The Suspect

ubrey Fenton was a man who's face fitted the crime, was that why he was being grilled? They pullled him in twenty minutes after the gruesome discovery of the decapitated body, Fenton had some form but not for anything like this, he had done time for petty larceny and persistant drunkeness but to those who knew him well, he was a harmless soul beneath that rugged outer shell. The new chief at the precinct had a reputation for getting quick results, did he get that reputation by putting the pressure on weak minded rough casts such as Fenton? It was 2-30am in the morning when they pulled him out of his bed he had been in a drunken sleep, it was now 5-15am and he still didn't know what was happening he just needed another drink and his interrogaters knew this, they were counting on a fair exchange a stiff drink for a signed statement. There was one friendly face in the interview room and Fenton stared at it continuously, a bottle of Jack Daniels had been deliberately placed on the cabinet in the corner to weaken even further Fenton's resistance. A statement had been prepared and laid on the table in front of him with a pen alongside, they had told him,

A tear came to the eye of this brutish looking man, for the first time he realized they were trying to fit him up and deep down inside he was cursing his weakness. He searched for some inner strengh as he tried to focus on something different than the bottle of medicine on the cabinet, there was a poster on the wall warning about counterfeit money and a ten dollar bill had been enlarged, he was able to read on the bill -

Fenton had found another friend in this unfriendly room and knew that this new friend would pull him through.

His accussers spat out their venom at him, they were getting impatient as the unsigned statement just lay there, Fenton looked up at them and smiled, not a contemptuous smile but a smile of satisfaction, which baffled his predators and put them off balance. He spoke with a calmness that was somewhat unconventional regarding his circumstances, with an echo of eloquence that seemed alien coming from his rough framework.

Fenton had said his piece and the silence that followed showed that he had said it well, It was a welcomed interuption when the door flew open, and a red faced chief broke the silence saying, ' there's been another killing, identical to the last one, and this time we've got a wittness, we've got a name and an address, so what are you dummies hanging about here for'?????