THE PARTY'S OVER - Part 2
Rosie's on the telephone. She asks to speak to Ann Timpson, a Fed Rep, but she seems to be unavailable. As soon as she puts the phone down it starts to ring. Rosie hangs up immediately, but again it starts ringing.
"Ed, how long are you going to keep this up for? I've told you I don't want to discuss it! Ed, I'm hanging up. Don't call back!"
George, Dave, Vicky and Debbie are all coming down the stairs at the section house.
"Who made money then?" asks Vicky, snatching the "Rosebud Hurdles" betting sheet off George.
"All bets are off now anyway," Dave tells her. He sees Eddie at the telephone. "Hey George, put it away." Ed asks him if he could borrow his mobile. "Have you decided on your next move with Rosebud?"
"I don't know. I thinks it's going to be back to Plan A."
"What's Plan A?" asks Debs.
Dave explains, "Give her the elbow."
"See you later." Ed walks off.
"I thought they were full on," says George.
"Well, somethings you only find out once you get there," Dave says.
Debs doesn't quite get what he means. "Such as?"
"She's an informaniac," jokes George.
"Ed, reckons she's a bit screwed up."
"One minute she's all over him, the next she's running a mile," says Vicky.
"Poor bloke can't keep up," Dave says as he leaves too.
Speaking of running, Rosie's off for a brisk jog. She stops a sec to catch her breath before going back into her house. The phone's still ringing, but she ignores it as she gets a drink. A noise comes from inside the hall. Her bike's fallen over. Ann Timpson arrives at the door so Rosie invites her in. "I tried calling earlier to cancel you coming. I keep changing my mind about what to do," she says as they both sit down.
"About?"
"Basically, I was sexually assaulted by one of the PCs on my team. We'd been working together undercover on a CID operation, and there was a party the night of the arrests. Everyone was up on the adrenaline and a lot of alcohol got consumed. The officer followed me down to the lockers and wouldn't take no for an answer."
"How far did he go?"
"He pushed me to the floor, tried to overpower me. I was fighting him off and a load of people went by outside. He stopped. I ran off."
"So he stopped voluntarily."
"He stopped because he thought he was gonna get caught."
"No witnesses to what happened?"
"Do I need any?"
"I'm not questioning whether you're telling the truth, Rosie."
Rosie apologises. "I was drunk at the party like everyone else, and I admit I was flirting with him. All the lads were demanding to see us kiss and make up, and I went along with it. But in the locker-room I said no and he didn't listen."
"So now what's happening?"
"He was full of apologies at first, but I don't know. Since then he seems convinced himself that it was my fault, because I gave him the wrong signals, and we could still be something special. He turned up with champagne the other night. He's started calling me all the time too."
"So what do you want to do about it?"
Rosie doesn't think it's good idea taking any further action. "I just want him to get on with his job and let me do the same."
"You want to stop this bloke, but you don't want to act to make that happen."
"If I make a formal complaint I just expose myself to more trouble."
Ann doesn't see it like that. "You're assuming this problem's going to go away." As she leaves she tells Rosie, "You should think very hard before letting him get away with it you know Rosie. Sometimes it just seems like the easy route."
DS John Boulton and Liz Rawton are busy interview a prisoner, Michael Sowerby. Sowerby's obviously a bit of a thug and he looks the part too.
"I think you were waiting in the bushes by the side of the path last night. You saw Mr Mackie coming along, he's a pensioner: an easy target, the kind you usually favour."
"Shut your mouth you scum! You Little Ginger Short Arse!"
"But he didn't make it easy for you, did he, because he held onto his money," continues Boulton. "So you decided to beat it out of him."
"Load of toss!"
"Mr Mackie's attacker took £80 in cash off him. You spent £10.35 on beer and fags in the Brim Street Offy half an hour after the attack occurred, and you had, exactly £65.65 on you when we arrested you at your house shortly after that. Where did the eighty quid come from?" Sowerby just glares at the DS.
Rosie dashes up the corridor, and into the locker-room. She's obviously late, as Sgt. Cryer points out as she rushes past him. She opens her locker and finds "The Rosebud Hurdles", which is basically a list of the bets on how far she and Eddie got; and the best odds are for "Already Jumped". Needless to say, Rosie's not impressed as she screws it up and bins it.
Rosie enters the briefing room just as Sgt. Boyden's assigned everyone to vehicles and beats. He looks at Eddie as he partners Rosie with him. At the end she approaches Boyden. "Where's Gary, Sarge? I thought I was supposed to be with him."
"He's off sick. And don't be late again!"
Outside, Eddie tells Reg and Tony about a paintball match he and Dave are organising against the Guvnors. Rosie catches Tony and Reg handing over their contribution and jumps to the conclusion that Ed's taking bets.
"What is your problem, Rosebud?" Ed asks after Reg and Tony have left.
"You want me to list them now?"
"Is that a threat? What does that mean?"
"You know what I'm talking about." Sgt. Cryer interrupts them and orders them to get out on patrol. They continue the conversation as they walk out in the yard and towards the panda car. "Why do you keep phoning me at home when I've asked you not to, Eddie?" He just ignores her. "Did you put that rubbish in my locker today?"
"What rubbish?"
"The Rosebud Hurdles." My bets on Vicky!
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Rosie accepts that, though I doubt she believes him. "Alright, what about explaining to me why Sgt. Boyden put us together."
"Ask him, I'm not telepathic!"
"I saw the look he gave you. Did you set it up?" Again Ed doesn't answer, which just makes Rosie frustrated. "Talk to me Eddie!"
"I tried. You keep hanging up!" He gets in the car.
Rosie begins to lose her patience. "I'm fed up with you trying to avoid taking responsibilty for what you did, Eddie!"
"Are you planning to hold that crap over me for the rest of eternity?"
"You scared now?"
"I want to know what you're going to do, Rosebud." She thinks for a moment. "Well?"
"I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to get on with my job," she tells him as she closes the door and puts her seatbelt on.
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