Middleton's involvement
As if the demise of one innocent teenage boy isn't horrifying enough, Ollie Readshaw’s fatal accident is joined by a possible murder when Danny Sissoulu, victim of a vicious attack in the street, dies of his injuries in hospital.
With Danny's brother Kip and his best friend Mo adamant that Craig Middleton was the man who put Danny in hospital, Manson hauls him in for further questioning. Middleton reveals that, contrary to the statements of other witnesses, Kip had previously flashed a knife at his baby daughter earlier that day, and that Danny's turn with a blade during their altercation left him with gruesome slashes to his side.
“We're talking self-defence”, confirms Supt Meadows, who sets out to prove that Danny and his mates were carrying knives at the time of the attack. But there's something hiding in the closet that might just stop Middleton's story from adding up...
Racism?
Following Middleton's allegations, several of the coppers on the case are certain that he was the real victim in the case. Banksy, however, is far from convinced that Danny, Kip or Mo are capable of such violence – and rails against the racist stereotyping unleashed by a few of his colleagues.
“They're a good family – hard-working, church-going people – and I'd struggle to believe that Craig felt threatened enough to exact that sort of violence,” he explains. But Mo's disappearance only serves to add credibility to Middleton's statement, leaving some of Banksy's white colleagues assuming that that the kids were either in a gang or just up to no good. Tempers boil over in the station – and Carter comes in for some serious earache.
Danny and the knife
In a bid to discover whether Danny was involved in any criminal activity, Manson has the Sissoulu family home wired. And much to Banksy's dismay, evidence that Kip, Danny and their sister Chrissy would prefer to keep undercover soon comes to the fore.
Firstly, Chrissy and Kip's mention of three letters – INO – is thought to be the name of a gang. And when a home video clip of Danny wearing a balaclava and waving knives at the camera is also discovered, even Banksy is forced to consider that the dead teenager is far more involved in gang culture than his family – especially his despairing mother – could ever have thought.
“We need to get this exactly right.”, Meadows hums. “Either a good man goes down for defending himself, or a family fail to get justice for their murdered son...”