“Cake and coffee this morning Jack” said Anne, “what is in the wind?”
“Well Timber Dick had a proposition for me”.
“I beg you pardon” she replied, “Jack whatever are you saying?”
The comment was not missed at the tables of the Yuppies causing heads to shake and spectacles to be removed and replaced,
“Sorry” replied Jack, “Old Woodcock in the old days when he was a footslogger they called him Timber Dick”.
She smiled as Mrs Delwright arrived with goodies, which she put down.
Clearing the two tables adjacent then whispering with the yuppies, she left shaking her head.
“Well Anne" he said, "Woodcock has asked me to look into some mysterious deaths of some police officers, he says it is authorised from the top.”
“I would be working at Chester with a top experienced detective.”
“They want me to report at the annual conference as to the result of my investigations.”
“How wonderful Jack” said Anne tapping him on the shoulder,
“I knew there was something when I saw the hat go on and you flip it back as you did in the old days Jack the Hat investigates once again”.
He looked at her, and said, “I beg your pardon what’s this Jack the hat?”
Then he smiled.
“You do it Jack go for it, you just jolly well do it”.
“I have started my book” he replied.
“Oh you can do that anytime, as you say no one will ever read it”.
He looked at her and she realised what she had said, before she fell through her seat or flew off, she spoke again.
“Go for it”.
“I will do it if you think I should, I will ring him later”.
The morning mission completed, they left and completed their morning constitutional walk.
“Hello, Miss Kelly, can I help”?
“Yes my name is Jack Richards could I please speak with HMI Woodcock, please”.
“Ah yes Mr Richards, Mr Woodcock said you might call, I will put you through”.
There was a pause, then
“Hello Jack, will you do it”?
“Yes Ok, but remember the conditions, I have an office local in Chester nick, an experienced officer to help”.
“Thanks Jack I will put everything into motion, from my Chief, to all the Chiefs at the Forces and with Miles at Cheshire. Can you start next Monday morning?”
“I will,” replied Jack.
The call ended.
He sat back in his chair, looked at the open book on the screen, pressed save then closed the folder. He spoke to himself or to the friendly robin, which was now a visitor into his office for tit bits, he neither knew nor cared to which.
“That’s it, with the book for now at least”.
He pondered, in future when passing any library and on seeing all those books being read free, he would think of how the poor authors felt. All their work and effort being read and used for nothing.
“Would the readers do anything for the authors for nothing?”
He doubted it but that was not a problem for him for the time being at least.
He sat back, rocked in the office chair, he thought as his eyes closed, it does seems a strange set of cases, till Monday 9am however, he would kiss the pack good bye.
PART SEVEN
ONCE A COPPER ALWAYS A COPPER
Having parked his car and about to enter the building signed for all to see “Police Station”, he recalled how he had made this journey through a police station front door on more occasions in the last forty years than he would care to recall.
On this occasion, it was different, much different, he was the new boy on the block, not only to the area but also to the Cheshire Police and most importantly he was no longer a Superintendent, worse, he now carried the title civilian.
Having entered the front door the site was a familiar one. Notices upon the walls referring to all manner of police and public items, waiting members of the public, the answering of telephones and radios, dirty cups here and there but there was no signs or smells of smoking no bellowing clouds of blue haze nor soiled ash trays as there would have been years ago.
He noted of all the notices displayed there was another difference, none inviting recruits to the police not even the voluntary special constabulary.
From reports in the media there was now no such thing, cuts yes, recruiting no. When he had joined the police some forty years ago, all forces were massively under strength. Providing one was of good character, and could read and write to basic standards you were in, to quote a phrase.
He was startled when a voice asked, “Good morning sir, can I help you?”
The sudden voice made realise him he must have been day dreaming.
“Ah yes, I am expected, Jack Richards is my name”.
The lady displaying a badge signed, Ethel, Counter Clerk, she wrote down his name in the register on the enquiry counter headed, visitors, then looked up and asked.
“With whom do you have an appointment Sir?” Was her next question.
“With Chief Superintendent Craig Denton-Smyth” he replied.
“Can I be of help sir?” came a loud raucous voice.
This caused Jack to look up, seeing a tall slim man wearing the uniform and stripes of a sergeant, now leaning over Ethel and checking what she had written.
He added, “The Chief Super is a busy man, what is the nature of your business Sir?”
“I am Sergeant Tom Striker, the station and custody sergeant, I deal with most things”.
“He is the watch commander like in the Hollywood Yankee film” interrupted Ethel
“Quiet Ethel, I am speaking” was the instant rhetorical from Striker.
“That is very helpful of you Sergeant but my appointment is directly with the Chief Super”.
This caused Striker to think, the phrase Chief Super, was police slang, this guy was too old to be a serving officer, also had a southern twang when he spoke.
Jack knew what was going through Striker’s mind; he wanted to quote the phrase to know the ins and outs of Meg’s ass and so thought he would toss a high ball into the conversation.
“The appointment was made for me by the Chief-Constable and the HMI”.
Striker then instantly looked up and thought, this was in fact a case when discretion might be the better part of valour.
“I will enquire if the boss will see you; you might as well take a seat it will take a while”.
“Thank you sergeant that is very generous of you”, replied Jack taking a seat.
Jack viewed his reactions, this sergeant certainly thought he was on safe ground, was obviously used to taking on more responsibility and authority that his rank entitled him to, to quote a phrase he appeared to call all the shots.
The sergeant didn’t appear to rush to do anything or pick up a telephone, rather his attention was drawn to what Jack thought was his immediate senior officer, an Inspector, a youngish girl thought Jack, they certainly promote them young these days.
With that he was taken aback when Sergeant Striker, spoke to her, “Hey Ling, did you make that bloody tea yet I am famished, better get it done and then if you are not busy you can clean the car”.
She replied, “Yes sergeant” and disappeared, as she did so she picked up the mug Ethel had been drinking out of and took it with her.
Jack stood up and walked to the front door, in all his forty years or thereabouts he had never heard a sergeant address an Inspector or any other senior officer in such a tone.
In fact, he recalled if a sergeant had spoken to a fellow sergeant in such a tone, it would have brought an instant response and an unfriendly one at that, and that was putting it mildly.
He stood by the door taking in the fresh air and thought, “my have things come to, in my time had this Striker spoken to me in that tone he wouldn’t have been a sergeant by the end of the day”.