I have just been met with a face from my distant past. He looked me in the eye, then put his head down and scuttled away.

This is a former drinking buddy, former work mate, former friend.

Some years ago I earned a living as a Mental Health support worker in a residential home. It came to our attention that things were going missing, small things to begin with, a few books, records, Video's. We assumed one of the residents was 'borrowing' them and taking them tov their room. It went on for a while, but then other things began to go missing, a portable TV, a VCR, a deep fat fryer, and then, more oddly, meat out of the freezer.

We all questioned it amongst ourselves, none of us unable to comprehend what was going on.

Then things took a further turn for the worse, now money was going missing out of the safe, drugs out of the medication cupboard. This could mean only one thing, the theif was somebody with access to the key's,the theif had to be one of us.

The police were called, each of us questioned one by one, each of us made to feel like a criminal.

I recall being asked, 'have you noticed anyone acting strangley or out of character?'

'No.' I said, hand on heart. 'I know everyone here. I do not beleive anyone would do such a thing.'

Amongst the staff team was K, a woman who had, in her younger life been under the influence of drugs, and the police made a beeline straight to her door.

"Funny that." said P. "I did notice her with a large holdall the other day, and it did seem heavy when she took it to her car."

She was suspended on the spot, and the investigation seemed to focus on her.

"I always found her a little odd." said P in a staf meeting. "Once a druggiie.."

Two weeks passed, and a vulnurable resident comes to the office, and after some prompting confesses taht P had stolen things, and used him as an excuse to get them off the grounds, taking him on hospital visits, but calling in at his home to dump the stolen goods, and even used him as look out whilst stealing from other places, using the company mini bus as a get away vehicle. he got the resident to help by telling him that if ever he breath a word of it he will kill him.

P is suspended on the spot, the police are called, and sure enough, the stolen goods are found in his shed. K is reinstated, with no real apology.

A couple of nights later, at two in the morning, when two 20 something female staff are on shift alone a masked intruder comes onto the grounds, smashes all the windows, light and mirrors on the mini bus, slashes the tyres, and then, for good measure fires three shots from a pellet gun at the office window where the two staff members are sitting.

Yes, it was P. apparently seaking 'revenge'.

So this is the scary thing. I thought this bloke was a friend. We used to go drinking together. I would have trusted him with my life, for God's sake, i had known the bloke for seven years, we worked togethrer every day.

I heard the other day that he had been using his wife as a punch bag too.

I'm glad he scuttled away so quickly, not sure what would have happened if i spoke to the fucking bastard.

You never really know any body do you?