‘Shall I make some obvious references about how you ought to live in Craigie, DS Craigie?’ Janie asked as she drove down the road.
‘Can you imagine the post office confusion? Nice area though, looks like Elizabeth Phillips did okay for herself,’ said Max with a yawn. He was still dog-tired, having once again woken up just before 4 a.m. with the dream.
‘Aye. Nice cars as well. Here is her place coming up on the right, Mondeo on the drive,’ said Janie.
Max said nothing. His eyes were fixed on an Audi that was parked on the nearside of the street ahead of them, exhaust fumes billowing from the rear.
‘Drive past, Janie.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t like the look of that Audi. Dark windows, engine on, shitty spoiler. Looks like a wanker’s car, and it doesn’t fit the street,’ said Max, the tension in his voice becoming more obvious. ‘Carry on past, and don’t look at them.’
‘Max?’ said Janie, questioningly.
‘Just drive past, nice and steady, and pull up onto the drive there, about five doors along, opposite Elizabeth’s house.’ Max pointed at a well-kept house with an empty drive that was big enough for several cars.
As they passed the Audi on their nearside, Max flipped down the sunshade and looked in the vanity mirror. Two men sat in the car, both youngish-looking with short hair and a nasty, tough look about them. One thing was for sure, they weren’t cops. They had no awareness of their surroundings, only had eyes for one thing. Elizabeth Phillips’s bright red front door.
‘Max, are you sure? The occupiers may not want us on their drive.’
‘I’m betting they’re away. No cars on the drive, all windows shut tight despite the weather, curtains open, no lights and the lawn needs cutting. I want to keep an eye on the Audi for a minute before we knock. There’s something about them. They look like a couple of scumbags.’
‘Skills, Sarge,’ Janie said admiringly as she pulled onto the drive.
‘Kill the engine.’ Max pressed the switch and the window wound down. He adjusted the side mirror until he had a good view of the Audi, its engine still belching diesel fumes. Max looked the vehicle over and noted low-profile tyres and aftermarket skirts. It definitely didn’t fit this tidy, suburban street. Max checked his watch. Eight a.m. ‘Can you keep a watch on Elizabeth’s front door? I’ll watch the Audi. Do you have any safety kit with you?’
‘Unfortunately not,’ said Janie.
‘No bother. Eyes on, yeah?’
‘You sure about this?’ said Janie.
‘Just a feeling. You have a radio with you?’
‘No, it’s back at the office along with my baton, cuffs and PAVA spray.’
‘Never mind, keep watching.’
They sat there for a few moments in total silence, locked onto their respective targets.
‘Stand by,’ Janie said. ‘Target premises door opening, female leaving the premises, now turning to lock the door.’ Max quickly glanced and saw a slim, grey-haired woman at the red door.
‘Now, Audi door opening,’ Max said. ‘Two men getting out, shit, both wearing knuckle-dusters. They’re going to bloody beat her to death. Move, it’s on now. They’re going to take her out,’ Max shouted, his door already opening. He leaped from the car, sprinting across the road.
Elizabeth Phillips’s face turned from confusion to shock and then to terror, as realisation began to dawn on her.
Max ran to intercept the two thugs, one much bigger than the other, who were halfway across the tarmac, just twenty yards from Elizabeth Phillips. They both remained fixated on the woman frozen on her path. Max’s mind was in overdrive now, knowing that one blow with a knuckle-duster could easily be fatal. He moved fast and soon closed the distance, hearing the reassuring sound of Janie’s trainers on the tarmac behind him.
The two attackers, just ahead of Max, reached the pavement in front of Elizabeth’s house. The larger of the two suddenly heard Max’s footsteps and began to turn, almost in slow motion. Max didn’t give the big, shaven-headed monster a moment to react, but swung out viciously with his foot, kicking hard into the back of the man’s knee joint. He grunted and collapsed, hitting the ground with a thump. But he rolled quickly and almost bounced straight back up to his feet, facing Max, brass-covered knuckles held up in a fighting stance. His eyes were small and piggy, his face full of hate and aggression. ‘You’re gonna pay for that, you bastard,’ he growled in a thick accent.
His friend, a much smaller man with the same shaven head and lean physique, spun to face Max from his position, a few feet in front of the bigger man. He raised his fists in front of him, both knuckles glinting with the metallic shine of brass. The look on his face was a mix of hatred and fear.
‘Come on then, you bastard,’ the smaller man snarled. His stance and guard were solid, so he clearly knew how to box.
Max looked briefly at Elizabeth Phillips, who was frozen, her mouth open, and her eyes wide with shock. ‘Liz, get inside the house now,’ shouted Max, immediately turning his attention back to the attackers.
‘Not turned out like you thought, eh boys?’ Max said, his voice calm, a half-smile on his face. ‘Thought you could just come and beat this poor lady to death, right? No chance, boys, not gonna happen,’ said Max, his own fists raised, ready. He felt a strange calm descend on him. He’d been fighting all his life, knew what to do, wasn’t scared. There were two of them, both fixated on Max, both having clearly discounted the threat posed by the slim, almost slight form of Janie.
That was a mistake, as the smaller man discovered, when Janie appeared from out of his sight line and delivered a powerful and accurate Muay Thai shin-kick straight into his thigh, smashing into the peroneal nerve on the outside of the muscle. He yelped in pain, and his leg buckled as he stumbled around to face Janie, his brass-knuckled hand moving to the source of the pain.
‘Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,’ said Max.
Janie’s face was set in grim satisfaction, her hands up in a fighting stance, her weight distributed on the balls of her feet, ready for what came next.
The bigger man flew at Max, throwing a telegraphed haymaker punch, which Max easily dodged, feeling the wind of the huge fist whistle past his ear. Max stepped to one side and delivered a vicious punch into the big man’s ribs. He yelped and doubled over, rocking backwards at the force of the blow.
Max glanced over at Janie, just as she spun and executed an almost textbook reverse kick that smashed into the small man’s midriff, sending him backwards, his face suddenly registering that things weren’t going as expected.
‘You need any help, Max?’ she said, as she took her stance again, her eyes not moving from her opponent.
‘No, I’m fine,’ said Max, just as the huge man rushed at him, driving his shoulder into Max’s midriff, the air rushing out of him. Max let himself fall to the pavement and wrapped his arm around the man’s massive neck, gripping tight. A huge fist shot out blindly, the brass knuckle catching Max in a glancing blow on the side of the head. The pain was sudden and sharp. Max realised that if the big brute caught him properly with one of those flailing fists, then it was game over.
As another punch flashed towards him, he tightened his grip on the man’s neck, and tucked his head down, feeling the blow collide into his shoulder, but with no real force. He shifted his body and managed to snag the massive arm in between his legs and wrapped it tight in a classic joint lock. He tightened his grip on the man’s neck, but it was like fighting a raging bull, Max only just managing to cling on to him, realising that he needed to end this now. He squeezed his legs tight, feeling the arm begin to hyper-extend in a way it wasn’t supposed to. The big man screamed in pain as Max extended it further, the tendons and bones straining. His opponent flexed his enormous bicep, with a roar of fury, and Max’s leg grip began to fail. Max clung on, fear beginning to bite. If he got free, then Max was in trouble.
He risked a glance at Janie, who at that exact moment was delivering a whip-crack of a roundhouse kick, that co
nnected with the side of the smaller man’s head, rocking it sideways.
Max breathed hard with the exertion of trying to restrain the still-bucking and thrashing man. He looked again at Janie, who finished off her opponent with a devastating front kick to the groin. He collapsed on the pavement, and without a backwards glance, Janie ran straight to Max. She paused, waited for the right moment, then her right foot whipped out, catching the big man in the side, right in his kidney. He let out a muffled yelp of pain, and his arm relaxed.
Max jerked his legs, and the big man’s arm gave way with a horrible crunch of bone and sinew. There was a scream of agony as the joint failed.
Game over.
Suddenly a dark van screeched to a halt on the road beside them. The driver jumped out, clutching an automatic pistol, pointed directly at Max. The passenger dived out and jogged towards the Audi.
The van driver spoke again. ‘Let him go now,’ he barked. Max released the whimpering man and got to his feet. The big man rolled over, clutching his ruined elbow, moaning in agony.
Max watched as the other man dived into the Audi, gunned the engine and drove off. The newcomer looked at Janie and said, ‘One move from you, bitch, and I’ll shoot both of you. Get up, you two bloody clowns, and get in the van.’ His voice was calm and in control. The two meathead attackers staggered to their feet and did as they were told, the one Janie had kicked barely able to walk.
Max looked the newcomer directly in the eye, and amazed himself by smiling at him, his heart still racing. He was smaller in build than the others, and not as physically imposing, but his eyes were blue and cold.
‘We are both police officers, shit-for-brains. What you gonna do, shoot cops in the street? Tam will go doolally, pal. You should’ve sent someone more competent than these morons. Steroids have made them stupid.’ Max smiled again, his voice calm and even.
‘Shut up, or I will put a bullet in you both,’ he snarled.
‘See, I don’t think you will, pal. Tam Hardie has paid you and your dull mates to take out this innocent lady, not shoot cops on the street. That will cause a shitstorm that he doesn’t want. The whole world will be looking for you, and Tam will be furious. But you know this, which is why you haven’t shot us, yet.’ Max let out a snort of laughter.
‘You’re a dead man,’ he growled, whilst backing into the van and closing the door, the engine still running. ‘I’ll see you again, pal.’ The van sped off in the same direction as the Audi. The whole incident had taken just over a minute. The street remained quiet.
Max looked behind him, to see Janie, her arms around Elizabeth Phillips who was sobbing into her shoulder. Janie caught Max’s eye, disbelief on her face as he walked up to the pair, rubbing the lump that was forming on the back of his head.
‘Hi, Elizabeth, I’m DS Max Craigie, and this is DC Janie Calder. We’re both cops. You’re safe now.’ Max showed his warrant card and she looked at it, confused.
She seemed stunned, her face white as a sheet and her eyes wide. ‘What just happened?’ She was small and petite and you could see the similarity between her and her late brother.
‘You okay, Liz?’ A voice came from the attached house next door. A stocky man in a dressing gown stood on the drive.
Max and Janie both held up their warrant cards.
‘Police, sir, all in hand,’ Max said.
‘Liz?’ the man repeated.
‘I’m okay now, police are here.’ She managed a wan smile, but her voice was still shaky.
Reassured, the man nodded and returned indoors. But almost immediately he appeared at the window, cup in hand, to watch the unfolding drama.
‘Unfortunately, those guys wanted to hurt you, but you’re safe for the moment,’ Max said to Elizabeth.
The words seemed to hit her like a hammer blow. ‘Me? Why me? What did I do?’
‘Let’s go inside. We need to be quick. You’re not safe here, these people could come back.’
As they walked back towards the house, Max looked at Janie, his mind whirling at what had just happened. He said nothing, but simply nodded and she gave a half-smile in return. She had pulled his arse out of the fire, of that there was no doubt.
34
Max, Janie and Elizabeth sat in the comfortable lounge, clutching mugs of tea. The walls were all covered with watercolours, either Highland scenes, or softer coastal vistas.
Elizabeth was a small woman, her grey hair neatly cut and styled. She was smartly dressed and wore little jewellery. She was clearly terrified.
‘So, who the hell were they, and why were they after me?’ Elizabeth said, her accent still bearing the trace of Caithness.
‘I think it’s to do with Willie. The man he killed was a serious criminal who’s now seeking retribution, ridiculous as that sounds,’ Max said.
‘That can’t be possible, I haven’t seen Willie for at least ten years.’ She opened her mouth to speak again, but paused, and looked at the window, her bottom lip trembling and tears brimming in her eyes. She got to her feet. ‘Excuse me a moment,’ she said, and left the room.
‘Think she’s okay?’ said Janie.
‘She’s shocked. Bound to be, right?’
‘What do we do?’
‘Just give her a minute.’
Two minutes later, Elizabeth came back into the room, her face pink and damp. She sat down, composed herself, and took a deep breath. ‘Willie and I had a really troubled relationship,’ she said at last. ‘He was fine for the few years he was in the Navy, but then he got discharged and started smoking drugs that led to his illness. Why would they come after me?’ Her eyes brimmed with tears that spilled onto her cheeks. Max could see this was not something she ever envisaged intruding on her comfortable life.
‘Is it just you here?’ asked Max.
‘Yes. I split from my husband five years ago.’
‘No kids?’
‘No.’
‘Look. I know this is hard to understand, but we have reason to believe that you are at risk. We just need to make sure you stay safe. Is there anywhere else you can stay whilst we are sorting this out?’ asked Max, gently. They needed her somewhere untraceable, but Max wasn’t convinced that witness protection would make her safe.
‘I’ve a good friend in Suffolk. She lives in Southwold in the countryside. I often take holidays with her. I was going to go fairly soon anyway, so I could just bring it forward a week.’ She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
‘Who knows that you go there?’ asked Janie.
‘Not many folk. She was an old friend from my art class a few years ago. We stayed in touch after she moved and I stay with her most years. We just paint together – the light is so lovely down there.’
‘Are you connected on social media?’
‘I don’t do social media at all. I don’t like it, so no.’
‘Do folk at work know where you go?’
‘Not really, I tend to keep myself to myself, especially since getting divorced. I like my own company, you see. I don’t socialise with people at work much. They probably think I’m just a sad and bitter divorcee.’
‘Can you go to your friend’s place, Liz? Just until we sort this out?’
‘I imagine so. She’s always badgering me to come more. It would be nice to see her, I guess, and I don’t want to stay here on my own.’
‘Okay, then, can you pack a bag?’
‘What, right away?’
‘Afraid so. You’d be safer as far away as possible. Just till we get this sorted.’
‘I guess, but what will you do?’
‘We’re going to get to the bottom of this, I promise,’ Max said, hoping that it was true.
‘Okay. I’ll go and pack. Shall I give you my mobile number, in case there are developments?’
‘I think it would be better if you didn’t take your mobile with you. People can use it to track you. Maybe leave it here.’ A sudden thought hit Max. ‘Or perhaps leave it with me and I’ll look after it for you?’
‘Just in case. If you urgently need anything from it, you can call me and I can retrieve any messages and the like. If it’s here, it’s no use to anyone,’ said Max.
‘Okay, I guess. I don’t have a code for it,’ she said, handing over the scratched old Nokia. ‘I’ll go and pack, then I’ll set off.’ She left the room, her face full of confusion.
‘Why the phone?’ asked Janie.
‘If she takes it, she’ll use it and then it could be game over. Also, us having it may present an opportunity. In fact, you keep hold of it, okay?’ said Max handing it over.
Janie frowned. ‘This is a shit situation.’
‘In one way, yes. In another, it’s just what the doctor ordered. She’s now out of the way and safe, leaving just Bruce Ferguson to worry about, and as he seems to be the Scarlet Pimpernel, I’m less concerned.’
‘I guess. So what next?’
‘We see Elizabeth safely off and we keep this to ourselves. If they know that she has fled, the pressure for us to reveal where she has gone will be difficult to resist, particularly for you. She’s safe now, but when they report back, they’ll assume it’s us. You may want to find somewhere else to stay for a while.’
‘Really? You think that’s necessary?’
‘Well, the Hardies aren’t going to take it well, but they won’t want to kill any cops either. The van driver with the gun only had eyes for me, and the other two had bigger concerns. I don’t think you’ll be recognised, but they may well make an assumption. Maybe best thing is for you to go back to work and see what rumours are floating about.’
‘I can see the value in that. What are you going to do?’
‘All of the relatives are safe now, with Elizabeth on her way to a secret location and Bruce Ferguson being the impossible-to-find man. Unless I’m missing something, they’re the only surviving relatives of either Willie Leitch or Duncan Ferguson.’
‘As far as I can see, yes.’
‘It’s Duncan Ferguson’s funeral tomorrow, and I intend to go.’
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