A Tangled Web

by A L Fraine

  “And then she got me to take some drugs. It was stupid but it was just a bit of fun, you know? She’d had them before and told me how great they were and how she’d look after me. So I thought, why not? What harm can it do? That first trip, it was good, actually. I quite enjoyed it. When I moved in with her, into Jacob’s place, we started using more often. Looking back now, I think she did it to hide from her pain. I think they were already abusing her.”

  “In what way?” Kate asked.

  “Like, you know. Getting her drugged up, and then doing what they wanted with her while she was knocked out or delirious.”

  “You mean, raping her?”

  Lily flushed and looked uncomfortable. “I think so. She never really told me. I just… I saw the pain in her eyes. She was broken inside. They did that to her. I wish I’d seen it earlier. I wish I’d known. I should’ve been stronger.”

  “You did nothing wrong, Lily,” Kate said. “They did this. Remember that. They took advantage of you and Olivia. They are the predators. They’re the ones in the wrong.”

  “Did they do the same to you?” Jon asked, feeling so terribly sorry for her, while also feeling a boiling, white-hot rage and hatred for the lowlifes that were responsible. They didn’t deserve to live on this Earth, frankly. He’d seen so many people whose lives were left in utter ruin by stuff like this, and it always made him so angry. But, he had a job to do. He couldn’t give in to his wrath. Instead, he needed to channel it and use it. It was fuel for him to hunt people like this down, and stop them.

  “I think they were planning to. I… I have blacked out a few times from the drugs, so… I don’t know.”

  Jon wanted to help Lily in whatever way he could, and he could see the pain and confusion behind her eyes. Her mother hugged Lily close, doing the very thing that Jon wanted to, but wouldn’t. It wasn’t his or Kate’s place to comfort anyone like that, no matter how much they wanted to help and save them from the horrors they’d experienced. He’d had training in how to handle victims, but he wasn’t a specialist in these things. There were others better suited to that task, and he and his team would make sure that Lily, and hopefully Olivia, got the best care possible. In the meantime, it was down to him and his team to do what they did best, and find those responsible, and bring them to justice.

  “Can you tell us about anything else that goes on in that house?” Jon asked.

  “They’re involved in all sorts,” Lily said, sniffing as Nina pulled away from her. “There’s usually always drugs of some kind there. I think that’s Vassili’s main thing. He’s a dealer, but I think there’s more. I think there might be other people…other girls there.”

  “Girls like you? That they’ve groomed and gaslighted?” Jon asked.

  “I’ve not met them, but I’ve heard Russian being spoken, and screams...”

  “Anything else?”

  “They have weapons. I’ve seen guns a few times. Lots of people come and go too. I don’t know who they are, but they’re not very nice most of the time. They say disgusting things. I tried to keep away from it, though. They scared me. Everything scared me after a while. It all started off nice. None of that stuff was on display when we first got there. But it just got worse and worse as the months passed.”

  “Is that why you ran? Because you were scared?”

  Lily nodded. “When Olivia left, there was nothing there for me anymore, and I saw the lie of it. Olivia had been the one telling me to go there, to move in, to leave my parents. When she left, when she said how much she hated it all, I knew I had to go too.”

  “But you stayed another night,” Kate replied with a frown.

  “I know. But I was terrified. I was scared of what would happen when I left. Also, I thought Olivia would come back. I didn’t think she’d actually leave and not come back.”

  “But she did,” Jon replied.

  “She did. So I had to leave, too. I had to find her.”

  “And that led you here,” Jon remarked.

  Lily nodded.

  “Thank you, Lily,” Jon said. “You’ve been a great help. I really appreciate what you’ve given us, and you have my promise that we will find Olivia and bring Jacob and the others to justice.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll arrange for someone to help you with an official statement if that’s okay?”

  Lily nodded again. “I want to help.”

  “Good. Thank you.”

  Walking back towards the office, with Kate by his side, his mind running through the events that Lily had recounted, he knew they needed to act fast. “I need that warrant,” he muttered. “I need to get into that house.”

  23

  “Rachel?” Jon called out as he strode towards his office.

  “Guv?”

  “Where’s my warrant?”

  “I’ll chase it up now,” she replied, made to make a phone call, and then turned back to him. “Oh, and Nathan’s in the incident room. I think he has something for you.”

  Jon stopped in his tracks and glanced over at Kate, who shared a look of surprise and hope. “Thank you, Rachel. Coming, Kate?”

  “Damn right,” she replied and followed him across the office towards the incident room where, sure enough, Nathan waited for them, sitting at the table.

  Was it too much to hope that Nathan had found something so damning that they could finally pin this on someone? Probably, but that didn’t stop him from hoping for something mind-blowing.

  “You’ve found something?” Jon asked as he walked into the room, followed by Kate.

  Standing, Nathan nodded. “Something, yes. I’ve found something.”

  “Well, that’s better than nothing. Okay, spill it. What have you got?”

  “Firstly, it’s not what I thought it was. I had another case in mind, but this one cropped up during my search, and it seems to fit.”

  “Go on,” Jon replied, tantalised by the idea that there might be more where this came from.

  “Okay, so several years ago, a young woman called Iryna comes over here from Poland looking for work. She did well for herself and worked a couple of jobs before being employed by RH Enterprises, Russell’s company. She worked there for several months and according to everyone who knew her, excelling at her job until one day, she just didn’t turn up. They looked into it, but she’d disappeared. Not only that, but she was never found.

  “During the police investigation, several employees said they believed they witnessed several instances of sexual harassment against Iryna, committed by Russell. However, they were looked into, and nothing stuck. Most ended up withdrawing their statements, and everything ended up just fizzling away. Plus, he had some corroborating alibis for everything that came up, putting him elsewhere for a bunch of them, and giving alternate witnesses to others, including for the period that Iryna went missing. She’s still missing today.”

  “I can believe every word of those employees,” Kate said. “He’s a real slime ball, and was a little too handsy with me during that ridiculous tour.”

  “If the glove fits,” Jon agreed and looked over at Kate. “I saw how he was with you, so I can believe the harassment reports. I can also see him using his considerable wealth and power to make those allegations disappear.”

  “He can just throw money at the problem,” Kate agreed. “Most people don’t want to lose their jobs and be sued to kingdom come.”

  “If we end up taking him down, I bagsy the Shelby Cobra I saw in his garage.”

  “Ooh, I’ll take his Lambo,” Kate joined in with a smile.

  “So, you don’t think that’s the only case that supports ours against him?” Jon said.

  “It’s not the one I remember, no. I’m sure I remember one that was similar to ours with someone going missing a day or so after she’d spent an evening with him and his entourage out on the town. I’ll keep looking, though.”

  “Thank you, Fox.”

  “Any updates on the case?” Nathan asked.

  �
�Lily’s just come back and told us about the house of horrors she’s been living in for the best part of a year. Plus, Olivia’s parents had their house broken into and her father was assaulted. We think someone was there looking for Olivia.”

  “Sounds like you have your hands full. Right, I’ll get back to it. Keep your fingers crossed,” Nathan replied and walked out the room.

  “What do you think?” Jon asked.

  “It’s another little bit of weight on our side of the scales,” Kate replied.

  “Right. It’s hardly damning, but if we can build up our weight of evidence, it’ll only stand us in good stead once the case makes it to court.”

  “Every little bit helps,” Kate said. Stepping up to him, she asked, “How’re you holding up?”

  “I’m okay,” he replied. “Looking forward to Friday night.”

  “Oh?” Kate replied. “And what’s happening on Friday night?”

  Surprised, Jon gave her a look waiting to see if she’d say anything, but she only looked at him, confused. “But, I thought…?” Jon continued, hoping that Kate hadn’t forgotten about their date.

  As he watched, a smile spread over her lips. “I’m kidding,” she relented finally. “I’m looking forward to it too. So, where will you be taking me?”

  Jon felt his stomach fall as he realised he’d not booked a table anywhere. “Oh, me? I thought.”

  Kate raised her eyebrows at him.

  “No, don’t worry, I’ll sort it. I’ll find somewhere.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not eating gravy and chips while sitting on a car again. That’s not a date.”

  “It’s chips and gravy, not gravy and chips, only a crazy person would say it that way around.”

  “Whatever, I’m not eating that, sitting out in the cold.”

  “Yep, no, I know. Leave it with me, all will be fine,” Jon replied, feeling utterly panicked by the thought of him calling around and not being able to find a table anywhere. He needed to get on to that as soon as possible. If only this case would let up on him a little bit and give him some breathing room.

  “First impressions count for a lot, you know,” Kate said.

  “Right, yes. They do,” Jon agreed. “But we’ve known each other for a while now, aren’t we a little beyond first impressions?”

  “We’re starting again, remember, Loxley? I’m looking forward to being impressed.”

  “Oh, jeez,” he muttered, being a little melodramatic.

  Kate laughed.

  Rachel suddenly popped her head in the door of the incident room.

  “Sir?”

  “DS Arthur, please tell me you have some good news.”

  She smiled. “I have some good news.”

  24

  “You’re going into the home of a career criminal, someone who has links to the Russian Mob, deals drugs, and traffics women. We have credible reports that there might be weapons in there too. So be careful. The main man we’re after is called Vassili Syomin, but we’re also looking for Yana Perova, Jacob Cole, Tyler Lee, and Zack Porter. You need to arrest and secure anyone you find, but also be aware that there could be victims in there, so be careful, we need to treat them with respect. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” the assembled officers intoned.

  His pep talk finished, the armed response unit moved to their van, while everyone else went about their business, either getting in cars or making sure they had everything they needed.

  “Rachel,” Jon said, spotting a moment without anyone around, while Kate was getting their car ready.

  “Sir?”

  “Is there a good, local place to go for a nice meal out, such as, on a date, maybe?”

  “You’re asking me where to take a woman on a date?”

  “I don’t know the area,” Jon protested. “And in case you hadn’t noticed, this job is fairly full-on.”

  “Are you asking me out, sir?”

  “No, no, never.”

  “Never?”

  “Um, well, what I mean is. You’re a good looking woman and all, but…”

  “I’m fucking with you, Jon. Besides, I’m in a relationship.”

  Jon went to speak, and then sighed. “Thanks for that.”

  “Anytime, it’s the least I can do. Alright, well, I guess there are a few places. Depends on your budget.”

  “I want to make a good first impression.”

  “Like I said, there are several places. This is Surrey, remember?”

  “Right, yeah. Silly me. Anyway, I can’t stay here and chat, but can you find one and book a table for two, under my name?”

  Rachel smiled. “Will do, Romeo.”

  “Thanks,” he smiled.

  “You’ve only been here a few weeks,” Rachel replied, and then glanced over at Kate, before looking back at him, her eyebrows raised dramatically. “You work quick.”

  Blushing, Jon shrugged. “When it’s right, it’s right.”

  “Heh, yeah. I guess.”

  “Thank you, Rachel, I owe you one,” he said, making for the car.

  “Damn right you do,” she replied, walking off.

  “What was that all about?” Kate asked as he got in the car.

  “Just some admin crap,” he replied, brushing the comment away. “Right, let’s go and get this creep.”

  Kate nodded and joined the small convoy of vehicles as they headed out.

  Making their way through the Surrey countryside, Jon wondered if this action might bring the case to an end. It was by no means certain that Russell had anything to do with Olivia’s disappearance, and his link to her was fleeting and superficial at best. But still, there was something about it that felt strangely compelling to him. He was at a loss as to what it might be, though.

  Would Jacob be here, hiding in a room somewhere, maybe with Olivia?

  Honestly, he hoped so, he needed to find her and bring her home as soon as possible. But he worried that this was just a distraction, and Olivia was nowhere near here, held by someone totally unrelated to any of this.

  He hoped she was okay, and that she could hold on for just a little while longer.

  He needed to get his head in the game though and focus on what they were going to do next, otherwise, people could die. Storming into the base of a criminal enterprise was never a trivial thing.

  Radio chatter back and forth filled the car as the group closed in on the house, approaching from several different directions after splitting up partway. Kate stayed with the main van, following them to the house.

  They parked up several roads away and waited for the other parts of the team to get into place. Communication then shifted to the two plain-clothed officers watching the house, who informed them that as far as they knew, Vassili was still in the building.

  “That’s good news,” Kate commented.

  “It sure is. Okay, I think it’s go-time, unless you can think of a reason not to?”

  “Nope, none at all.”

  Jon nodded and pressed the send button on the pool car’s radio. “Let’s go.”

  The order given, the van ahead set off with a brief wheelspin. Jon smiled at the enthusiasm of the armed response team, as Kate followed it around the next few roads before they turned into the driveway.

  “They love this part,” Jon remarked, as he watched the officers jump out of the van and run towards the house.

  “I can tell,” Kate replied as they got out and followed.

  Wearing his armoured vest and holding his baton, Jon followed the main team up to the house. Within the group, he spotted the officer carrying the large red battering ram they used to break down doors, ready for use.

  They continued up the driveway and made for the main door. Jon looked back at Kate, where she stood, right on his heels, her baton in hand.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Of course, this is hardly my first of these,” Kate replied. “Are you?”

  “Yep,” he answered, but couldn’t help feeling a little p
rotective of Kate. He didn’t want her getting hurt. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt, of course, especially not anyone on his team, but his budding feelings for Kate pulled on his heartstrings that little bit harder.

  He needed to get past that, though, if he wanted to keep working with her. If his feelings started to get in the way, then one or both of them would get transferred and he didn’t want that. Pushing his feelings of concern away, Jon did his best to focus on the job at hand.

  Find Vassili and anyone else who might be here.

  “Make way for the big red key,” the officer with the ram said as he ran forward. With a big swing, he slammed the ram into the door with an almighty bang. It took four solid hits to get the door open, before the team charged in, shouting about their arrival to the residents.

  “Armed police!”

  “Hands up!”

  “Come out!”

  The next few moments were frantic as Jon rushed through the house. A man was quickly thrown to the floor in the entrance hall and cuffed, and in the next room, two more were ordered at gunpoint to get on the ground.

  The armed officers were taking no chances. With the report of guns and other weapons in the house, there was no room for error.

  Moving through to a back room, a man came charging out of another door holding a large sword aloft. He screamed as he ran, topless and barefoot with only an old pair of jeans on.

  “Jesus,” Jon gasped.

  “Halt!” an officer shouted as they backed off, but the man kept coming. His eyes were wild and bugging out of his skull as he ran.

  “Stop or we’ll shoot!”

  But the man didn’t listen and ran towards one of the officers.

  An ear-splitting bang rang through the house as one of the team fired. His shoulder hit, blood flew, and the man spun, before staggering. He dropped his sword, which clattered to the floor, before he fell on his arse, his face the picture of shock.