The Voice Within

Chapter 1 : London, April 10th 2011

A slight movement in the bed. A breath that wasn't his own. A sudden sense of not being alone. He forced his eyes open and immediately remembered. It had been one of those work binges. Everyone in the pub till throwing out time then on to a club till three. He turned his head slowly and saw her. She had reddish hair tangled around her head. Her back was naked and he assumed the rest of her was too. She was a new recruit – he remembered that. Fresh from university. The paper was full of thrusting eager young women like her who easily succumbed under the influence of drink to the persuasion of hacks like him. But he knew the form. When she awoke she would be distraught. She wouldn't remember how she got here and would be terrified that she had somehow jeopardised her job. Or she might be one of the aggressive ones – threats and abuse, possibly the hint of extortion. He groaned inwardly. What was her name? He had made a mental note – an image to help him remember. Something to do with moss. It couldn’t be moss – no-one was called that. Heather, that was it. Heather. In a moment, he would wake her gently. Tell her it was alright, that's how it was in the newspaper business. You worked hard and played hard.

His musings were suddenly shattered by a thunderous noise from outside. He leapt naked from the bed, accompanied seconds later by Heather who was holding one hand to her mouth and the other ineffectually over her pubic hair. Voices screamed incoherently accompanied by the sound of heavy beating on the front door. His mind raced with scenarios. Someone had died – his mother, his son. Perhaps it was an old enemy. Someone he'd written about and upset. He scrambled to the floor in search of clothes, coming head to head with Heather who had the same idea. Last night they had abandoned their garments with undue haste and now had to navigate a tangle of socks, tights and underwear. He found his shorts knotted round her bra. 

Racing down the stairs, he tripped in the half light and fell down the last few steps. 

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He pulled himself upright, clasping his aching right thigh. "Who is it? What do you want?" 

"Police. Open the door! We have a warrant to search your property." 

His knees almost buckled as he steadied himself against the wall. He had no choice. He turned the lock and pulled the door open. 

"Douglas Penhallam. We are investigating alleged offences of phone hacking. We have reason to believe that you may be hiding information that you did not disclose to us at your recent interview." 

"But I've told you all I know. How dare you fucking do this to me! Let me see that warrant." 

Three officers pushed past and raced into the flat. They wore black combat suits. He heard a scream from Heather upstairs. 

"This is absurd." His words echoed in his head like an old movie soundtrack. 

"Shall we go inside, Mr. Penhallam, sir? You must be getting cold standing there just in them shorts." He looked down at his near nakedness. A trickle of blood meandered slowly from his thigh to his knee. He had never before felt so vulnerable. 

In the lounge, which still contained the detritus of last night's excessive drinking, they made him sit down whilst they searched the premises. He caught sight of Heather being led down the stairs with a sheet draped around her. She was sobbing loudly. They were having a whispered conversation just out of his earshot. He looked around the dishevelled room. Drawers had been pulled open. His papers were spread over the table, slowly absorbing some of last night's spilt coffee. His laptop had been sealed into a plastic bag. 

"Mr. Penhallam," began the senior officer, his hands clasped in front of his paunch. "We have reason to believe that, when you were formally interviewed under caution last week in connection with Operation Weeting about alleged phone hacking offences, you failed to disclose information which could be of significant value to our enquiries. Our investigations this morning have confirmed our suspicions. I therefore have no alternative but to arrest you and to take you to a police station for further questioning."