Rhea - Constable on Trial

Constable on Trial

NICHOLAS RHEA

ROBERT HALE

ContenTs

chapter 1

Superinte n dent Askey was marching towards me as I stood near the Pier Road telephone kiosk. He had a look of fierce determination on his face and I wondered if I was due for one of his critical lectures. I tried to recall what I may have done to warrant this rather unusual visit.

Im glad I caught you, Rhea.

Good evening, sir. I saluted even though he was in civilian clothes and clutching a dog lead, at the end of which was his grey curly-haired poodle. It was always sensible to acknow-ledge rank even when they were off duty; after all, this man was in charge of Strensford Division. My most senior boss, in other words. I had earlier learned his dogs name was Whisky. I considered it useful to have that kind of local knowledge at my fingertips, especially when it seemed I was about to be on the defensive.

Hello, Whisky. I spoke gently and patted the little animal, pleased that it wagged its tail and didnt attempt to bite off my fingers.

Not a bad evening, Rhea. Youll be off duty soon?

I made a show of looking at my watch. It was half past nine and, as it was June, there was still some daylight left. Soon the sky would darken, and the towns street lights would burst into life. And there would be noise from the pubs and clubs as heavily fuelled merrymakers tried to find their way home, usually to the sound of car horns and buses trying to clear a route between them.

Another half hour, sir, provided nothing serious happens. Its been a quiet shift so far.

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare. Youll know that poet, Rhea? Superintendent Askey, who we referred to as Arthur behind his back, was fond of quoting Shakespeare. And others.

Shakespeare, sir? I made a brave attempt at an answer.

No, Rhea. William Henry Davies. Now, there is just time for me to break my news. Sergeant Blaketon said youd be making your point here. He asked me to confirm there are no messages for you. Its all quiet in town tonight, so far at any rate. We can all rest safe in our beds, as the poet said. Now, this is what I want to ask how does the thought of detective work appeal to you?

His proposal caught me by surprise and it was a moment or two before I answered. Yes, sir, of course Id be interested. Ive always wanted to be a detective; that was one reason for joining the force.

We are men of the world, Rhea, and know that a good uniform must work its way with the women, sooner or later. Thats Dickens, Rhea, as Im sure you know. So are you courting?

I have a steady girlfriend, sir

I mention that because working with CID requires dedication and, on some occasions, very long hours. You do not work eight-hour shifts as you do on uniform duties but your senior officers will make sure you get time off where possible. The Detective Allowance caters for those extra unrecorded hours and the expense of the civilian clothes you will be wearing on duty. So if you are courting, would this role create domestic problems?

No, sir, I said as convincingly as possible. Ones duty must come first! I know my girlfriend will understand.

Not once or twice in our rough island-story, the path of duty was the way to glory. Not Shakespeare, Rhea, as I am sure you know.

Really, sir!

Tennyson, as a matter of fact. Now, I will set the necessary wheels in motion but it will take a week or two before youre transferred. Changes are afoot, Rhea; the force is very seriously considering ways of modernizing the service. After all, it is more than ten years since the end of World War II; many households now have telephones and the police will soon have portable radios. New ideas and procedures will be necessary if we are to embrace those changes; we must not resist but we must adapt. In any case, the station bike is almost worn out and I doubt it will ever be replaced. Maybe an extra car for the station is too much to hope for! Anyway, my own feeling is that Strensford CID could benefit from a young detective with innovative ideas that will help to update the service at local level. Youd be on trial with our local CID for an initial period of six months. How does that sound?

Reforms are all right so long as they dont change anything. I think that was Mickey Mouse, sir.

Theres many a true word spoken in jest, Rhea. Well, I must leave you to cogitate upon your future but with a record of CID work on your personal file, your career would be assured. Promotion would surely follow provided you pass the necessary exams, of course and keep out of trouble.

Thank you, sir, Ill do my best and I appreciate your confidence in me.

Youve earned it, Rhea. After all, recognizing a stolen coat two years after the theft had occurred is a remarkable feat of observation and detection. And the fact you achieved it when just out of your probationary period is quite astonishing.

It was nothing, sir I began.

Nonsense! It had all the hallmarks of first-class police work. Such an acute sense of observation and an aptitude for crime detection must be properly harnessed, hence your recommendation for a trial period as an aide to CID. You will be known as Detective Constable Rhea once your appointment is confirmed. You will be notified when the vacancy arises a couple of weeks or so from today. I will keep you informed. Now I bid you goodnight. Come along, Whisky.

I watched him walk along the harbourside and thought he looked like a black-winged stilt, a rare wader bird whose enormously long legs are twice the length of those of other species. The stilt has a small body on top and yet it copes without falling over. Superintendent Askey was like that his uniform had to be especially tailored to cater for this tiny body on top of two incredibly long legs. I wondered how he kept his balance with a pint or two of beer inside him. And I wondered if he had ever ridden a penny-farthing.

He was called Arthur after the famous comedian but he had another nickname: Hivpo. That came about due to his habit of quoting Shakespeare, one of his favourite lines being So shaken as we are, so wan with care, which is the first line of Henry IV, Part One . HIVPO in other words.

As I watched him and Whisky disappear into the oncoming darkness of the peaceful streets, I wondered why my detection and recovery of a stolen raincoat should have been so memorable to my superiors. Then I left my point at the kiosk to wend my way back to the police station to knock off duty prompt at 10 p.m., all the time going over the sequence of rather remarkable events involving that coat.

First, though, an explanation of the system of patrolling around those points.

At that time the late 1950s there were no personal radios or mobile telephones, so the only way to contact a police officer while he or she was patrolling in town was to ring on the public telephone at a prearranged visit to a kiosk. For that purpose, the local police had divided Strensford into beats: there were six. Each involved a predetermined route around the telephone kiosks in a particular part of town. The patrolling constable had to visit each of the listed kiosks at stated times and remain there for five minutes before that time and five minutes afterwards. This was known as making a point and there was half an hour between each point. The purpose was to enable the office to contact any constable either by phone or even through a personal visit as Arthur Askey had done.

Those points were more formally known by the longer and more important name of conference points. The system meant that all parts of the town were visited by police foot patrols arranged in the office before the officers went out on patrol. In addition to their availability, their visible uniformed presence provided a sense of security to the people. It seemed as if dozens of bobbies were around, a splendid deterrent against criminality. One old lady told me that seeing police officers patrolling the streets was as reassuring as any insurance policy.