Chapter 18: Police Activity

Phyllis Dangerfield had spent a quiet afternoon reading. Harry had gone into town on a shopping errand. She had no doubt that he’d be using the opportunity to meet up with a few of his friends, but she didn’t mind as long as he was back before curfew. At least, Harry hadn’t caused any of the problems that her last houseboy had, Phyllis thought. That had been an unfortunate few months with police on the doorstep every other week. He’d been good in bed but, in the end, he just hadn’t been worth the trouble.

The doorbell rang. When Phyllis opened the front door, Jim Wheeland was standing outside with a rucksack slung over his shoulder.

“I really need to talk to you,” he said. “Please.”

Phyllis hesitated. She wasn’t sure if it was wise to ask Jim in while she was there in the house alone but, on the other hand, he had never been any trouble. “Come in,” she said. “Go on through to the living room.”

“Thanks, Ms Dangerfield,” he said, following her waved direction.

He sat down on the couch, dropping his rucksack on the floor beside him. Phyllis followed him in and stood just inside the door. Jim looked to be as much in conflict as he had been at their last meeting. He was sitting with his hands clasped around his knees, looking up at her. She was left wondering if the rather severe black dress she was wearing was serving to intimidate or to arouse him. His gaze seemed to be fixed on the strands of pearls that stretched around her throat.

“I’ve not heard anything from Fara, I’m afraid,” Phyllis said.

“No, no, I’m not surprised,” Jim said. His voice seemed calmer, almost as though he was relieved by what Phyllis had said. “It will have been a shock to her.”

“A shock?” Phyllis was puzzled.

“To learn about us.”

“Us? There isn’t any ‘us,’ Jim. I thought I made it clear I can’t sponsor you.”

“Oh yes, quite clear but...”

The doorbell rang again. Jim looked startled and grabbed his rucksack close to him.

“It’s all right, Jim. It’s probably just the post.” Phyllis, puzzled by her caller’s startled reaction, turned to the door. As she unlatched it, the door burst open and two police officers pushed by her. A moment later, one of them had Jim face down on the floor with his arms pinioned behind his back.

“Are you all right, Ms Dangerfield?” the other police officer asked.

“Yes, of course. What on earth is this? This boy hasn’t done anything. At least not here.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, we’re with the Dissident Suppression Group. We’ve been watching Wheeland for a while.” She crouched down beside Jim and cuffed his wrists behind his back. Jim looked sullenly at the two officers as he was dragged to his feet.

“He’s my daughter’s boyfriend. She’s away on a New Opportunity programme. I think he’s feeling a bit left out, that’s all.”

“I don’t think so, Mrs Dangerfield.” The officer tipped up Jim’s rucksack. The contents spilled out onto the floor.

Phyllis looked down in horror. There on the floor lay a long and vicious-looking knife and with it a roll of duct tape and cable ties.

“We were going to be together,” Jim started.

“Shut up,” barked the officer holding him. “You’re being arrested, don’t make me have to go through all that ‘anything you may say’ crap.”

Phyllis looked again at the rucksack’s contents. Besides the other things, there was a packet of condoms. She hadn’t seen such things in years. Prick sex wasn’t the sort of thing that went on in her circles. As she realised what Jim had been planning, she suddenly felt faint. “Oh my,” she said, sinking slowly on to the couch. “He was going to...”

“It’s all right, Mrs Dangerfield. You weren’t in any real danger. Like I said, we’ve been watching him. There’s a group of dissidents who have been only too keen to encourage him. This gives us the evidence we need to pick them all up.” She looked at Phyllis who was obviously badly shaken. “Is there someone who can come and keep you company? We need to take this one in.”

“Err, yes, my neighbour, Marianne. She should be around. I’ll call her.”

Jim struggled as he was hustled out to the patrol car but the arresting officer was more than a match for his efforts. “Tell them I belong here,” he called back over his shoulder to Phyllis.

Marianne Higgs, Phyllis’s neighbour, came over as quickly as she could in response to her friend’s call. She was horrified when she turned up and heard what had happened. Phyllis was pleased for her support. Marianne was sympathetic. Even so, her views on male-female relationships, made her wonder if this sort of thing was more likely if you treated men the way New Order did. It was intolerable, of course, but perhaps it was a consequence of tampering with what she saw as the proper order of things.

“He just must have developed this fixation on me. I really didn’t encourage him. I don’t think I ever saw him when Fara wasn’t around until he came round to send her a letter.”