Chapter 7: DCS Hopkins Prepares

‘Sorry,’ Rupert said, ‘I couldn’t warn you at the end or stop.’ ‘I didn’t want you to,’ she said. ‘Having you firing into me without a sheath was very special. One day I will be on the pill, and you will be able to do that all the time.’

‘What did you do with it?’ he asked. ‘I ate it,’ she replied. ‘I admit I hadn’t thought it through and hadn’t intended to, but a bit went down my throat accidentally. It tasted ok so I ate it all. So, you’re in me to stay now.’

They had a long kiss with Gemma lying on top of him. Then time was getting on. They stood up, had a naked hug then Gemma went for a shower. When she returned Rupert had gone back to sleep, he was worn out. She woke him and sent him for a shower.

They went through to the kitchen. Ernie and Susan were already there. As they all hugged and kissed good morning, Susan said, ‘The two of you look very happy.’ ‘Thanks to you two,’ Gemma said, ‘We really appreciate you letting us be together.’

‘We missed out on such a lot when we were your age,’ Susan told them, ‘We’re so pleased to know that you are enjoying what we missed.’ They had a cooked breakfast, then they all went over to Reg and Julies.

As they all did the rounds of hugs and kisses, when Gemma hugged Julie she said, ‘Thank you, mum.’ in her ear. Then when she hugged Reg, she said ‘Thank you, dad.’ without thinking. That made Reg’s heart lurch and gave him such a warm happy feeling.

As she walked away, Gemma suddenly realised what she had said. She thought about it, then decided, ‘Why not.’ From then onwards, she always thought of and referred to Reg as dad, something soon copied by Ella.

The following week, school was finishing on the Thursday. The boat would be available for them to collect Friday mid-afternoon. They had to return it by mid-day the following Saturday.

They sat around the table and sorted out the new sleeping arrangements, everyone quite at home with the idea now. Then Lewis showed them the maps of the surrounding areas of canal. They planned their route, so that it was a leisurely trip. Also, so they would return to the boat yard in time for it to be serviced ready for the next people.’

They also picked out a few of the towns and sights they wanted to visit on their route. Then they finished off their day by going out for Sunday lunch.

On Monday Lewis got a text from Aiden asking if he could call into the station on Wednesday after school. ‘I have a few things to tell you about.’ he said.

Unknown to Lewis, Danny had had the same message.

On Wednesday Lewis arrived first. Derek was on the front desk. ‘Hi, Lewis.’ he said letting him through. ‘Aiden said go up to the canteen and have whatever you want, he’ll be with you shortly.’

Lewis hadn’t long sat down with his coffee and a butty when Danny joined him. They chatted, wondering what Aiden had to say. Then Tom joined them. ‘We’re not in trouble, are we?’ Tom asked. ‘No,’ Danny assured him, ‘Aiden said it was nothing to worry about.’ They’d nearly finished their drinks when Aiden appeared. ‘Hi, you two,’ he said, ‘Thanks for coming. I’ve got some sentence news to give you but that can wait until after. ‘Hi, Tom.’ he added giving him a smile.

‘Danny, do you remember the letter Sergeant Cline gave you for school from Chief Superintendent Hopkins?’ ‘Yes.’ he answered. Then to Lewis Danny said, ‘I needed a letter for school when I took time off for looking down the well.’ ‘Well, he’s been hearing so many stories about you two that he has decided he’d like to meet you both. Why he’s included me, Tom, and Simon too, I don’t know. I’m just waiting for Sergeant Cline to turn up. The DCS wants to see us all together.’

Simon Cline arrived soon after. After saying hello to everyone he said, ‘I’ve just seen the super coming in, so we can go down.’ They all trooped down, and Simon knocked at his door. Getting a ‘Come in’ they all went in to find Detective Chief Superintendent Hopkins standing waiting to greet them.

He was in uniform, about five feet eleven tall and fit looking for his age which they guessed to be late forties. He smiled at them, and Simon introduced Danny and Lewis. ‘Your reputations have gone before you,’ he said smiling as he shook hands. ‘I’m delighted to meet you both at last.’

Then Simon said, ‘Detective Constable Walters you know.’ The DCS shook hands. ‘And this is the newest member of the team,’ he said, ‘Constable Tom Dexter.’ Tom was looking nervous. As the DCS shook his hand, he said ‘Don’t worry Tom, I won’t bite. Not today anyway,’ he added with a smile.

He waved them all to the seats that he had set out in a circle. After they were all settled, he said, ‘I’ve wanted to meet these two for a while,’ he said nodding to Lewis and Danny, ‘But a lot has happened this week, so I decided to see you all together.’

‘Simon has kept me up to date with all the cases you have all been involved in,’ he told them. ‘What he hasn’t told me is exactly how you have managed to achieve it all. But I’ve been a policeman too long not to realise you haven’t achieved what you have by working strictly by the book.’

‘I don’t want to know specifically what rules you’ve er, skirted. But let me tell you that you have my complete support in what you’re doing. It’s made far too easy for criminals to escape justice nowadays and our hands are being tied more and more.’

‘You five have proved what I have suspected for many years. We need small units with the power to do their own thing, whilst remaining generally within the law. Innocent until proven guilty is a vital part of our legal system. But we should be able to do what you have been doing to obtain proof of guilt or innocence.’

‘So, Danny and Lewis, I both congratulate and compliment you on your achievements. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. Now your activities coupled with their willingness to work with you has been good for Simon and Aiden’s records.’

‘What they don’t yet know is what I am about to tell them. Simon, you have applied to take your inspectors exam several times and been refused. Not through any defect in yourself but because of the way our promotion system works by controlling numbers over abilities. However, everything comes to those who wait. I am delighted to tell you that you will receive the invitation to sit your exam in the next few weeks.’

‘I have studied your record since you first became eligible to apply to sit it. During that time, you have already done everything you needed to do to complete your promotion. So should you pass, of which I have no doubt, within three months you will officially be awarded the rank of Detective Inspector.’

‘Aiden you have passed your Detective Sergeants exam and are currently wading through all the post exam requirements before you can take up the promotion. I am happy to tell you that as of now you are a full Detective Sergeant. You will receive confirmation in the next few weeks so please keep it to yourself until you receive it.’

‘You both know that with promotion in the police force, a move elsewhere is standard. I can tell you that in your cases, should you wish to, you can remain here to take up your promotions.’

‘Tom, I’ve no great news for you just yet, but I’d like you to know that the pathologist has given a glowing report on you and your initiative on the bodies in the well case. That plus all your arrests,’ he grinned at Lewis and Danny as he said that, are making your record look really good already. You’ve only been in the force a year, so I anticipate great things from you in the future.’

‘I have had an idea I’ve been working on for quite some time,’ he said. ‘It’s irregular, but it could be very effective in fighting the sort of crimes where the people at the top usually get off Scott free. If I put it in to practice, you three will be the first people I’ll be asking to help me.’

‘Now if you will leave me with Lewis and Danny, I’d like a few more words with them.’ He shook hands with Simon, Aiden and Tom, all of whom were looking very happy. As he shook hands with Tom he said, ‘As far as anyone else is concerned Tom, this meeting was just to praise you for all the things on your record. Nothing else happened.’ Tom smiled, ‘I understand sir.’ he said.