Page 23 of Copper Script
“Had his hand out.Now we’re having to look at all the men he was usually on duty with, the filthy bastard.Do you have something on him?I want to make the sort of example of him everyone else won’t forget in a hurry, and every little helps.”
Aaron gave him Wildsmith’s account, without a name.Cassell heard him out but shrugged his shoulders.“Sounds about right.We had a couple of similar complaints from street-walkers.No use to me, though.”
“It’s indecency on his part, and on my witness’s story, it’s clear incitement.”
“They always claim incitement.I’m not getting bogged down in a he-said-she-said with queers, or dragging in a hard-to-prove misconduct charge that he can use to muddy the waters.”
“What Sefton did was tantamount to assault.”
“It’s hardly assault if your chap signed up for it.”
Aaron felt his gut clench.“Under false pretences.And he paid dearly for it.”
“Shouldn’t have broken the law, then.I dare say he feels hard done by, but he got two months for soliciting when it might have been two years for gross indecency.The important thing is that we get Sefton dismissed from the Force, and we will, no matter what the Commissioner thinks.Why did this come to you?”
“In the course of another case.I said I’d look into it.”
“Well, he can bring a complaint if he wants to admit to an offence, but he did less time than he might have, and the man responsible is losing his position anyway.I’d say your fellow is best off keeping his mouth shut.In more ways than one.”
He laughed at his own witticism.Aaron’s neck muscles spasmed so hard they hurt, but he made himself smile too.
***
THAT MEETING DIDN’Tput him in a better mood.He told himself that Cassell was an honest man, a good copper, doing the right thing overall.Perhaps one in a hundred of their colleagues would find anything wrong in his casual dismissal of Wildsmith’s experience, and Aaron just had to live with that because it wasn’t going to change.The knowledge didn’t make their conversation easier to swallow.
It did, however, add one more tally mark on Wildsmith’s side of the ledger, even if having told the truth about his conviction didn’t make his graphological claims any more plausible.Notwithstanding, Aaron made the time to drop round to his cousin’s flat that evening and let him know that any attempt to bring suit for slander was doomed to fail.
“You must be joking, Ronnie,” Paul said.“You can’t be serious.You know this fellow lied about me.”
“He said your letter read like you’d just rolled out of bed with another woman.You admitted to me that you did exactly that.”
“Buthedidn’t know that!”Paul protested.“You said yourself it wasn’t possible for him to know.So he was making it up, and making things up about people is slander.”
“Not if you hit on the truth, it isn’t.Your complaint is that he accurately described something you did, and I really can’t help you with that.”
“Then what use is it having a policeman in the family?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“Anyway, you’re missing the point,” Paul said.“This Blacksmith fellow—”
“Wildsmith.”
“He owes me damages for my reputation, and for spoiling my marriage.Babs’s people are well oiled, you know, and awfully well connected.It would have been a jolly good thing for me and instead I’ve been made a laughing stock through no fault of my own—”
“Oh, come off it,” Aaron said.“No fault?”
“She wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for that little swine!And he can’t be allowed to go around making wild what-do-you-call-ems.”
“Statements of fact?”
“Accusations.Oh, come on, Ronnie, you’ll stand by me, won’t you?”
“In what way?”Aaron enquired.
“He made this absurd allegation with no way to back it up.If I bring suit and you help me out, we can teach the little devil a lesson about slandering his betters.”
Aaron had been offended when Wildsmith suggested he would lie on oath for his cousin.He wasn’t offended now, since he hadn’t expected or hoped for anything better, but he was annoyed.“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.Don’t embarrass either of us by repeating it.”
