moved an inch and had done his part to perfection.
I quickly counted just over £ 2300 and I was well pleased. I met Jamie the next day and gave him £ 500 and I also bought him a second-hand motor for a couple of hundred so he was more than happy. But then a week before Christmas there was a knock on the door. I opened it to be greeted by the smiling face of my old friend DS Davidson and a face I did not know, his sidekick DC Phil Busby, who I would get to know very well in the coming years.
‘Hello, Jim, long time no see. Can we come in? I need to talk to you about a safe.’
‘Aye, in you come. I’m just here with my boy James. Christine is out cutting a pal’s hair,’ I replied. My heart had almost missed a beat but I managed to retain my composure. Davidson took a seat on the couch while Busby remained standing in the centre of the room. ‘Now what’s this about a safe?’ was my opening gambit.
Davidson ignored my question and said, ‘Nice place you’ve got here, Jim. I like your Christmas tree and all the presents underneath look very festive.’
This time my heart did miss a beat because lying amongthe presents was the cash from the safe, neatly wrapped up inside a shoebox and looking like just another gift. But I knew he was just having a shot in the dark because nobody, not even Christine, knew that. ‘Right, Jim, we have received information that you were involved in a burglary at a commercial premises.’
‘Fair enough, Mr Davidson, but you know the rules with me. If you are here to arrest me then I have nothing to say to you.’
‘No, Jim, we are not here to arrest you but we would like you to come down to the station with us to answer a few questions. If you do refuse then we will arrest you, OK?’
‘Aye, nae bother, but you will have to wait until Christine gets back. I can’t leave James here alone.’
‘Well, we can’t wait that long, but do you mind if we have a look around?’
‘Got a warrant?’
‘Now look, wee man, you know I can leave Phil here while I go and get one and then I would come back here pissed off and go right through the place and if I wanted to be a right bastard I could even open up all your nice presents. Now we don’t want that, do we?’
No, we fucking do not want that, I thought to myself but said, ‘Of course you can have a look, I was winding you up. I’ll stick the kettle on and make a cuppa.’
Mr Davidson said, ‘I go off duty at 11 o’clock tonight so if you give me your word you won’t disappear and come over to the station tomorrow afternoon, we will leave it at that, OK?’
I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘You have my word,’ and I meant it.
After they left I sat and thought things through. It wasobvious that they certainly knew something but the question was just how much? Now it was vital that I got a hold of Jamie to mark his card and to see if he knew anything, but unknown to me he had already been arrested. I did not believe that he would have said anything, but maybe he had said something when in company.
I waited for Christine to arrive home then put her fully in the picture. She was totally trustworthy. The other thing I did that evening and which was a priority was to move the money to a safer place. I did not believe in tempting fate and this was our Christmas money so there was no way I was going to lose it.
The next day I went to the police station and was interviewed by Davidson and Busby. I simply stated that I did not know anything and could be of no help. They played their ace card and told me that Jamie had been arrested and that they knew the two of us were involved. I refused to answer any more of their questions and requested that my lawyer be informed. I was cautioned, charged and held overnight to appear alongside Jamie in court the next day, when we were both granted bail until a trial date was set.
It transpired that the cops had told Jamie that they knew it was down to him and that I was the one
I quickly counted just over £ 2300 and I was well pleased. I met Jamie the next day and gave him £ 500 and I also bought him a second-hand motor for a couple of hundred so he was more than happy. But then a week before Christmas there was a knock on the door. I opened it to be greeted by the smiling face of my old friend DS Davidson and a face I did not know, his sidekick DC Phil Busby, who I would get to know very well in the coming years.
‘Hello, Jim, long time no see. Can we come in? I need to talk to you about a safe.’
‘Aye, in you come. I’m just here with my boy James. Christine is out cutting a pal’s hair,’ I replied. My heart had almost missed a beat but I managed to retain my composure. Davidson took a seat on the couch while Busby remained standing in the centre of the room. ‘Now what’s this about a safe?’ was my opening gambit.
Davidson ignored my question and said, ‘Nice place you’ve got here, Jim. I like your Christmas tree and all the presents underneath look very festive.’
This time my heart did miss a beat because lying amongthe presents was the cash from the safe, neatly wrapped up inside a shoebox and looking like just another gift. But I knew he was just having a shot in the dark because nobody, not even Christine, knew that. ‘Right, Jim, we have received information that you were involved in a burglary at a commercial premises.’
‘Fair enough, Mr Davidson, but you know the rules with me. If you are here to arrest me then I have nothing to say to you.’
‘No, Jim, we are not here to arrest you but we would like you to come down to the station with us to answer a few questions. If you do refuse then we will arrest you, OK?’
‘Aye, nae bother, but you will have to wait until Christine gets back. I can’t leave James here alone.’
‘Well, we can’t wait that long, but do you mind if we have a look around?’
‘Got a warrant?’
‘Now look, wee man, you know I can leave Phil here while I go and get one and then I would come back here pissed off and go right through the place and if I wanted to be a right bastard I could even open up all your nice presents. Now we don’t want that, do we?’
No, we fucking do not want that, I thought to myself but said, ‘Of course you can have a look, I was winding you up. I’ll stick the kettle on and make a cuppa.’
Mr Davidson said, ‘I go off duty at 11 o’clock tonight so if you give me your word you won’t disappear and come over to the station tomorrow afternoon, we will leave it at that, OK?’
I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘You have my word,’ and I meant it.
After they left I sat and thought things through. It wasobvious that they certainly knew something but the question was just how much? Now it was vital that I got a hold of Jamie to mark his card and to see if he knew anything, but unknown to me he had already been arrested. I did not believe that he would have said anything, but maybe he had said something when in company.
I waited for Christine to arrive home then put her fully in the picture. She was totally trustworthy. The other thing I did that evening and which was a priority was to move the money to a safer place. I did not believe in tempting fate and this was our Christmas money so there was no way I was going to lose it.
The next day I went to the police station and was interviewed by Davidson and Busby. I simply stated that I did not know anything and could be of no help. They played their ace card and told me that Jamie had been arrested and that they knew the two of us were involved. I refused to answer any more of their questions and requested that my lawyer be informed. I was cautioned, charged and held overnight to appear alongside Jamie in court the next day, when we were both granted bail until a trial date was set.
It transpired that the cops had told Jamie that they knew it was down to him and that I was the one
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