The Child Predators

by Aitor Echevarria

  He gave his name at the reception desk and was led to the dining room by a very smart porter. In the dining room, at a side table by one of the large Georgian windows, sat a man in his mid-thirties. He wore an expensive grey suit and had average good looks with fine chiselled features. As Kevin approached he got up and extended his hand.

  “Mr Brooks? Please sit down and join me.”

  Kevin gave him a limp handshake and sat down. He felt a little ill at ease in his badly fitting blue suit. The man before him had a quiet authority and from the tone of his voice, was clearly well educated and intelligent. Typical Eton and Cambridge, thought Kevin.

  “You must be wondering what this is about? Well I’m going to keep you in the dark for a little bit longer. Will you answer a few questions for me over lunch?” the man asked.

  “Depends what your questions are,” Kevin said defensively.

  “I promise they will not be too intrusive,” the man said with a smile. “Shall we order lunch? By the way my name is Jeremy. Can I call you Kevin?”

  “Why not,” said Kevin.

  As if by magic a waiter appeared at Kevin’s shoulder with two menus. They ordered and almost immediately the questions started. Simply, innocent questions at first, but before he realised it the questions had become penetrating and personal. After he had gone through his background, family and education Jeremy said, “I want to touch on a rather delicate matter, if you don’t mind?”

  “I’ve a feeling that it doesn’t really matter whether I mind or not,” said Kevin curtly.

  Jeremy continued, “You are very good with computers. You understand them,” it was a statement of fact and not a question, “and you did some favours for friends at university?”

  Kevin was shocked, but tried not to show it.

  “I don’t understand what you mean,” Kevin said.

  “You hacked the university computer,” Jeremy said in a matter-of-fact voice.

  Kevin sat in shock. He could see that it would be of no use to deny it.

  “How do you know about that?” said Kevin in disbelief.

  “Just answer the questions, please,” said Jeremy in a quiet authoritative voice.

  By the time they were half way through lunch Kevin was shocked by how much Jeremy knew and how much he had revealed about himself and he was more than a little angry at both Jeremy and himself. Who was this man? Who did he think he was? He decided enough was enough.

  “Alright, I’ve answered a lot of your questions and now it’s time you told me who you are.”

  It was not a question from Kevin but a demand. The man sat back in his chair. He looked at Kevin steadily and coldly. A small condescending smile appeared on his lips.

  “Whatever I tell you about me, will not be true. My name is not important. What I am is. I work for the government. I’m an MI5 officer.”

  “You’re a spy? You’re joking,” said Kevin, feeling very anxious and vulnerable, but trying very hard to hide his feelings.

  “No MI6 are the spooks. We work internally, and I’m not joking,” said the man.

  “You think I’m some sort of risk or know someone who is?” Kevin said defensively.

  The man laughed. “No, I’m here to assess you for possible recruitment into the service.”

  Kevin was stunned. He could not speak.

  “Would you be interested?” the man said.

  “I’ve no idea what sort of work you do. So how can I possibly judge, if I could work for you?” said Kevin meekly and confused.

  “Do you care about your country? Do think our way of life is important? Would you be prepared to protect it? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then join us.”

  “You make it sound simple,” Kevin said sarcastically.

  “It is.”

  “Will I carry a gun?” Kevin said with a nervous laugh, trying to regain the situation and gain some time to think.

  “Generally no, but you will be fully firearms trained, and you have to be proficient in firearms in order to pass the course,” replied Jeremy in a flat emotionless voice and with a wicked smile. Kevin could not read the man at all and didn’t know if he was serious.

  That had been ten years ago. At first Kevin, thought that his mathematical skills would be used for deciphering messages. But he was wrong. His knowledge of mathematics was important, but it was his computer skills that they wanted; in particular, his abilities as a hacker. It was a skill that he had developed in his school days, so that he could download music, games and films without paying. He had then sold some to friends and made good money. He had then proceeded to hack into some of his teacher’s email accounts and the school computer. He had become proficient at Oxford and done some hacking at Oxford mainly for mates and to show off. The authorities at Oxford had become aware of his activities and when they had reported him, they had been instructed to leave him alone. He was being kept safe for greater things.

  After he had agreed to join, the first thing MI5 did was send him back to university to do a course on Advance Forensic Computing. That had taken two years and he had passed it easily. His days with MI5 were spent hacking into websites and emails used by the enemies of the state. These varied from left or right-wing groups to organised criminals and some notable Muslim clerics. He worked from an ultramodern, extremely well equipped and secure office above Leeds City Train Station. His office was ostensibly, part of the DTI, but anyone going there had to pass through some very rigorous security. In his office there were armed men and he had the use of one of the most modern and powerful computer systems that money could buy. And he had just hacked into one of the vilest sites he had come across in his entire life.

  It was a paedophile site with images of children that would fill his nightmares for the rest of his life. He called over his supervisor. He took one look and said,

  “Find as many of the users as you can and then send all the information to CEOP. Don’t spend too much time on this. You have more important things to do. Try a few worms to find out as much as you can about them. Need any help on this?”

  “Not at the moment, sir,” said Kevin.

  “Well whatever you need just ask,” said the supervisor.

  Chapter 16

  Andy had read the transcripts of the four days of interviews with Callum for the fifth time. He had made detailed notes, to make sure that his plan would work and that they got them all; especially Mark Lemmings. He got out of his chair and went to his office door.

  “Newton come into my office and bring DC Singh and DC Bentley with you.”

  When they were all seated Andy began.

  “I want you to carry out a logistics exercise based on what we know about the way Lemming’s group operate from the information Callum Murphy has provided. We will take the abduction and murder of Tommy White as a starting point. They like flats to take the boys to; with plenty of entrances and exits and changing tenants. I want you to prepare a plan based on the last place they used in Leeds. We need to be able to go in hard and quick. We are also going to keep this simple and use well tried and tested methods to catch these bastards.”

  He explained the outline of the operation in a few short sentences. When he had finished he began allocating tasks.

  “Newton will co-ordinate the operation and look for any pitfalls in the plan. It must run smoothly. I am going to allocate various parts of the operation to each of you. When we have done our planning, we must have a perfect fit between all of the units we will need to use. So, DC Singh you will organise the hit squads. Who’s the sergeant in charge of the tactical team?”

  “That’s Sergeant Baker, sir,” said Singh.

  “See him and make sure his men can be made ready at a moment’s notice. We will need extra officers to cover all the exits to a block of flats. We know that Lemmings has a gun. Warn Sergeant Baker that we are dealing with armed and dangerous men. Singh make sure we have a K9 unit on hand with sniffer dogs. DC Bentley I want you to organise two fast, response, unmarked cars wi
th experienced drivers. I will get permission for the officers in those cars to be armed. You will also organise the paramedics. They must not be seen but brought in as they are needed. Use motorbike paramedics. They are fast, manoeuvrable and easier to keep out of sight too.

  The plan must be operational in twenty-four hours. That’s where you come in Newton, this is going to be a paper exercise in the first instance ‘cos we don’t know our target area yet and we will get less than an hour’s notice when the time comes. You must ensure that all the parts work together and there must be no weak links. Every officer must be able to be in the right place at the right time. Now, I’m going to see Padwick and get the O.K., but this operation must be kept absolutely secret, understood? Nobody but us will know the whole plan. None of the Officers will know until the day that we implement it or who the hit is.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Singh. The others nodded.

  “Right, we have work to do. Get to it,” said Andy.

  *

  Padwick took thirty minutes to read and re-read the forty pages of the transcript of the interviews. At times he would pause, look up from the transcript and ask a question. Then he sat for several minutes without speaking. He pressed the intercom.

  “Cathy, get me Bill Green in here immediately. Who’s read this apart from you and me?” he asked Andy.

  “DS Newton and two other members of my squad,” replied Andy.

  “I take it you have an operational plan to stop these animals?”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Andy.

  “Murphy says that he disposed of six bodies. Do you think there are more?” said Padwick.

  “He disposed of six children’s bodies and one adult body, that is what he has admitted,” he paused for a moment. “I think that he has been in the business for a long time. He has more to tell, but I’ve kept him to Lemmings. The priority is to stop Lemmings killing kids. He found the killing of children distasteful, but he disposed of their bodies. It was just a business for him,” said Andy.

  “My God!” said Padwick. “This is the most repulsive case I’ve seen in thirty years.”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Come,” said Padwick.

  Bill Green entered the room.

  “You sent for me,” he said.

  “Sit down Bill. Rawlings, give DCI Green an update on what you have unearthed.”

  “Briefly, sir, we have all the details on Lemmings and his group. How and where they operate and the kids he’s killed.”

  “How many?” asked Bill Green.

  “At least six that we know off, but I think there’s more,” replied Andy.

  “How big is this gang?”

  “Murphy says there are six of them,” replied Andy. “You know who they are?” Bill asked.

  “We know the names of two. Murphy and Lemmings and we’re holding Murphy in protective custody,” replied Andy.

  “What do you plan to do?” asked Bill Green.

  “That’s why I’m here, to get approval from the Chief.”

  “Let’s hear your plan, Rawlings,” said Padwick.

  “Well sir, it’s in four parts. The first part is to catch Lemmings and his gang. The second part is a coordinated effort with Manchester to break a serious crime group that Murphy has put us onto. He disposed of a body for them. The third part is to save as many children as we can, who maybe in the system. We are beginning to build up a picture of child trafficking and finally, the fourth part, is a group of drug smugglers, linked to Lemmings in East Yorkshire that we need to collar.” Andy waited for comments from his superiors at this point.

  “My God, Clive you told me he was good, but this is breath-taking,” Bill Green said with a laugh.

  “Wait till you read Murphy’s interviews. That’s breath-taking!” said Padwick. “Right explain the first part of your plan, Rawlings.”

  “A simple sting operation, sir. We know that the gang operates through a website. As soon as they have a child they meet, sexually abuse him and, kill him. All we need to do is wait until they have a child,” said Andy.

  “Is there any way we can speed things up? What if they find out we have Murphy or spook for some other reason?” said Padwick.

  “Murphy is safely locked-up were no one knows him or cares. He is outside the prison population, so no chance of leaks. His business took him all around the country buying second-hand furniture. He was often away from work for days. His employees are used to answering calls and saying he’s not there and taking messages for him and they are more than willing to co-operate with us. We have an officer there to make sure they make the right noises and we are following up any calls that are interesting. We can’t speed things up because we have not got Mr P.,” said Andy.

  “Mr P?” queried Bill Green.

  “Lemmings’ paedophile ring doesn’t use names. They use initials. Mr P. is the procurer. He gets the kids and holds them until Mr H. provides a safe house or flat where they can all meet to sexually assault the child. If we had Mr P, we could expedite matters, but we ain’t got him and we don’t know who he is,” replied Andy.

  “How will you know when he has a child?” asked Padwick.

  “A short message on their website. This is then followed by a coded address on their mobiles with a time to meet,” replied Andy.

  “You need a code breaker don’t you?” said Bill Green.

  “No, Murphy knows the code, but we could do with someone who can hack a Blackberry,” replied Andy.

  “There’s only one company in Leeds that can do that,” said Bill Green.

  “So now we wait, gentlemen. Need anything else, Rawlings?” said Padwick.

  “I may need more men from other sections when the time comes and two armed response vehicles, sir.”

  “You can have them. I will look at manning levels and see what I can spare. If need be we will get men from other forces,” said Padwick.

  “That could alert the wrong people that something’s up,” said Andy.

  “Just give the word, when you’re ready, that will prevent any leaks.”

  “One other thing, sir, I could do with someone with computer expertise,” said Andy.

  “What for?”

  “There’s a mysterious figure called Mr S in the Lemmings group. He is in charge of security. He runs the website, provides the group with mobiles and keeps them safe. None of the group knows his name; Murphy says Lemmings pays him big money. I need someone to immobilise him when the time comes and find out who he is,” replied Andy.

  “Well, I can’t be party to anything illegal, that would compromise the case when it comes to court. Bill could you help out with this and do we have or know anyone with this sort of expertise?” said Padwick. He looked at Bill Green, who nodded.

  Interview over, Andy left the room. He gave Cathy a wink as he passed her desk and admired the way her thirty six- inch, firm breasts filled the tight pink cashmere cardigan she was wearing. There was nothing underneath it but her bra. Her voluptuous cleavage was revealed by the top three buttons, she had left undone. He gave a low wolf whistle as he left. Cathy looked down and smiled. She was well aware of her sex appeal.

  Chapter 17

  For some days nothing happened. It was as if the gang had completely disappeared into the ether. Andy and his officers were growing more and more concerned that the gang knew they had Murphy, but Murphy’s workplace was functioning normally and there was no indication that anyone suspected he was in police custody. Their preparations were complete. The waiting was becoming unbearable. His officers were becoming edgy and Andy knew that as time passed the greater became the risk that Murphy’s arrest would be discovered and the group would disappear. Padwick came down to his office.

  “Anything yet?” he asked nonchalantly.

  “No sir.”

  “You’ve got to move things on Rawlings. It’s been two weeks now.”

  Andy felt like saying, ‘don’t you bloody well know I know it is!’ but held his tongue. He decided
to put the Chief on the back foot.

  “Have you any suggestions sir,” he said trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  “It’s your case Rawlings but I would tell them that Murphy has a boy.”

  What a stupid idea, thought Andy. Murphy has a boy. Lemmings would never believe that! That would really give the game away and the gang would evaporate. Diplomatically Andy replied.

  “Good idea sir, I will look into the possibility of doing that, sir.”

  “Good, do that and we can’t wait much longer. Shall we say another forty-eight hours?” With that Padwick left.

  After a few moments reflection it occurred to Rawlings that it may not be such a bad idea after all. If you added a twist to it: an enhancement. What if Lemmings was told that Murphy knew of someone that could get a child? Would Lemmings fall for that? What were the pros and cons? He shouted out

  “Newton, tell everybody to drop what they are doing and get in here.”

  When everyone was in his office, he said,

  “Time is not on our side. If they discover that Murphy has been arrested, that would blow the case.”

  He could see that the squad understood. He continued,

  “What if we told Lemmings that Murphy has a contact that can get children? How would he react? What are the pitfalls of such an action? Your comments please.”

  No one spoke for a few moments. DC Singh gave a small cough.

  “Don’t be shy Singh say what you think,” said Andy.

  “Well sir, the way I see it is this. It is feasible given Murphy’s criminal contacts that he would know of child sex traders. He’s also trusted by Lemming, so in that respect Lemmings would swallow it. But then we would have to provide a child and a contact for Lemmings and at that point the whole thing unravels, apart from the fact it would be a criminal act on our part and we would all end up in prison.”

  “Good point, Singh,” said Andy.

  “Just a minute sir,” interjected Newton, “It’s not such a bad idea.”

  “Go on,” said Andy.

  “Well sir, we know there are loads of kids out there involved in the sex trade. Why can’t Murphy offer to put Lemmings in touch with some child sex traffickers’ that might prove useful to him?”