Short Stories
Power brings corruption, absolute power brings absolute corruption
Nothing much happened to me last month. I got a few jobs of the matrimonial type, not the sort I want, but they pay the bills. None of them very interesting apart from Mrs Cranbury who turned out to be a Mr Cranbury, but nothing to write about here. But then one day I was having my breakfast - a full English of course - in Kate's cafe when I overheard a conversation from a couple of people who were sitting in the corner by the front door. I hadn't seen these people before and I am a regular as you know, and I guessed they didn't know how the acoustics in the cafe worked - I could hear every word that they were saying.
After they left, I asked Kate if she knew who they were. "One of them, the one in the blue jacket, is a local councillor, no idea about the other one," she replied. "Why?"
"It was what they were talking about," I told her. "From what I heard, there's a factory trying to open a new plant here in town, but the council won't give it permission because of the bad reputation the company has with pollution and also poor staff treatment. The guy in the jacket looked like he was taking a kickback to find a way of getting round the expected rejection."
"Well, you're the detective," she said. "What do we do about it. I don't want a polluting factory in the town, and I really don't want a corrupt councillor either."
I groaned inside, I could feel another job appearing that wasn't going to result in any payment. But then I had enough money now from my other jobs, and I couldn't sit back and watch a corrupt politician destroying my town. "Do you know what job the councillor has?" I asked Kate.
"Not sure, I think he is in charge of building regulations, but you can check." She told me his name. I finished my breakfast and returned home to do some research. Kate was right, he was the local buildings regulator. The question now was how to stop him. I called my friend in the police and told him about the problem. While he was keen to help me, he told me there was nothing they could do unless there was some evidence to support an investigation and all there was right now was an overheard conversation in a cafe. If I could come up with some evidence, then perhaps they could do something.
So how could I get some evidence? I didn't think I could follow him, and even if I could, I doubted he would lead me anywhere useful. If I could have tapped his phone that might have led somewhere but that was out of the question as well. But then I remembered Mary. She used to be a cleaner at the town hall, I wondered if she had any contacts at the council offices and I gave her a ring. I was in luck, a friend of hers was a cleaner at the council and she said she would get her to call me.
The next day she called me. Janice was her name, and she knew the councillor and didn't like him. I won't tell you what he called him, but it wasn't very nice. I asked her if she could meet me at the cafe and we agreed to meet the next day as it was her day off.
Janice arrived on time, and we sat in the window, my favourite place - and also somewhere where sound didn't seem to travel from, I don't know why. I explained what was going on and her face lit up. I was puzzled by this reaction until she explained.
"If I can help get this bugger in trouble then count me in," she said. "I told you what I thought of him on the phone, but he is a true Tory, out for what he can get, and the rest can go hang."
"Somehow we need to gather evidence of wrongdoing so the police can act," I told her.
"Do you have one of those bug things I've seen on telly?" She asked me. "You know, those things spies stick under desks and chairs and things."
Sadly, I didn't but I wondered if I could get one or two, and how did they work? I decided to do some work on the internet, and maybe call a few friends. We finished out teas, I paid and asked if Janice would mind if I called her when I had something planned. She was pleased to help. The internet came up with a surprising number of remote bugging devices I could buy, the problem with them though was they only had short transmitting ranges and there was nowhere in the area I could place a receiver. I continued to search and then found a device that could record everything in a room. And it looked ideal for the job as it was disguised as an air freshener that plugged into the mains socket. I ordered three of them so they could be changed regularly, and no-one would notice.
The three days it took for them to arrive seemed like ages, but eventually they were here, and I took them out to take a look. They looked exactly like the three fragrances, plug in air fresheners you can buy, but with the middle container replaced with the recorder. So, it would still give out a perfume, but record as well. I checked the manual. It could record for up to 72 hours of continuous speech and would skip silent times, so if it could be replaced every 2 days or so there would be some lea way if Janice was unable to change it one day.
Janice had agreed to meet me on the following Saturday in the cafe for breakfast - as you know, my favourite place at that time of day and she was there when I arrived. I showed her one of the devices and asked if she would be able to plug it into his office at some time.
"I will be going in tomorrow to clean as I am off on Monday for a hospital appointment." She saw my look. "Nothing to worry about, just a checkup." She smiled, obviously pleased that someone cared. I wondered about her home life but didn't want to ask. I decided I would ask Mary next time I spoke to her.
"When will you be going to his office next?" I asked her and she explained she cleaned the office every other day normally, with occasionally an extra clean if there was to be a meeting. I handed her the other two devices and asked her to change them every two days if possible, and I would come round and collect them from her.
"Can I drop them off here instead?" she asked me.
"Of course," I replied, resolving to check if all was well for her at home. Tuesday was a long time coming but eventually Janice called to say she had dropped off the device at Kate's cafe and I rushed round to collect it. Soon the recording was copied onto my computer and device's memory erased ready to be used again. That evening was one of the most boring I can remember, listening to the councillor rambling on to people on the phone. Sadly, though, there was nothing incriminating in the recording, but I resolved to keep them all anyway. This whole process was repeated every two days and still nothing until a week had passed and I was beginning to think I was on the wrong track when we hit pay dirt. Here was the evidence I needed to give my friend in the police. Whoever the councillor was talking to they were discussing how much it was worth, who else needed to be paid off, who needed to be got out of the way. And it ended with them agreeing to meet in his office the following week.
I called my police friend and told him what I had. "Not enough to use against them though," he told me. "It must be gathered with a warrant allowing for the bug. However," he added, "I think I can take what you have got and get my super to agree to get a warrant, then we can officially use one of your devices to get what we need.
It all went to plan, the recording was now official and could be used in court, and the councillor ended up in prison, where he deserved. But I was still concerned for Janice and called Mary. "She lives on her own in a council flat in a rough area of town and her block is always being vandalised," Mary told me. "There's no lift half the time and she struggles with the shopping - she's on the 5th floor. And then there's the drug taking in the entrance lobby." I asked if the police could do anything. "If she called the police, it would get worse, and they would know it was one of the tenants." I said I would see if there was anything I could think of and called my friend in the police again, but with no success. So, I went to the council. When I said who I was they were pleased to talk to me as the 'saviour of democracy' one of them called me. I explained Janice's problem and they said they would look into it. I didn't hold my breath, but a month later I got a call from Janice. The council had moved her into a newly built estate on the other side of town. Apparently, they had heard of what she had done and they wanted to thank her. She also got a pay rise, but I expect that ended up paying the extra rent I am sure they will want for her new home.
Another job with no financial reward, but I have some new contacts in the council, and I got in the local paper which will be good advertising, and most importantly, Janice is now settled in a home she can feel safe in, so I am happy.
After they left, I asked Kate if she knew who they were. "One of them, the one in the blue jacket, is a local councillor, no idea about the other one," she replied. "Why?"
"It was what they were talking about," I told her. "From what I heard, there's a factory trying to open a new plant here in town, but the council won't give it permission because of the bad reputation the company has with pollution and also poor staff treatment. The guy in the jacket looked like he was taking a kickback to find a way of getting round the expected rejection."
"Well, you're the detective," she said. "What do we do about it. I don't want a polluting factory in the town, and I really don't want a corrupt councillor either."
I groaned inside, I could feel another job appearing that wasn't going to result in any payment. But then I had enough money now from my other jobs, and I couldn't sit back and watch a corrupt politician destroying my town. "Do you know what job the councillor has?" I asked Kate.
"Not sure, I think he is in charge of building regulations, but you can check." She told me his name. I finished my breakfast and returned home to do some research. Kate was right, he was the local buildings regulator. The question now was how to stop him. I called my friend in the police and told him about the problem. While he was keen to help me, he told me there was nothing they could do unless there was some evidence to support an investigation and all there was right now was an overheard conversation in a cafe. If I could come up with some evidence, then perhaps they could do something.
So how could I get some evidence? I didn't think I could follow him, and even if I could, I doubted he would lead me anywhere useful. If I could have tapped his phone that might have led somewhere but that was out of the question as well. But then I remembered Mary. She used to be a cleaner at the town hall, I wondered if she had any contacts at the council offices and I gave her a ring. I was in luck, a friend of hers was a cleaner at the council and she said she would get her to call me.
The next day she called me. Janice was her name, and she knew the councillor and didn't like him. I won't tell you what he called him, but it wasn't very nice. I asked her if she could meet me at the cafe and we agreed to meet the next day as it was her day off.
Janice arrived on time, and we sat in the window, my favourite place - and also somewhere where sound didn't seem to travel from, I don't know why. I explained what was going on and her face lit up. I was puzzled by this reaction until she explained.
"If I can help get this bugger in trouble then count me in," she said. "I told you what I thought of him on the phone, but he is a true Tory, out for what he can get, and the rest can go hang."
"Somehow we need to gather evidence of wrongdoing so the police can act," I told her.
"Do you have one of those bug things I've seen on telly?" She asked me. "You know, those things spies stick under desks and chairs and things."
Sadly, I didn't but I wondered if I could get one or two, and how did they work? I decided to do some work on the internet, and maybe call a few friends. We finished out teas, I paid and asked if Janice would mind if I called her when I had something planned. She was pleased to help. The internet came up with a surprising number of remote bugging devices I could buy, the problem with them though was they only had short transmitting ranges and there was nowhere in the area I could place a receiver. I continued to search and then found a device that could record everything in a room. And it looked ideal for the job as it was disguised as an air freshener that plugged into the mains socket. I ordered three of them so they could be changed regularly, and no-one would notice.
The three days it took for them to arrive seemed like ages, but eventually they were here, and I took them out to take a look. They looked exactly like the three fragrances, plug in air fresheners you can buy, but with the middle container replaced with the recorder. So, it would still give out a perfume, but record as well. I checked the manual. It could record for up to 72 hours of continuous speech and would skip silent times, so if it could be replaced every 2 days or so there would be some lea way if Janice was unable to change it one day.
Janice had agreed to meet me on the following Saturday in the cafe for breakfast - as you know, my favourite place at that time of day and she was there when I arrived. I showed her one of the devices and asked if she would be able to plug it into his office at some time.
"I will be going in tomorrow to clean as I am off on Monday for a hospital appointment." She saw my look. "Nothing to worry about, just a checkup." She smiled, obviously pleased that someone cared. I wondered about her home life but didn't want to ask. I decided I would ask Mary next time I spoke to her.
"When will you be going to his office next?" I asked her and she explained she cleaned the office every other day normally, with occasionally an extra clean if there was to be a meeting. I handed her the other two devices and asked her to change them every two days if possible, and I would come round and collect them from her.
"Can I drop them off here instead?" she asked me.
"Of course," I replied, resolving to check if all was well for her at home. Tuesday was a long time coming but eventually Janice called to say she had dropped off the device at Kate's cafe and I rushed round to collect it. Soon the recording was copied onto my computer and device's memory erased ready to be used again. That evening was one of the most boring I can remember, listening to the councillor rambling on to people on the phone. Sadly, though, there was nothing incriminating in the recording, but I resolved to keep them all anyway. This whole process was repeated every two days and still nothing until a week had passed and I was beginning to think I was on the wrong track when we hit pay dirt. Here was the evidence I needed to give my friend in the police. Whoever the councillor was talking to they were discussing how much it was worth, who else needed to be paid off, who needed to be got out of the way. And it ended with them agreeing to meet in his office the following week.
I called my police friend and told him what I had. "Not enough to use against them though," he told me. "It must be gathered with a warrant allowing for the bug. However," he added, "I think I can take what you have got and get my super to agree to get a warrant, then we can officially use one of your devices to get what we need.
It all went to plan, the recording was now official and could be used in court, and the councillor ended up in prison, where he deserved. But I was still concerned for Janice and called Mary. "She lives on her own in a council flat in a rough area of town and her block is always being vandalised," Mary told me. "There's no lift half the time and she struggles with the shopping - she's on the 5th floor. And then there's the drug taking in the entrance lobby." I asked if the police could do anything. "If she called the police, it would get worse, and they would know it was one of the tenants." I said I would see if there was anything I could think of and called my friend in the police again, but with no success. So, I went to the council. When I said who I was they were pleased to talk to me as the 'saviour of democracy' one of them called me. I explained Janice's problem and they said they would look into it. I didn't hold my breath, but a month later I got a call from Janice. The council had moved her into a newly built estate on the other side of town. Apparently, they had heard of what she had done and they wanted to thank her. She also got a pay rise, but I expect that ended up paying the extra rent I am sure they will want for her new home.
Another job with no financial reward, but I have some new contacts in the council, and I got in the local paper which will be good advertising, and most importantly, Janice is now settled in a home she can feel safe in, so I am happy.