by L M Krier
As the three of them walked back to the crime scene, Ted said to the others, ‘I think it’s a racing certainty that the person she was talking to on the phone was our so-called Inspector Galton. Now all we have to do is to find out who he really is and where we can get our hands on him. Or her.’
Chapter Two
Magnus Pierson left his team to it, promising Ted that he would be copied in on all the witness statements and any other relevant information they gathered. The fact that the victim was certified dead on Ted’s own patch meant it was likely to be his friend Professor Nelson who carried out the post-mortem examination, so she would forward him her findings if he asked for them. He still didn’t see how the murder enquiry would be theirs, but the apparent scam which led up to it might well be, if it had originated in Stockport.
Back at Pierson’s station, in its pleasantly leafy surroundings, a world away from Ted’s usual urban working environment, the three men made a detour via a hot drinks machine before crowding into Pierson’s small office.
‘Sorry about this muck, gentlemen,’ Pierson told them as they took seats at his desk. ‘It’s barely drinkable, but it’s all I can offer you. We’ve been banned from having kettles in our offices. Health and Safety. Apparently we’re responsible enough to be police officers, but not to avoid scalding or electrocuting ourselves.’
‘They tried to do that to us but I’ve claimed exemption on the grounds that I drink green tea and the machine doesn’t provide it,’ Ted replied, grimacing as he took a sip of his hot drink. It had been labelled as tea with sugar. It could have been anything.
‘So, now, first thoughts on what we have so far?’
‘I’ll give you my initial ideas. Rob, feel free to add or contradict anything. Whoever it was and whatever their reasons, someone was clearly telling Freda Ashworth what to do in that phone call. Both on the phone and, I suspect, well before she got here. I don’t imagine that it’s a coincidence she parked in the particular place she did, if that was her car. Not when it wasn’t the nearest place, and certainly when the CCTV covering it had suddenly been put out of action.
‘I think she was set up to buy the watch. It was an expensive purchase – by my standards, at least – but not outrageously so. Not enough, presumably, to set alarm bells ringing with her credit card company. I strongly suspect, when you check that out, she will have contacted them herself to inform them she was about to make a sizeable purchase, just to make sure it went through.
‘I haven’t heard of this particular scam before but I would imagine, from what you say about this Inspector Galton character, that someone has contacted her and told her some fairy story about unusual activity on her credit card account. I would guess that she was fed some line about if she made a large purchase it would stop anyone else buying something on her card. The fact that she mentioned making contact with an officer suggests to me that her bogus policeman set the whole thing up. Where to make the purchase, where to park and so on.
‘She went along in all innocence to hand over the watch to what she thought was a police officer. For some reason, I imagine she got suspicious at the last minute, perhaps refused to hand over the watch. It’s very rare for a scammer to go as far as killing, from the limited amount I know of it. They’re usually simply after quick money and as little personal contact as possible.
‘That would be my reading of it, at least. Rob, what do you think?’
‘About spot on, I’d say, sir.’ Rob was keeping it formal in front of another officer. ‘And the reason the attacker took her phone was, of course, that it’s our only means to date of tracing whoever the bogus copper on the end of it was. Which is why I suspect that whoever is involved will have gone straight round to her house, with her keys, to give it a going over in search of her laptop, if she has one. Just in case she’s been emailing someone about her supposed undercover operation for Stockport police. Although if this is a clever scam, it is just possible she was told to bring it with her, for some reason which sounded plausible.’
Pierson was looking impressed.
‘So how do we go forward from here?’
Ted chuckled.
‘Nice try at buck-passing again, but we don’t, for now. It happened on your patch, so unless the powers that be rule otherwise, it’s down to you. I’m happy to help, unofficially, in any way I can. But without an official edict from higher up, you’re on your own with this.’
Ted’s mobile rang at that moment. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. His partner, Trevor, calling. He excused himself and went out into the corridor to answer it.
‘Hey, you. Are you going to be working late tonight?’
‘Looks likely. I’m over in Wilmslow at the moment.’
‘Wilmslow? That’s a bit off your patch.’
‘I know, and it’s a strange one. But yes, by the time I’ve finished here, then gone back and briefed the Ice Queen, I’ve no idea what time I’ll be back.’
‘So do you mind if I go out with Mark tonight? He’s going to look at a bike and wanted my input. If you’re going to be late we might as well make a night of it and have a meal out somewhere.’
Mark was a friend of Trev’s from the karate club, who shared his passion for big bikes.
‘Go for it. I’ll pick up a takeaway for myself at some point, if I feel like eating something. Just don’t take your bike if you’re planning on having a few.’
‘No, mother,’ Trev laughed as he rang off.
‘Boss, Mike just phoned,’ Rob told him as he went back into the office. ‘He’s been round to Mrs Ashworth’s house. Nobody at home, but he’s spoken to a neighbour. Mrs Ashworth was a widow, lived alone, with a cat. The neighbour has a key, if we need to go in at some point. He didn’t want to do anything without your say-so as it’s not our case, officially.’
‘Your call to make, Magnus, and ideally it should be your team who go over there. It’s the likely starting pointing for your murder investigation. But I can talk to my boss and I’m sure we could cover it if you need us to and if it would help. I’ve got a DC, Sal Ahmed, who’s worked in Major Fraud before. He’d be a big help to you, if my bosses and yours can perhaps agree on a joint operation. Something will need to be sorted out, and soon, for the cat, if nothing else.’
Ted had six cats at home. He didn’t like to think of one alone in the house, waiting for its owner to return and feed it.
‘We’d best be getting back now, though. Keep me posted on what you want us to do.’
It was getting late by the time they got back to their own station. Most of the team had gone. Just Ted’s DI, Jo Rodriguez, was still in the small office he shared with DS Mike Hallam, finishing up and getting ready to leave. Rob grabbed his things and went on his way, leaving Ted and Jo to catch up before Ted went down to talk to his boss, to see whether the case would need to become a joint operation between them and Wilmslow.
‘What else have you got on at the moment?’ the Ice Queen asked him, lifting her coffee jug in offering, to which Ted shook his head. He preferred not to take a caffeine hit later on in the day.
‘I daren’t say it but for now it’s all quiet on the Western Front. It sounds as if the scam originated on our patch, and Mrs Ashworth was certified dead here, too, so I suppose there is a case to be made for us at least being involved in a joint operation. DC Ahmed is our expert on any type of fraud, so I imagine this would be right up his street.’
‘I’d have to talk to our top brass who would talk to those in Cheshire, but it looks like a possibility. I would perhaps ask Superintendent Baker to oversee it. He’s got the experience.’
Ted looked at her and smiled.
‘A bit of pass the parcel on the paperwork and budget, by any chance?’
To his surprise, she laughed, guiltily. She was usually so stiff and formal at work that it seemed out of character.
‘I can see why you have such a good detection rate. You’re very perceptive. You also have an excellent record on mur
der enquiries, so it would seem to make sense for you to be involved. I’ll make some calls and let you know. Meanwhile keep me up to date on any other cases you have which might affect this matter.’
‘So with the prospect of this joint operation coming up, which will involve some of us, has anyone got anything else in the pipeline that I don’t yet know about and ought to?’ Ted asked his team at their usual morning briefing the following day, after he’d filled them in on what he knew so far on the possible scam originating on their patch.
He usually had his finger on the pulse of everything which was going on but, just occasionally, a team member would find something and start looking into it before they brought it to him, to see whether they should continue.
‘Boss, I wanted to talk to you about some happy slapping I’ve seen on social media, from our patch. I think it’s something we need to be looking into, but I don’t know if we’ve had any reports about it officially yet.’
‘I’m going to need a bit of help with that, Jezza,’ Ted told her. ‘You know I know next to nothing about social media and I have no idea what would be happy about anyone getting a slapping. Please enlighten me.’
‘Okay, basically, it’s starting to be a bit of a thing. It usually happens with gangs of younger people, often girls. One of them, who’s usually the leader or making a bid to be, will pick on the weakest member, or just someone else at random, and start to slap them round a bit. The others watch, film it on their mobiles, then share it on various social media sites, like Snapchat or Facebook.
‘I’ve seen some recently that’s been posted by girls from our area, school-age girls, and it’s pretty nasty. They hang out in parks and open spaces, where they’re less likely to get seen than if they did it at school.’
‘People must see it going on, though, surely, in public spaces? And nobody does anything?’
‘Boss, we’re talking packs of wild animals here. They’re vicious, really. Anyone who does see anything just keeps on walking and looks the other way, if they’ve got any sense. I was just thinking that I might possibly be able to get close to some of them. Find out what’s really going on. They’ll often steal from their victims, mobile phones, that sort of thing. I’m wondering if some of them might be stealing to order.’
Ted held a hand up.
‘Stop right there, Jezza. Firstly, you’re not going anywhere near anything like this until full risk assessments have been done. Secondly, if the motive is theft, and stealing to order in particular, why put themselves at risk of being seen on social media?’
DC Jessica – Jezza – Vine, was certainly Ted’s most headstrong team member. She was good at her job, outstanding in some areas, but she took some careful handling. With her drama training, she could blend into any situation to suit, and was adept at any number of accents. She could also look older or much younger than her actual years. She’d fooled all of the team, Ted included, on one memorable occasion. But once she got an idea into her head, it was like trying to stop a whirlwind.
‘Boss, with respect, firstly, I’ve studied the videos I’ve seen and my kickboxing would be more than a match for anything I’ve come across. None of them use weapons, just bare hands. Secondly, it’s just a theory about the stealing to order. They may not care if they’re caught or not. Let’s face it, as young offenders, they might get away with just a slap on the wrist anyway. But we need to look into it, for sure, if it’s happening under our noses. We risk copycat crimes with this sort of thing.’
‘We could try initially asking Uniform to provide a presence in any areas where we know it’s been going on,’ Ted suggested.
‘Boss, are you serious? We all know that the latest round of cuts have left precious little for anything in the way of crime prevention. This is the best way ...’
‘All right, come and see me in my office after I’ve spoken to the Super and we can at least talk about it, but that’s all I’m promising. For now, go through the videos you’ve been looking at and see if you can positively identify locations. You’ll need to put a proper full written proposal forward for me to take to the Super at some point, but I’ll mention the idea to her shortly. I need to know first where we’re up to on this joint operation idea.
‘Steve, any luck in tracking down anyone called Galton or anything which might sound like it, in any nearby stations?’
‘Nothing, sir, not finding any officer called Galton, certainly not in our area,’ the team’s youngest member, DC Steve Ellis told him. ‘I’ve identified some Daltons and Waltons further afield. Do you want me to start ringing round to see if they know anything?’
‘I’ll tell you what you can do first. Track down the ambulance crew who took Mrs Ashworth to Stepping Hill and talk to them. Check that they definitely had it as Galton that she was trying to say. It could be one of those Chinese whispers things, where a name gets changed with repetition.
‘Océane, anything similar listed in the scams bible?’
‘Nothing identical, boss, although a lot of stuff about calls from supposed credit card companies and banks along similar lines. I’ve printed everything out for you to look at when you have time. I can’t find anything anywhere, yet, where the victim has finished up being killed by the scammers, or even where there’s been any type of physical violence or threat of. That seems to be a new and a worrying departure, if that is who killed her.’
‘Right, before we put in any more time on it, I’ll go and talk to the Super to find out if we’re having any official involvement in the scam aspect or not, or whether it’s one for Fraud.’
Ted was happy to accept a coffee from his Superintendent in the morning. It was always good quality. He noticed the Super had also studiously ignored circulars about Health and Safety and Small Appliance Testing regulations to keep her own machine.
‘So, there’s been lengthy discussion between all the powers that be and we are all systems go for a joint operation with Wilmslow on all aspects of the case, both the scam and the killing. It has also been decreed that, since you have the expertise, you will lead on the murder enquiry while your team work on the scam itself. Liaise with Wilmslow for extra officers as you need them, particularly for the legwork there. As I thought, Superintendent Baker will oversee the operation, so the headache over the budget is his and not mine.’
‘DC Vine just raised something with me which is going to take a lot of consideration and planning,’ Ted told her, and proceeded to outline what Jezza had said in the briefing. ‘I’ve told her to put together a proposal but not to do anything until it’s been signed off. She can be a bit headstrong but she’s right in a sense, in that if anyone can get near to these delightful young ladies without arousing suspicion, she can. It’s not something I know much about. I had to get her to tell me what happy slapping is, and social media is an alien world to me.’
‘With two teenage boys, I know all about Snapchat and the likes, and I never cease to be amazed at the sort of thing which finds itself on there. I agree, if we have this going on in our area, we need to do something about it immediately. I just don’t want any of our officers put at avoidable personal risk in the process.’
Chapter Three
‘So, Jezza, talk to me. Tell me first of all how we justify putting you in amongst these delightful girl gangs on the basis of the seriousness of the offences.’
‘I’ve made a start on the written proposal you asked me for, boss, and I’ve emailed you links to some of the attacks where they’ve been posted online. You can see for yourself that it’s a long way from being just a bit of pushing and shoving. If we don’t do something about it soon, I can foresee one of them getting out of hand and someone getting seriously injured. Or worse.’
They were in Ted’s office, sitting on either side of his desk. Ted had called her in at the end of the morning, when he’d caught up with what needed doing. He’d made a detour from the Super’s office to the front desk on his way back up from the ground floor. He’d noticed that Bill, the usual desk s
ergeant, was not on duty. It was so unusual that he went to find out where he was.
‘He called in sick this morning, sir,’ Bill’s replacement told Ted. ‘Bronchitis. His doctor’s signed him off for a week initially. It must be bad. You know Bill never misses a shift normally.’
‘I’ll try and get up to see him later on, if I get the chance, just to make sure he’s all right and there’s nothing he needs.’
Ted turned to his computer screen and pulled up the links Jezza had sent him. She sat in silence while he watched, frowning. The footage was disturbing. Ted saw what Jezza had been getting at. It was a pack mentality, everyone from the alpha down turning on the weakest member. He didn’t like it, not one bit, but he wasn’t sure if allowing Jezza to get close to those involved was a justifiable risk for the level of crime it represented.
‘I’m a long way from agreeing to this, but start by telling me how you envisage it working, so I can make an informed decision. You can hardly hang around the parks looking like a teenage thug then drive off in a limited edition car back home to your nice flat.’
He said it with a degree of irony. He didn’t want to throw cold water on her idea from the start, but he did want to make sure she had thought of all the implications. He was sure she would have. She was a thorough and a competent officer.
‘I’ve thought of that, boss. I’d need to change lifestyle quite a bit, but it would be worth it, if I did succeed in mopping up this lot, surely?’
‘Can we not simply ID them from the videos, round them up that way?’
‘We’d get some of them by doing that, for sure, but not all of them. And I can see them closing ranks and keeping quiet, so some would slip through the net and just go on to do the same thing somewhere else. I also highly doubt the victims would tell us anything, and certainly would refuse to testify in court against their attackers. You know we don’t have the resources to watch them full-time. It shouldn’t take me long, just by hanging round with them, to find out who’s who, then we can round up as many as possible.’