interest between colleagues and if you read it as something else then I question your impartiality and professional judgment’.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Well if you don’t realise you’re doing it, mate, then perhaps it does need to be pointed out to you’.
‘Doing what for God’s sake?’
‘Well you’re clearly sensitive about the whole race issue’.
‘Actually I’m not sensitive about it at all’.
‘Well you would say that, mate, wouldn’t you, but the evidence of what you say and how you react suggests to me something quite different’.
‘And you think you have a right to say such crap to me because?’
‘Oh am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Oh well I’m sorry but I thought this was Great Britain but where you come from the situation is probably different’.
‘I come from Rochdale’ said Ollie through gritted teeth.
Jonathan waved his hand in the air dismissively. ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’.
Ollie didn’t know how best to react to Freeman’s goading. Bastards like Freeman were very clever and they tended to make sure that their victim ended up looking like an immature and overly sensitive soul at best or the villain of the piece at worst. He sat there seething. Freeman had this evil look on his face, like he was about to join a firing squad and had to focus on ‘the kill’. Ollie stood up and went to get some air. He really didn’t need this.
When Tina got to work she was immediately confronted by the manager Paula Jones.
‘Do you really think I’m going to let you work here today, Tina?’ demanded Paula.
Tina looked at her guardedly. She knew exactly what Paula meant. She felt sick. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t play the bloody innocent with me! It was you, wasn’t it? It was you in the CCTV footage they showed on the evening news walking away with that man who ended up dead?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’.
‘Don’t talk crap! I want you to go home until this matter is settled and then we’ll review your future employment with this company’.
‘So much for supportive management’ said Tina. ‘And do you think I could’ve killed someone?’
Paula shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know what you’re capable of. I’ve only known you five minutes’.
‘You bitch’.
‘Er, excuse me, lady, you don’t get to call the shots when you could’ve brought this store into your obviously sordid private life’.
‘How fucking dare you speak to me like that!’
‘I dare because my own son is going out on his stag night this coming weekend’ said Paula. ‘It says in the papers that the killer might be targeting stag parties for their own twisted reasons and I have a duty to my son to protect him when it was clearly you who was walking away with Saturday’s victim. You can deny your involvement all you like but I’m only going to speak to you if there are other people present like there is now’.
Tina looked round and spotted several of her colleagues looking on with barely disguised embarrassment. ‘What kind of person do you think I am for God’s sake?’
‘One who can’t work here whilst you’ve got this hanging over your head’ said Paula, firmly.
‘That’s not fair’ said Tina who then started to cry. She’d seen the footage on the news. It had kept her awake all night. ‘I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t kill anyone’.
Just at that moment the door to the staff room opened and two figures walked in who made Tina gasp with panic when they introduced themselves.
‘I’m Detective superintendent Jeff Barton and this is my colleague Detective sergeant Rebecca Stockton’ said Jeff as both he and Rebecca held up their warrant cards.
‘And I’m Paula Jones, the store manager’ Paula announced with her usual affected smile. ‘I think you must be here to speak to my staff member Tina Webb here’.
Tina glared at Paula before turning her eyes to the detectives and asking meakly. ‘What do you want with
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Well if you don’t realise you’re doing it, mate, then perhaps it does need to be pointed out to you’.
‘Doing what for God’s sake?’
‘Well you’re clearly sensitive about the whole race issue’.
‘Actually I’m not sensitive about it at all’.
‘Well you would say that, mate, wouldn’t you, but the evidence of what you say and how you react suggests to me something quite different’.
‘And you think you have a right to say such crap to me because?’
‘Oh am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Oh well I’m sorry but I thought this was Great Britain but where you come from the situation is probably different’.
‘I come from Rochdale’ said Ollie through gritted teeth.
Jonathan waved his hand in the air dismissively. ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’.
Ollie didn’t know how best to react to Freeman’s goading. Bastards like Freeman were very clever and they tended to make sure that their victim ended up looking like an immature and overly sensitive soul at best or the villain of the piece at worst. He sat there seething. Freeman had this evil look on his face, like he was about to join a firing squad and had to focus on ‘the kill’. Ollie stood up and went to get some air. He really didn’t need this.
When Tina got to work she was immediately confronted by the manager Paula Jones.
‘Do you really think I’m going to let you work here today, Tina?’ demanded Paula.
Tina looked at her guardedly. She knew exactly what Paula meant. She felt sick. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t play the bloody innocent with me! It was you, wasn’t it? It was you in the CCTV footage they showed on the evening news walking away with that man who ended up dead?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’.
‘Don’t talk crap! I want you to go home until this matter is settled and then we’ll review your future employment with this company’.
‘So much for supportive management’ said Tina. ‘And do you think I could’ve killed someone?’
Paula shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know what you’re capable of. I’ve only known you five minutes’.
‘You bitch’.
‘Er, excuse me, lady, you don’t get to call the shots when you could’ve brought this store into your obviously sordid private life’.
‘How fucking dare you speak to me like that!’
‘I dare because my own son is going out on his stag night this coming weekend’ said Paula. ‘It says in the papers that the killer might be targeting stag parties for their own twisted reasons and I have a duty to my son to protect him when it was clearly you who was walking away with Saturday’s victim. You can deny your involvement all you like but I’m only going to speak to you if there are other people present like there is now’.
Tina looked round and spotted several of her colleagues looking on with barely disguised embarrassment. ‘What kind of person do you think I am for God’s sake?’
‘One who can’t work here whilst you’ve got this hanging over your head’ said Paula, firmly.
‘That’s not fair’ said Tina who then started to cry. She’d seen the footage on the news. It had kept her awake all night. ‘I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t kill anyone’.
Just at that moment the door to the staff room opened and two figures walked in who made Tina gasp with panic when they introduced themselves.
‘I’m Detective superintendent Jeff Barton and this is my colleague Detective sergeant Rebecca Stockton’ said Jeff as both he and Rebecca held up their warrant cards.
‘And I’m Paula Jones, the store manager’ Paula announced with her usual affected smile. ‘I think you must be here to speak to my staff member Tina Webb here’.
Tina glared at Paula before turning her eyes to the detectives and asking meakly. ‘What do you want with
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