Play@YSDC

”No, you’re not under arrest but you’re under a lot of stress and you were driving erratically so one of my colleagues will drive you home and I’ll bring your car back. If you’d just like to take a seat in the patrol car and I’ll talk to my colleagues, OK?” replied Kris.

Seeming more self assured now, Balfour pulls himself up to his full height. 'I can assure you I will have no difficulty taking my own car home. In over twenty years of driving I have never had an accident, can you say the same detective?'

He puts his hand out for his keys. 'Either arrest me or let me go.'

Kris could see the way this was going to go down, but felt his options were limited. ”As I said, Mr Balfour,” he said evenly. “You’re under a lot of stress and your driving was erratic. Whether you caused an accident or not is immaterial, I think it would be safer for everyone if you went with my colleague and I bring your car back for you.”

Balfour doesn't move and his hand remains outstretched. The uniformed officers exchange confused glances and then look at Kris expectantly.

OOC,You can roll Law to see what powers Kris might have in this situation

Kris thinks he could probably arrest Balfour for 'Driving Without Due Care and Attention' due to him driving erratically and too close behind. He could also seize the car and call for a recovery truck to take it to the pound.

OOC,Sentences for the lowest severity careless driving would be a fine and/or points on his license. Impounded cars cost a £150 recovery fee plus £20/day storage

”I’m sorry, Mr Balfour, but I must insist,” said Kris firmly. “I’m not prepared to return your keys and run the risk of you having an accident on the way home.” He held up a hand to forestall any arguments and continued in a softer tone. “When we find Regina - and we will find her - she’ll want her dad in one piece, won’t she? So let’s get you home and then I can get on with finding her, OK?”

Keeper rolls,Psychology 60%,[dice]0[/dice], bonus [dice]1[/dice]

Staring Kris right in the eye, a little too close for comfort, Balfour stands there for a few seconds, the two uniformed officers seem to be holding their breath.

Then his shoulders sag and his arm drops by his side. One of the officers places her hand on his arm and leads him back to the patrol car.

OOC,So Kris now has the keys to Balfour's car. He also has his CID car parked beside the road. Be could ask one of the officers to take one of the cars, or he could call for another patrol car. He also needs to decide where he wants to take Balfour's car, to the pound, to the station, or to Balfour's house (for instance). Also time is ticking on and he's not sure when the Happy Cafe shuts. Jocelyn and Simon said they'd meet him there and they're probably there by now.

It is 6.25pm. The sky is dark but Kris and the others are lit by the headlights of the heavy evening traffic heading from Aylesbury down to High Wycombe. Cars slow as they pass by, straining to see why the police have stopped beside the road and to get a look at the presumed wrongdoer.

Kris glanced at his watch and realised that making it to the cafe will be a big ask. He called over to one of the PCs and said ”Can you take my car back to the station. I’ll bring Mr Balfour’s car back once I’ve spoken to DS Bates.” He flicked the hazard lights on in Balfour’s car, then walked back over to the CID car and fetched a fluorescent traffic vest from the boot.

As he pulled the jacket on and started to bring traffic to halt to allow the two PCs to nose out into traffic, he pulled his mobile from his pocket and said, “Hi, Lucy? Are you still there?”

After a few seconds he hears Lucy, 'Sorry Kris, had it on speaker, I'm still here. Sounds like you resolved the Balfour situation anyway. You know you would never have got away with arresting him for anything, imagine the headlines with his daughter missing. Good job he agreed to come quietly.'

”Yep,” replied Kris shortly. He’d had arrested Balfour if he pushed it and damn the consequences.

“Anyway, Balfour's on his way home. One of the plods is running him home and someone’s bringing my car back to the station. I’ll just check that Balfour’s car is safe to drive and I’ll be back shortly.”

DS Bates says 'Okay, see you back at the station. I can update you on today's progress but there's not much to report unfortunately.'

Kris signs off and rings Jocelyn, while he checks the road worthiness of Balfour’s SUV... ...

OOC,Kris is using this as a chance to have an unofficial look around Balfour’s car, on the off chance anything incriminating has been left behind... ... Spot Hidden (40%) - [dice]0[/dice] Edit: 8-)

Searching Balfour's car from top to bottom reveals nothing incriminating. A few boxes of communion wafers and a black cassock are in the boot. The back seat has a child's car seat with a few crumbs and old sweets stuck to the upholstery. In the front of the car there are the usual accessories, windscreen scraper and so on. In the footwell of the passenger seat there is a copy of the King James Version of the Bible. Simply from the position of the ribbon Kris is pretty sure that Exodus 11-12 is marked.

Beside the Bible is another copy of The Book of the Passover Angel. This one is hardback and leather bound, contrasting with the cheap paperback that Simon found. Kris idly leafs through it and sees that it is the Reverend Balfour's personal copy. It seems to be roughly the same as the book Simon described except that in addition to the first two chapters being reprints of the books of Genesis and Exodus, there is an additional appendix, as a fifth chapter, reprinting the book of Jeremiah.

-----

While he is searching the car Kris receives a call from Jocelyn.

OOC:   Nice roll

”Hi Jocelyn. Are you at the cafe?” Kris asked. “I’d planned to meet you there but found myself being tailed by John Balfour. Yeah, in his car. I pulled him over and he was in a bit of a state so I got a PC to run him home. I’ve got his car to drop off. I’ve had a scoot - got to make sure it’s roadworthy haven’t I - but nothing much of interest, except his personal copy of his book which Simon might want to take a quick look at before I return the car.”

”Anyway, how are you getting on at the cafe? Did you find out anything about Lewiston’s visits?”

OOC,Cheers :)

"Yes, we're at the cafe," says Jocelyn. "Simon tried to talk to a woman there, but it didn't go over well. I think he's barred, but I can try after I get off the phone with you, though I need to know what we should be asking about specifically. It may help if I use his alias, since they wouldn't know him as Lewiston. I'm just relieved you're all right. Simon will be glad to see that you've got a copy of the book. It'll be even better if he wrote any notes in it."