Young and Hungry - For Life - 33. A Few Statements

Romel was in two minds. He now needed the support of his closest friend more than ever before, but that friend’s partner was now estranged from him through actions over which he had no more control. He knew he would have to go through this alone.

He steeled himself, got out of his car and walked into the police station, to give a statement, as requested by the attending officer the night before.

Please take a seat Mr Campos, I’ll tell detective Vincenti you are here, he shouldn’t be too long.

As Romel waited, he went over, in his mind, the events of the night before and wondered if there was anything he could have done differently. ‘God, what did I say last night, I’ll have to say the same today, or they’ll accuse me of lying and trying to cover up. Shit, I’ve seen so many of those trashy police shows Edward used to watch, I should know what to do. But is that reality, or just over dramatised fiction. Fuck, that goddamn awful word is now haunting me’.

He looked at his phone, selected phone book, scrolled down to Craig, and paused. While his thumb hovered over the call symbol, he heard “Mr Campos?” but ignored the request, while he thought for a moment. Then again “Mr Campos... detective Vincenti... are you ready?”

“Oh yes, coming” he replied as he slipped the phone into his pocket.

***

The interview with the police was not as bad as Romel had anticipated. He explained very carefully what had happened, the detective took notes and then told Romel he would type it while he waited and provide a printed a copy for Romel to read and sign.

“Have you anything to add or any questions before I type your statement?”

“No, I think I’ve told you everything, and thank you for being so caring and easy to talk to. Not at all what I expected”

“Yes, TV police drama has a lot to answer for when it comes to portraying the real force. We’re not really all, gun-toting, divorced, with a problem child, screwed up cops on a mission to arrest the first suspect and pin a crime on them, to get another notch on their gun handle. Most of us just want to get to the facts and prove to the largely law-abiding public, we’re on their side”

“That’s reassuring”

“While you wait, the desk sergeant can get you a coffee or tea. But frankly I’d go for the tea, I’ve tasted his coffee.

“I think I’ll risk that coffee, I’m not really a tea person”

<>

While waiting, Romel availed of the coffee offer.

“Here you are mate, milk and two sugars, right”

“Oh thanks officer. Good of you”

“Our motto is, to protect and serve.” He replied with an emphasis on the word, serve. Then he gave Romel a sympathetic smile, another gesture Romel was not expecting. The desk sergeant was so heavy handed with the sugar, that it disguised the real taste of his coffee and made it actually drinkable, in a sickly sweet sort of way.

Romel decided that he needed some comfort, so he rang Craig “Are you alone?”

“Sort of, Justin’s out the back with Caleb, why”

“I need to talk to you and I don’t want Justin to know...well what I mean is, I don’t want to cause any problem between you two”

“That’s fine, but if you’re calling to try to fix this rift, I think it’s too early for that”

“I know, it’s not that, but it is about Edward. I’m at the police station making a statement about last night”

“Fuck, what happened?”

Romel explained the events of the previous night to Craig, in minute detail. Having just gone over it again for the police, it was now all very clear in his mind.

“Oh my god Romel, are you OK, do you want me to come to you?”

“I’m coping, the police are very supportive and I don’t want you needing to go behind Justin’s back, because I don’t think he will be very supportive at present”

“OK, as long as you are coping”

“I feel a bit better, just having spoken to you. I knew you’d be supportive”

“Of course and don’t hesitate to call if you need me at any time”

“What about Justin?”

“I’ll deal with him, this is more important at the moment”

“Oh, they’re calling me, I’ll have to go now”

<>

Justin had listened to the last few minutes of the conversation, from the kitchen. When Craig ended his call, Justin asked “Who are you going to deal with?”

“What?”

“You said ‘I’ll deal with him’, who?”

“Just a figure of speech. That was Romel on the phone, about Edward”

“Did you tell him grovelling won’t work. I just don’t want to hear from either of them”

“Shut up and listen to me, it’s bad news”

“Everything about Edward is bad news, unless... has he topped himself?”

“What a positively evil thing to say”

“One can only hope”

“Stop that, and listen. Edward overdosed last night”

“Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person”

<>

Romel was recalled to the detective’s office, read his statement, signed it and was given a copy to keep. As he left, Vincenti said “Oh please give my best wishes to Mr Williamson, and tell him I’ll see him tomorrow for his statement, if his doctor gives me the green light”

“Will do, and by the way, the coffee’s not too bad”

“Good to know. Chao, and stay safe”

***

Romel went directly to the hospital and straight up to the Acute Care ward. When he noticed Edward’s bed empty he weakened at the knees and leaned against the door frame.

“Are you alright Sir?” asked a passing nurse.

“Oh...give me a minute please”

The nurse took him by the arm and led him to a chair. “Now sit while you recover and then tell me what’s wrong”

“Yes, yes...of course...I’m here to see my partner Edward”

“Is that Edward Williamson?”

“Yes, has he...?”

“I’m sorry, you’ve just missed him”

“Oh my god, I should have been here”

“No problem” she replied as Romel thought ‘how callous’

“He was transferred to a general ward, after his doctor saw him this morning. That’s a good sign. Just wait and I’ll check the ward number for you”

“Oh thank you, thank you. That’s such a relief. An empty bed where I last saw my partner was a bit of a shock”

“Oh, I see. Yes I can understand that. We really should put a sign on the bed in those cases. Something like ‘Gone to a better place’. Ooo no, that wouldn’t do. I’ll have to think about it more before I put up a recommendation”

“Mmm... the ward number?”

“Coming right up Sir”

<>

Romel felt in need of a strong, decent coffee, so stopped by the cafe for two coffees and also picked up a bunch of flowers in the gift shop.

As he walked into the ward he spotted Edward chatting to, or was that chatting up, a handsome young nurse.

“Oh here’s my partner” Edward said

“Then I’ll leave you two, see you in about an hour for vitals”

“Who was that?” asked Romel jealously

“Will, a good-looker isn’t he?”

“I’m more interested in his nursing qualifications”

“I’m sure he has those too” Edward smiled and continued “So you found me. It’s like musical beds around here. This is the third ward I’ve been in”

“I got quite a shock when I saw your empty bed in acute”

“Is that why you bought flowers?”

“I also bought you coffee”

“Playing it safe hey? Flowers if I was... and coffee it I wasn’t”

“Don’t be so flippant, this is a serious matter. Have they offered you counselling yet?”

“What for, stupidity?”

“Well it is a pretty stupid thing to do, but attempting to take your own life is more than just stupid”

“Who’s trying to...wait...you think this is attempted suicide?” then Edward started laughing.

“This is no laughing matter”

“It is, the way you explain it”

“So how do you explain it? And you’ll have to later in the day, a detective is coming to interview you”

“The cops! Just because I got drunk, in my own home?”

“It was more than drunkenness”

“Sure I got drunk, trying to forget my worries and what I had done to Justin. But the more I drank the worse I felt and I wanted to go to sleep, so I wasn’t going over it in my mind all the time. But that bloody vodka didn’t make me sleepy, so I thought a few Valiums might slow me down and help me sleep”

“You took more than few. You took a whole packet of tablets”

“No I didn’t”

“I found all the empty blister packs in the wash basin”

“Yeah, those little fuckers, do you know how hard it is to get the tablets out of those silver packets, especially when you’re drunk. Every time I popped one out, it dropped into the sink, spiralled round and round, then down the drain. Fucking stupid form of packaging. Whatever happened to pill bottles? I mean, I might have taken more than a few, but not a whole packet. What do you think I am, stupid? Oh yes you do.... Anyway, I wasn’t trying to remove myself from this world, well not permanently; just for a few hours, and it worked. But I would have preferred to have woken in my own bed, instead of this contraption. Just before you arrived I nearly did myself an injury fiddling with the remote control. I was trying to turn on the TV, but nearly folded myself in half”

Romel gave Edward a big hug and said “You super size clot, how dare you scare me like that”

“Oh, you do love me after all”

“Mmm, I’ll reserve judgement on that question”

“While you do that, how about the coffee”

“Oh, I forgot... here”

Edward tasted the coffee and said “So now you’re trying to kill me?”

“What?”

“It’s so bitter, tastes like poison”

As he fumbled in his pockets, Romel said “I’ve got sugar here somewhere”

“So what’s this cop coming for?”

“I had to give a statement this morning about what happened last night and I suppose they want your version of it also”

“What for, getting drunk and popping a few prescription pills in my own home”

“I guess they need to be sure, that’s all it was”

“Of course that’s bloody well all it was. Sure, I was pissed off with myself but not enough to let Justin’s bad attitude push me over the edge”

“Good, now drink up”

“When do you think they’ll let me out of this place?”

“Probably today or tomorrow, unless your doctor recommends a psych assessment”

“No way, I’m not doing that. Not talking to a shrink. That would drive me to drink, or worse”

“Well if you can convince the police maybe you can convince your doctor”

***

“Mr Edward Williamson?”

“Yes, and do you want my date of birth, the day of the week and the Prime Minister’s name?”

“Why would I need to know that?”

“That’s what every doctor and nurse asks me, every hour or so”

The visitor laughed and said “No, I’m not medical staff. I am detective Vincenti, here to take a statement from you”

“Oh I was expecting you. My partner says you’re not a bad bloke, for a cop”

“Thanks” Then as he opened his note book, said “Now on second thought I will need your date of birth for ID purposes”

“I knew it, but you won’t get me to utter his name, no matter what”

“Who?”

“The Prime Minister”

"I'm right with you there, Mr Williamson"

<>

After Edward gave his full name, address and date of birth, he asked “Why are we having this interview. Drinking in my own home and taking prescribed medicine, surely does not constitute a crime”

“Not in themselves, but the combination can have consequences, intended or not, so we need to be sure about how this happened”

“But even if I was doing what everyone seems to think I was doing, surely that is not a crime”

“Suicide has not been a crime in this state since the crimes act was amended in 1983”

“You mean it was once a crime”

“Yes”

“So how would you charge and try a successful suicide?”

“I don’t think that was done, but attempted suicide was prosecuted and still is in some countries, mostly in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The western world mostly treats attempted suicide as a mental health issue, not a criminal matter. Anyway, that’s not the point of my visit. I just need to be sure there was no foul play, you acted entirely of your own volition and were not assisted in any way”

“Firstly, I was not attempting to take my own life and I did not take as many pills as was assumed. Most of them fell down the drain. And all I was trying to do was get to sleep after such a difficult day. As far as foul play, if you’re referring to my partner, hear this. He’s a registered practicing nurse and has Catholicism in his DNA”

“Rather than summarise, why don’t you tell me step by step what happened from the time you arrived home”

<>

At the conclusion of the interview, Vincenti thanked Edward for his co-operation and added “I’ll prepare your statement for you to sign, when you are released from hospital. I’ll also seek advice from the doctors and if they have no issues that will be the end of the matter from my point of view”

“Thanks, it’s been an interesting experience. And Romel was right, you’re not a bad bloke”

“I thank you for your honesty and the compliment. I’ll leave you now and wish you a speedy recovery”

***

Edward was released the following day and given a referral to a urologist, which puzzled him, until he showed the referral and accompanying blood test results to Romel.

“How come I go into hospital as a suspected suicide and come out with a referral to a urologist? Were they examining the wrong end?”

“It seems when your doctor ordered a full blood workup, someone at the lab thought it included a PSA test as well”

“Which means?”

“The test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in your blood. That’s a protein produced by tissue in the prostate. As you know the prostate enlarges in all men as you age, hence your need to urinate sometimes during the night. But if the enlargement is more than normal it could mean you have a growth in the prostate that could be cancerous or benign”

“You mean I’ve got cancer?”

“Not necessarily, but a reading above ten is suspicious and yours is 14. That is definitely of concern”

“Fuck, I don’t want to have to deal with this. I don’t have time to get on the testing and consulting merry-go-round”

“Is that your opinion of medical practitioners?”

“Entrepreneurial medicine, I call it. One referral leads to another and another and ever more invasive and expensive tests”

“Well it’s your life and your body if you want to live, or die, not knowing”

“So you think I should follow up this”

“Absolutely so”

“OK, if it stops you nagging me about it”

***

As soon as they arrived home, Romel called Craig to let him know Edward was home and reasonably well.

“What do you mean reasonably. Does he have some brain damage?”

“No more than usual for Edward. He’s been cleared of benzodiazepine damage. As it turned out he didn’t take as many tablets as I suspected”

“That’s a relief, so he’s going to be fine?”

“From that incident yes, but he has a PSA level of 14 and that’s a worry”

“I’ll say it is, so is he going to see a urologist?”

“Yes, but he took some convincing. You know how Edward is about his health, she’ll be right, is his motto”

“Give him my best wishes”

“Thank you, I think that will mean a lot to him”

“I mean it, but can’t say the same for Justin”

“That’s OK, I understand and I’m pretty sure Edward does also”

“OK, keep me updated on his consult”

“Sure”

<>

When Craig hung up and turned around, Justin was standing behind him. “Shit! You startled me, standing there so quietly. Listening to my phone calls again?”

“Yes, I heard my name mentioned, who was that?”

“Romel, if you must know. Edward’s home and has no ongoing issues from the drug and alcohol combination. Apparently he didn’t take as much as first thought. But he does have a very high PSA reading that is of concern”

“What’s PSA?”

<>

After Craig explained, Justin said “Oh well that’s his problem, I don’t need to know anymore”

“How long are you going to keep up this vendetta?”

“I don’t know what that word means, but if it means not caring about Edward, then the answer is a very long time”

*****