by Liz Mistry
Her eyes darted around the hallway of her home which was lit by crime scene lights, before resting on Gus. ‘When the fuck were you going to tell me my father was dead, Gus?’ She threw herself at him, her fists pummelling his chest. ‘Too busy to come yourself, so you had to send that fucking creep, Brighton? How could you?’
Momentarily paralysed, Gus stood open mouthed as she hit him, then frowning he gripped her upper arms and gently shook her. ‘Stop it, Sadia. Look at me. Stop it.’ What the hell was going on? Had Brighton told Sadia about her father, against his express instructions? Surely even he wouldn’t be that stupid. Seeing that Alice and Sampson had rushed into the hallway, he nodded at them over the top of her head telling them to leave them alone. No wonder she was upset. The last place she should be is here in the middle of all this. He was thankful though, that, at least, her dad had been removed from the scene.
Heaving grating breaths, Sadia rubbed her sleeve over her face and sighed, half falling against him. ‘Aw, honey,’ he said, kissing her hair, ‘I was on my way to you now. The CSI’s have only just gone, sweetheart. But I don’t get it. What the hell was that about Brighton?’
Sadia hiccupped and pushing agitated fingers through her hair said, ‘He came to the house and told me.’
‘He fuckin’ what?’ said Gus, ‘I specifically said I would break the news to you.’ If Brighton had been there right at that moment, he was sure he’d have torn the man limb from limb
Sadia extricated herself from Gus, her eyes refusing to meet his as she peered along the hallway. ‘Where is he? My Dad? Where is he?’
‘They’ve taken him, Sadia. I’ll bring you to see him tomorrow.’
Her eyes hardened as she looked at him. With a glance laced with hatred, she shook her head, ‘No, Gus, no. I’m going to Shamila’s tonight. I don’t want to see you just now.’ Turning, she walked back out the door. He ran after her but she pulled away from him and got into the passenger side of Shamila’s car. Shamila shrugged and drove away, leaving him on the pavement.
Closing his eyes, his mouth set in a thin line, Gus exhaled. ‘What a difference a fucking day makes.’ The phrase had never seemed so apt. Deep down inside him, he knew that, whatever happened next, Sadia would always associate their relationship with her father’s death. He suspected that what they had wouldn’t prove strong enough to withstand her guilt. He really wanted to kick something, punch something, so he shoved his hands into his pockets and took deep breaths. He was aware of the few people milling around behind him doing their jobs and casting curious looks in his direction. He wished he was on his own. Right now, all he wanted to do was stand under a scalding hot shower and then collapse into his bed for a week… or maybe a month.
The sharp bubbles of panic lapped at his chest. Fuck, the last thing he needed was to have an attack now. He’d too much to do. Ignoring everyone, he stumbled out of the house into the street and forced himself to focus on the yellow street light. Slowing his breathing, he waited for the tightness to ease. From somewhere far away, he heard Alice ask if he was okay but he maintained his focus, ignoring her until the light-headedness left him and he was shaken but in control. He felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest. It felt nearly as bad as when he’d lost Billy. He shook his head. No, this wasn’t that bad… nothing could ever be that bad again. This was painful but he could cope. He knew he would.
Turning, he saw Alice and Sampson standing by the car, their expressions concerned. He smiled a tight smile and then his eyes narrowed as he saw a figure walking along the pavement towards them. Gus saw the cigarette in his hand and the supercilious sneer on his face. A wave of rage overtook him and, without stopping to think, he marched over to meet Brighton.
‘Did you do the death notification for DCS Hussain?’ Each word seemed to tremble in the air as Gus clenched and unclenched his fists.
Brighton smiled. ‘Thought I’d save you a job… sir. I could see you were busy here.’
‘You know the protocol, Brighton. A senior officer designates that role and I certainly did not ask you.’
Brighton shrugged. ‘Needed doing. Thought I’d use my initiative. Thought you might be too close to the DS, sir.’
Seeing the self-satisfied look on the other man’s face, a rush of anger hit Gus and without thinking, he raised his hand, clenched his fist and rammed it, with force, straight into Brighton’s face. The resultant squelching sound as his nose burst, sending a spurt of blood onto the pavement, made Gus smile. Brighton cupped his hand under his nose to catch the blood. Turning to Alice and Sampson who’d rushed over, Gus grinned. ‘That felt good, Al.’
He thought that maybe in the morning he’d regret his actions but, right then, he just didn’t care. Brighton deserved that – and more.
Alice, concern making her face taut, frowned at him, as Brighton said, ‘You’ll really wish you hadn’t done that, McGuire. Especially in front of witnesses.’
Before Gus could react, Alice had spun towards Brighton looking, Gus thought, like a gothic avenging angel, as she glared at him. Her tone menacing, she turned in a slow circle to encompass those who stood nearby. Holding her hands out palm upwards in query, she said, ‘What witnesses? Any of you lot see owt?’
Sampson and two of Hissing Sid’s team shook their heads and Gus grinned. He knew Brighton had rubbed too many people up the wrong way and this was his reward… one he richly deserved.
Alice, smiling now, turned back to the bleeding man. ‘Bit careless of you to walk into a door, isn’t it?’
Brighton glared at her, then at Gus, before sidling off back to his car leaving a dripping trail of blood in his wake.
‘You didn’t need to do that, Al. I’d have taken whatever was coming.’
Alice turned round and thumped him hard on the arm. ‘Yes. I bloody did. What. Were You. Thinking?’ each word was punctuated by an additional thump that Gus knew would bruise, but seeing the tears glistening in Alice’s eyes he accepted his punishment, saying only, ‘I’m sorry, Al. It’s been a long day.’
She nodded. ‘Yeah, but at least we know which dickhead took those photos of you and Sadia.’ And she nodded to the red Vectra pulling away from the kerb further up the road with Brighton at the wheel.
Chapter 82
21:35 The Fort
The interview with the Assistant Chief Constable had been difficult. Gus had outlined DCS Hussain’s death as a probable suicide and updated her on Hussain’s tacit admission of being Millie Green’s unborn child’s father. Her parting words ‘cluster fuck’ still rang in Gus’ ears and although there was no blame attached to Gus he knew that for the department this was a huge issue. A senior officer committing suicide was bad enough, but the additional aspect of said officer’s possible involvement in a police cover-up, combined with his subsequent implication in his mistress’ murder and what could have been a mild headache, quickly swept under the carpet of ‘personal issues’, now became a mega brain tumour ready to haemorrhage, causing untold damage to the force’s reputation. Of course, as expected Assistant Chief Constable Gracie Kielty had issued a press blackout, which Gus had duly passed onto his team. Not that he or any of his colleagues were ever keen to talk to the press. Deciding to be partially honest with the ACC, Gus had requested Brighton’s removal from the team citing his direct flouting of orders regarding the death notification to Sadia and she had acquiesced, no doubt having enough on her plate without bothering about the petty internal politics of Gus’ team. He would deal with Brighton’s photography later. ACC Keilty had also directed the investigation into DCS Hussain’s death and the Millie Green case to a team from North Yorkshire as per protocol. Gus was glad about that as he had more than enough to deal with already with the prostitute murders, the arson attacks and the rogue Polish thug.
Now, he needed to focus. Shahid Khan had been brought in and, although the interview was pertinent to Khan’s visit to Hussain, Gus was reluctant to pass him off to the North Yorkshire team without first having a go with h
im. After all, it appeared that Khan was linked heavily to both investigations.
Grabbing a coffee, he headed down to interview room one with Alice. Khan was pacing the floor and practically growling by the time they entered.
‘What the fuck’s this about, McGuire? You got no respect? They’ve just taken Imti back into surgery and you’ve dragged me back here. I’ve no fucking time for this.’
He hadn’t known Imti had been taken back into surgery. He fleetingly wondered if Sadia knew. He hoped not. She had enough on her plate as it was. Sitting down, he said, ‘I’m sorry about Imti, but we need to ask you a few more questions.’
Shahid flung himself into the plastic chair opposite Gus, ‘You couldn’t have just come to the hospital to ask your stupid questions? That’s where I’ve been since that bastard knifed Imti.’
Gus leaned back, folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Alice. Alice pulled out a chair and sitting down said, ‘Well, Shahid. We know that’s not strictly true, don’t we?’
‘Eh?’ Shahid glared at her.
Alice smiled. ‘Well we’ve got a witness who places you at the scene of a possible murder earlier on today.’
Shahid sprung to his feet, ‘What fucking murder? You’re not fitting me up for some murder now!’
Alice took out her notebook and flicked the pages over. ‘Ah here we are, 4:45 this afternoon. Our witness places you at our crime scene.’
Gus watched as Shahid made the mental computations. A frown appeared across the ridge of his nose. His eyes flashed and then he leaned forward elbows on the table. ‘You telling me old man Hussain’s dead?’
Gus nodded. ‘So, you were there at his house?’
Shahid nodded. ‘But I didn’t kill him.’
‘You were heard shouting at him,’ said Alice.
Shahid turned to her. ‘You never shout at anyone, Little Miss Perfect? Bet you do; but you don’t go around offing them, do you? And neither do I. The old bastard was still standing when I left him.’ He turned to Gus with a grin, ‘Anyway, seems to me you’ve got as much of a motive as anyone, Gussy boy.’
Gus nodded slowly. ‘Ah, so you removed the photos did you? Wondered where they’d gone.’
Shahid grinned. ‘Course I did. I was after owt I could get on that old bastard. Always thought he’d had summat to do with Millie’s death and when the Dhosangs told me she were up the duff, I knew exactly who’d done it. Mr “‘holier than thou” Hussain, that’s who.’
Gus exchanged a glance with Alice. Shahid had seemed genuinely surprised to hear about Hussain’s death and Gus knew that he’d be more likely to use a gun or a knife than to go to the bother of hanging the man. Besides, the absence of a suicide note didn’t necessarily mean murder. Gus looked at Shahid, ‘Where’s the photos, then?’
Shahid didn’t even pretend not to know what Gus was talking about. ‘If I hand them over, you’ll let me go back to the hospital?’
Gus considered for a moment, then, ‘Okay, as long as you stay available. Other officers will want to interview you too.’
Shahid snorted. Then he stood up and unzipped his designer hoodie and lifted his T-shirt revealing a tan envelope tucked into his jeans. He pulled it out and threw it on the table, ‘Screwing the boss’ daughter, McGuire, not a good idea. Maybe you’ve got more of a motive for killing the old bastard than me.’
Chapter 83
22:15 The Fort
The wind had picked up and the streetlights below cast amber hues over the dusting of leaves that skittered down Lilycroft Road, like a herd of marauding rats following an invisible Pied Piper. Gus shivered, despite the heat that made the incident room feel like a sauna. At least the rain had eased off for now. Compo worked in the corner of the room, headphones on, oblivious to Gus’ presence and with a stack of chocolate biscuits and a pile of crumbs beside him on his desk. He smiled as Compo’s head bobbed to a beat he was thankful not to be able to hear.
He wished Sadia was here but, despite numerous texts and calls she refused to speak to him. All he wanted to do was comfort her but he guessed his presence was too much for her to bear. He could only hope that, with time, she’d be able to see things more clearly and overcome whatever guilt was making her push him away. He knew that it was becoming more and more likely that, even in the absence of a suicide note, the North Yorkshire team would cite suicide as cause of death. Sadia would be sure to blame herself for driving him to it and Gus wasn’t sure if any subsequent discoveries regarding Millie Green would alleviate that.
Unable to bear another solicitous look from Alice, he’d despatched her and Sampson to the BRI to check up on Charlotte who, it seems was coming slowly out of her induced coma. Gus wanted a friendly face there when she fully wakened up and you couldn’t get more friendly than Alice.
Things were falling into place. He had officers on the ground looking for Anastazy; Compo was close to getting a photographic ID of Jankowski’s ‘The Old Man’; and all he could do now was wait. He moved away from the window and was just sitting down when his phone rang. A quick glance told him it was Alice. ‘What’s up, Al?’
‘It appears that Shahid lied when he said Imti was back in surgery, Gus. I just asked the nurse on duty and she knew nothing about it. Serafina’s mum, who’s been here all afternoon with Jacob, said that almost as soon as Shahid got back to the hospital, Jai arrived and they high-tailed it out of here without even saying bye to Imti. What’s made her even more anxious is that her other two sons, Thomas and Luka, went with Shahid. She thinks they’ve found Anastazy. She’d also worried sick about Serafina. She’s not seen her since this morning. She’s scared Anastazy’s got her.’
‘Shit!’ said Gus. ‘I’m on my way.’ Dragging his coat on, Gus yelled over to Compo, who, blinking like a myopic owl, looked up, pulling his head phones off. ‘I need you to pull up CCTV from BRI, pronto. Start with the main entrance camera and pan out from there. Make it from 10pm tonight. We’re looking for Jai and Shahid.’
Hanging over Compo’s shoulder as he worked, Gus identified Jai going into BRI at 22:05. ‘Isolate that shot there and zoom in. I want to see who’s with Jai.’
Compo, zoomed in on the man walking with an unmistakeable bounce, next to Jai.
Gus prodded the screen, ‘That’s one of Bazza Green’s thugs, Jerome. Looks like they’ve teamed up. This is not going to end well, Compo. Track the footage and follow it so we know where they’re headed and keep me updated. I’ll get the armed response unit on standby. I’m going to meet up with Alice and Sampson at BRI. Keep us updated.’
Gus was nearly at the lifts when Compo ran after him, ‘This just came through from Jankowski. It’s the image we’ve been waiting for of The Old Man. It’s a bit grainy and a few years old but it’s the best Jankowski could get.’
Gus grabbed it and glanced at it. It was of a man at his daughter’s birthday party. ‘Shit, I’ve seen this man, Compo. Thanks.’ And after jabbing the lift button once more to no avail, he spun round and took the stairs two at a time.
Chapter 84
22:30 Off Ingleby Road
Bazza Green hadn’t accompanied them to the deserted warehouse off Ingleby Road and, to be honest, Shahid was pleased. Bazza was too old for this game, as well as being too much of a coward and he’d only be in the way. He’d insisted on sending his men, though, and Shahid respected that. He’d have done the same. No point in trusting someone else if you could have your own men on the job. To be fair, they’d probably come in handy. Shahid had no idea what Anastazy’s capabilities were, or the extent of his network, so they’d agreed to stake the place out for a bit before going in guns blazing.
The warehouse had once housed a halal supermarket, but after a fire a few years previously it had never reopened. From Ingleby road the building looked deceptively small but, from the back, where Shahid had stationed himself and some of his men, it was huge and sprawling. It had two floors and jutted out into a huge rectangle that spanned, at least, the length of a football field. Its windows
were covered with corrugated metal, but still, the occasional chink of light could be seen. Shahid wondered what exactly Anastazy kept inside. Jerome had seen him entering the warehouse from a shuttered back door earlier in the evening accompanied by an older man. According to Jai’s source the older man was the boss and Anastazy was his deputy.
Shahid didn’t much care about the hierarchy. As far as he was concerned, Anastazy was his, although he knew that Jai was keen to score him for himself too. His boss would get what was coming to him afterwards. After all, apart from what they’d done to Imti and Trixie, they’d seriously affected his business. Bastards had tried to implement a takeover bid. Tried to disturb the status quo and neither Shahid nor Bazza could tolerate that. They’d rubbed along fine for years, respecting each other’s territory and no fucking immigrant was going to disturb that. No fucking chance.
Shahid glanced at Jai who sat beside him in the car. He wondered how Jai managed to appear so contained, so emotionless. Shahid’s blood was boiling. The interview with McGuire had wound him up. The fact that Hussain had taken the easy way out had pissed him off. After all this was over, he’d planned on handing him to Jess on a plate, preferably with his balls rammed down his throat. Now, it seemed he’d have to rely on the oink oinks to expose him for what he was. Hmph, and that was as bloody likely as him scoring the winning wicket for Pakistan at Lords. They’d probably cover it all up like they did last time. Well, not if he had his way. No, he’d see to it that they squirmed. He’d make sure the papers learned all about DCS Hussain’s other life.