Hipmon's Horror

  Awakened by the ringing of his phone, Alex Benion turned on the lamp beside him, and reached for his mobile, to stop the annoying ringing that had disturbed his sleep, seeing the number he answered the phone.  “Christ, do you know what time it is?”

  “Sorry to disturb you sir…but we need you to come down.” replied a young voice.

  “To the station at this time, it’s only 2.00am.  Surely you can deal with a few punch ups and drunken arguments with the officers you have down there.”

  “There’s been a murder, and Superintendent Barnley wants you to go to the crime scene.  One Hipmon woods, do you know it?”

  Benion had got out of bed now, and had started getting dressed, in the dark it was difficult, because the light from his lamp provided little illumination, but going to the other side of the room to turn on the light switch was too harsh a task at 2.00am.

  “Yeah I know it, I’ll be there in half an hour.” Benion replied whilst struggling to do up his shirt, with his only free hand.

  “Can you be there in 20 minutes?  It’s just the superintendent is there now and he wants to talk with you as soon…”

  “As possible?” he interrupted, “’Course he does; he wants to go back to bed whilst all his minions do the work for him.  I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  “But…”

  “I’ll be there in half an hour and no sooner, I am your senior officer PC Dennis, you’d do best to remember that.”  Benion hung up.

  He knew he had been harsh, but PC Dennis had just woken him up at 2.00am, and the hangover from the previous night had already begun to kick in.  It didn’t matter, PC Dennis was only new. He was so young as well, the work experience visitors who come down to the station look older than him.

  Leaving the house, Benion pulled on his old inspector's coat, got into his car and started the drive towards Hipmon woods.