AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I did. And a lot of good it did me because they told my wife anyway. Once I retired, she received an anonymous letter. It was just days after her diagnosis.’
Kim felt a rush of sympathy for the woman whose life had totally collapsed around her in a very short period of time.
‘What did you do?’ Kim asked.
‘I denied it, strenuously, but there was a look in her eye that never left her until the day she died.’
‘Why would they do that?’ Bryant asked.
‘You’re just not getting it, are you? They were a despicable group of boys. There wasn’t one good one amongst them. At one point, there were even rumours they pushed a prison guard down the stairs to his death. They were a bunch of ruthless little psychopaths, and to answer your question, they told my wife because they could. They destroyed a thirty-year marriage because they had that power. Although we didn’t separate, I knew that she would never look at me the same way again after reading that letter, and I’ll never forgive them for that.’
‘As you’ve lied to us consistently, Mr Baldwin, I do feel compelled to ask if there are any more little secrets you’d like to unburden during this confession?’
Lenny Baldwin stood. ‘Please leave my home now.’
‘Happy to,’ she said, heading for the door, finding his presence sickening. The man had foregone all professionalism and integrity to cover up his own little secret, which had been revealed to his wife in the end anyway. She could feel no sympathy on behalf of Lenny Baldwin; her only sympathy was with his wife.
‘I know you think you’ve gained some great knowledge in what you’ve learned today, but if you want some really juicy secrets, you might want to take a closer look at the current Welton staff,’ he said before slamming the door behind them.
SEVENTY-FOUR
It was almost 4p.m. when Kim poured her first coffee in the squad room.
Penn had been summoned from the third floor and she was awaiting his arrival before voicing her plan.
After speaking with Lenny Baldwin, she’d realised their leads were going nowhere. They were getting nothing from forensics, the court orders were coming through slowly and, when they did, the paperwork was slow to decipher. Throw in the fact that the group had made so many enemies during their time at Welton that the suspect pool could fill a football stadium.
Three of the Psycho Six were already dead. Of the three survivors, one had a protected identity, another had dropped off the face of the earth, but Dean Newton was living loud and proud with no intention of taking steps to protect himself.
‘I’m back,’ Penn said, sliding into his seat.
‘All locked up and secure?’ she asked.
‘Yep, office locked and out of bounds until tomorrow.’
Kim had explained to Penn he wouldn’t be going back to it tonight.
‘Just to update, Curtis Jones admitted to becoming a Black Country Angel because we’re shit at our jobs. He doesn’t trust that we take the bad guys off the streets and prefers the vigilante method of justice.’
‘You can kind of understand how people feel though. Confidence in the police service is at an all-time low,’ Alison offered.
‘You really think that justifies people taking the law into their own hands?’ Kim asked, crossing her arms.
‘If I was in trouble alone, late at night, and someone came to help, I wouldn’t care if they were a Black Country Angel. I’d just be grateful.’
‘But it’s no longer about keeping the streets safe, is it?’ Kim challenged her. ‘This isn’t Batman protecting the poor and needy folks of Gotham City. We’re talking groups proactively seeking out wrongdoers and meting out their own form of punishment.’
‘And they don’t always get it right,’ Penn added. ‘I read about a sixty-year-old guy, shot dead for kidnapping a one-year-old who was found an hour later safe and well. He’d had nothing to do with her disappearance.’
‘But some people do get it right,’ Bryant said.
‘You support these actions?’ Kim asked, shocked.
‘Not always, but sometimes even the court system is in agreement with a vigilante’s actions. In America, a father shot dead the karate instructor who’d repeatedly raped his eleven-year-old son. The judge gave him a suspended sentence, probation and community service. How are you not gonna want to pat that guy on the back?’
‘And no one here cares that the majority of vigilante acts can’t be committed without breaking laws?’
‘Eggs and omelettes,’ Alison said.
