‘My client has no comment to make at this time,’ the tired looking solicitor replied. ‘It is nearly half past eleven, Detective Inspector. Can you tell me if these preliminary questions will continue much longer? My client is entitled to his rest.’
White glanced up at the clock. In Britain, after an individual has been arrested and processed through the custody suite, the police have twenty-four hours in which to build a case, before either charging or releasing the individual. However, during that period, the detained is entitled to rest and meals. White had waved away the Custody Sergeant’s protest and had wheeled McManus into the closest interview room to the cells.
‘We won’t be much longer,’ White mused, before a short, sharp knock at the door caught everyone’s attention. This was proceeded by the door opening and a glare from D.C.I. Payne.
White announced that the interview was suspended before pausing the recording. He stood up and left the room, with Kyle in tow.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ Payne hissed at them, when the door to the room was shut.
‘I’m interviewing a suspect in a smuggling operation, Ma’am,’ White replied sternly, knowing that a softly-softly approach wouldn’t work on the D.C.I.
‘Get back in there and terminate the interview immediately. Then I want to see the pair of you in my office. Don’t fuck around, White. If you’re not there in two minutes, you might as well not bother coming at all.’
With that she stomped off down the corridor in the direction of the stairs up to her office. Kyle glanced nervously at White, who shrugged. ‘We knew she’d be pissed off. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine when she hears what we found in the back of that truck.’
Ninety seconds later, with McManus being escorted back to cells, White and Kyle knocked on Payne’s door and entered her office. It was strange to see her dressed in such casual clothes: jeans, a hoodie and trainers. With her blonde hair forced into a bedraggled ponytail, she looked like she had just stepped out of the gym. White had always assumed she was as uptight at home as she was in work, and had imagined that her social life was made up of a series of cocktail dresses and business suits. Despite her less formal appearance, he actually thought she looked more attractive this way.
‘Does one of you want to tell me why I was called at home and dragged out of bed to come in at this ridiculous hour?’ she demanded, leaning forward with her hands on the desk.
Both men remained silent, conscious not to interrupt Payne so soon into her tirade.
‘Well?’ she shouted.
Kyle began to open his mouth, but stopped when White touched his hand.
‘Who phoned you, Ma’am?’ White said.
‘What difference does that make? I want to know why you’ve been uncontactable all day and then waltz into the station with two suspects and begin interviewing them at eleven o’clock at night? Where the hell have you been all fucking day?’
White removed the neck tie, which he’d been pulling down lower and lower since they’d arrived at the station.
‘Okay, Ma’am, okay,’ he began, ignoring Kyle’s panicked stare. ‘If you really want to know where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing, I’ll tell you.’ He paused and raised his hand when Kyle’s mouth began to open again. ‘It’s okay, Kyle. I think it’s time she knew.’
‘Knew what?’ she seethed.
White proceeded to tell her about Partridge’s confession earlier in the afternoon, about how she’d informed them that McManus was due to take delivery of a shipment, that would evade the authorities at the dock, and that they had secretly surveilled the whole operation before arresting McManus and the driver as they fled the scene. He decided to leave out any reference to The Chairman and The Cadre for the time being. Payne listened intently but couldn’t hide the disapproving and non-believing look on her face.
‘So, let me get this straight,’ Payne said, starting to pace behind her desk. ‘Based on evidence that you discovered on the Home Secretary’s stolen computer, which miraculously landed in your lap, you detained and interviewed her in a private location, without legal representation or following standard interview practice? Then, based on the information gleaned from this illegal activity, you observed and arrested a prominent businessman as he was leaving the city?’
‘You’re missing my point, Ma’am.’
‘Oh am I?’ she said, stopping suddenly and feigning shock. ‘Oh, well do enlighten me, Detective Inspector White. Where does any of this sit within the confines of due diligence and police procedure?’
‘Partridge gave us a legitimate tip-off about McManus’ smuggling operation and we acted on it!’
‘Without any consultation with me or any other member of the force it would seem.’
‘There wasn’t time, like.’
‘No, of course not, well I seem to recall that special extra section in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act that deals with coppers acting on tips and their gut instinct. Oh, no wait, I just made that up!’
Payne’s door burst open, and all three jumped slightly. D.I. John Stead marched into the room and started waving his finger, barely an inch from White’s nose. ‘You fucking cretin! More than three years’ work up in smoke tonight because of what you’ve done!’
White wanted to grab the finger and snap it backwards, but knew it wouldn’t do him any favours.
‘How dare you barge into my office,’ Payne shouted from across the room.
‘With all due respect, Ma’am,’ Stead said, turning slightly to address her, ‘these buffoons have just trampled all over a very delicate operation that was just starting to yield results.’
‘And, as I said to you when you phoned and woke me up, they’re my officers and I will deal with them.’
‘But, Ma’am,’ Stead began.
‘But, nothing,’ she interrupted. ‘I will speak with you when I am finished with these two. In the meantime, go and find a coffee.’
Stead turned back to White. ‘I’ll have your fucking badge for this!’
White ignored the jibe and watched Stead leave, slamming the door behind him.
‘Well?’ Payne said. ‘What have you got to say for yourselves? Davies, you’re being unusually reticent.’
Kyle opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say. Payne didn’t wait for him to think of an answer. ‘Had you followed the chain of command and informed me about the tip-off at the docks, we could have liaised with the Fortress team to ensure your surveillance didn’t interrupt anything they were doing. We also would have arranged backup and proper equipment, which could be relied upon in open court. That would have allowed us to build a proper case against the man that you seem ever so determined to nail.’ She paused, and when she started to speak again, she sounded much calmer. ‘I get it, White. I know all about what happened up North. He’s the one that got away. God knows, we’ve all got one of those stories in our histories, but down here, we do things by the book. Unlike my predecessor, everything that goes through this station will be dealt with in the correct manner. The time for coppers acting on their own is in the past. The public demand us to be better than the common man. Your actions tonight were reckless and naïve. God knows, how many drug dealers will now prosper because you’ve crashed Stead’s party. I don’t agree with the way he handled himself tonight, but he has a fair point. I should take your badges; both your badges in fact. You’ve really fucked up this time, gentlemen, and I’m just wondering whether it’s worth my time to even think about helping you.’
‘Please, Ma’am, hear us out, will ya?’ White pleaded.
Payne sighed, and rotated her neck to relieve stress. ‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t suspend the pair of you right now.’
Kyle stared at White, his eyes begging him to make everything better.
‘Partridge was responsible for the terrorist attack in May, Ma’am. We have her on tape confirming she was the person behind it, and how she framed her P.A. Paul Burns to take the fall. She claims she was
acting under her own volition, but we believe she is part of a secret organisation that is using McManus’ narcotics empire to fund some kind of coup in this country. Partridge admitted as much to us, but refused to go on the record. She offered us McManus instead, believing he would reveal what he knows about the organisation.’
Payne rolled her eyes.
‘I swear, Ma’am, that’s the whole truth. McManus was exactly where she said he’d be and we caught him red-handed. With the right pressure, I know he’ll crack and tell us the names of the other members and what they are planning. This is huge, Ma’am, which is why we’ve had to keep the investigation low key. We couldn’t tell anyone about it, as we didn’t know who we could trust, like. We didn’t even know if you might be involved somehow, or even Stead himself. We spoke to him on Tuesday and he claimed to have never even heard of McManus, so if he is genuinely saying that McManus has been under observation, then he lied to us. If he hasn’t been watching McManus, then he’s lying now, and that makes me wonder who he might be working for, like. I cannot even begin to tell you just how high up this conspiracy goes.’
Payne let out a deep and pained sigh. ‘You thought I might be involved somehow? What’s changed to make you trust me now?’
‘We don’t really have much choice, do we?’ White replied.
She turned and looked at Kyle. ‘Is this true, Davies?’
Kyle nodded eagerly. ‘Absolutely, Ma’am.’
Payne’s eyes narrowed as she considered her options. ‘Where are the tapes now?’
‘What tapes, like?’
‘The recording of the Home Secretary’s alleged confession. I want to hear it before I make a decision.’
White glanced at Kyle who was subtly shaking his head. Payne noticed the movement.
‘Either you trust me, gentlemen, or you don’t. If you want to walk out of here with your jobs still intact, you’ll hand the tapes over and allow me to listen to them. If not, you can leave your warrant cards on my desk and start gardening leave.’
White eyed her carefully. He knew she was right; that if they were to trust her, then she had the right to hear what Partridge had said. The problem was, he didn’t know if he did trust her yet. He desperately wished he hadn’t already drained his hip flask.
‘Okay,’ he eventually relented, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small USB memory stick. ‘The recording is digital. There are two mp3 files on the memory stick of the conversation conducted this afternoon.’ White moved across and placed the device on her desk, knowing that he was taking a huge risk in handing over the only real leverage they had over the Home Secretary. ‘The smaller of the two files is Partridge revealing the details of what McManus is doing in Southampton tonight.’ He stepped back from the desk.
‘Right,’ Payne, said, picking up the memory stick. ‘You two should go home, get some rest and shower. I want you back here at eight tomorrow morning ready to interview McManus. I will sit in with Kyle whilst you observe White.’ She raised a hand to stop him interrupting. ‘You have history with McManus, and it would be remiss of me to allow you to appear active in this investigation. I can assure you that if he’s going to crack, I am very capable of driving him where you want him to go. If you want to keep your jobs, those are my terms. Now I just need to deal with Stead.’
‘If it helps, Ma’am,’ Kyle offered. ‘There weren’t any drugs in the container.’
‘What, sorry?’ she asked, confused.
‘There weren’t any drugs, Ma’am. D.I. Stead said we had trodden all over his investigation, but Fortress is focused on narcotics. McManus was smuggling in weapons and people. I just thought you should know that when you speak to him.’
Payne nodded, and they took that as their cue to leave before she changed her mind. ‘There’s one more thing, White,’ she said as he reached the door. ‘If you’re right about the Home Secretary’s involvement in the May attack, then we really need to get her on the record. I want you to arrest her in the morning and bring her quietly to the station. Once we have her formal statement, McManus will have no escape.’
FRIDAY 05 DECEMBER
49
SOUTHAMPTON, UK
08:00 (G.M.T.)
White hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket, a grin breaking out across his face. He’d never been so pleased to receive a call from D.C.I. Payne. She’d just told him that she’d listened to the Partridge confession, and was willing to give him whatever support he needed. If truth be told, he’d half-expected her to phone and say she’d somehow misplaced or destroyed the USB device and had released McManus as a result. Relief and positivity were flooding through him and for the first time in a long time, it felt good to be alive.
Even breakfast at the hotel had seemed more pleasant than usual. The bacon had been crisp, how he liked it, the yolk on the fried egg had been runny and the grapefruit juice had been sharp. The sun had shone down on him through the restaurant’s large main window and he’d even felt compelled to whistle as he’d made the short jaunt to the station to collect a car to go and collect the Home Secretary.
Payne had been at the station most of the evening and had only returned home shortly before four. She’d just told him that she would shower and eat and be back in for nine, giving him an hour to drive to Partridge’s home at Brockenhurst. As he now drove towards Totton and the New Forest beyond it, not even the slow traffic could keep him from feeling good about life. In fact, the only dampener to the day thus far had been a call from Kyle first thing to say his daughter had been unwell during the night, and he wouldn’t be in until after he’d taken her to the doctors. It didn’t matter. Payne had been pretty clear that nobody would be speaking with McManus until Partridge’s confession was properly logged. That gave Kyle until at least lunchtime to get himself in. Payne had confirmed that she had spoken to the Home Secretary on the phone and that the politician was expecting his arrival.
White phoned Mercure to update her on the previous evening’s events.
‘Are you sure you can trust her?’ was Mercure’s first question. ‘You and Davies didn’t seem so sure yesterday.’
‘If she was part of The Cadre’s extended network, I think she’d have acted by now. I think she might just be on the level, like.’
‘It was a huge risk giving her the USB recording.’
‘Yes and no,’ White replied coyly. ‘I knew the original recording was still on the laptop that your neighbour Mrs Jenson is watching for me. If Payne had deleted the files, I knew I had a backup copy in place.’
‘So it was a trap?’
‘Exactly! If she’d betrayed us, at least we’d know she couldn’t be trusted. There’s nothing worse than being let down by someone you trust.’
Mercure snickered. ‘You can say that again. What about Partridge’s demands? Payne won’t be able to get it agreed, is there?’
‘I wouldn’t have thought so, but presumably they discussed the demands when Payne phoned her and said I was on my way over. All’s I know is that I am to collect her and bring her to the station ready for formal interview’
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s been up all night with her solicitor devising the terms of her statement.’
‘Nor me. Are you tempted to get a bit of payback?’
‘Payback?’ Mercure enquired. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, from what I remember, she screwed you over in the press on the day of the bus bomb. Nobody would blame you if you tipped off the press about her presence at the station this morning. I certainly wouldn’t judge you.’
‘That’s not my style, White. My day in the light will come soon enough; once all this mess comes out.’
She thanked him for the update, before hanging up. White continued on, in the direction of Brockenhurst.
*
‘Can you extinguish that please?’ Eve called from the back of the Citroen. ‘I don’t wish to contract lung cancer from the carcinogens in your passive smoke.’
White
ignored the request and blew smoke into the back of the car. He couldn’t believe the woman’s attitude. Despite the admission of her involvement in the plot, she seemed blissfully ignorant of the impact of her actions. He watched her in the rear-view mirror as she brushed her cheeks with powder, before applying a fresh layer of lipstick. She didn’t look like a woman scared of what her co-conspirators might do if they discovered what she was up to.
Traffic was much lighter now, with most of the school traffic having dissipated. They had been travelling along a stretch of single carriageway for a few minutes when White noticed a dark 4x4 travelling at quite a speed behind them. The vehicle had a private number plate that began to come into focus as the vehicle drew closer. White continued to watch the vehicle draw closer, half tempted to pull him over and flash his warrant card, but thinking better of it, given who he was transporting.
‘Overtake then, man,’ he shouted at the mirror when the 4x4 was less than a car’s length behind them. ‘What’s wrong with the silly beggar?’
‘Is everything okay?’ Eve said, frustrated that the Geordie seemed to be talking to himself. She was just pressing the lipstick to her mouth when there was a hard bump causing her to drop the lipstick to the floor. Before she had chance to criticise White’s driving, there was a second bump; this one causing the Citroen to skid slightly.
White slammed his foot down on the accelerator as he endeavoured to put some distance between them. The 4x4 sped up too, its horsepower far greater than the Citroen. The car’s collided again, shunting both White and Eve forward. The Citroen’s tyres skidded over the road and it was all White could do to keep control of the wheel in his hands. The 4x4 wasn’t giving up and moved to the opposite side of the road, pulling up next to them. The vehicle was close but where the car was much larger, it was impossible for White to see the driver. The 4x4 turned sharply, slamming into the Citroen. This time there was nothing White could do to maintain control of the steering wheel, and the Citroen veered to the left, striking a bank of grass, before flipping onto its roof and finally coming to a stop by some trees.
Double Cross: A gripping political thriller (The Cadre Book 3) Page 32