Liar Liar

101

Thomas Simms looked up as Charlie entered the room. He stared at her briefly, then dropped his gaze to the floor, unable or unwilling to look at her.

Charlie had run down to the custody area as soon as she’d heard that Simms had been brought in. Her first reaction to news of the attack on Richard Ford had been shock – it was Karen and Alice’s funeral today – then as it became clear that Ford’s injuries were superficial and that he had no desire to press charges, her anxiety was tempered with some relief. Ford’s desire to avoid any further involvement with the police would save Thomas Simms a day in court.

‘Thomas?’

He didn’t look up, his face now pressed into his hands. He looked wrung out, exhausted, his dirty, blood-flecked clothes hanging off his thin frame.

‘Thomas, you’re going to have to talk to me.’

‘I don’t need to be lectured by you,’ he replied suddenly. His tone was abrasive and harsh.

‘I’m not going to lecture you, but we need to talk. I know you’re upset, I know you’re angry, but you can’t go around doing things like this.’

‘Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,’ Simms replied, now raising his eyes to Charlie. ‘He deserved it for what he did to my girls and as soon as I’m out of here I’ll be straight back round to finish the jo-’

‘He’s innocent, Thomas.’

‘Bullshit. You had him and you let him go. This is on your head, not mi-’

‘He didn’t start the fires. Any of them.’

‘Then who did?’

Charlie hesitated – unsure how best to respond – so Simms renewed his attack.

‘You haven’t got a clue, have you? You’ve been chasing your tails since day one.’

‘We’re doing everything in our power to catch the person responsible,’ Charlie countered. ‘But believe me when I tell you that you have just attacked an innocent man.’

Finally Charlie’s words seemed to land. Thomas Simms glared at her, but said nothing in response.

‘You could have killed him and where would that have left Luke? What would you have said to him when you were in the dock? When you were behind bars?’

Thomas stared at the floor once more. Charlie softened her tone:

‘I know what you’re going through, I know you have doubts about whether we can bring this guy in, but Luke has to be your number one priority now. You will have justice, I promise you that, but that is our job. Yours is to be with your son.’

Charlie braced herself for an angry comeback, but it never came. Thomas looked up at her sharply, but some of the fire seemed to have gone out of him now.

‘Don’t abandon him, Thomas. Don’t let your anger or your desire for revenge drive a wedge between you. Luke doesn’t want any of that. He just wants you.’

Thomas stared at her and then, from nowhere, tears came, running down his cheeks in thick streams. He wiped them away, but a dam had broken now and he crouched down on the floor, all the tension and misery of the last few days escaping, as his body shook with quiet sobs.

Kneeling down, Charlie put a comforting arm around him.

‘Go to him, Thomas. He needs you now more than ever and if you can help him through the days, weeks and months ahead, then you will have done your job. You’re all he has.’

Charlie had leads to chase and duties to fulfil but these were forgotten now as she held on to the man who thought he’d lost everything, but still had one very valuable prize to fight for.