by Luke Delaney
‘Butler fucking deserved it,’ King fought back before softening, trying to keep Brown on side, ‘but you’re right – it wasn’t for us to do.’ Brown nodded in agreement. ‘Look,’ King assured him. ‘It won’t happen again. I promise. Good enough?’
Now it was Brown’s turn to sigh in resignation. ‘OK,’ he replied. ‘Good enough, but me and Danny were talking. Reckon we’ve been on the bloody Grove Wood long enough. Time to get the hell out of there.’
‘What you talking about?’ King asked through a confused smile. ‘We’ve practically just got there.’
‘What?’ Brown snapped back, but the appearance of Inspector Johnston at the doorway ended any further discussion. As always she addressed them from where she stood instead of stepping inside the office – as if it was somehow beneath her to enter such a small, chaotic room.
‘Morning, gentlemen,’ she began without receiving any reply. ‘Just wanted to drop by and let you know how sorry I was to hear about what happened to PC Mahajan. A terrible thing. A truly awful thing.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ King answered. ‘We’re sorry too.’
‘I called by yesterday – as soon as I heard – but none of you were about,’ Johnston explained. ‘I even tried to get hold of you on your PRs but …’
‘We were out and about,’ King interrupted her. ‘Turning over a few stones trying to find out who the third suspect is. It involved a lot of sneaking around. Our radios would have been off or turned down most of the time.’
‘I see,’ Johnston smiled and nodded, her bright green eyes gleaming with intelligence. ‘Well at least you don’t have to worry about finding out who he is any more. CID already have him in custody.’
‘Excuse me?’ King asked, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice.
‘That’s right,’ Johnston told him. ‘He’s already been arrested. Bit of a strange one actually. CID were already looking for him – apparently he is an associate of the other two suspects – when they got a call from A&E saying they had a badly beaten and injured youth in for treatment, but refusing to say what had happened to him. When CID went to take a look for themselves they found the injured youth was none other than their prime suspect for the attack on PC Mahajan. They arrested him there and then, but he’s still in hospital receiving treatment. Apparently someone has kicked the living shit out of him.’
‘How bad?’ Brown couldn’t help but ask.
‘Not life-threatening,’ Johnston told him, ‘but beaten to a pulp, so I’m told.’
‘Who?’ King asked. ‘Who did they arrest?’
‘Ronnie Butler,’ Johnston told him without hesitation. ‘A well-known local slag.’
‘Ronnie Butler,’ King shook his head.
‘I take it you know him then?’
‘I know him,’ King replied. ‘And I know he runs with the other two. There was always a good chance it was going to be Butler.’
‘Well it appears someone else came to the same conclusion,’ Johnston said, looking more serious. ‘Vigilantes, I’m being told. Gave him a hell of a beating by the sound of it. No more than the little bastard deserved, but vigilantes are never good news. Sort of thing the media love to beat us with.’
‘If there’s vigilantes on the estate we’ll deal with them,’ King lied. ‘Enforcing the law is our job.’
‘Indeed,’ she agreed – her eyes flicking over them like a lizard’s tongue. ‘Anyway, just wanted to make sure you knew about the latest arrest. I have to be at an SMT meeting in half an hour so I’ll bid you farewell.’ King and Brown said nothing as Johnston turned to walk away before spinning back towards them. ‘Oh and Jack – just a gentle reminder that your monthly report is overdue. Your team’s racked up a fair bit of overtime lately. We on the SMT all appreciate the excellent work you’re doing, but such expenditure needs to be justified. If you could let me have it ASAP I would be grateful.’
‘Of course,’ King told her.
‘Excellent,’ Johnston smiled, happy she’d asserted her authority, before disappearing into the corridor.
After a few seconds Brown spoke first. ‘She fucking worries me. Give me some by-the-numbers, accelerated-promotion robot any day of the week. At least they’re easy to control.’
‘I can control her,’ King reassured him. ‘She’s not as smart as she thinks she is.’
‘Aye,’ Brown half-heartedly agreed just as Marino appeared at the door.
‘Gentlemen,’ he greeted them.
‘Another visitor,’ King mimicked surprise as he hid his bruised hands in his pockets. ‘We seem to be very popular this morning.’
Marino ignored King’s fake lightheartedness and walked into the office, slowly pacing around – lifting files from desks, casting his eyes over them before dropping them back where he found them, talking as he prowled.
‘Interesting thing happened this morning,’ he explained. ‘We got a call from the hospital saying they had a badly beaten youth in receiving treatment. When we went to take a look guess who we found?’
‘Ronnie Butler,’ King answered calmly. ‘Inspector Johnston just told us.’
‘Taken a right kicking,’ Marino told them.
‘No more than he deserves,’ King tested the water.
‘Maybe,’ Marino played along. ‘I was wondering if you boys might know anything about it?’
‘Not yet,’ King stayed in control. ‘Sounds like vigilantes to me.’
‘Vigilantes?’ Marino shook his head. ‘On the Grove Wood Estate? I don’t think so.’
‘Maybe they came in from somewhere else?’ King suggested.
‘But how would they know about what happened to Renita?’ Marino asked.
‘Word gets around,’ King tried to convince him. ‘Maybe even the locals thought what happened to Renita went too far. Maybe someone higher up the criminal chain decided Butler’s actions were bringing too much police attention to the estate – bad for business. Maybe they wanted to send a message to the lowlifes.’
‘Could be,’ Marino nodded in unenthusiastic agreement. ‘But strange thing is, I’ve dealt with Butler plenty of times in the past and he’s never talked to us. Strictly a “no comment” man. But when I saw him at the hospital he couldn’t wait to confess everything. He’s already admitted attacking Renita and that it was his idea. It’s as if the devil himself was after him. Never seen Butler scared like that.’
‘Did he say anything about who did him?’ Brown couldn’t help asking, drawing a damning look from King.
‘He’s giving us some bullshit about it’s an unrelated attack,’ Marino explained. ‘Says he got jumped by some blokes wearing ski masks, although he can’t remember where and he can’t think why. Maybe once he’s recovered enough to be interviewed properly he’ll be able to give us a few more details, or you never know – he might decide to actually tell us the truth.’
‘So you don’t think he’s telling the truth about attacking Renita?’ King questioned, trying to manoeuvre Marino onto the back foot.
‘No,’ Marino admitted. ‘I’ve no doubts it was Butler.’
‘Then that’s all that really matters,’ King said bluntly. ‘And once you have his confession you can put him and the others away for a very long time. That’s our job, after all, isn’t it? To uphold the law and punish the offenders. Before anyone cries too much for Butler they should remember what he did to Renita – what he was going to do to her.’
‘I haven’t forgotten,’ Marino assured him.
‘Good,’ King remained strong – in control. ‘Then when you charge him make sure you do him for serious sexual assault and attempted rape – so everyone in prison knows he’s a sex-case. See how long he lasts inside once the other inmates find out what he’s in for.’
‘He’ll be charged with whatever I can prove,’ Marino replied.
‘You’ll have enough to prove it,’ King smiled. ‘I have every confidence in you.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ Marino said without feeling. ‘You boys be careful out
there,’ he told them, heading for the door. ‘Watch out for yourselves. I’ll see you around.’
They watched him leave and waited a long time before they believed it was safe to talk. ‘Fuck it,’ Brown cursed, panic thick in his voice. ‘I told you that bastard knows something.’
‘Calm down,’ King told him through gritted teeth. ‘And what the fuck were you doing asking him if Butler had said anything about who gave him a kicking? Why don’t you just tell everyone it was us?’
‘Sorry,’ Brown hung his head. ‘It’s just all this shit’s beginning to make my head spin.’
‘Stop panicking,’ King demanded. ‘Marino knows nothing – not for sure. All he’s got is guesses, and even if he did know, how can we be sure he’d do anything about it? Marino’s old school. You don’t think he hasn’t given the occasional toe-rag a spanking in the past? Course he has. He knows the score.’
‘Then why’s he sniffing around like a drugs dog in a cannabis factory?’ Brown wanted to know.
‘You said it yourself,’ King explained. ‘We went a little too far.’
‘A little?’
‘Whatever,’ King silenced him. ‘This is probably just Marino telling us to calm it down a bit before someone less sympathetic starts taking an interest.’
‘I fucking hope so,’ Brown told him.
‘We’ll be fine,’ King assured him. ‘Just need to take it easy for a bit. Let this all blow over and then get back to normal. For now we keep the policing whiter than white till the heat dies down.’
‘Fine,’ Brown grunted.
‘Hey,’ King snapped him to attention. ‘Stick together and everything will be fine. If one of us starts to wobble we’ll all end up in prison with Butler.’ Brown just nodded that he understood. ‘Good,’ King ended it, pulling on his body armour. ‘I’m gonna take a walk on the estate. I need the air.’
King walked through the estate trying to get everything straight in his head. After smoking the crack he’d slept a long, peaceful, painless sleep, but when he’d awoken the old ghosts of the past immediately seized him, making him long to return to that other world. Somehow he’d managed to sort himself out and get to work, only to be confronted by first Johnston and then Marino. He’d fed Brown a few lines to keep him calm, but he wasn’t sure he believed any of it himself. How much did Marino really know? Suddenly the sound of boisterous young voices somewhere close cut through his thoughts and drew him towards them. As he turned the corner into Millander Walk he saw a gathering of half-a-dozen or so twelve to thirteen year olds – boys and girls. He recognized most of them – decent enough kids who’d never given him any trouble, but today their noise and lively behaviour bothered him more than it usually would.
He strolled towards the group who quietened down as he approached, but still talked enthusiastically amongst themselves – gently jostling each other and showing off, untroubled by his presence.
‘What you lot up to?’ he asked.
‘Nothing,’ several of them answered together.
‘This is a residential area,’ he told them, ‘and you’re making too much noise.’
‘It’s the middle of the day,’ one of the boys complained.
‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ King questioned. ‘Aren’t you all supposed to be at school?’
‘Holidays, innit,’ another boy answered.
‘Whatever,’ King grunted – not interested in anything they had to say. ‘You’re making too much noise.’
‘We ain’t disturbing no one,’ one of the girls joined in.
‘I don’t want you hanging around here,’ he ignored her. ‘People don’t want you hanging around here disturbing them.’
‘Where we supposed to go?’ another girl asked.
‘I don’t know,’ he told them more forcefully, ‘and I don’t care. Just so long as you’re not here.’
‘But we live round here,’ a different boy explained.
‘Just fuck off, right,’ he exploded, silencing the children who looked shocked and afraid. ‘Just do as you’re damn well told.’
The children looked from one to another before shuffling away along the walkway, watched all the way by King. Once they disappeared into a stairwell one of them called out. ‘Prick.’
‘Fuck,’ King chastised himself for losing his temper over nothing and leant over the wall that allowed him to look out over a large part of the sprawling estate, wringing his hands together as he tried to gather his thoughts – the fear in the eyes of the children burning into his already troubled mind. ‘Fuck,’ he swore quietly again before suddenly sensing a presence behind him that made him spin round, ready to defend himself if he had to – only to see Kelly Royston standing in the open doorway of her maisonette watching him intensely with eyes like black pearls. He looked her up and down once, causing stabs of anticipation and desire all over his body, but he managed to turn away and continue his vigil over the estate – even though he could feel her coming to him. After a few long seconds she was at his side looking over the wall at first, but then turning and, watching him as he wrung his hands together, his knuckles marked with bruising caused by the bones in Butler’s skull. He glanced sideways at her once – his heart tightening and fluttering in his chest as he was reminded of her raw beauty. She casually combed her long dark brown curls back from her face with her fingers before speaking through a slight but enticing smile.
‘You should wear gloves,’ she nodded towards his hands.
For a second he thought about hiding them in his pockets again, before realizing it was pointless. Her street intelligence matched her beauty and she probably knew everything already.
‘No one’s crying about Ronnie,’ she told him straight, ‘or his idiot friends. Ronnie’s a thick bully who’s upset pretty much everyone on the estate at one time or another. Fool thought he was some sort of top dog round here. Truth is he’s too stupid and lazy to go thieving himself. Easier to just run his little protection racket – taking his cut from other people’s earnings.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ King lied, as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo and skin cream which smelt better than even the most expensive perfumes.
‘You should be proud of what you did,’ she told him, making him glance at her in surprise. ‘It’s what a lot of people wanted to do to him anyway – if they only had the bottle. And what they did to that lady copper – that was well out of order,’ she shook her head. ‘That broke all the rules. All the rules.’
‘What d’you know about what happened to her?’ he asked quietly.
‘Enough,’ she answered through lips coloured naturally like roses. ‘I talked to her a couple of times,’ she told him. ‘She seemed really nice – for a copper. Didn’t deserve what happened to her.’
‘No,’ he agreed. ‘No she didn’t.’
They were silent for a while as she seemed to study him. ‘You’re a bit young to be a sergeant, ain’t you? What are you – some kind of superstar cop?’
He laughed despite himself. ‘Yeah,’ he joked. ‘I suppose so.’
‘Gonna be the Commissioner one day, eh?’
‘Maybe,’ he smiled and turned to face her.
‘But right now you’re stuck here,’ she told him, ‘like the rest of us.’
‘I’m not stuck here,’ he answered. ‘I want to be here.’
‘And when you leave,’ she ignored his answer, ‘things here will go back to the way they’ve always been. Shame. People like the way it is at the moment. People are beginning to feel it’s safe to leave their homes without worrying about it being screwed while they’re away.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ he played along.
‘People round here respect a strong man,’ she explained. ‘Someone who can keep little slags like Butler in their place.’ He didn’t answer. ‘Next thing you need to do is take care of this nonce who’s messing with the little kids. People think the only reason he’s not been caught is because you lot can’t be bothered.
That kids round here don’t matter.’
‘That’s not true,’ he told her. ‘They matter to me. Catching him matters to me.’
‘I believe you,’ she smiled. ‘Catch him and you’ll have the respect of everyone on the estate. No matter how you do it. Know what I mean?’
‘I’m working on it,’ he assured her as they stood in silence for a long time.
‘Why don’t you come inside?’ she surprised him with an invitation. ‘You look like you could do with a drink.’
He looked into her black eyes that seemed to reflect his entire world, trying to ignore her gently rising and falling breasts. ‘Is anyone else home?’ he found himself asking.
‘No,’ she answered and smiled. ‘No one else.’
He couldn’t speak for a few seconds as a battle raged inside him.
‘Come on,’ she encouraged him. ‘You afraid of something?’
‘Fine,’ he eventually answered. He followed her across the walkway as if being led to a magical kingdom hidden behind a secret door on an East London housing estate. Once inside she closed it behind them. ‘You should probably leave that open,’ he told her.
‘Why?’ she smiled mischievously. ‘Afraid people will talk?’
‘Something like that,’ he admitted.
‘Let them,’ she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. ‘A bit of excitement in their otherwise dull lives. What would you like? Tea? Coffee? Or something stronger?’
‘Coffee’s fine,’ he answered, looking around the maisonette for any signs of a trap. But he knew the only trap was Kelly. ‘Black, no sugar,’ he managed to tell her without sounding flustered.
‘How did I know you were going to say that,’ she grinned as she flicked the kettle on and searched the kitchen for the things she needed, talking as she did so. ‘You do know you’ve made a big difference around here?’
‘You said,’ he reminded her.
‘I mean it,’ she told him, looking serious for the first time. ‘Living here’s not like normal living. It’s a jungle. Imagine that – a jungle in the middle of East London. Survival of the meanest. The cruellest. No laws. Just a daily battle not to go under. Not to lose it. Trying to find a reason to go on. Until you came along, that is.’