Chapter 10

We talked for the rest of the day about my resigning and again the next morning. Suspensions whether justified or not acted as a black mark on your record. You were viewed as possibly corrupt, a tag that no copper could rise above. I made some phone calls to a few security firms and the positive response was sufficient to put my mind at rest about getting employment. However the salary was not as good as the H.M. Constabulary paid. Diane resolved the problem.

"I shall be selling the house, whenever the legal stuff is over, and Terry did have a life insurance policy. So we will have some capital to play with."

I pointed out that the life insurance may take some time to come through. "If I know Insurance company's they will hold out as long as possible, hoping that there could be some way of refusing to pay out."

"How could they do that?"

"If they suspected that you had something to do with Terry's death."

"But I was in hospital!"

"Yes. But you could have got someone else to do it for you." The expression Diane used to describe the Insurance Companies was not at all polite, I didn't know she knew such words.

The house was a different matter, as Diane's name was on the deeds as joint owner, so as soon as the police released the property to her she could sell.

The Inquest was relatively cut and dried. The verdict being Murder by person or person's unknown. It was down to Gascoigne now to do some real detective work. I typed my letter of resignation the following day. I would wait until the suspension was lifted then on my first day back give it to John. The decision was not for Gascoigne to make. His investigation of me motivated the action, but it was for his superior officer to discharge the suspension once he had examined the file. John told me that I was no longer a suspect yet it took another week before the letter arrived informing me that I should return to duties.

John was bitter when I handed him the envelope. He knew what it was without opening it.

"Andy, do you really have to do this?"

"Yes John. You know how it will be. I had hoped that I would make Chief Inspector or even Superintendent before I retired, but that isn't going to happen now. The suspension is on my record and no matter if it was justified or not, that will affect my career. I am going now whilst I have some years to offer a prospective employer." He grudgingly agreed with me.

"This will go to the top. I'll make sure of that."

"Good of you to say that, John, but you know it won't make any difference."

Although my heart wasn't in it, I continued working as if I hadn't resigned. The news went round the Nick very quickly, and my colleagues made the time to see me and commiserate first, then wish me well. Coming off a late shift Bob Parrathwaite invited me for a drink. We went into Jacqui 'R's. It was a weeknight so Jacky wasn't there. Bob was outspoken to say the least.

"Gascoigne a detective? He couldn't detect the smell of shit." He took a long pull of his Coors. "I can't understand what he was up to. Harry had already been down to the hospital and taken statements. That ITU was tied up as secure as Fort Knox. The hospital had copied the records for that evening for us. It was in the file! You know the nurses checked on all patients there every thirty minutes. They all said that you were there; for chrissake it was noted on the records, and you couldn't have got out and back in without a nurse actually coming to the door to open it for you. If you had opened an emergency door all hell would let loose. Alarms would have gone off all over the place. The Fire Brigade would be down there, we would have been down there with lights and music, and there would have been such a ruckus that everyone would have remembered that evening. Then he had all the stuff of Bowden's association with Radic. The file had a report by Criminal Intelligence about Radic and what they thought he was capable of. Yet he ignored all that and went after you. You hadn't pissed him off at some time, had you Andy?"

"Never met him before. Heard of him yes, but never met him." I told Bob. This was true. I could not think of one reason that Gascoigne would have a down on me. I had given it a lot of thought over the last weeks and couldn't come up with anything to explain his actions. Now I put it aside as one of life's unsolved mysteries. I didn't stay long. Diane had got into the habit of waiting up when I was on late shift, just so we could have a little time together as I wound down.

This half life didn't suit me. I was a copper but in a few weeks I would be an ex-copper. There was a melancholy as I went about my duties. I didn't want to leave, but common sense told me that I had to go. To catch up I had worked some of my rest days in the office making sure that the paperwork was up to date and that I wouldn't be leaving my successor any problems. That Wednesday I did take my rest day, as I had an interview with a security company. I got back to the flat just after eleven thirty in the morning. I was sitting with Diane telling her about the job they had offered me when the door bell rang. It was John and the A.C.C. (Assistant Chief Constable). I invited them in and introduced the A.C.C. to Diane. She asked them if they would like some coffee or tea.