‘Well thank you, Dr Pearson, we will contact you if we need any further information.’
‘But what about Nick, is he being released? I can put up the bail money if necessary.’
‘He’s being released on bail but no money is required, providing he agrees to report into the police station regularly.’
‘Oh well that’s great, and does that mean you’ve got the real culprit then?’
‘I’m afraid I can’t discuss an ongoing enquiry sir, thank you for your time,’ and he ended the call.
Well, that was interesting he thought. Surely someone like Dr Pearson wouldn’t risk his reputation or his money to stand up for someone who’d been manufacturing street drugs. Something like that would end Dr Pearson’s chances of getting a good job in the future. The evidence was pointing increasingly towards Zac Milburn, they needed to speak to him. He needed to speak to the rest of the team and find out whether he had arrived at work. He looked at his watch, it was now after 10 a.m., surely he would be there by now.
**
Polly arrived at the police station as soon as she could. She’d driven down and parked in the nearest car park and had run through the streets practically knocking people over in her eagerness to see Nick again. She had his passport in her bag, along with his driving licence just in case they wanted that as well. She just wanted to see Nick and hold him. Once he’d recovered from his ordeal they would have some serious talking to do, but that could wait. Her mother was still in their flat and had gone out to get some food and general provisions. She would wait until Polly returned with Nick but would then return home, she didn’t want to be around when Polly and Nick sat down to have a heart to heart about Nick’s approach to this sorry affair.
Polly burst through the door to the police station, tripping over the mat and rushed up to the desk. ‘I’m here to collect Nick Thomas,’ she said breathlessly, ‘I’ve brought his passport,’ and she rummaged in her bag, finding it and slapping it down on the front desk.
‘Thank you, Miss,’ replied the sergeant, ‘please take a seat.’
‘How long will it be before I can see him?’ said Polly anxiously.
‘Oh, not long, I’ll phone through and see what’s happening.
Polly took at seat in the grotty waiting area. She checked her phone and texted Matt Pearson that she was now waiting for Nick’s release and it shouldn’t be much longer. She thanked him for his support.
The door to the side of the desk opened and she jumped up hoping it would be Nick, it was a smartly dressed man in a suit carrying a small briefcase. She looked down at her phone again, disappointed.
The man came over to her. ‘Miss Sharp, I presume?’ he said, and Polly stood up automatically.
‘Yes, I’ve come to collect Nick Thomas.’
‘I’m Philip Chamberlain of Watts, Brigham and Percy solicitors. I’m the duty solicitor assisting Mr Thomas.’
‘Oh, yes, I see, well thank you,’ stuttered Polly.
‘Well, I didn’t have to do much thankfully as the police interviewed another witness and fortunately Mr Thomas could provide some alibis. But I just wanted to let you know that Mr Thomas got himself embroiled in a very nasty business and it could have turned out to be extremely serious. I understand he took a severe beating the other night and although we’ve not been here to discuss that it seems from talking to Mr Thomas that it was more than likely the drug gang which was ordered to silence him. Fortunately they were disturbed before they could complete the job, otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’
Polly looked horrified at the solicitor’s words, and tried to speak but no words would come out. It brought home to her the gravity of the situation.
‘We seem to be out of the woods for the moment, but this must be a warning to Mr Thomas. He must not carry out some private eye investigation single-handedly in the future, he’s been extremely naïve. Please try to make him understand.’
‘Yes, I will, thank you,’ replied Polly looking downcast and feeling such a fool.
‘Here’s my card if you need any more advice in the future. Goodbye,’ and he shook hands and left the building.
Oh, Nick thought Polly to herself, how can I get through to you. Your crusade so nearly ended tragically. They would have to sit down and have this difficult conversation. It would be painful but it couldn’t be avoided. If Nick carried on like this he might not be so lucky next time. She sat down again, put her head back and closed her eyes.
Chapter 56
Andy Walters phoned BioQex again as there still hadn’t been any word from Amanda that Zac had arrived at work. Amanda assured him that she had been down to check the office area only five minutes ago. She had asked their receptionist at the main door to let her know if he appeared but there was no sign of him yet. Detective Walters was beginning to think the worst, it wasn’t looking good. He’d not given enough credit to Nick Thomas’ testimony and that had delayed his decision to arrest Zac. He could be in line for an almighty bollocking if they had let him get away.
He strode back to the CID room and shouted to gain their attention. ‘Listen up everyone, Zac Milburn’s not turned up at work yet,’ he paused. ‘We need to catch the bastard!’
**
After what seemed ages but was in fact only about fifteen minutes, Nick emerged into the reception area accompanied by the custody sergeant. He was carrying a small bag with the possessions he’d come in with, his watch, some loose change and not much else. He looked greasy, dishevelled and a broken man. At the sight of Polly, his face crumpled and he started to cry. The embarrassment which would normally accompany this action was forgotten, he couldn’t fight it. It had been such an ordeal, his future hanging in the balance, it had eroded all his resolve and self-esteem. Polly could hardly wait for him to come around to her side of the reception desk. As soon as she could she put her arms round him and hugged him. They were both crying by now, swaying together holding each other unable to speak. Even the normally stoic and emotionless desk sergeant felt himself being moved by this display. He looked away and started shuffling some paperwork.
‘Polly, I’m so sorry,’ sobbed Nick, ‘and I must stink, please take me home.’
‘Shush, let’s get home, we need to talk but that can wait, I just want to savour every moment of us being back together,’ and she took his arm and they walked slowly out of the police station and into the fresh air of the morning. Never had the sounds of traffic and bustle of the town sounded so good to Nick.
**
As a matter of courtesy, the police phoned Brett at BioQex to tell him that they had released Nick Thomas without charge pending further enquiries. They were still actively looking for Zac Milburn and again stressed that it was imperative that BioQex let the police know as soon as they had a sighting.
Brett agreed that they understood the message and were on the lookout. He was becoming irritated at being told the same message again and again. He hung up and bowed his head. Well, it looked as though they had employed a rogue chemist who had quite shamelessly abused his position. What a bastard that guy was. He checked the local news sites and there was no further information apart from the news that someone from BioQex was helping them with their enquiries. However, it did say that the police were due to release a statement later today. Well, it was almost certain that the world would soon know that some unofficial business had been going on at BioQex. They needed to produce a damage limitation statement. He picked up his phone and called Piers.
**
Mrs Briony Godstone was taking her usual walk with her dog Benji down one of the country lanes outside Persford. She loved to get out of the town and often drove to one of the lay-bys off the bypass and from there completed a three-mile circuit along the public footpaths. She turned into the country lane and noticed a black four by four car parked at an odd angle just off the road. It must have broken down or been abandoned by joyriders she assumed, from the way it had been left. Either that or it had hit something i
n the road and the driver had lost control. She approached the car and saw that there was no driver. She pulled out her mobile to report it but just before she did so she peered in through the windows. They were all tinted so it was difficult to see so she cupped her hands around her eyes and pressed her face up to one of the rear windows. She then started to scream. Her eyes met two lifeless eyes staring back at her. Recoiling she bent over and vomited her breakfast onto the road. She suddenly felt dizzy and sat down with her head between her legs, still clutching Benji’s lead. After a few minutes, she pressed the emergency call on her phone, requesting the police. With a trembling voice, she relayed the horror of her find along with the registration of the car. When she felt able, she stood and walked slowly along the road to put some distance between herself and her horrific discovery whilst she awaited the arrival of the police.
**
Polly and Nick arrived home and Nick immediately went to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes and took a long hot shower. Polly’s mother had stocked their fridge with what looked like food for a month. She said she would wait for Nick to emerge from the bathroom and then be on her way, they needed the place to themselves. She suggested that in a couple of weekends they should both make a trip over to see them. Polly’s father was sorry he’d not been able to come over to Persford this time. By then things should have calmed down a bit and they could get back to being a normal couple. Polly agreed and they waited in the lounge for Nick. They would have lunch and then take a nap. It would make for a better conversation if they were both rested, otherwise, they would both start snapping at each other and things would deteriorate as they had done many times before. She was determined they would discuss things calmly and coolly and use it as a way to plan for the future rather than dwelling on events of the past.
**
Forensics now had the shoe from the car park and had taken some swabs for DNA analysis to see whether they could be correlated with some hair samples from his flat. There was a distinct possibility that the drug baron had decided Zac was too much of a liability and that his days were numbered. The dog team at the flat had reported a small response from the sniffer dog in the region of the wardrobe, nothing like the positive identification in the lab at BioQex. However, no traces of drugs had been found. They had decided to release Mark Jameson, it was clear he’d been aiding Nick to retrieve the samples, they had no reason to suspect he was involved in drug dealing. There would be a mountain of paperwork to complete to record all the different threads of this sorry tale. That was for the future though, all efforts were focussed on Mr Milburn. The uniforms were still searching the flat and had found that Zac didn’t live alone. They’d found documents belonging to an Ezekiel Milburn, presumably his brother, along with some polo shirts bearing the Tesco logo. Shani was contacting the local branches to find out which one employed an Ezekiel Milburn then CID would go to question him. His brother may well be persuaded to supply some useful information about Zac’s illicit drug business. Andy Walters was like a caged animal, willing the phone to ring with the latest news.
**
A uniformed team was heading along the bypass back to Persford having attended a reported burglary at a rural property. The burglars had long fled, the homeowner returning from a couple of days away to find a broken window and obvious signs of intruders having been in his property. A call came through on their radio to locate a car which had been reported by an early morning dog walker who was in a state of shock having peered in through the rear windows. Following the directions they’d been given they soon spotted the vehicle and pulled up sharply about twenty yards ahead of the car where the dog walker was sitting by the roadside.
‘Mrs Godstone?’ said PC Dave Martin. His colleague, and sergeant, Donna Peters was herself trying to peer through the rear windows of the car. She could see a body lying on the back seat. She went over to PC Martin who was radioing for a paramedic to come and check over the member of the public as she seemed to still be in a state of shock.
‘It’s OK, love,’ she said, ‘we will need to take a statement from you but it’s not urgent. We need to make sure you’re OK first. Then we’ll get a car to take you home.’
The woman nodded, she seemed to be taking in what they said but she looked vacant and her hands were trembling. ‘That’s my vomit,’ she said slowly, looking into the distance. ‘I couldn’t help it, it was such a shock.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s understandable,’ said Donna, patting the woman’s arm and feeling sorry for her. As a police officer, she was used to some awful sights. Uniformed officers were always attending traffic accidents where victims were horribly injured or having to break into properties when people hadn’t been seen for several weeks. Even the most hardened officer could find these situations traumatic although it did get easier with time. She hoped that she would never be so conditioned to situations like this that she was unable to feel some emotion. Any death was regrettable. Whatever crimes the deceased had committed there were always innocent relatives, brothers, sisters, parents, children who would have to pick up the pieces and try to carry on with their lives.
She turned to see an unmarked car arriving and two plain-clothes officers alighted. She recognised Andy Walters and Chris Mills from CID.
‘Sirs, there’s a body on the back seat. Want us to prise open the door?’
‘Yes, go ahead, let’s get this over with,’ replied Andy. He knew only too well what he was about to find.
Chapter 57
Ez Milburn was just about to go off for his break when he saw the store manager approach him. Oh, no he thought to himself, what haven’t I done properly now, or was this one of those little jobs which just needed doing and ended up taking ages. He smiled pleasantly as the manager approached.
‘Hi Ez, I just need you to come up to the office for a few minutes please,’ she asked.
‘Why what’s the problem, have I done something wrong?’
‘Nothing like that, please come with me, there are some people to see you.’
Who was this thought Ez, people to see him, nobody ever came to see him at work? So he was totally shocked when he entered the office and a man rose to greet him introducing himself as Detective Inspector Selhurst.
‘Mr Milburn, please take a seat, we just have a few questions to ask you?’
‘What’s this about, has Zac had an accident or something?’
‘We need to speak to your brother urgently and we wondered if you knew where he is?’
‘Well at work I assume, BioQex over on the science park, unless he’s not well and he’s stayed at home in the flat,’ he replied looking extremely anxious.
‘We’ve been to the flat and he’s not there, nor has he turned up for work, so where is he?’
‘I don’t know!’ shouted Ez, ‘I’m not his keeper, we hardly see each other with me working shifts and he’s been working long hours, so I can’t help you!’
‘Please Mr Milburn, calm down, we just need your help on this.’
At that moment his colleague's mobile rang and he stepped outside the door.
**
Donna motioned for her colleague Dave who came over then went back to their car to retrieve a crow-bar to gemmy the door open. Mrs Godstone was now being attended to by a paramedic and she was beginning to regain some colour to her face.
One of the rear doors was levered open and the assembled officers recoiled at the sight. Zac’s body lay on the back seat, a massive blood stain congealed on his jacket, blood from a large gash on his neck had soaked his shirt. There was the metallic tang of blood in the air. Detective Andy Walters donned some gloves and bent over to look at the face of the dead man. The face matched the picture they had on file from the DVLA. They had finally found him but not soon enough. Andy went over to the edge of the verge and kicked at a clump of grass in annoyance.
‘Shit, shit, shit!’ he said as his colleague went over, placing his hand on his shoulder, hoping that it would provide some comfort.
**
After a minute or so Inspector Selhurst’s colleague came in and asked to speak to him in private. Ez sat in the office straining to hear what was being said outside. They re-entered the room and spoke to him.
‘Mr Milburn, we would like you to come with us to the station. We must stress you are under no obligation or suspicion but we would very much like you to help us. I’m afraid at this moment we can’t say any more than that. Would you be willing to accompany us?’
‘Well I suppose, providing you give me a lift back here afterwards, I don’t want to get into trouble. I need this job.’
‘Of course sir, it won’t take too long I assure you.’
So the three of them left the supermarket and headed back to Persford station.
**
Cole had just taken a dip in his heated indoor swimming pool. He was waiting for his housekeeper to announce the arrival of two of his boys as he liked to call them. They were calling round to receive their final payments for the recently completed work. He thought back to the names he’d given them when chatting with Zac. Pinky and Perky he’d named them. He chuckled to himself. They’d done a good job and he’d been impressed with them. From supplying dealers in Persford to killing Zac, it had all been accomplished effectively. The only slight slip-up had been the fact that they’d been spotted before they’d taken Zac’s colleague Nick out of the equation. That had been sloppy but no matter, it hadn’t been too problematic in the end. However, he would be reducing their fees slightly because of that. Still, he felt he would employ them in the future. He would keep them in mind for future assignments.
**
At Persford police station, Ez had been taken into one of the family rooms rather than an interview room. A family liaison officer had joined him, bringing him a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits. They were waiting for a member of CID to join them. Following the discovery of Zac’s body their discussion would take an entirely different course to the one they had planned about an hour ago. Zac had been certified dead at the scene by the pathologist, this was police procedure and a complete waste of time everyone thought in view of the injuries he had sustained. The body was now in the mortuary in Persford being made presentable for identification by Ez.
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