Page 10 of Worth the Wait
Bowen nodded, pen scratching. “Thank you.”
Nathan stayed still, breathing through his nose, the way he used to in briefing rooms before deployment. Right before a mission when everything in his body screamedmove, but he had to wait for the green light.
He wanted to say something. Not to excuse Alfie, but to explain. Give the room some context. But this wasn’t the time. And Freddie being the one giving the account made the air feel ten degrees hotter.
That voice hadn’t changed. Clipped. Even. That low, quiet way Freddie had of being furious without ever raising it above room temperature. Controlled anger, polished sharp. Nathan could still hear it.Feelit. And he flexed his fingers beneath the table. Old habit. Bleed off the tension where no one could see.
They weren’t in a war zone. Weren’t in bed. Weren’t anything anymore.
But fuck if this didn’t feel as dangerous.
DS Bowen leant back in her chair. “Alright, Alfie. We’ve established you weren’t there to take over anyone’s turf. So tell me, what led to the assault?”
Alfie gave a half-hearted shrug.
Bowen opened the file in front of her. “We’ve reviewed your record.”
That got a reaction. Alfie squirmed.
“Previous contact with police in Romford.” Bowen peered up. “Three separate cautions for assault. One incident of petty theft. All within the last eighteen months.”
She didn’t sound judgmental. More clinical. Factual. That made it worse somehow.
“There seems to be a pattern. Can you tell me why you’re now in Worthbridge, over fifty miles from your last recorded address?”
Nathan’s pulse ticked up. He couldn’t remain silent about that. “We’ve just moved here. Staying at my old man’s until I find us somewhere. It’s why he wouldn’t have known the address to give. He’s not running county lines, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Thank you, Mr Carter,” Bowen said. “I appreciate the clarification. I’m trying to understand the context. It’s important we know who he’s around and what he’s walking into.” She turned back to Alfie. “Anything you want to add?”
Alfie gave the barest shake of his head. “Didn’t start it.”
“That may be true,” Bowen said gently, “but the fact is, it ended withyouthrowing the first punch. And from the observations and evidence gathered, you didn’t stop at one punch either. So I need to understand why.”
Silence.
Alfie stared down at the table.
Nathan could feel the tension radiating off him. Not anger exactly. More fragile than that. As though Alfie was one question away from either cracking open or shutting down completely. And Nathan didn’t know which outcome would be worse.
Bowen gave it a beat, then leant in. “Alfie, I’m not here to stitch you up. Those lads you tangled with? They’ve been on our radar for a while. But we need people to speak up before we can do anything about it. Now, maybe you walked into something bigger than you realised. Or maybe you knew exactly who they were and what they were up to. Either way, helping me understand that starts with the truth.”
Alfie didn’t move.
“You’re not helping yourself by staying quiet. And you’re not helping anyone else, either. If there’s something you know, something that gives us reason to bring them in, even for questioning, I can follow that up. But if you leave it here, it looks like an unprovoked assault. And thatwillgo on your record.”
Still nothing.
Nathan shifted in his seat, tempted to speak, but held back. Alfie needed to make the choice himself. Not that he’d even know what to say if he was given the chance. He had as much knowledge about what had made his son lash out today as everyone else in this room.
But Alfie didn’t speak. Didn’t even look up.
He folded further into himself. Tightening his armour.
Bowen leant back, expression unreadable, but Nathan could sense her disappointment. Not in Alfie. In the silence. In the wasted opportunity.
“Alright.” She closed the file in front of her. “This concludes the voluntary interview of Alfie Carter at Worthbridge Police Station. Time is fourteen oh-two. Present in the room: DS Angela Bowen, PC Freddie Webb, PC Harris from Youth Offending, the interviewee, and Mr Nathan Carter acting as appropriate adult.” The digital recorder gave a softbeepas the red light clicked off.
With the formalities done, she folded her arms.
