Takedown

by Heather Atkinson

  They agreed that all four robbers matched the four firefighters.

  “Okay Jason,” said Faith. “Print off copies of their images.”

  “How will we identify them?” said Abi.

  “I can give them to Matthew, he should be able to help and look up the Blackpool Fire Service online Jason. You never know, there might be a news article about one of them.”

  “On it,” he said, fingers flying across the keyboard.

  “I never thought you’d be a computer nerd,” Abi told him.

  Jason stopped typing to glare at her. “I am not a nerd.”

  “Course you are. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it,” she added. “It’s come in really useful. I just didn’t expect you to be one.”

  “Because I’m too thick?”

  “I used to think you were but obviously not.”

  “Abi,” said Faith. “Let him get on with his work.”

  “I was only trying to pay him a compliment,” she muttered, examining her nails.

  “Bloody hell, that was easy,” said Jason.

  “What was?” said Faith.

  “I went onto the fire station’s social media page and there’s a photo of the whole crew at some charity event.”

  They all gathered round to look and found themselves staring at the faces of those who had robbed them. Not all the firefighters in the photos were the robbers. Five of them had nothing to do with it.

  “We still don’t know who they are,” said Faith. “There’s no names.”

  “Young will be able to find out,” said Vance. “Coppers get to know the fire crews.”

  “He might not be comfortable with this but he’ll be relieved it’s none of his officers. Speaking of which, I need to call him and let him know.”

  “Where are you going?” said Vance when she made for the door.

  “I’m going outside to call Matthew.”

  “You’re better staying in the house,” he replied, shoving away the pang of jealousy. “We don’t know when these people will strike again.”

  “But I can’t hear myself think in this house.”

  “We’ll all stay quiet while you make the call.”

  “Okay.”

  Vance was soothed by how easily she’d relented. His jealousy made him feel ridiculous. He knew she loved him and only him but he couldn’t shake the niggling feeling that if he hadn’t been around she might well be involved more deeply with DI Young.

  “Matthew, I’ve got good news for you,” she said when he answered.

  More jealousy poured through Vance’s veins when she giggled coquettishly.

  “No,” she continued. “Now listen. The people who robbed us aren’t police officers. They’re firefighters. We caught them on camera at Pulse. They set off the fire alarm so the club would have to be evacuated and then searched the office, picking the locks on the filing cabinet and desk drawers. I know fire crews have to do a thorough sweep of a building for fire but I’m pretty sure they don’t need to check every individual drawer. Is that enough proof for you? Yes, we can send over the footage for you to look at. We need their identities.” She paused to listen. “What do you think we’re going to do when we find them? Give them a big sloppy kiss each? I don’t know, I need to speak to Jules. Okay, bye.” She hung up and looked to Jason. “Can you email me the footage of the club so I can forward it onto Matthew?”

  “Yep,” he replied, tapping at the keyboard again. “Sent.”

  Faith’s phone beeped and she forwarded the email with the attached file onto Matthew. “He made the good point that the situation is more complicated now we know they’re firefighters, respected members of the community, not just local thieves. I need to tell Jules,” she said, already dialling her number, feeling like they were finally making progress.

  “All right babes?” said Jules’s cheery voice.

  “You sound in a good mood,” replied Faith.

  “That’s because my gorgeous, sexy husband has just surprised me and the kids with a castle.”

  “A castle?”

  “My brother Ryan and his wife bought one down in Devon. You remember Ryan, don’t you?”

  “How could I forget?”

  “Yeah, he is pretty memorable,” she chuckled. “All the ladies remember Ryan. Anyway, I said I wanted a castle too and Mikey’s bought one on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Best of all, it’s bigger than Ryan and Rachel’s. Big bruv is going to be so pissed off.”

  “Sounds amazing.”

  “It is. I am now lady of the manor.” Jules spluttered with laughter. “Yeah, right. As if I could ever be a lady. Anyway my lovely, how can I help?”

  “The crew who robbed the product are firefighters.”

  “Wow, that’s a first. Not even we’ve been robbed by firefighters. At least you were done over by the sexiest of the emergency services.”

  “Good point,” she smiled. “I’ve sent the footage to Matthew so he can identify them. It won’t be difficult. The footage of their faces is very clear.”

  “How do you know what they look like? They were wearing balaclavas.”

  Faith explained about the back-up footage in the club Jason had recorded.

  “Tell that little brother of yours that he’s a star and Aunty Jules will send him a special present.”

  “I will. He’ll be very pleased.”

  “So you’ve still got it covered?”

  “Yes we do, now we finally know who we’re dealing with. We’re just relieved they’re not more corrupt police officers.”

  “Me too but this could still get awkward. These aren’t the type of people you can just make disappear. What I told you before, hang fire on that. Let’s see exactly who we’re dealing with first but they do still need to be made an example of.”

  Faith breathed a little easier. The kill order had been temporarily countermanded. That was not a road she wanted to take her family down. Killing Lenny Paisley had been hard enough but only herself and Caleb had been involved in that and Vance had already killed while he was in prison. She was worried about the effect murder would have on her younger siblings. “I’ll keep you informed.”

  “Cheers babes. Me and the family will be heading to the castle tomorrow to check it out. I’m so bloody excited but you can still contact me on this number. Never be afraid to come to me Faith if there’s something you think I need to know. I’d rather be kept in the loop.”

  “Will do.”

  “Right, I’m off to pack. Good luck, not that you need it, you can handle this. I wonder what Mikey would look like dressed up as a knight? Or maybe a naughty stable lad? Sorry, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

  “Yes you did but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

  “Good lass. I’ll be away but I won’t forget about the auction. I can’t believe I’ve never bought a porn shop before. I wish I’d thought of it sooner. Bye Faith.”

  “Bye.”

  Faith hung up and took a breath. Having a conversation with Jules Maguire often had the same effect as a violent breeze sucking the breath from your lungs. “Well,” she told her siblings. “The good news is that we’re not to deal with the robbers as we were before.”

  They all sighed with relief.

  “But it’s not been taken off the table just yet. She wants us to find out who they are first. The last thing we want is to draw attention to ourselves. Jules was very impressed with your tech work Jason, so she’s sending you a special present.”

  “Awesome,” he beamed.

  “Don’t go getting excited. I’ve no idea what a woman like her considers a present.”

  “Tea’s ready,” Rose called from the kitchen.

  Faith and Vance glanced at each other as they steeled themselves to spend more time with their mother.

  “I’ll be there in a sec,” Faith told the others when her phone rang. “Yay, a reprieve,” she whispered to herself before answering. “Hello Matthew.”

  “I’ve watched that footage,” h
e began.

  “And?”

  “I was delighted that these thieves weren’t police officers but it’s almost as bad.”

  Faith’s stomach lurched. “Why, who are they?”

  “I know two of them, I’ve met them plenty of times during the course of my work. The lead firefighter is the problem. He’s only a bloody hero. He saved a local dignitary from a fire at his home. Carried him out over his shoulder. He’s got commendations coming out of his arse.”

  “So what’s this hero doing stealing our product?”

  “Maybe he got tired of risking his life for a living?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “He’s built like a brick shithouse and is as tough as hell.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that. What’s his name?”

  “Ben Cooper. Forty one years old. He’s been a firefighter a long time.”

  “Where does he live?”

  “I don’t have that information.”

  “Yes you do, you can easily get it.”

  “All right, I can but I am not going to give you any addresses and have you lot burst in there with baseball bats.”

  “We wouldn’t do that.”

  “Oh yes you would.”

  “Fine. What about the other firefighters with him?”

  “The woman is Amanda Young. She’s a bit of a snappy cow actually. I respect what she does for a living but she’s got a temper and permanent resting bitch face. She’s also pretty handy with her fists. She went for some lairy teenage gits who started pelting them and their fire truck with stones when they turned up to tackle a fire. She knocked one out and had the second crying on the ground. The other firefighters I’ve seen before but I don’t know their names. They’re all part of the same crew. They work out of the station on Forest Gate.”

  “Opposite the golf course?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  “Well, this has made things a lot more complicated. Has it struck you that these hero firefighters might well have killed Dillon?”

  “It has actually.”

  “Have you got any evidence that might link them to it? If they were sent down for his murder it would solve a lot of problems.”

  “I know. It’s a bloody shame I haven’t got any.”

  “So no DNA evidence from a mystery assailant?”

  “Nothing. They knew what they were doing.”

  “If you could somehow put them in that park it would help. Is there any CCTV footage?”

  “Faith, I’ve been a police officer for quite a few years now. I do know how to run an investigation.”

  “Sorry. I just want this to be over.”

  “I understand,” he said more gently. “Alice does too, she’s getting really pissed off with all the hours I’m working. I think this investigation is making her realise just how many hours a police officer works.”

  “I hope she realises you’re worth it.” The words slipped out before she could stop them. Thank God the noise coming from the kitchen meant Vance wouldn’t have overheard.

  “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me Faith.”

  The playfulness in his voice made her grin. “It was about time. How do you think we should handle this?”

  “Well, I know Jules wants results.”

  “She’s being more cautious now she knows who they are.”

  “It might be best if you could get the product back and make them back off with a warning.”

  “If they killed Dillon I don’t think they will back off. Is there any chance you could find out if they’re having financial troubles?”

  “I can run a discreet check on Ben and Amanda.”

  “That would be great, thanks. In the meantime, we’ll do some snooping.”

  “Be careful. They might have been the ones following you and please don’t do anything rash.”

  “As if I would.”

  “Yeah, right. Got to go. Bye.”

  Faith hung up and walked into the kitchen, taking her place at the table, squeezing in between Abi and Jason.

  “Your beans will be cold,” sniffed Rose.

  “They’re fine,” she said, tucking in. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was until now.

  “Was it Matthew?” said Vance.

  Faith’s gaze connected with his and she saw his blue eyes were bright with jealousy. “Yes. He had some useful information for us.”

  “Not at the table,” said Rose. “You can have a break from business to eat.”

  Faith was desperate to communicate to her siblings what Matthew had said but Rose was right, they could all use a break, even if it was only for ten minutes.

  They laughed and joked as they ate and Faith felt some of the tension start to leave her body. She forced herself not to think about work, firefighters or drugs and just enjoyed being with her family, refusing to let Rose’s presence bring her down.

  Only once the meal was over and they were back in the front room drinking tea – forgoing any alcohol because they wanted to stay clear-headed – did Faith relate what Matthew had told her. Rose shut herself away in the kitchen on the pretext of washing up but her children knew it was because she didn’t want to know the details of the trouble they were in this time.

  “A hero firefighter,” breathed Caleb. “It makes no bloody sense. Why do this?”

  “Matthew’s going to find out if Ben and Amanda have been having financial difficulties,” replied Faith. “He doesn’t know the names of the other two but it won’t be hard to find out.”

  “It’s the only explanation,” said Vance. “Why else would they want to steal a load of drugs?”

  “Someone’s been watching us, so I say we return the favour,” said Faith.

  “You mean spy on them?” said Kevin with a cheeky smile.

  “I do.”

  “Awesome,” said Jason.

  “I think Vance should be the one to handle it, not you two,” she told them. “He’s the ex-police officer who’s experienced in surveillance.”

  “Aww,” pouted Jason.

  “You two would only do something daft,” Abi told them. “Like go around in stupid disguises.”

  “I still haven’t got over the Donald Trump mask Jason wore when we mugged Steve Bailey,” smiled Caleb.

  “Me and Vance will do all the covert work,” said Faith. “The rest of you need to keep a very close eye on the clubs and restaurant.”

  “Oh crap,” said Caleb.

  “What?” said Abi.

  “I thought the name Ben Cooper was familiar and I’ve just realised why,” he said, taking a letter out of his pocket. “This came this morning. Before the club can open it needs to have a fire inspection, which will be done by Ben Cooper.”

  Faith snatched the letter off him and stared at the name. “The inspection’s in three days.”

  “Oh great,” said Kevin. “He could say there’s something wrong with the club, so it won’t be allowed to open.”

  “There wouldn’t be a reason for him to do that,” said Vance. “He doesn’t know that we know who he is, he thinks all the footage was deleted. Besides, he can only do that if something really is wrong. If it isn’t and someone checks his work and finds there aren’t any problems with the club then questions will be asked.”

  “Who’s going to question a hero firefighter?” said Faith. “So, where shall we start?”

  “Well, we don’t have a home address. We could start with the fire station but we don’t know what shifts he works, so…”

  “Found him,” said Abi, who had been idly swiping at her phone. “He’s on every social media platform. It seems the hero likes attention.”

  Vance took the phone from her. There was a photo of Ben in full hiking gear up Snowdonia, undoubtedly the same man they’d watched breaking into the desk in the office at Pulse. There were also photos of him holding a cat at an animal sanctuary’s open day, taking part in a charity fun run, delivering food to a food bank and baking cupcakes for a charity coffee morning.r />
  “This makes even less sense,” said Abi. “Why nick a load of drugs?”

  “Maybe he’s got an evil twin?” said Kevin.

  “Or maybe he puts on a front to the world,” said Caleb. “And the real Ben Cooper is the one who twatted Greg and the others.”

  “We need to find out who the real Ben Cooper is from the people who know him best,” said Faith. “Anyone can post photos of themselves doing good deeds to project a front.”

  “You’re right,” Vance told her. “It reminds me of a case I worked not long after I joined CID. I nicked a vicar for being a peeping tom. Everyone was stunned it was him because he seemed so kind and gentle, doing good deeds for his parishioners. It turned out he had a dark side that liked to wank off while watching women through the windows of their own homes. I caught him red-handed, literally. He pleaded guilty so the footage wouldn’t be played in court. The humiliation would have been too much for him.”

  “Being a copper sounds such fun,” said Kevin sarcastically.

  “What put you on to the vicar in the first place?” Faith asked him.

  “All the victims were his parishioners. It was the only link between them. My colleagues said I was daft for thinking it was him but when I attended one of his services, I noticed him look at one of the female parishioners a few times in a weird way, so I waited outside her house and sure enough that night he came along and whipped it out.”

  “Don’t tell Mum that story or she’ll keel over,” said Abi.

  “Ben’s posted photos of himself with his car,” said Vance, continuing to study his social media accounts. “He’s blocked out the registration plate but he hasn’t done anything to disguise the street.”

  “Great,” said Kevin. “Which street is it then?”

  “I don’t know, there isn’t a sign but the houses are quite distinctive. They’ve got a mock-tudor front. I wish everyone would realise how dangerous social media can be. So many people post every little thing they do. It makes it very easy for a predator to find out every detail of their lives.”

  “We can’t just drive around the town looking for these houses,” said Abi. “There’s hundreds of streets in Blackpool.”