The Commander entered the room and closed the door. He didn’t say anything as he shuffled around the desk to find his seat. He breathed heavily as he thumped down onto his desk chair. In his hand was Darnell’s employee file.
‘We’ve had a complaint made against you, Detective Jackson.’ Darnell didn’t flinch; he was used to complaints, often from the people he interrogated. It was how they got back at the police when they came close to charging them. No doubt Rick Spabrunt had stuck his oar in, but he was confident that he had their interview recorded and had a key witness alongside him; Vanessa Jamison.
‘Come on then, let’s get this over with,’ Jackson replied, flippantly. He knew the format; it had to go in the file. Darnell would formally deny any wrongdoing and his boss would put out a sympathetic but firm response which explained that, after a full investigation, he had not found anything unprofessional about the conduct of his staff. It was an ongoing joke amongst his peers that the complaints didn’t go anywhere, even when they believed themselves that they had probably gone too far.
‘I wouldn’t be so laid back if I were you, Jackson. This is very serious.’ Hill sat back and raised his eyebrows, offering the detective a furious stare. Jackson mumbled an apology before composing himself. ‘The complaint comes from this Poppy Shipman whom you arrested yesterday. She claims that you followed her out of her apartment, grabbed her arm, before chasing her down the street. She also said that she fell over and hurt herself. You then vigorously picked her up and arrested her, rather than seeking medical advice for a potential head injury.’
The detective gulped. He hadn’t expected this.
‘Sir, that woman assaulted me, she spat in my face.’
‘And she admits that but claims it was in self-defence.’
‘So it’s my word against hers?’ Darnell shrugged.
‘Yes.’ Hill paused. ‘And the word of several bystanders who witnessed the event and came forward to complain.’
Hill fell silent and allowed the news to settle. Darnell’s heart thudded. He thought back to the timeline of him waiting in Starbucks to suddenly having Poppy in the back of his car. Had he really gone too far? His memory of the whole event was a little sketchy as the fallout with Vanessa and his family continued to torture him throughout the day.
‘Now…’ Hill continued. ‘I’m going to do my best to get rid of this little mess. We’ll tell the girl we’ve put you through some rigorous training programme and given you a warning. I just hope to God this doesn’t get out in the press. The last thing I need is for my boss to ask why I’d put some dodgy cop on the biggest investigation we’ve had in Springfield.’
‘Thank you.’ Darnell exhaled with relief. ‘Thank you so much, sir, I won’t let this happen again. I’ve had a terrible couple of days. Things aren’t good at home between Jasmine and me.’
‘Save it.’ Hill waved his hand. ‘Your home life shouldn’t be brought into work. We all get worked up but we have to control it. We can always put you on something else. If you need time off, by all means take it, but you will be taken off the case if you do, do you understand?’
‘I understand. And no, I don’t need any time off. I’ll be fine, sir. This is the only thing which is keeping me going and I want to do this…for Lincoln.’
Hill nodded and closed the file. ‘Very well. I’ll have to make a note of it as you’re well aware. But we’ll speak no more about it.’ Darnell shook his manager’s hand and opened the door.
‘Jackson.’
‘Yes, sir?’ He turned around and nervously glanced at his boss.
‘Mess up one more thing and I swear to God your career is over.’
Jackson gulped, nodded his head and left, determined to remain on the straight and narrow from that moment forward. He left the office and wondered where he should go next, both personally and professionally.
While his wife had brought him enough clothes to get him through a few days, there were hundreds of files and documents which were in his office that he would need to complete his investigation. Darnell arrived at his home. The doormat said Welcome but he didn’t believe that to be true for him.
Jasmine was in the kitchen perched at the dining table. She was marking her school books and appeared startled as the unwelcome guest entered. She seemed drained and the dark patches around her eyes were moist.
‘I’d appreciate it if you knocked in future. This isn’t your home anymore. Just so you know the boys are in, I don’t want any trouble.’
‘I need some stuff for work, just give me a break, OK?’ Darnell waited for a response which didn’t arrive. He left his wife and made his way upstairs. To his left was his youngest son, Aaron, sitting in his room playing on his game console. To the right was his office; the door was open. He walked in and found his eldest, Thomas, on his computer.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing in here?’ Darnell barked. ‘This is my office, you know you’re not allowed in here. I have confidential documents. And that computer is for work, not to play games on.’
‘Mom says we can use your computer now you don’t live here anymore.’
Darnell sighed, grabbed his box of files and returned to the kitchen, avoiding further arguments with his family. He knew he’d done enough damage by raising his voice despite the fact that he’d assured the love of his life that he wouldn’t cause any more tension. He looked at his beautiful
