Proof

Proof

Detective Michelle Hewson discreetly rubbed her feet as her boss gave her the bad news. “Nothing?” said Michelle. “No DNA at all?”

Michelle thumbed her twitching eye. Her head throbbed. She had four hours left before she would have to let this low life go. She knew he did it. She could still feel the whisper of his pepperoni breath on her neck. She shivered as she thought of his words; “Don’t be jealous, Sweetheart. It’ll be you next.”

Michelle grabbed herself some coffee and headed to her desk to check for a lifeline. “Michelle, quick. Look at this,” said the newest recruit, Mark. Michelle watched carefully as her suspect was caught on CCTV ten minutes before the attack, five minutes from where it took place.

“Why didn’t we get this before?” Michelle glared at the squad room. The incompetence of her colleagues was sometimes too much to stomach. “Give it here, Mark. Come on, you come with me. We need some answers.”

As she stood at the door to the interview room, she took a deep breath. She entered with her shoulders back and head high. “Right, Mr. Jenkins. Let’s have another chat, shall we?”

When Michelle joined the police, she had promised herself to never judge a suspect. They are all people, they all deserve respect. That was her core belief. Now, twenty years later, she had been tainted by the crimes she witnessed. The perpetrators always inhabited a human form. But it was so often a lie.

“Paul, you say you were with your friend in Finsbury on the night of 6th June? Right?”

Paul smiled and said, “You know I was, Sweetheart.”

“Okay. We have CCTV that proves you were actually in the location of the attack. Proof. Now, tell me the truth!”

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