I opened the shower door and grabbed the towel, dried myself and wrapped the towel around me. I opened the bathroom door and walked into my bedroom with the officer following and put on the clothes that i had prepared the night before for my day at the office. I tied my hair back, put moisturiser on and told her i was ready to go. The officer opened the bedroom door and called for her colleagues who had all congregated in the lounge, one by one they came into the hallway and had a conversation between them as to who was going to go where. I zoned out.
A male officer approached me and pulled out handcuffs from his back pocket
‘do we really need to do that? I'm hardly going to go anywhere am i?’ i looked at the female officer and she nodded and the male officer returned the cuffs to his pocket. We walked out of the flat in convey and i was directed to sit in the back of a large car people carrier i think , as i was making my way to the car i heard the officer mention my previous firm and discussing directions.
‘why are we going to Williams and Co?’ i looked at the officer who rolled her eyes at me
‘we’re going to Williams and Co to collect any files that are relevant to the case’ she seemed pissed off that she had to explain something to me.
‘well your not going to find anything there, i moved offices 6 months ago and none of my files are at Williams and Co, they are stored at my office’ i realised that the officers had obviously not done their homework because the look of shock on both the officers face was a treat.
‘which is where?’ she said taking her phone out of her pocket
‘Notting Hill, ill direct you if it makes it easier’ i smiled cause i realised that they didn't have a clue what a fuck up they had made and would now have to call all the people dealing with this case and explain that they had missed a pretty vital point. They were now having to rely on me and would look pretty stupid when they had their debrief. The officer made a few calls on her phone and then returned to the car.
What the police didn't know was that although the files were stored at my office i didn't want them knocking the door of my parents house, getting them up and taking my dad to the office. 2 months earlier my mother had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and the last thing i wanted was for them to go to her house and for her stress more than she already was.
I directed the officers to my office in Notting Hill and as they parked in the bay across the office i realised that my business partner would be arriving at my flat to pick me up to bring me to the office and my secretary would be arriving at the office to start her day. I had been refused permission to leave him a note to explain my absence and knew that he would be confused and pissed off that i hadn't waited for him. My secretary on the other hand had a nervous disposition and i knew that she would either burst out in tears of she would have a nervous breakdown. I asked the officers if i would be able to tell them both when they arrived at the office what had happened, they agreed that i could do this.
On entering the office i realised that i did not have the key to the outside storage unit, where the files had been stored and duly informed the officer who muttered something under her breath. The door opened and it was the other officers who had followed us to the office, they went into my office and started unplugging the computer and transporting it to their cars. I didn't have the energy to ask why and by this stage actually didn't care. Logic would tell you that the alleged offence took place at another office; this office had only been open for 6 months; the alleged offence took place 2 years prior, so why would the computers be of any relevance? no doubt it was what the police manuals instructed them to do and they were going to follow the rules to the letter.
at 9.10am the office door opened and my business partner walked in,He looked very confused but relieved that i was there.
I stood up , ‘Ive been arrested and this is the police and they want to search the office’ i talked fast but precise as i knew that i had only been allowed to say the necessaries and not anything more.
‘ok’ The anger that had been etched on his face had turned to concern ‘ are you OK? whats this all about?’
‘its nothing to do with this office its do with......’ my conversation was abruptly terminated by the officer who said that certain information could not be disclosed.
Dave walked into my office where all the officers had congregated and were discussing the computer system and why there was no information stored on it, how they could enter it and whether it was some highly technical system that was installed to protect the information. I wasn't allowed to enter the room or to have any discussions with the ‘technical team’ but had they asked i would have explained that the computer system was remote and was entered via a password but was done in this manner to save cost and because it was the new technology that all efficient law firms used.
Dave walked into the room and explained the system and with their authority contacted our ‘computer host’ for them to provide any information that the police required.
Having removed all the files that they required and the computers from the office, the officers left the building leaving me with the female officer and the officer that had driven us to the office.
The door opened again and it was my secretary and as predicted completely freaked out,
‘whats happening?’ she looked as thought she was going to faint and again i stood up and reeled off the same statement as i had done with my business partner.
I wasn't given the opportunity to talk to her or to tell her everything was going to be OK,
‘right we are gonna make our way to the station now’ the officer said standing up
‘which station are you taking her to?’ Dave asked, he was standing by the door and i knew that he was going to make his way down to the station the moment we left.
‘dont know yet, Paddington or Hammersmith i think’ the officer did not make any eye contact with Dave but instructed me to stand up and ushered me towards the door.
‘Why are you taking her so far? well i need to to know where she is going to be cause ill have to pick her up’ he was stern and authoritative which seemed to unnerve the officer. The two officers looked at one another and the female officer nodded to the male officer
‘we’re taking her to Hammersmith Police Station’ and as soon as that was said i was lead out of the office and into the police car.
As i sat in the back seat of the police car i knew that i had to do something, i had to let Dave know to call an old friend who I had worked with at a criminal law firm to alert them to what had happened and to instruct them to send someone to the station. My head was a fuzz but i knew what had to be done.
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