Spotlight

by Robert Innes

  “Harrison!” yelled Blake, rushing forwards to grab him.

  “Big mistake, Harte!” snarled Woolf. He pointed the gun straight at Blake’s chest and pulled the trigger. Blake shielded threw his arms up and waited for the bullet to hit him.

  Nothing happened.

  Blake looked up at Woolf who was staring at his gun in furious confusion. He pulled the trigger again but it just clicked pointlessly in his hand.

  “I believe you’re looking for these, Detective Woolf,” came a voice behind them.

  It was Angel. He was holding a bullet in one hand and what looked like a remote control in the other. “I found them when I was admiring your car,” he said, walking towards them. “I’ve never been much of a fan of firearms. I was going to call you to my office and condescend you into telling me why you own a gun, but I suppose this works just as well.”

  He lifted the device he was holding up at Woolf and pressed a button. As Woolf suddenly cried out in pain, Blake realised that it was a taser. Woolf collapsed on the ground, convulsing in agony.

  “DS Harte, I believe the love of your life has just been thrown in a river, so I suggest you get him out,” Angel replied, holding the taser steady on Woolf’s twitching body.

  Blake did not need telling twice. He dived into the river, and the freezing cold water immediately almost made him gasp once submerged. He opened his eyes and looked frantically around. The river was murky, and it was almost impossible to see anything in the dark, but then, Blake saw Harrison. He was lying on the river’s bed, completely still. With all the effort he could muster, Blake dived down to the bottom and grabbed Harrison’s arm. His leg was caught in a mass of weeds sticking out of the mud, and try as he might, Blake could not pull him free. Fully aware of how much time Harrison had been submerged, Blake desperately pulled his head towards him and placed his lips over Harrison’s mouth, blowing as much oxygen into him as he could, whilst attempting to wrench his leg free. At last, with a barely audible sucking sound, Harrison’s leg was released from the weeds and together, they floated up to the surface of the water, just as Blake’s head was becoming almost too light to cope with his own lack of air. They broke the surface of the water and Blake gasped, filling his lungs with some well needed oxygen.

  A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the river’s edge. Gasping for breath, Blake looked up to see Gardiner, hauling him back up on the bank again. “There’s an ambulance on its way,” he said. “We called it just in case once we saw Woolf walking you towards here with a gun. It’ll be here any moment.”

  Blake barely heard him. Once he and Harrison were out of the water, he got on his knees and listened for Harrison breathing. He heard nothing, so immediately blew into his mouth before beginning to pump his chest thirty times. Then, four more breaths into his mouth.

  As he frantically began pumping Harrison’s chest again, the sound of an ambulance siren wailing could be heard echoing in the distance.

  “Sergeant Gardiner,” Blake heard Angel say. “Go and get them.”

  “Come on, Harrison,” Blake cried as he frantically tried to pump life back into Harrison’s limp and unresponsive body. “Don’t you dare.”

  Soon, he felt another set of hands pull him away and then, two paramedics were on Harrison, resuming Blake’s action. After what seemed like hours, pumping his chest, Harrison began to cough.

  “Oh,” Blake exclaimed, his eyes immediately filling with relieved tears.

  “Okay, get him on the stretcher,” one of the paramedics ordered the other. He looked up at Blake. “He’s swallowed a lot of water, but once we get him in the ambulance, I think he’s going to be alright.”

  Blake nodded, shivering with either cold or fear, he wasn’t sure which. “Thank you.”

  As Harrison was taken to the ambulance, wrapped tightly in blankets, Blake himself was checked over by another paramedic. “I’m fine,” Blake insisted.

  “Of course you are,” Angel said from behind him. “I feel I owe you an apology, DS Harte. I can’t help but feel entirely responsible for this whole affair. If I hadn’t brought Alec Woolf here, young Harrison would not be where he is right now.”

  Blake had not considered that viewpoint, and for a few moments was angry with Angel, but then realised that he had also saved both his and Harrison’s life. “You removed his bullets. I think that makes up for it.”

  “Well, yes,” Angel said. “I had a phone call. From a Sergeant Sally-Ann Matthews. She was trying to find senior officers who had worked with Woolf in the past. The questions she was asking, I could not help but wonder if Woolf was really everything I thought he was. Then, when I found that gun, I knew I had a problem on my hands. Once he had driven you off, I followed with Sergeant Gardiner. There’s certainly something to be gained from turning off your headlights when pursuing somebody.”

  “We still don’t know what happened to James Pennine,” Blake said quietly. “Or where Keith is.”

  “With an officer of your calibre, I fail to see how those questions will remain unanswered for long,” Angel replied, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder. He looked up at the ambulance. “Ah, I think they’re ready to go. The NHS, wonderful service. I’ll see you back at the station when you get out of the hospital. No hurry.”

  Blake nodded and climbed into the ambulance. Just before the doors closed, he could see Woolf being led to the back of the police car, which was parked not far from the passing spot where the silver sports car was stood.

  Gripping Harrison’s hand, Blake sat down as the doors slammed shut and they were driven to the hospital.

  17

  The next morning, Blake arrived back at the station. He had not had a wink of sleep, but he did not feel in the slightest bit tired. All through the night, the doctors and nurses had treated Harrison and were confident that he was going to make a full recovery, though they wanted to keep him in for a couple more days. As Blake had left, one doctor had told him that Harrison had been incredibly lucky. Blake could not help but agree with him.

  “Ah, DS Harte,” Angel said as Blake walked into the meeting room to tumultuous applause from the rest of the team. “Perfect timing. How is young Mr Baxter?”

  “He’s going to be fine,” Blake said. “He’s asleep at the moment, while whatever drug Woolf gave him works its way through his body.”

  “Excellent,” Angel replied.

  “That’s great news, Sir,” Patil agreed. “We were just about to go and search that house. The one we found James Pennine in. Now we haven’t got Woolf breathing down our necks and leading us astray, we might actually find some answers.”

  “I’m no use at the hospital,” Blake said. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to it, Sir?” Mattison asked him. “You must have been up all night?”

  “I’ll be alright. Somebody’s got to keep you in order, Matti,” Blake grinned. “Come on.”

  When they arrived at the house, Caroline was waiting for them. She looked like she had actually had a bath, and smelt a lot more pleasant that the last time Blake had seen her.

  “Alright?” she said as the team pushed past her and into the house. “Mr Harte, can I talk to ya?”

  Blake nodded and walked with her towards the cellar. “I was talking to Alec Woolf last night,” he told her. “He told me about how you met, and that he was probably James’ father?”

  Caroline leant against the cellar wall. “Yeah,” she said. “He rang me last night. I was his phone call. Can you believe that?”

  “What did he say?”

  Caroline smirked. “He was going on about how I could get him out of prison if I told all these lies. Make a load of stuff up, say that Keith had been back in touch, and had forced him into helpin’ me or some crap.”

  “And what did you say?” Blake asked her.

  “I ‘ung up,” Caroline replied. “I’m sick of men tellin’ me what to do. With James gone, I don’t even care anymore. The last time I saw Keith, I told him. He
’s a nasty man. I used to be someone, I used to have a life.”

  “Woolf told me,” Blake replied. “You used to be an officer?”

  Caroline snorted. “Yeah, that was before I met Keith. I dunno how he did it, but he ground me down, y’know? Before I knew it, I was some yes woman to a guy who was making all his money from dealing drugs. I used to arrest scum like him. But then, my career ended and I found meself bringin’ up a kid with only dirty money to feed him on. When Alec turned back up out of the blue, I decided I was done lying. I told Keith that James wasn’t his. He was just about to go and pick him up from work. The night we pulled off that disappearing car thing. He was fumin’. I guess you can understand why, but that was the last time I saw him. He just left me, without another word. I don’t think he even knows James is dead. So, I don’t owe him nothin’ now.”

  She took a deep breath. Blake could see glimpses of a once strong, independent woman, that was trying to come out again. “He hid all his drugs under the floor in that cellar.”

  Blake looked inside the cellar and at the wooden planks on the floor.

  “That’s why we got this place,” Caroline told him. “Out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere to ‘ide all his stuff. And he’s got a list of numbers too. Dealers, customers, suppliers.”

  Blake called the officers over and they began prying open the wooden slates in the cellar. Soon, they had discovered an enormous stash of class A drugs – cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA, amphetamines, heroin, and underneath one of the bags, a small black book containing an array of contact details for people that Blake had seen under the most wanted list since he had arrived in Harmschapel. He walked across the cellar as the team continued retrieving the supplies from the ground.

  “Wow,” he said as one officer produced a large bag full of white tablets. “There must be thousands of pounds worth of gear here. Let’s try and keep the press away from this. You know what they’re like.”

  Caroline watched from the doorway as they continued retrieving the buried goods from underneath the floorboards. Then, Blake leant down and pulled up another floorboard on the other side of the cellar. Underneath was a hole that looked much deeper than the rest of the cellar. As he continued pulling the floor up, he suddenly gasped and recoiled. A cold, lifeless face was staring back at him. Blake gaped at it as he began pulling the rest of the floorboards up around him with a crowbar. Soon, a whole body was visible beneath him. It was Keith Pennine.

  “Guys,” Blake murmured as the rest of the team gathered round. “Call Sharon.” Clutched in Keith’s hand was another needle. “I think we might just have found James’ killer.”

  One Week Later

  Harrison shook his head in disbelief as he began putting all his toiletries into his bag, which was lying on the hospital bed. He had finally been discharged and was feeling better than he had done all week. “So, you think he killed his son?”

  Blake shrugged. “It wasn’t his son. Caroline said he was a nasty piece of work. She told him that Woolf was James’ father. Once they’d burnt that car out, and I’m just guessing here, they must have walked across to the house. Sharon said that Keith’s body was wrecked on the inside. If corpses could be high, Keith would have been having the time of his life underneath those floorboards. That needle he had clutched in his hand had James’ DNA on it as well as his. Maybe they went back to that cellar, argued, and Keith in some sort of drugged up fuelled rage injected him.”

  “Why hang him though?” Harrison asked, mystified.

  “Who knows?” Blake replied, shaking his head. “Maybe he wanted to hurt Caroline as much as she’d hurt him. Make it look as though James thought he had nothing to live for. Once he had James’ body hanging from the roof of the cellar, he must have decided to just top himself. He made himself a little grave, covered himself with the floorboards, then injected himself. I mean there was enough drugs in that cellar to fill an entire factory.”

  Harrison exhaled in amazement. “So, someone did commit suicide in there?”

  “Yep,” replied Blake. “But it wasn’t who we were supposed to think it was.” He stood up from his chair. “Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get you home. Have you got everything?”

  “Yeah,” Harrison replied. He had done a mental list of the few things Blake had brought him to keep him entertained and had managed to fit it all into one bag. It had been nice doing nothing for a few days, but after a week, even the good-looking porter was not enough to stop him from wanting to escape.

  “Come on then,” Blake said, holding his hand. Together, they thanked the staff and set off down the corridor. “You know,” said Blake. “I was scared when I pulled you out of that river. I genuinely thought I’d lost you.”

  Harrison squeezed his hand. “In the time we’ve known each other, you’ve saved me from being pushed off a church roof, almost being struck by lightning in the process, saved me from drowning, and I’ve also survived your mother giving me the tenth degree. I think it’s fair to say, I’m here to the long run.”

  Blake grinned and kissed him. “You better be.”

  The lift doors slid open and standing in front of them were Blake’s parents.

  “What are you doing here?” Blake asked them worriedly. “Mum, don’t give Harrison a hard time, please, not right now.”

  “Blake,” Stephanie said sternly, glaring at her son over her glasses. “I wouldn’t dream of it. If everything happened the way you said it did, then I am standing in front of possibly the bravest boy I ever met in my life.” She pushed a bag of grapes she was carrying into Blake’s arms, then grabbed Harrison and gripped him in a tight hug.

  “Aye,” said Colin. “And she had something else she wanted to say to, didn’t you?” Stephanie stuttered. “Didn’t you?” repeated Colin.

  “Yes,” Stephanie replied quietly. “I suppose I did. Harrison, I’m sorry. I was cold, I was unfeeling, and I was wrong. I should never have treated you this way. I can see now that Blake is absolutely enamoured by you, and as long as my son is happy, then that is all I can ask for. I just wanted to say that before we left.”

  “You’re leaving?” Blake asked. Harrison glanced at him. He was unsure as to whether Blake looked more relieved or sad.

  “Yes,” Stephanie replied. “Oh don’t worry, we’ll be back to see you more often.”

  “Oh,” Blake said weakly. “Good.”

  “Aye,” Colin added. “Me and this lad here have got beer to drink in that pub. What do you reckon, Harrison? Couple of pints with the in-law?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Harrison grinned.

  “But, before we go,” Stephanie said, straightening her collar. “I would love it if we could have a family meal. Just the four of us.”

  “Four?” Blake repeated, winking at Harrison. “You mean, Harrison too?”

  “Of course,” Stephanie said sharply. “Harrison is a part of this family, now isn’t he?” She gripped Harrison by the arm and led him towards the lift. “He does have a tendency to get a little jealous sometimes,” she murmured to him. “But we can sort that out, can’t we? Together.”

  Harrison looked back at Blake. “Yeah. I reckon so.”

  The four of them entered the lift. As Blake and Stephanie began squabbling about who was going to hold the grapes that she had brought, it was music to Harrison’s ears. Finally, he thought as the lift doors slid shut, he had his own family again.

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  Robert Innes, Spotlight