Court Out

Chapter Twenty Seven





I run upstairs and quickly grab my belongings. Sebastian joins me at the bottom of the stairs and we hurry to his car, outside. We drive in silence for a few moments before I loudly exhale. The last hour seems like it could have been a really vivid dream.

“Did I imagine that?” I venture, turning to look at him. He laughs and strokes my arm with his hand.

“Yes Lauren. We’re fleeing from your best friend’s wedding simply because we felt like it.”

He smiles and I’m reassured that everything might turn out okay.

We make it home and I have a massive feeling of deja-vu. The phone is ringing off the hook and the press have just arrived outside again. Panic rises and I have an awful feeling that my name is far from being cleared. Sebastian has just unplugged the phone and I’m not sure what to do.

A knock on the door makes me jump. I can see a tall figure in dark clothes behind the frosted glass. Taking a deep breath I walk forwards and open it. DC Connelly looks tired. He walks in without being invited and makes his way into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” I ask, unable to keep the slight tremor from my voice. “I know you’ve arrested Rivers.”

He looks surprised, “Talk about news travelling fast! Yes, we picked him up this morning.”

“So?” I persist, determined to figure out exactly where I stand.

He lowers his voice, “Between you and me, he sang like a canary when we interviewed him. Dropped your friend in it too.”

I sit down. “Wow. What about Quinn?”

The officer shakes his head. “No chance. We’ve obviously got our suspicions, but we’ve got nothing firm to tie him in to this. River’s hasn’t said a word about him and won’t answer any question that could lead us to him.”

“So, what’s going to happen?” I wonder out loud.

“Well, we charged him this morning and your mate will be picked up soon.”

“You’ve charged him?” I exclaim, louder than I intended.

DC Connelly looks confused. “Is that a problem?”

“No! It’s just, does that mean that I’m in the clear?” I venture, knowing that the answer to my question will cause hysteria either way.

“God, sorry. I should have said.” He switches to a formal style of prose, “We are taking no further action in the investigation against you. You’re in the clear. However, we may need a further statement from you at some point and if there’s a trial, you’ll have to give evidence. But of course you know that.”

As I mentally run through what’s happened, a thought strikes.

“Hang on! What about Hobbs? He’s going to get away with this. There’s no way Rivers would have done this just to further his career!”

“Oh we know that,” smiles Connelly. “He’s due to be arrested too. I think we’ll manage to pin something on him. We’ve got Stephen Walker in custody too. Between the lot of them, something will stick.”

I shake my head in disbelief. I can see that Sebastian is stood behind the policeman, in the doorway. He clears his throat and Connelly jumps.

“Don’t you have something to say to Lauren?” Sebastian asks. His voice is firm and confident.

“Excuse me?” Connelly replies.

“Well let me see. You arrested her, kept her in a cell for an eternity, interviewed her and made her feel like shit.”

Connelly goes to say something but Sebastian raises a hand in protest.

“No. Wait. I understand that it’s your job to investigate crime. I don’t blame you for doing that. What I do blame you for is stopping the investigation after you’d interviewed Lauren. I’d put money on the fact that if she hadn’t have solved this for you, your lot never would have.”

“Sebastian, it’s fine-” I try, anxious to diffuse the situation.

“No Lauren, it’s not.”

He’s not shouting, but he sounds majorly angry.

“Can you honestly say that the police would have worked this out? I had visions of you being on trial for this as they thought they’d got their criminal.”

DC Connelly looks very uncomfortable now. “We were following our lines of enquiry. The evidence pointed to Lauren.”

“Yes and your evidence was wrong. I hope that following this disaster you learn not to take things at face value. I should let you know I’m minded to put in an official complaint about this. I’ll be guided by what Lauren wants, but please don’t think this is the end of this.”

DC Connelly shoots me a worried look and I can’t help but smile. Odds are I won’t pursue any official complaint, but there may be some strongly worded letters winging their way to my local constabulary.

As I let him out, I catch sight of the waiting paparazzi at the end of my drive. I pose, give them a smile and shut the door. All too late, I remember what I look like.

Sebastian has obviously plugged the phone back in as I hear the shrill sound as it rings. He answers it and I can hear him making some noises of assent. I wander through to see who he is talking to. As he sees me he holds the phone out in his hand.

“It’s for you,” he smiles, “You’ll want to take this one.”