The Divinities

by Parker Bilal

  ‘Bitch!’

  Hicks got back up again slowly. Again, she waited for him to lunge. This time she hit him twice in quick succession: the baton to the ribs and then an elbow to the back of his neck. Hicks fell to lie winded in the dust for a moment before pulling himself up using the railings. As he was leaning against them, getting his breath back, Hicks turned away from Crane, and Drake saw his hand going inside his jumpsuit, saw the glint of metal and knew it was a gun. He managed to take one step on his bad leg before launching himself with all his weight. His shoulder struck Hicks low down, lifting him so that his hips struck against the top of the railings.

  As he was going backward, Hicks clutched onto Drake, pulling him over the railings. Drake felt his balance tipping. As they went, Hicks loosened his grasp and the two men came apart. Drake heard him scream as he fell. There was a long pause followed by a sickening crunch as Hicks struck the bottom of the pool.

  Drake was hanging by his fingers. Luckily it was his good hand, but his other hand was useless and he wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer. He glanced down and saw the twisted figure lying splayed on the white tiles far below, a tear of blood spreading slowly from his head. Drake felt his fingertips uncurling. When he looked up he saw Crane reaching down towards him, a smile on her face.

  ‘Looks like you could use a hand there.’

  CHAPTER 54

  Together they limped down the stairs and out into the open air with Ray supporting Drake.

  ‘You know, maybe you should consider doing this full time.’

  She looked surprised. ‘Is this your way of telling me I’m a lousy therapist?’

  ‘No, I’m telling you . . . Ouch!’ Drake winced as she helped him to sit down on the kerb. ‘I’m saying that you would make a good detective.’

  ‘How would that work?’

  ‘I don’t have a clue. I was just thinking aloud.’

  ‘The private sector? Surveillance, retrieval, missing persons. This is you thinking of a career change?’ She sat down next to him.

  ‘Maybe it’s time.’ Drake leaned back and looked up at the sky. Orange sodium lights blotting out the stars. In the distance he could hear the sound of sirens drawing closer. In a few minutes they were surrounded by flashing lights as ambulances and squad cars pulled to a screeching halt around them and boots clattered to the ground.

  ‘Armed police!’

  Cal held up his badge to identify himself. ‘Detective Sergeant Drake.’

  An excitable officer in full body armour crouched over him.

  ‘I need to know who’s inside the building. How many are armed?’

  ‘Two dead males. One adult and one child.’

  ‘Any possibility of explosive devices?’

  ‘I didn’t see any, but I would proceed with caution. He was a tricky bastard.’

  The man frowned at him, then stepped back and issued orders. As the SO19 team raced inside, Milo came running up.

  ‘You all right, chief?’

  ‘Fine, Milo. Just a few scratches.’

  Milo looked sceptical. ‘So you got him?’

  ‘We got him, Milo. Couldn’t have done this without your help.’ Over his shoulder, Drake saw Pryce leaping out of an unmarked black SUV wearing a tactical vest. He didn’t waste time but came marching over.

  ‘So which part of keeping me informed do you not understand?’

  ‘Ah, DCI Pryce. Better late than never, I suppose.’ Drake looked up at him.

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘Clear the way!’ The ambulance crew came down the steps carrying a stretcher with Jango’s body on it. Drake wondered where the kid’s parents were. If there was anyone to mourn him. At the far corner, he could see a collection of kids on bikes gathered to watch. One of them lifted Jango’s bicycle and pushed it reverently away.

  ‘Consider yourself suspended, Drake. Active immediately, pending an inquiry.’ Pryce leaned closer. ‘This time you won’t get away with it. I shall personally make sure we make it permanent this time.’

  ‘Knock yourself out,’ said Drake. Pryce shook his head in disgust, then signalled to his men and headed inside the building.

  ‘What were you saying about going private?’ Crane cocked her head.

  ‘Here comes the super,’ said Milo.

  Wheeler was striding through the crowd. Behind him news vans were pulling up.

  ‘Just in time, as usual,’ said Drake. ‘Help me up, will you?’

  ‘Well done, Cal,’ said Wheeler, grasping his hand. ‘Doctor Crane, are you all right?’

  ‘A few scratches, nothing serious.’

  ‘That’s good to hear.’ Wheeler waved a paramedic crew over. ‘Please take care of Doctor Crane, will you?’

  They led her over to one of the ambulances parked along the street. Drake watched her go.

  ‘I think she may have saved my life.’

  ‘Outstanding. I told you she was a good ’un, Cal.’

  ‘Yes, sir, that you did.’

  They were silent as Hicks’s body was wheeled past them.

  ‘What makes a man do something like that?’ asked Wheeler.

  ‘You’d be better off asking Doctor Crane,’ said Drake, suddenly exhausted. He couldn’t claim to understand Hicks’s motivation. There was a lot about him that would probably never be explained.

  ‘The point is that you’ve done an excellent job.’ Wheeler was glancing nervously over his shoulder at the line of press, where cameras were being set up.

  ‘Well, you might have to take that up with DCI Pryce.’

  ‘You only have yourself to blame there, Cal. I warned you, and besides, it’s not exactly a secret that Pryce had it in for you.’ Wheeler was slapping his gloves into the palm of his hand. ‘I know you were trying to set the record straight. Wanting to go it alone, put yourself back in the race. Getting out from underneath that business with Malevich. But this is not the way. Pryce was in charge and there are procedures, protocols. I warned you.’

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘I’ll do what I can, but you went behind Pryce’s back, which put yourself and others in danger.’

  ‘It’s okay, chief. I get it. It doesn’t matter anyway.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Wheeler’s gloves came to rest.

  ‘It means I’m no longer sure this is what I want.’

  Wheeler was aghast. ‘You’re in shock, Cal. I understand. After what you’ve been through, the pressure and what with DC Marsh being wounded. You need to take some time.’

  ‘I don’t need time.’ Drake looked over at Crane. She had finished with the paramedic and had her hands taped up. He longed more than anything to be free of all this. He turned back to Wheeler. ‘I feel clear-headed for the first time in years.’

  ‘You’re a good cop, Cal. You have instincts.’

  ‘That’s what I used to think too.’

  ‘If this is about Pryce . . .’

  ‘It’s about all the Pryces.’ Drake looked up. ‘I can’t beat them all. Not in the long run.’

  ‘That’s just exhaustion talking, man. We may not get it right all the time, but at the end of the day, it’s fair, and it’s all we’ve got.’

  ‘Perhaps that depends on your point of view.’

  A row of onlookers had gathered up on the galleries across the square. To Drake it felt like Freetown was judging him.

  ‘Are you serious? Cal, this is all you’ve got.’

  ‘Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe it’s not enough any more.’

  ‘At least sleep on it. You’re a copper, Cal. It’s in your blood. We need people like you.’

  ‘The thing is, I’m no longer sure you do.’

  Wheeler’s assistant was trying to get his attention.

  ‘The press, sir. They’re asking for a statement…’

  ‘I’ll be right there.’ Wheeler turned to Drake. ‘Don’t make any rash decisions until we’ve talked this over properly,’ he said, before walking away.

  Drake
eased himself back down to sitting on the kerb. Crane came over to sit next to him. Together they watched Wheeler step into the spotlights as the cameras came on.

  ‘Just think,’ said Ray. ‘In a few years that could be you.’

  ‘Somehow, I don’t really see it.’

  A paramedic was standing over them. ‘Should get that foot looked at, sir.’

  ‘Yes, just give me a second will you? Thanks.’

  ‘So, are you serious about quitting?’

  ‘I think it might be time,’ nodded Cal.

  ‘Sounds like you’ve thought this over.’

  ‘It’s been a while coming, but I’m sure.’ He was surprised that she didn’t even try to talk him out of it. ‘Once you’ve lost the faith, it’s time to move on.’

  ‘Who’s going to catch the bad guys?’

  ‘There are more ways than one to skin a cat.’

  ‘Spoken like a true skinner of cats.’ Crane stood up and held out her hand. ‘We should talk.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  As Drake watched her walk away, he had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later. Then he tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. He wasn’t sure, but he fancied he could almost catch a glimpse of the stars, way out there beyond the electric glow.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Starting a new series is never easy. There are a lot of moving parts that require patience and perseverance. Thanks go out to Euan Thorneycroft for taking the time to read through one version after another. In the end we got there! Also to everyone else at A.M.Heath for their sterling work.

  This book also marks the beginning of a new relationship with The Indigo Press. Thanks to everyone at Indigo, including Susie Nicklin, Alex Spears, Michael Salu, Vimbai Shire, and above all to the ever-inspirational Ellah Wakatama Allfrey; thanks for having so much faith in me.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of award-winning literary novelist Jamal Mahjoub. Born in London, he spent his early childhood in Liverpool before his family moved to Khartoum, Sudan. Parker’s Makana Investigations series has drawn critical acclaim, with The Ghost Runner (Bloomsbury, 2014) being longlisted for the 2015 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award and Dark Water (Bloomsbury, 2017) being shortlisted for the 2018 Shamus Award for Best Private Eye Novel. The Divinities is the first novel in the Crane and Drake London detective series.

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