Stumbling into Mischief

Ten

Richard stopped at the door.

It was Sunday, 9:45. Richard was standing outside what he hoped was Jessica Bailey and her boyfriend's house. Apparently, they had been living together for two years but were not married.

He knocked four times, and after roughly 45 seconds, the door opened.

A man appeared. He was extremely tall, towering over Richard, with short curly hair. He was wearing scruffy clothes with a red cap. He looked like he hadn't slept all night, with dark circles underneath his eyes.

He looked rather young, too - 21 at the most. He wasn't quite as scary as Richard had expected.

The man stared Richard up and down, and then mumbled in a deep voice, "What do you want?"

"I'm DI Richard Steel. I'm here to-" Richard stopped, frowning to himself. Something had gone wrong already.

He'd just given his real name. He was supposed to be bloody Robert Stevens.

Typical. Within ten seconds, he'd already managed to make a mistake. Clare wouldn't be pleased. But then again, she'd probably forgive him straight away and somehow make him feel better. She always did.

After mentally slapping himself, Richard decided to continue, hoping the man would forget his name

"I'm... I'm here to ask you a few questions about your partner, Jessica Bailey." He paused. "You're Aiden Royce, right?"

"Yeah." The man replied slowly, still frowning. He looked rather shifty. "But nobody told me you were coming today?"

"Mm, I'm very sorry about that. It was a last minute decision."

There was a pause. Aiden leaned against the door frame, and then spoke again. "I'm sorry, but you can't come in. I'm busy."

Richard frowned. "Why? It'll take fifteen min-"

"I'm very busy. Sorry."

"You don't look busy, Mr Royce."

"Well I am. Come back another time, mate." Aiden said, stepping back and clearly preparing himself to close the door.

However, Richard wasn't going to let that happen. He stepped forward - making sure his foot was in the door.

"Do you want us to find your partner's murderer, or not? Perhaps I should just arrest you right now?"

There was a pause.

Aiden glared at him - for a moment which felt like an extremely long time to Richard - and then let out a sigh. He stood up straight, and slowly nodded. "Alright. Alright."

Richard continued to watch him, secretly feeling rather triumphant. His threats had never actually been taken seriously before.

"Thank you, Mr Royce."

"Fifteen minutes. And that's all, Steel."

And as Aiden turned around, Richard pulled a face to himself.

Damn. He remembered his name.

* * * *

Aiden led Richard to what looked like a living room. He didn't offer Richard a cup of tea, and Richard didn't dare to ask for one - even though he really fancied one.

The living room was a mess; even more chaotic than Clare's desk. There were clothes, empty beer cans, and dirty plates everywhere. Richard didn't feel comfortable in such places.

You could tell there wasn't a woman living there anymore.

Richard found himself somewhere to sit, since Aiden clearly wasn't going to, and sat down. Aiden stood by the wall, still looking shifty.