Tom felt something unexpectedly, and definitely not gently, pull at him, eager to drag him away. His life had been so shambolic that he firmly believed he deserved a better death. As he listened to the cold-hearted men say words around his dead body that did nothing to reassure him that it was safe and wise to leave it behind and in their care, he decided to do something he had not done in a long time – fight for himself and for his dignity. And so he resisted the strong force pulling him into nothingness.

Spokes

SPOKES

It was not in his pigeonhole. It was not with the Desk Sergeant. If it was not on his personal desk, then he was in a world of trouble. The year 1980 was so far definitely not the golden year that Loveness had said it would be, and it was all his fault. His marital bed continued to be cold, and the copy of Wives and Daughters continued to be unread. Spokes had taken to sleeping on the sofa, but not even this had melted Loveness’s heart. Chief Superintendent Griffiths had long returned from his fishing trip, and Spokes had gone back to being the Chief Inspector, but he knew that without the written approval of his retirement application, he would remain unforgiven for having entertained the idea of a promotion over the promise of Krum’s Place.

So he was happy to note, as soon as he entered his office after his holiday break, that a BSAP envelope was waiting for him on his desk. However, when he discovered, upon closer inspection, that the envelope was not sealed or addressed, his happiness waned. Still, he tried to hold on to as much of it as possible as he wished the three sergeants with whom he shared the office a ‘Happy New Year’ and opened the contents of the envelope. Written on paper from one of the station’s memo pads was the message: REPORTED. MAN SHOT DEAD. EMIL COETZEE? CENTRAL POLICE STATION. Although Spokes had wanted to receive something very different, he could not help but be excited by what he held in his hands.

‘How long has this message been here?’ Spokes enquired of his fellow officers. They all blankly stared back at him. ‘Does anyone know who put this here?’

‘Must have already been on your desk when we came in this morning,’ one of the officers said.

Spokes unhooked his fedora from the back of the door and left the office.