22 August 2012
It was body armour. With the word 'POLICE' emblazoned squarely across her chest. Everything started to go in slow motion as I tried to take it all in. Was this really the same girl I had tea with the other day? You know, the same lovely, gliding, dark haired beauty I'd acted like a giddy schoolboy over? With the annoying phone? Oh god, the phone...the penny slowly dropped. But why? Why was she here? And where did... Lloyd. Lloyd had quickly vanished. He must have seen them before I did. I say 'them' because she was followed into the place by what seemed to be a legion of policemen, all in the same body armour, shouting Lloyd's name, running all around the place...She was holding her warrant card in the air and coming straight for me... It was just as she reached me and she said, 'Come with me' that things suddenly sped up and got really surreal, she took my hand and made to lead me out of the place and the other policemen were absolutely everywhere women screaming as they barged into and past them drinks flying all over the bar glasses were getting smashed and oh no! that's red wine on my shirt the staff were getting annoyed because no-one really knew what was going on she's still holding my hand ouch watch the hand and leading me to the door that red wine will never come out then bottles started flying out from behind the bar and there suddenly was Lloyd with his arm folded up behind his back getting told he had the right to remain silent no chance of that I thought nearly at the door now then suddenly nearly tripping over the threshold of the doorway I could see Lloyd still shouting at the police and then I was outside in the fresh air before a car door opened and me and Marianne were inside then the car door closed and it all went quiet.
Staring straight ahead, the last thing I saw of Lloyd was as he banged his head on the roof of the police van, which made him shout even louder. The van doors closed loudly, the siren started to wail, and away they went. 'That'll never come out...' I turned my head and looked at her, and I must have been open mouthed because she reached out a hand and closed it for me. My expression must have said 'Please explain', and bless her, she did. She showed me her I.D. Detective Inspector Mary Ann Jensen. 'I prefer Marianne...' I said softly. She smiled, and proceeded with her explanation. Turned out they'd had Lloyd and the place under surveillance for months. Months! He'd been selling on stolen booze and counterfeit tobacco. And illegally employing staff with no right to stay in the UK. I tried to say something. Anything. But nothing was coming. And there was more... He had a lock up just a couple of doors away from the place, out of which was sold fake designer clothes, knock off DVD's, illegal hardcore porn, oh just about everything. Lloyd... Then it dawned on me. 'Am I under arrest?' 'No,' she smiled again. She was letting me down gently. 'No, we've had undercover officers in there for months. We saw you and Lloyd were friends, very good friends, and well, I'm sorry, but you really were our best way in. ' Best way in. Used. By the police. By Lloyd. By the police to get to Lloyd! 'But I...' 'I know. Our men had tiny cameras in their phones. They filmed enough for us to warrant coming for him. And we saw enough to know you had no part in it. ' 'I didn't even know about the lock up...' 'We know. You're free to go. ' Apparently Lloyd was just the tip of the iceberg. He'd fallen foul of some Eastern Europeans (she didn't say where they were from) in a drug deal gone wrong. He owed them a lot of money, and this was what they came up with to pay them back. Bye, Lloyd... She could see I was having a hard time with it all. 'You are free to go, you know...' 'And that's it?' 'Yes. I'm sorry, but it'll have to be. ' She wasn't smiling now. Neither was I. And then, as if to draw a line under it all, her phone went off. I looked at her, searching for something, anything. But there was nothing. She apologetically shrugged and picked up the phone and started rattling off instructions and scribbling furiously in her note book. I looked out of the car window. Christ what a mess. Door off it's hinges, policemen trying to calm irate, innocent patrons who had gotten caught up in the crossfire, the mess on the floor, broken bottles and glass everywhere and me with my red wine stain on my brand new shirt. That'll never come out... It was clear that she'd finished with me, so I slowly got out of the car and stood on the pavement in complete disbelief at what had just happened. One last try. I turned back around, but the car had already moved off. She was gone.
she pt. 10 • Opuss № I