‘Sir?’
‘When is a crime not a crime, Constable? When the victim doesn’t want it to be one, or is too busy to want to make it one. Get him a cup of tea, we owe him that, and tell him I’ll be along promptly.’
With Isobel safely in Cori’s care, and Dunn soon to be given something to chew on other than his grievance with the police, Grey, suddenly energised and feeling at the eye of a mighty storm, turned on his heels and bounded up the stairs to where his boss was waiting.
Grey entered the room to see Rose had resumed his watching brief at the upstairs window, a General watching his troops leaving for the front line and readying themselves for battle. For in all their minds that was what such events were; and it brought the officer at large, the bobby on the beat, no pleasure to find themselves armed and ranged against the people they served to protect.
‘They give us these bloody jobs to do,’ said Rose to the pane of glass, that steamed up he was so close to it. It didn’t answer.
‘It’s all in the paper as usual.’
Grey looked to the desk to see that morning’s Southney Sports amp; Advertiser, telling him little more than had yesterday’s afternoon edition. The front page was lay out in front of him -
“AUBREY’S IN CHAOS — SPECIAL MEASURES IN PLACE AT LOCAL FIRM — JOB CUTS FEARED”.
‘So, that would appear to be that,’ lamented Grey, for what else could he say?
‘There’s no need to be so la-di-da about it,’ Rose spat, he not turning from his post at the window. Grey knew though he was bitter at the world, not at him.
‘You haven’t heard from Alex Aubrey?’ Grey risked asking, knowing Rose was feeling his friend’s flight as a personal slight, as strong a feeling as the sense of abandonment felt along with the rest of the town.
‘It’s all in the paper,’ he answered, which Grey took to mean that he knew no more than anybody else. The Inspector leaned over the front page and read:
‘“Reports of financial troubles at the Southney manufacturing firm Aubrey Electricals were confirmed yesterday, as firm of administrators Wuthertons — called in to manage their affairs during this difficult time — issued a statement to the effect that…” This is what they had yesterday,’ Grey observed, ‘just rejigged.’
‘What were you hoping for, deathless prose? Anyway, the latest chapter isn’t written yet, what we found out late last night: that until Wuthertons’ new payment arrangements to the firm’s suppliers are in place, then the power company won’t guarantee the electricity supply; and it turns out that without this assurance they’re not insured.’
‘So there’s no power at the plant?’
‘Of course there is. I was speaking to that fellow, the one you hired.’
‘Keith Pitt?’
‘Yes. He was telling me there’s no chance there won’t be power, nor any chance it won’t get paid for. Wuthertons just can’t get the paperwork up to date fast enough. But what all this means for us, on top of everything else, is that five-hundred-odd men aren’t going to be allowed through those gates this morning. They’re already worried for their jobs, worried they won’t make ends meet this month, and now this… They’ll think they’ve already been given the chop!’
Grey turned back to the paper, turning the cover to read the story inside:
‘“Reports are coming in even as we go to print, of violent clashes this evening at the firm’s premises in the business district just outside of Southney town centre…”’
‘No worse than we get on an average Friday night,’ spoke Rose, further misting the glass.
Grey left that part and scanned down the page reading chiefly to himself,
‘“…police officers have been drafted in, after complaints were received from concerned members of the public to the effect that that several men, believed to be Aubrey workers, had already gathered outside the firm’s headquarters. The latest reports are of violent confrontations in the surrounding area, rumoured (but unconfirmed) to be between these men and members of the Wuthertons’ security staff currently guarding the firm’s offices. This follows on from a rumoured assault earlier in the week upon the firm’s managing director Alex Aubrey himself.
‘“One Aubrey’s insider of many year’s standing, happy to talk but wishing not to be named, told our reporter on the ground: ‘It’s crazy, the police are effectively being charged with securing the firm’s premises against our own employees! I can’t believe I’m seeing this. How did things get this bad? Where will it end?’
‘“It is further rumoured, from apparently reliable sources close to the stricken firm, that Wuthertons — called in to manage financial matters after the company’s energy contractors led a petition in court to appoint an administrator — have since discovered, upon gaining access to the Aubrey accounts, several large unpaid bills. Our source goes on to say that things could be as desperate as the firm’s factory and offices being threatened with having their electricity and water supplies cut off. They believe that the financial crisis was first uncovered when fears emerged among finance staff of this month’s payroll commitments not being met…”’
‘Who’s the source?’ asked Grey.
‘They don’t need one,’ answered Rose matter-of-factly. ‘They ask around, learn what they can, and then ascribe it all to one shadowy figure. Calling it “rumour” gets them out of the dock if they get it wrong. I suppose the public do need to know this stuff,’ he conceded.
Grey continued to read aloud,
‘“A representative for the firm’s utilities provider — who have today been in further contact with the administrators, wishing to be prioritised among the list of creditors — at least had these words of support for Aubrey’s and their staff: ‘While it is true that this has come out of the blue, and only three months after signing a new contract with Aubrey Electricals, we accept that this a good company going through a bad time. We know the staff have the skills and determination to get through this crisis. We hope the effects of any reorganisation will be temporary, and are confident that a secure future for the plant and its employees can be brought about.”’
At last, at the final paragraph, Grey came to the part he was interested in,
‘“The firm’s Chief Executive Alex Aubrey, son of the company founder Anthony Aubrey, is believed to be communicating with Wuthertons from his business base in London, where he has been looking for new business partners to inject fresh capital and secure Aubrey Electricals’ future.”
‘Without apparent success,’ added Grey bitterly.
‘I can understand his staying away, in one way at least,’ Rose uttered resignedly, his demeanor so stark and without hope that Grey was momentarily worried for him. ‘He’s a marked man on our own streets, he’d be mobbed if he stepped foot outside.’
‘What is he up to though?’ asked Grey exasperatedly? ‘The town’s erupting because if him!’
‘He’s hoping to sort the whole mess out.’
‘Yeah, I know all about his attempts to sort things out.’
Rose could only give his Inspector one of his looks, as the latter stood in the doorway.
‘Did he tell you why he was going to London?’ Grey pressed.
Rose turned back to his window watching, ‘This isn’t about him and me.’
Grey left it at that. He could have done with Rose in his normal belligerent mood, geeing him up and requesting progress reports. He could have used a good discussion, to get all that needed to be out in the air, and form a plan of action. As it was he was going to have to find some quiet space and do this for himself.
Chapter 25 — Videotape
Grey’s own office along the corridor looked out onto the administrative building beside the station. From his window he could see neither the ranging forces of law and order to the rear, nor the scattering of people forming on the green out front. Some of these gathered people were factorymen, others members of the public worried after having read their papers this morning. There was even a dog walker or two, wondering what the fuss was all about as police vehicles roared past with extra purpose this morning. They had begun arriving about the time work would be starting at the plant — perhaps here looking for answers, or hoping to feel safe as their town became unknown to them, or maybe just nosy? For it wasn’t every day around these parts that such transforming events were ‘going down’; and who on such a day as this had anything else to do, or anywhere other to want to be?
Grey opened his office door to find someone already there.
