Noelle Holten - Dead Wrong

Maggie could almost see her mother’s head shaking.

‘Yes, I was foolish. Giving him money behind your dad’s back. You wouldn’t believe the rows that caused when he eventually found out. Your father can’t stand the sight of him now.’

Maggie felt bad for her parents. She had always suspected their mother gave him more money than even she or their father knew about.

She shook her head and focused back on chopping the vegetables for dinner. It was about time things changed on that front. Her plan was a welcome distraction from the crap that her work life had brought with it.

Maggie was proud of Andy and how much he had turned his life around since their initial head to head a couple of months ago. He was paying off his debt, steering clear of gambling and attending Gamblers Anonymous. All of this in such a short period of time might win their parents over. Hope fluttered inside her.

She looked up and saw his gangly legs as he stomped his way down the stairs. He popped his head in the doorway, drying his hair with a towel.

‘Do I have time to make a cuppa before this lecture? Do you want one?’

She laughed. ‘Behave! It’s just a chat. And yes, I’d love a coffee.’ The wine was making her feel a little light-headed. She returned to the living room and sat down.

When he joined her, he held her coffee out, handle towards her, something he used to do as a kid to show how hard he was as the cup burned his hand. Rather than messing with him, she took the cup and thanked him.

‘OK, so …’ she took a deep breath, ‘I wanted to talk to you about Mum and Dad …’ She waited for the protestations and when none came, she went on. ‘Nothing definite at the moment but they may be coming down next month to stay—’

‘And you want me out? That’s OK, no need for any explanations. I’ll start looking in the morning.’ He pressed his lips together.

‘Fuck sake, Andy. Would you let me finish? I don’t want you out. In fact, I’m really glad that you’re here. Getting to know you after so much time apart has been nice, and the work you’ve done has probably saved me a small fortune, though maybe I shouldn’t point that out.’ She saw a smile form on his face.

‘Well, that’s good. I know I’ll eventually have to move out, but I think this is the perfect set-up for me at the minute. Your work ethic and, frankly, your bitchy attitude, and I mean that in the nicest possible way, is what’s driving me to do well for myself.’

‘Aww. Now don’t be getting soft on me. Look, I just wanted to give you enough notice and I guess I’m going to have to do the same with the folks. I don’t want to drop a bombshell on them, but they need to know. I just think that now is the time to burn down some of the barriers that have been up for far too long. I know it’s early days, but you’ve done incredibly well.’

‘Now who is getting soft …’

‘Oi! I can still kick your arse both verbally and physically if I really wanted to, never forget that.’ She raised her fist and shook it at him.

He held his hands up in surrender. ‘OK, copper. Calm down. So how are you going to approach this with Mum and Dad?’ He turned the mug in his hands and stared at the floor. ‘I’ve put them through a lot. And I’ll never be able to afford to pay them back, but maybe if my new venture works out, I can at least show willing and make a start.’

‘I think that would be a great idea, but like you said, small steps. You still have a long way to go before you can say you’ve kicked your habit, you know. Relapse usually happens when a person feels they have beat the problem.’

‘Trust me, I’m done with all that shit. I’m a whole new person. There’s no such thing as a little bet for me these days.’ He paused, caught Maggie’s eye and took a deep breath. ‘If it wasn’t for you giving me yet another chance, I’m not sure where I would be.’ His eyes glistened.

Maggie wasn’t one to handle emotion easily, especially since she rarely saw her brother cry. If her memory served her correctly the only other time she witnessed any emotion from her brother was when their grandfather died and that was twenty years ago. She immediately changed the subject. ‘Hey. Well will you look at us now. Two adults having an adult conversation. So, we’re good then? Now all I have to do is convince Mum and Dad …’

DI Abigail Rutherford looked around the open-plan office. ‘Anyone seen Maggie?’

The small team of officers that formed Staffordshire’s Major and Organised Crime Department looked at each other before DS Nathan Wright piped up. ‘I think she’s on lates today, ma’am.’

Abigail looked at her watch. ‘Damn. OK, thanks Nathan. When she gets in, can you tell her I need to see her? It’s urgent.’ The CCRC were investigating Raven’s appeal and needed to speak to Maggie.

She shook her head at the thought that Raven was now claiming that he was unlawfully arrested and imprisoned. The worst thing was he may have grounds for that appeal after all. She was under a lot of pressure both at work and at home. With her second divorce looming, her head was a mess. Her only saving grave was that she’d never had children with either of her husbands. She couldn’t think about that now. Instead, Raven’s situation and the predicament her team currently found themselves in had to take priority.

Abigail was torn between viewing Raven as a potentially dangerous offender and needing to keep an open mind that he could be acquitted and released.

She loaded up the details on her computer and began to trawl through the original statements taken by Maggie. She had no doubt that Maggie did everything by the book, and as the Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS as they are better known to those in the criminal justice services, believed there had been enough evidence to charge and convict Bill Raven, she had no cause to be concerned. At least she hoped she didn’t. But she also knew that if Maggie let her obsession with Raven continue, it could lead the whole department into a nightmare.

She was startled by a knock on her door and nearly jumped out of her seat. Seeing Nathan, she smiled.

‘Sorry, ma’am. Maggie texted to say she’s meeting up with some of her old colleagues from the DAHU – sorry, Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit – and then heading to the Crown Courts to speak with someone in the CPS.’

‘Did she say who? Or why?’ Abigail frowned.

‘Sorry, ma’am. She didn’t. Do you want me to get back to her and ask?’

‘No. That’s fine. I’ll speak to her.’

Although Maggie needed some time to readjust, Abigail wouldn’t tolerate having her instructions ignored. Their DCI was already on the warpath for reasons yet unknown to her and he’d come down on her like a ton of bricks if she didn’t keep her team in line. The Chopper case had almost destroyed Maggie the first time around, and Abigail wouldn’t let it happen again. Reaching for her phone, she dialled the only person at the CPS she knew to have any influence and hoped that Maggie got the message.

Maggie arrived at Markston train station with plenty of time before her planned meeting with PC Mark Fielding and Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood. As annoying as it could be to take public transport, it also helped clear her head.

Mark still worked with the domestic abuse team, but Maggie knew he was spending more and more of his time at the haven Lucy had set up for victims of domestic abuse after her own personal experiences the year before. Maggie loved the name – SAFE – it stood for Strength. Acceptance. Freedom and Empowerment. Maggie still shuddered at the thought of what Lucy had endured.