Chapter 6

The Retribution

chapter 6

The following day; at 1 pm, Robert was sitting alone in his office studying the paper work with a glass of Brandy, when Carl walked in and shouted, "Sir!"

"Why don’t ya knock first?" snapped Robert.

"I needed to tell ya that if we can connect Mary Shaw’s murder to the Michael Ashen case, we might be able to interrogate the Ashens."

"Contact Ravens Fair’s department," Robert said as he sat up, interested.

Carl made his way back to his office to phone Ravens Fair’s department: known for having very little, being a small one floor building with only a few police officers. The department was designed for arresting people who were antisocial, and the officers were only trained for petty crimes and breaking up fights, so they had no murder department or anything that required skill.

.

After Carl had a talk with Ravens Fair’s head of police, he went straight back to Robert’s office and said to him, "They’ve connected the two together. They have files that indicate that there was trouble in Ravens Fair before her death. It’s on record that the public were abusive to her after Michael Ashen went missing."

"Do they have any proof that the Ashen family started up the big hate party?" Robert slurred in a drunken stupor.

"Sir, how much have you had today?"

"Just a little. A tiny drop."

Carl looked at him disbelieving and continued, "But they’re saying that there's no records of who fire everyone up. Everybody in Ravens Fair thought she was responsible for Michael Ashen."

"I’m gonna have words," Robert slurred, as he picked up the phone and began to press the numbers.

"No, sir, not in that state!"

"Get out, boy," Robert ordered him.

Carl did as he was told and left him to it and went back to his office, whilst Robert waited for an answer.

"Hello," he slurred his words out. "Robert Cowan. I believe you haven’t made any further developments?"

The man on the other end of the phone, the same man Carl had spoken to said, "I’m sorry, but it’s been shadowed because we’re still searching for Michael Ashen."

"Listen, Can’t ya just interrogate the Ashens? It’s so damn obvious!"

"Mr Cowan, we have an entire town of suspects. The Ashens are suspects, but everyone else in Ravens Fair is just as much. And we can't hound the Ashens, or bang a slander charge on any of em' as it stands, and nobody'll talk, so no witness statements for anything..."

"Listen to me. Your department probably still uses tin cans on string, so we don’t need you to give the orders! You get your a*s out there and you keep pressing the locals for information!" Robert snapped, before the police officer on the other end responded by quickly putting the phone down, whilst looking at the younger policeman stood in the room who had a look of guilt and despair.

"That was Cowan…,What is it?" the man asked worriedly, still shaking off the drunken call from Robert.

"There’s something I need to show you," said the youngster, leading him out of the room to a locker, and opening it, revealing a white blood stained shirt, before breaking down in tears with the other officer looking at him, stood silently.

The young man continued to sob and plead, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry!"

The fellow officer grabbed him roughly by both shoulders and hissed, "What the hell’s going on?"

"I killed her. I killed her," he sobbed.

"Keep ya voice down. Come on," the older man replied, whilst he lead him into a private room after slamming the locker door shut, and locking it back up.

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The two policemen sat at a table opposite one another in the isolated room. The eldest asked the younger, ginger haired one, "What did you do?"

"I killed her!"

"Were you alone?" he asked, taking a drag from his cigar.

The younger man in his late teens to early 20’s continued to sob and was becoming hysterical. "We grabbed her. We held her down," he cried.

"Who’s we?"

"No,I meant…"

"Do you admit to killing her?"

"Yes! I did it. Those were my finger marks. All of the injuries were what I did."

"The finger marks on her right arm were not identical, you stupid b*****d," he snapped furiously at the dizzy youngster who was stuck for words, but still replied with, "It was me!"

"You didn’t kill her alone,did ya!?" the older man shouted angrily, gnarling his teeth.

The youngster just sobbed harder and blurted out, "They talked me into it. They talked me into going with them that night. I was so angry. I just wanted Shaw to be punished!" he cried, breathing deeply and grating his teeth, "She killed him. She killed that little boy. Please say he’s still alive somewhere!"

"Who was with you?"

"No one. They were just…" he sniffled.

"Who?!"

"Are you gonna charge me?"

"What the hell d’you think?"