The Note Book (Part2)

The coffee machine in Broomfield Police Station produced no aroma
whatsoever, and on occasions, didn't produced any beverage either.
Even when a liquid did trickle into the white plastic cup it was
difficult to tell what it was supposed to be, but they drank it
anyway because it was all they had. After two cups of today's mystery
brew, Detective Sergeant Dave Oldroyd had finished reading through
the reports that had arrived on his desk from the night shift and
he'd been more than a little interested in the note left him by Angie
Bedford. Peter Docherty's name had appeared before him yet again,
once in the report of him leaving the hospital after a beating a few
days ago and now allegedly having his van stolen and it being found
by Angie on the Ossett Trading Estate. Today was already looking
promising. He looked across at his new recruit and smiled. She was
rummaging around inside her cavernous shoulder bag.

'Annie, stop raking about in that Gladstone bag before you fall into it. See
if there's been any report of a break in on the Ossett Industrial
Estate last night'

'What's a Gladstone bag serge?'

'Bit before your time....look it up after you've completed my little
task.'

Annie Waters lifted the leviathan onto the floor beside her, stuck her
tongue out at her boss and attacked her keyboard.

'Nothing so far serge, but its early doors yet. Would you like me to check
again in a couple of hours?'

'You wont be able to Annie, you'll be out and about, fighting crime with
me.'

'Crime in general, or anything in particular?'

'Get your coat and meet me down in the yard in ten minutes, I'll explain
it all to you as we drive.'

With that Oldroyd disappeared out into the corridor and headed in the
direction of his Inspector's office. As usual Detective Inspector
John Crowther was sitting behind his desk looking annoyed and
careworn. This was his default setting, he appeared annoyed and
careworn even when he wasn't. Dave Oldroyd poked his head around the
open door and aimed a weak smile in his boss's direction.

'Just to let you know that Annie and I are out fighting crime boss, looking
for Pete Docherty. I think he's been at it again.'

Crowther looked up from the file he was reading and looked annoyed, as usual.

'Is this one of the unsolved files I sent you?'

'It is boss and I think it may well be linked to a report I've received
this morning from Angie Bedford concerning an incident in Ossett last
night.'

John Crowther, still looking annoyed, shifted his gaze back to his file
and spoke to his desk.

'We need results sergeant and we need them quickly. Keep me informed.'

Realising that this was clearly the end of the conversation, Dave Oldroyd
returned to his office, put on his coat, picked up his hand held
radio and made his way down to the yard. Annie was dressed in a blue
wool coat and at just five feet four inches tall was barely visible
above the blue unmarked Ford Focus parked in the corner.

'Driver's side Annie; you know I can't talk and drive at the same time.'

Annie grinned and climbed in to the driver's seat. She had already
anticipated the situation by collecting the keys on her way down. It
hadn't taken her long to get the measure of her sergeant.

'Where to Serge?'

'Birstall Annie, Dacre Close, it's just off Leeds Road.'

'I know it, it was on my first beat when I joined up. Spent many a happy
hour trolling round there.'

'Then you may have come across Peter Docherty, well known local villain;
lives at number twenty seven.'

'Must have moved in after my time there, the name doesn't ring a bell.'

The unmarked Focus made its way along the Bradford Road with Annie
negotiating the endless sets of traffic lights and Oldroyd outlining
his suspicions about Docherty, the break in at the nightclub, the
hospital visit and now his allegedly stolen van. As Annie pulled into
Dacre Close, Oldroyd touched Annie's arm.

'Pull over just here and we'll keep an eye on the house for a few minutes,
see if there's any activity.'

Annie pulled in behind a parked van and switched off the ignition.

'I take it you know this Docherty character serge, will he recognise you
if he sees you?'

'He certainly will, I've nicked him twice in my time here. He's quite a
talent is our Peter, especially with locks. Must have trained with
Houdini because there doesn't seem to be anything he can't get into
or out of.'

'Who's Houdini?'

'Look him up when we get back.'

'I must be missing something here serge, because you seem to have made
some sort of link between the break in at the Tempo, Docherty needing
hospital treatment and his stolen van. What haven't you told me?'

'Jed Makepiece.'

'Who's Jed Makepiece?'

'Jedediah Makepiece is trouble Annie. He's a nasty piece of work and our local
Mr Big; has fingers in every pie in the area. The Tempo is
Makepiece's club and if he suspected that it was Docherty that had
broken in he would have sent his boys round, hence the hospital
visit. Then this morning I read a report from Angie Bedford. She
spotted Docherty's van tucked away on the Ossett Trading Estate at
one o'clock this morning. No sign of Docherty and no reports of any
break in on that estate, but I don't believe Docherty wasn't there.
He must have seen Angie waiting for him and buggered off sharpish.
Rang some mate or other to collect him and reported his van nicked.'

'So what we're doing is trying to prove that your suspicions are
correct.'

'Indeed we are Annie, I know I'm right, I can feel it in my water as my
grandad used to say.'

At that moment the front door of number twenty seven opened and a woman
in her late forties emerged pulling a tartan shopping trolley. She
set off down the street in Oldroyd's direction looking extremely
annoyed. As she drew level with the Focus, Oldroyd wound down his
window.

'Morning Meg, run out of tea bags?'

Megan Docherty stopped in her tracks and peered into the car.

'Sergeant bloody Oldroyd, what the hell are you doing here?'

'I'm here to see Peter, is he in?'

'No, he bloody well isn't. Haven't seen him for two days so when you find
him tell him not to bother coming home this time, I've had enough.'

'Any idea where we might find him Meg?'

'No I haven't, and even if I did you're the last person I would tell. Now
bugger off and leave us alone.' With that Megan snatched at the
tartan trolley and headed, with great purpose, for Morrisons.

'Quite a girl is our Megan, don't know how she's put up with Docherty for so
long.'

'She obviously still thinks the world of him,' said Annie, 'a girl can
sense these things. That means he can't really be all that bad a
bloke serge. Is he really such a villain?'

'Peter's one of the old school. Breaks in and steals items of value, but never
malicious. Never leaves a trail of destruction like some, in fact
most of the time you wouldn't know he'd even been there. That's his
MO I suppose, in and out like Houdini.'

Annie looked round at him and was just about to speak when Oldroyd lifted
his hand to stop her. 'I told you earlier, look him up when we get
back.'

 

###