede defeat this time, Connelly. But even a cat only has nine lives and you’re chalking them up rapidly’.

‘A very amusing analogy’ said Connelly. ‘Have a nice day, detective’.    

‘Chief Superintendent Chambers is still off sick’ said Jeff who nevertheless had to produce a report on his most recent investigation for the elected crime commissioners examination of procedures within the force. Although with Chambers off sick it had removed the immediate urgency. ‘So I have the pleasure of telling you, Ollie, that Jonathan Freeman has dropped all charges against you’.

Ollie slumped in his chair and breathed out a massive sigh of relief. It took a moment or two to steady his breathing.

Jeff smiled. ‘I thought you’d be pleased’.

‘I’m just glad it’s all over, sir’.

‘You and me both, Ollie’ said Jeff. ‘You’re a bloody good police officer and I’m proud to have you on my team. I never believed for one moment that any of this was true, Ollie’.

‘Thank you, sir. I appreciate that’.

‘Jonathan Freeman has made a full retraction’ Jeff revealed. ‘And I will make sure that this does not have any bearing on your future career’.

‘None of us really knew Freeman, sir’.

‘I know, Ollie, I know’ said Jeff. ‘And I’m sorry I brought him into the squad’.

‘You weren’t to know’.

‘And Ollie, next time we all have a get together bring your partner. It would be good to meet him’.

Ollie smiled. ‘I will do, sir.
Gladly’.

‘If it takes my entire career I’ll get Connelly’ said Jeff who was sitting with Rebecca in the pub down the road from the station.  He was working his way through a pint of Guinness and Rebecca was on her second glass of white wine. ‘He sits there knowing that he virtually runs this city through all the fronts for his real activities. That’s something that simply cannot carry on’.

‘He’s bound to trip up sometime’ said Rebecca. ‘He slipped through your fingers this time but he won’t forever, Jeff’.

‘Well we’ll see’ said Jeff. ‘You know, when I went to see him he didn’t even mention the fact that his sister was in custody. He must’ve just washed his hands of her’.

‘They’re a pretty dysfunctional family’ said Rebecca. ‘But then look at the Curzon’s. They must be one of the most dysfunctional families of them all’.

‘Yes, and I don’t think we got even close to seeing the full characters of Sophie Cooper and Clarissa Dalton-Wood’ said Jeff as he looked into the dark Irish liquid in his glass. ‘They effectively took Andrea Kay over. They truly are an evil pair of manipulators’.

‘I can’t help feeling a bit sorry for Andrea Kay’ said Rebecca. ‘I know she killed all those people but talk about being screwed up. Losing her mother so tragically and then watching her father go off with a woman who clearly didn’t want Andrea around’.

‘Some would say she should’ve just got over it and got on with her life’.

‘And there’s a certain amount of truth in that but it clearly wasn’t that easy for her’ said Rebecca. ‘All the hurt and the pain twisted everything in her head’.

‘I’m glad she never found out about Melanie Cartwright’s baby’ said Jeff. ‘Or else she’d have been on her killing list’.

‘Brian Curzon will go down for that’.

‘Oh I’m sure he will’ said Jeff. ‘And good fucking riddance to the stupid, weak bastard’.

‘I hear the airline have given Melanie Cartwright a warning instead of sacking her?’

‘Yes, under the circumstances and all that’ said Jeff. ‘They decided to be lenient with her. Seamus says she’s off sick with stress at the moment though. Can’t say I’m surprised. She’ll have the court case coming up with Brian Curzon to go through as well as those involving Cooper and Dalton-Wood’.

‘How did you work out that it was Helen Curzon who helped Andrea Kay?’

‘It seemed to me that it was too obvious for it to be Brian Curzon’ said Jeff. ‘And because of his affair with Anita Patel he became the common enemy of both Andrea and her step-mother. His murder was then the ultimate aim of them both. That’s when I knew it had to be Helen Curzon’.

‘And then there’s poor old Tina Webb’ said Rebecca. ‘She was an innocent who got caught up in it all’.

‘I feel like we let her down’.

‘No we didn’t, Jeff’ said Rebecca. ‘All the evidence pointed to her being the killer of James Clifton. It was only as the case went on that we were able to say for certain that she wasn’t’.

‘I’m going to make so damn sure that Toby knows all about what bullying is and what its long term effects can be’ said Jeff. ‘Andrea Kay was bullied all the way through school until Cooper and Dalton-Wood came along and replaced that with a different and altogether more sinister kind of manipulation’.

‘And Jonathan Freeman used the tragic history of the Jewish people to bully Ollie Wright just because Ollie is black and gay. The bullied became the bully.
Strike at them before they get a chance to strike at you’.

‘That’s called paranoia’ said Jeff. ‘It’s pretty twisted too’.

‘You’re right there’.

‘How did you get him to withdraw the allegations against Ollie?’

‘I confronted him’ said Rebecca. ‘Told him some home truths’.

‘It worked’.

‘Yes it did’.

‘Thank you’.

‘You’re welcome’.

‘He wasn’t worthy of you, Becky’.

Rebecca ran a hand through her hair and finished off her glass of white wine. ‘That’s the trouble with my life at the moment, Jeff. I don’t know if I’m worthy enough for the one I want. I don’t know if I ever will be’.  

‘That sounds like you know who the one you want is?’

‘I do’ said Rebecca. ‘But I’m waiting for him to wake up to it’.                                                                                                                                                                                                   .      

THE END

But Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton will be back soon in ‘STORMS’.

STORMS PROLOGUE

Leroy tried to struggle against the restraints. He was sitting at one end of what felt like some kind of bench. There was a straight metal pole against his back and a thick metal collar round his neck that prevented him from lowering his head. Something was touching the back of his neck. He couldn’t figure out what it was but it also felt like metal of some kind. His arms had been pushed back and his wrists cuffed tightly to the metal pole although his hands had been forced too far apart to be able to touch and that was causing excruciating pain in his shoulders. His knees were bent and his ankles chained to something behind him. He’d been stripped naked and he was cold. He was really cold. Tape had been placed over his mouth and eyes.

Then the man’s voice filled him once more with fear.

‘You may as well save your strength’ said the man. ‘You’re really going to need it’.