Peter Robinson - When the Music's Over

‘You’re right about what Albert said. He’d known for a week or so that Mimsy was seeing the Paki, though I don’t think he knew the full story of what was going on. You’ve probably figured it out for yourselves that Albert isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier. It didn’t take me long to figure it out from his drunken ramblings that night. Sure, he was the one who fell asleep. Passed out would be a better word. And yes, he had a bit of help from me.’

‘Go on, Paul,’ said Annie. ‘You were jealous?’

‘Not just that. You can’t psychoanalyse my feelings that simply. It was far more complicated than mere jealousy.’

‘Tell us, then.’

‘You wouldn’t understand. The impurity. The defilement.’

‘Mimosa was hardly a paragon of virtue, Paul.’

‘I know that. But I... I mean, with the right person... She didn’t have to be a write-off. She wasn’t stupid, she just liked a good time. She was young. She would have grown out of it, all that silliness. I could have helped shape her, make something of her. I could have changed her.’

‘Proper My Fair Lady business again,’ said Gerry. ‘Teach her to talk properly and all that?’

Warner scowled at her. ‘You can talk like that if you want,’ he said. ‘Cheapen it. It’s just what I’d expect. I told you you couldn’t understand how complex my feelings are.’

‘Well, let’s not worry ourselves too much about your complex feelings, then,’ said Annie, ‘and you can just tell us what happened. The facts. Pretend we don’t care why.’

‘I’d had a few drinks, too, so maybe I was a bit drunk, I don’t know. You know how you get these ideas fixed in your mind and you can’t get rid of them. The idea of her with them just wouldn’t go away.’

‘Was this the first time you knew anything about what she was doing, her connection with the grooming gang?’

‘Yes. She never said anything to me.’

‘I don’t suppose she would,’ Annie said. But hadn’t you noticed any change in her over the past few months?’

‘She was a bit more sophisticated, but I put that down to... well...’

‘You? The Henry Higgins effect?’

Warner looked away. ‘I suppose so.’

‘Anything else?’

‘She was more moody. I didn’t really see a lot of her, so it’s hard to say.’

‘Was she avoiding you?’

‘I think so.’

‘So what did you do on Tuesday night?’

‘I slipped Albert a roofie, like you said. It was easy enough. He was out in no time.’

‘Why did you do that?’

‘So I could take the van without him knowing.’

‘Why did it matter whether he knew or not?’

‘I... I...’

‘Were you planning to do something to Mimosa at this time?’

‘No. No way. I just couldn’t get the image out of my head. Her with them. I thought I might get into it with the Pakis, break a few bones, but there was no way I was going to hurt Mimsy.’

‘Why didn’t you take your own van?’

‘Because it’s got my name splashed all over the fucking side. I know about CCTV on the roads and all that. They can even get your number plate.’

‘You didn’t want to be seen, didn’t want to be on record?’

‘Well, no.’

‘Why not? Unless you were planning to do something illegal.’

‘I told you. All I wanted to do was see if Mimsy was there, reason with her, but I thought I might get into a rumble with the Pakis. If I hurt one of them really bad, maybe the police would try to find me. Why make it easy? The Pakis could beat seven shades of shit out of me and that would be fine. I’d deserve it. But if I do it to them it’s not only GBH, it’s a fucking hate crime, too. Racism.’

‘But you are a racist, Paul.’

‘I’m entitled to my opinions. I’m not the only one.’

‘That’s a spurious argument. Never mind. So Albert Moffat had nothing to do with Mimsy’s murder at all? You didn’t take his car in order to implicate him?’

‘No. But I told you, it wasn’t murder. I didn’t mean to kill her.’

‘I forgot. It was an accident, right? Kicking her to death. How did you know Mimosa was going to get in a van with three Asian men that night?’

‘I didn’t. But Albert had said he’d seen her getting in a taxi next to the takeaway the week before, that she was hanging out with them. It had been preying on my mind all evening, that she was with them. I knew about the grooming business going on around the country. She hadn’t answered any of my phone messages. I wasn’t really thinking clearly but I just had to go down there and see for myself. I thought maybe she’d be there, at the flat.’

‘And then what?’

‘I’ve no idea. I didn’t have a plan.’

‘Maybe you’d beat up Sunny and carry Mimsy off?’

‘Something like that. But not Mimsy. I’d never... I never expected that. I would never... if she hadn’t. It was her own fault.’

‘Oh, spare us that, at least, Paul. What time was this when you set off for the Strip?’

‘I don’t know. Eleven. Half eleven. Something like that. I took the keys and drove the van down the Strip, parked on the other side down the road. Like I said, I was just going to watch for a while, you know, see if she came in or out. I suppose I must have been a bit pissed but I felt like I was sobering up fast. The takeaway was still open. There was only the cook bloke working there, but it wasn’t busy so he mostly sat reading the paper. I thought of just going to the flat and walking up, just like that, and confronting them, but I stayed put. Then, when I’d been there about twenty minutes, half an hour, the door opened and out they came. There was the owner of the takeaway and Mimsy, along with three other Pakis. Mimsy and the three men got in a dirty white van that had been parked just down the street, then the owner bloke waved goodbye and went into the takeaway and started chatting and laughing with the cook bloke. I gave them a few minutes, then I followed the van.’

‘Why did you do that?’ Annie asked.

‘For crying out loud! Mimsy was in that van with three Pakis. I wanted to know where they were going, what they were going to do. Maybe I could intervene at the other end, persuade her to come back, beat the shit out of them, get her away from them. I’d no idea what they were planning, but I mean she obviously needed help. She was going in a totally wrong direction here.’

‘So you were going to rescue her? Play the knight in shining armour?’

‘Something like that.’

‘What went wrong?’

‘I waited about ten minutes or so at the top of Bradham Lane. I knew they’d see me if I set off down there straight away, and there was really only one way to go at the end unless you’re heading for the high dales or the local villages, and that’s the main road into West Yorkshire. I figured they were probably from Bradford or somewhere like that where there’s a lot of Pakis, and that’s the road they’d take. I knew I could catch up with them and the other roads would be a bit busier, so they wouldn’t notice me.’

‘But something unexpected happened, didn’t it?’

‘I was driving down Bradham Lane and I saw her — Mimsy — staggering towards me. She had no clothes on and she was filthy, half covered in mud. I stopped to give her a lift and when she saw it was me, she stopped in her tracks. She was stoned on something, but she was hurt, too, I could tell. Them Pakis, they’d done stuff to her. I told her to come with me, I’d take care of her. She just stood there, so I grabbed her wrist. Then she started struggling, calling me names, saying she’d rather walk home or go back with them than with someone like me. I couldn’t believe it. There she was, all dirty and bloody and I was offering to help her, to get away from all that and take care of her, and she just said of all the people she had to bump into it had to be me.’