Legacy by Ian Haywood Read Free Book Online Page A

losing battle to keep his weight under control.
 
    They both stared at me in silence for a few moments which made me feel extremely uneasy and threatened until the welcoming sight of a female police officer walked in to join us, promptly giving me a smile before sitting on the empty chair next to me, easing my anxiety just a little.

The uneasy silence within the room was immediately broken after the door closed when the older man stepped forward and introduced himself to me.
                  “Miss Gallagher, I am Detective Inspector Harran and this is my colleague Detective Sergeant Short.”

I hadn’t been called Miss Gallagher since my comprehensive school Headmistress used to call me that after I had been sent to her office for misbehaving in class to face what punishment she saw fit – but what I was facing right now was a lot more serious than any amount of lines.
     
    The man continued speaking, trying to sound sincere, but failing badly.
                  “I know that you have gone through a lot already, but we really do need to ask you a few questions in order to understand a lot more about what happened in the alleyway tonight.”

I couldn’t stop my body from shaking as I tried to recall what had happened to me in the alleyway earlier and as I struggled to get my words out, I felt my left hand being gently held by the female officer who could sense my obvious distress.
     
    What I could remember I told them, taking nervous deep breaths as I did so.
                  “I can remember hearing something out my back garden and when I looked out, I saw a broken flower pot on the ground and I caught a glimpse of something moving.”
                  “So you just walked out into your garden without any thought that someone could be out there waiting to cause you harm?” the older policeman asked sarcastically, “Looking back, do you really think that was a smart move?”
     
    I immediately saw red after he spoke to me in such a condescending manner and without a second’s thought for how much trouble I could get myself into, I was not going to continue being attacked by anyone anymore – be it verbally or physically.
                  “Who the hell do you think you are to judge me? You don’t know anything about me! I had heard cats nearby and I opened the door to scare them away so I could get some bloody peace, but how was I to know that some crazy sick perverted sorry excuse for a man was prowling about in my garden ready to pounce on me? I didn’t go out there to be attacked, I didn’t go out there to be dragged into some alley and be forced to the ground so that piece of shit could try and rape me! Have you ever experienced anything like that? Have you ever had that feeling of complete helplessness as someone stronger than you decided whether you survived to see another day? That bastard deserved everything that he got in that alley! I’m glad he’s dead because I may not have been the first woman that he has attacked - maybe there’s loads of women out there who are too frightened to come forward just in case he finds them and kills them because I saw the look in his eyes when he pushed me onto the ground and I truly thought that I was going to die tonight!”
                  “Calm down, Miss Gallagher! May I remind you of the seriousness of why we are speaking to you right now?” the older policeman said firmly as the female officer finally persuaded me to sit back down onto my chair, but the feeling of anger inside me would not cease and my body continued to tremble as I recalled looking up at my attacker.
              “Don’t tell me to calm down! I did not kill that bastard, but if I was given the chance to I would gladly take it just to see him suffer for what he put me through.” I shouted back.
              “So there was somebody else in the alleyway with you?” the younger man