Reid gestured towards the door he had emerged from. ‘We’re through there.’
Caelan and Achebe followed him into a dingy corridor. The walls were painted grey, scuff marks visible above the skirting board. The floor was carpeted in navy blue, with a path trodden down the centre. Battered wooden doors were set along the corridor at regular intervals. Caelan kept her eyes on the back of Reid’s head as he marched along in front of her. She had promised herself once before that she would not be dragged back into this world, but she had allowed it to happen. Had that been a mistake? As they walked, she decided that if she had the slightest reservation about whatever they were here to discuss, she would leave. She would go back to Beckett, ask for the transfer she’d threatened. Major Crimes, Protection or Security… There were possibilities. As Reid stopped outside one of the doors and pushed it open, Caelan set her jaw. Elizabeth Beckett had lied to her before, or at least hadn’t been entirely honest about what she knew. Caelan felt little loyalty to a woman she did not trust.
Reid stood back, allowing Caelan and Achebe to enter the room before him. It wasn’t large, around four metres square, with one window on the back wall. An oval table stood in the centre, three people already seated around it. Caelan’s stomach dropped as she saw Nicky beside Richard Adamson. The other man, she had never seen before. Though she had half expected Nicky to be here, seeing her again so soon was like a punch to the stomach.
Richard smiled as Caelan pulled out the chair beside his, clearly uncomfortable to be sitting between her and Nicky. ‘Come to join the party?’ he said.
She nodded at him. ‘Apparently.’
Nicky kept her eyes fixed on the far wall, not acknowledging Caelan. Richard cleared his throat.
‘I didn’t think you’d be at work, not after…’ He flushed. ‘After yesterday.’
‘Forget it.’ Caelan raised a hand to the dressing on her temple, desperate to remove it. ‘I have.’
She heard Nicky sigh, but didn’t look at her. The comment had been about Michael Nasenby, but if Nicky wanted to take offence, let her. Guilt could skew your vision, as Caelan knew only too well. Nicky wasn’t stupid; she would know how badly Caelan was hurting. No doubt Nicky was too, but Caelan put the thought out of her mind. They were here as professionals, the best in their field. This wasn’t the time for bickering.
Spencer Reid took a seat, setting an iPad on the table. He nodded towards the man sitting beside him. ‘This is my colleague, Phil Webster.’
Webster nodded. ‘Good to meet you all.’
Reid leant forward. ‘Nicky, do you want to brief your colleagues on the basics?’
Nicky ran a hand through her hair, glancing at Richard but not Caelan. ‘Okay. A few months ago, we had word from an informant who knew the drug scene around here. He couldn’t tell us much, just that a couple of the local street dealers had been offering different drugs – coke and crack when they’d only had cannabis before. Nothing concrete, but worth keeping an eye on. I was asked to spend some time on the streets, see what I could dig up. A major dealer had been jailed, potentially leaving a gap for someone else to move into.’
‘And?’ Caelan said. Nicky lifted her shoulders, let them fall.
‘Nothing. The street dealers? I hardly saw them.’
Achebe frowned. ‘What about the informant?’
Nicky shot a look at Reid and Webster. ‘He’s dead,’ she said.
Realisation hit Caelan. ‘The man they found this morning.’
Nicky turned to look at her, and Caelan forced herself to maintain eye contact. ‘Yes. Did Assistant Commissioner Beckett tell you—’
‘That it appeared he’d been tortured?’ Caelan nodded. ‘She mentioned it.’
‘It’s been confirmed.’ Reid’s face was expressionless. ‘He hadn’t been dead long when his body was discovered. A matter of hours, according to the pathologist. His fingers had all been broken by hammer blows. Most of his toes too. Boiling water had been poured into his mouth, and on his back…’ Reid paused. ‘On his back, he was severely burnt. They’d used an iron.’
There was a silence as everyone in the room visualised the agony.
‘What was his name?’ Caelan asked softly. Reid didn’t need to check.
‘Anthony Bryce.’
Caelan said nothing. The name prodded at a memory, but she couldn’t recall where she’d heard it before. Someone from school? Someone she’d arrested? She knew it would irritate her, catching like a broken fingernail until she remembered where she had heard it.
‘Does he have a record?’ she asked.
Reid shrugged. ‘Minor drug stuff. He’s never been inside.’
‘How did he end up as an informant?’
‘He’d only contacted us once, with the information about the possibility of a new supplier or major dealer arriving in Edmonton.’
Caelan considered it, pinching her lower lip between her finger and thumb. ‘Then why was he tortured? He must have known more than he told us.’
‘Or someone thought he did,’ said Nicky. ‘His death was unexpected, and—’
‘And we need to find out what happened,’ said Reid. He spoke quietly, but Caelan could see he was rattled. She wasn’t surprised. Murder, torture. Most people wouldn’t have the stomach for it. This wasn’t about minor drug dealing.
‘Do we know anything else about Bryce?’ she asked. ‘Was he a dealer himself?’
Webster folded his arms, the material of his shirt tightening over his bulky shoulders. ‘We don’t think so.’
Caelan gave him a hard stare. ‘Why did you think it was necessary to send an undercover officer in? I was told Nicky had been attempting to infiltrate a major drug gang. It sounds more like you were looking at low-level street dealing at first.’
Reid shot Webster a glance. ‘Maybe, but the drugs are coming from somewhere. We wanted to poke around, see what fell out of the woodwork.’
Caelan snorted, pushed back her chair. ‘I’ve heard enough. Good afternoon.’
Beside her, Richard Adamson was also on his feet. ‘We’re wasting our time here,’ he said. Nicky didn’t move, staring at Reid and Webster with something like contempt.
Reid held up his hands. ‘Wait, the plan was we work together, wasn’t it?’
‘Then tell us what you know.’ Caelan pushed her chair beneath the table and picked up her bag. She’d give them another thirty seconds, and no more. ‘You’ve a dead body now, a man who was tortured before he died. You don’t think it’s time to take this more seriously? This isn’t kids playing at being gangsters.’
Reid sighed. ‘We know. Why do you think we asked for more officers?’
‘I’ve no idea, but if we’re going to work together, you need to be open with us. It’s our lives on the line, not yours.’
Webster was watching her. ‘What my colleague means is, we’re aware of the seriousness of the situation. We’re told you lot are the best in the business. I’ll be honest, this thing has blown up in our faces.’
Achebe said, ‘Another man died, a few weeks ago now.’ He looked at Reid, at Webster. ‘Tell them.’
‘He was tortured too,’ Webster said softly. ‘The same injuries as Anthony Bryce suffered. The difference is…’ He allowed a silence to develop, as though unwilling to complete the sentence.
‘The difference is the first victim was a police officer,’ Reid finished for him.
Caelan’s stomach dropped. ‘What?’
‘A young constable. He’d only been in the job nine months. We’ve no idea why he was targeted. His patch was miles away. He didn’t turn up for his shift at Limehouse station, and no one knew where he’d gone. A few days later, his body was found in an empty house.’
‘The same one where Bryce’s was discovered?’
‘No, a few streets away.’
‘Other than the manner of their deaths, what’s the connection between the two victims?’ asked Adamson.
‘We don’t know.’ Reid’s frustration was evident in h
is voice, in his frown. ‘The PC – Ben Rainey was his name – wasn’t a drug user. His mobile phone gave us no clues, neither did his laptop. His family and friends know nothing, his colleagues and sergeant are as bemused as we are. No one can understand what he was doing in Edmonton.’
‘That’s where he was found?’ said Caelan.
‘Same as Bryce.’
‘If they were both tortured, we could assume the two of them knew something,’ said Richard Adamson.
‘But what? We spoke to Bryce when Rainey’s body was found – discreetly, of course. Bryce didn’t know Rainey. He’d never heard of him, didn’t recognise his face.’ Webster grimaced. ‘Not that his own mother would have done when his body was found. Bryce hadn’t heard any whispers about a copper poking his nose in where it wasn’t wanted, or rumours about what had happened. It’s a mystery.’
‘And now Bryce is dead too.’ Caelan sat back down, though her instinct was to head for the door. This situation was more complex than she had imagined, and more serious. People who were willing to torture and kill were not ones she wanted to meet, much less infiltrate.
‘When Nicky was taken off the case, we lost our eyes on the ground.’ Reid kept his voice level, but the implied criticism was clear. ‘Maybe someone was spooked.’
‘I didn’t—’ Nicky began.
Reid spread his hands. ‘I don’t mean by you, Detective Sturgess. Possibly by Bryce himself, or maybe it was just paranoia. You know how careful the people at the top of these gangs are.’
‘But they knew to target Bryce. That wasn’t accidental,’ said Caelan.
‘It doesn’t mean they knew he’d spoken to us,’ Nicky pointed out. ‘He could have pissed them off in any number of ways. We’re assuming the torture was because he grassed, but it doesn’t have to have been.’
‘A punishment for something else?’ Reid frowned.
‘Or just someone’s idea of making a point. Torture makes people sit up and take notice. Maybe Bryce’s death was a warning,’ said Nicky.
Caelan glanced at her. ‘A warning to whom? About what? Bryce got more than a slap on the wrist.’
‘I don’t know.’ Nicky folded her arms. ‘I’m making suggestions.’
‘You’ve spent time in the area, you know people. Who could have done this?’ Caelan knew she was being unfair, forcing Nicky under the spotlight, but she didn’t care. There had been enough focus on her own job performance recently. Time for someone else to feel the glare of attention.
Nicky scowled at her. ‘That wasn’t what I was here for, Caelan, as you’ve been told.’
‘Still…’
Reid was studying them, face impassive. Caelan shut up, not wanting him to pick up on the issues between them. Richard Adamson sat forward. ‘Maybe you could explain why the three of us are here?’
Webster nodded. ‘Obviously something’s brewing in Edmonton. My guess is that the new dealer who seems to have moved in has ruffled some feathers. We think someone’s making a statement, trying to warn everyone in the area not to mess with them. We need to know who it is, so we can shut them down.’
‘And that’s where we come in?’ asked Adamson.
‘That’s the idea. It could be risky, though. Two deaths already, the victims tortured for a prolonged period beforehand…’
‘You’re really selling it to us,’ said Caelan. Webster laughed.
‘Telling it how it is. I wouldn’t want to go in there, but undercover work isn’t our bag. You know as well as I do what sort of reputation the area has. Gangs, violent crime, antisocial behaviour…’
‘Crimes that happen everywhere.’
Webster widened his eyes, an exaggerated gesture of incredulity. ‘You’re saying gangs are everywhere?’
‘We’ll leave them alone.’ Irritated, Caelan spoke with more confidence than she felt. Webster responded with a smirk.
‘And hope they do the same to you when you’re in their territory, asking questions? Big ask, wouldn’t you say? We’re talking about hardcore criminals, people who’ve already tortured and killed.’
‘I thought you wanted to find them? Shut them down?’
‘Yeah, but…’ He shook his head. ‘It’s a risk, is all I’m saying. These people could be bankrolling the Edmonton gangs. We’re talking serious money here.’
He wasn’t telling Caelan anything she didn’t already know. She ignored him.
Reid frowned at his colleague. ‘They won’t barge in and start asking questions,’ he said. ‘I think they’re subtler than that, Phil.’
‘Just saying. They need to be prepared.’
‘I’m sure they will be.’
‘How would the operation work?’ Nicky demanded.
‘The flat you stayed in before is still vacant. We thought you could go back there, make out you’d been away for a while. A short prison sentence, maybe?’
‘Not a good idea. It’s not wise to pretend you’ve done something when you never have,’ Nicky told him. ‘Too many chances to be found out.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Say I met someone whose sister, unbeknown to me, really had been in the same prison I’d pretended to have served time in. They could ask about me, she’d never have heard my name, wouldn’t know my face. I wouldn’t be able to explain it, and at best, it’d be awkward. At worst, it could show I’m pretending to be someone I’m not.’
Webster thought about it. ‘You could have been on different wings.’
‘But there’d still be things that would be common knowledge, and I wouldn’t have a clue about them. The governor, the food, what the visitor centre was like…’
‘In our game, staying as close to the truth as possible is generally the best idea.’ Caelan spoke to Webster, but watched Nicky’s face. Nicky didn’t react, but Caelan was aware of Adamson shifting position beside her. Reid was grinning, obviously enjoying his colleague being taught a lesson in undercover policing. Webster held up his hands.
‘All right, point taken. You say whatever you want.’
‘What are we looking for?’ Adamson asked.
‘Honestly? We don’t know. It might be nothing, but we’ve got two dead bodies. We don’t want a third.’
‘What finally killed Rainey and Bryce?’ Caelan wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Tim Achebe sat up straight. ‘Bryce was strangled. We don’t know what with. Whatever it was left no trace evidence. Rainey bled out after someone rammed a screwdriver into his chest.’ He stopped, rubbed his face with both hands. Blinked. ‘They’d both been beaten, punches and slaps to their faces. Abrasions and cuts on their wrists and ankles showed they’d been tied to chairs.’
Caelan stared at him. ‘You’re SIO?’
‘Yeah. Like I said, one of my DIs was involved.’
‘Why?’
‘Because we work together as necessary,’ Reid said quickly. Caelan raised an eyebrow.
‘And the truth?’
Reid flushed. ‘Come on, Detective Small…’
‘If we’re working together, we need to be honest with each other.’
‘Okay.’ Achebe sat back in his chair, his eyes on Caelan’s. ‘The DI is called Liv Hobbs. She transferred into my team about six months ago. Heard of her?’
Caelan thought about it. ‘No.’
‘Sister of Jackson Hobbs,’ Nicky said, ‘who’s currently serving sixteen years for drug offences. He’s the jailed dealer I mentioned a few minutes ago.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning, Liv grew up around here,’ Achebe told her. ‘Drugs has been the family business for a couple of generations. In fact, Liv reckons she was only conceived because her dad broke out of prison and spent a few hours at home with her mum before being captured and locked up again. She knows this place, and she knows the people. She can help us.’
‘What do her family say about that?’
‘Strangely enough, she’s estranged from them. They didn’t take kindly to her joining the force.’
‘I
magine.’
‘And she came from Limehouse nick.’ Achebe paused, eyebrows raised.
Caelan saw the connection. ‘She knows Ben Rainey?’
‘Not well, but she’d seen him around the station.’
‘Interesting. Who’s investigating the deaths of Rainey and Anthony Bryce?’
‘As we’ve established, I’m SIO, but a local team will be doing the legwork. They won’t know about you three.’
‘Why do you want us all?’ asked Adamson. ‘Who are we supposed to be? What are our stories?’
‘Nicky already has one. You two – I don’t know. A couple who’ve just been given a flat on the estate?’ Reid snapped his fingers. ‘You could move into the one Nicky had.’
‘Handy. You ready to be my boyfriend again, Richard?’ Caelan nudged him. It was the kind of comment she usually rolled her eyes at, but it was a chance to needle Nicky again. It was pathetic, she knew, but she wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass by. Adamson grinned.
‘I’m sure I’ll cope. Will you?’
Caelan watched Nicky’s cheeks flush as the others laughed, feeling a tiny jolt of shame.
‘What’s my link to Caelan and Richard?’ Nicky demanded when they had quietened down.
Reid clicked his tongue as he considered it. ‘Caelan could be your sister?’
‘It’s an idea.’ Again, as Nicky spoke, Caelan’s eyes were drawn to her face. Her expression gave nothing away, but Caelan knew she was irritated. Webster was smug, Reid was slick, and neither of them appeared to know what they were hoping to achieve. As collaborations went, it wasn’t ideal. She had been determined to remain professional, and here she was acting like a schoolkid. What had Beckett said? Time to grow up. Caelan folded her arms, forced Reid to meet her eyes. He smiled at her, clearly believing himself to be in charge.
‘Richard asked why there needs to be three of us. You didn’t answer him,’ she said. Reid forced a laugh.
‘We need answers. Three people should get the job done quicker than one or two, wouldn’t you say?’
She tipped her head to the side, watching him steadily. ‘No, I wouldn’t.’
Tell No Lies Page 3