He’d been about to make a move on that, when he received Susan’s call; the damn cops had put his schedule back as well as adding to his dramas.
No worries, it would all sort itself out.
Chapter Fifteen
‘Hi, you busy?’ Christine asked Vinnie as soon as he answered the phone.
‘You wouldn’t believe it.’
‘Anything the press should know about?’ she asked.
‘Probably, but not just yet. I’ll give you the heads up later.’
‘They must just save everything up, until Super Vinnie returns!’
‘That’ll cost you the first round.’
‘When?’
‘Hopefully, later this evening,’ he said.
‘Looking forward to it, but have you got five minutes now? I need a favour.’
‘Probably only four, but seeing it’s you…’ Vinnie said.
Vinnie listened as Christine told him about her plan to see if Romanian women were being trafficked into the north west, and in particular around Manchester. He knew this bit already, but not that her boss June had given her the nod, and not about her lunch date with John Debroski. When she’d finished, he said, ‘Debroski sounds a nob.’
‘I’d use stronger language.’
‘Spookily, I’m involved in a brothel murder which involves trafficked women, and the aftermath of a case that was at Preston crown last week, regarding an enslaved Estonian woman and others.’
‘Trafficked and forced sex workers, enslaved house servants; what the hell is going on?’ Christine said.
‘I think there may be lots going on under the surface; we need to wake up to it.’
‘Either of your jobs connected with the Manchester job?’ Christine asked.
Vinnie told her that they were not, but he would keep an open mind should any links become evident. Christine then told him what she was after.
She wanted Vinnie to try and speak to the detective in the Manchester case, to ask if he would speak to the two Romanian women on her behalf to see if they would agree to a chat.
‘Have you considered speaking to social services?’ Vinnie asked.
‘Thought I’d try you first, I suspect Debroski has already ruined that approach. They’ll just think “it’s more gutter press, after a story”.’
‘I’ll put a call in, but it might be later on,’ Vinnie said.
‘No rush, but irrespective of the outcome, can you ensure that Debroski gets nowhere near them?’
‘That should be easy enough to do, cop to cop. Look, gotta rush, I’ll bell you later.’ And with that, Vinnie ended the call.
He’d helped Harry set up the incident room before they grabbed a sarnie for lunch, and Harry had just finished his first briefing of the 10 detectives that they currently had, when he took Christine’s call. Harry joined him in the SIO’s office as he put the handset back in his pocket.
‘News about Susan Grady?’ Harry asked, as he closed the door.
‘I wish. It was just Christine, after a favour,’ Vinnie said.
‘You’ve not said anything?’
‘No, of course not. I know you are doing a press conference later on, but until them…’
‘Sorry, just panicking out loud. But any news re Grady at all?’ Harry enquired.
‘There’s an alert out to all cops throughout the region, an all ports warning has also gone out, and her home address is negative, but we have one of the intel unit sitting on it.’
‘Relatives, or known associates?’
‘HR have drawn up a list, but it’s a long one. She’s not been at Preston too long, but is well-liked,’ Vinnie said, before explaining that he was awaiting the arrival of her personal record from headquarters. He would go through it, but for now it made sense to keep to her recent associates and widen the net as and when they had to. Harry agreed, and suggested that they get the events of the incident down on paper.
And he was right; the sooner they got their witness statements done, the sooner they could move on. Vinnie went and fetched two coffees before sitting down with Harry to go through the events before they did anything else. The first job was to debrief the events together as they had been together at the time, and then get their pocket note books filled in. From there, their statements would be written.
It was only when they were seated and started going through the morning’s events that Vinnie suddenly remembered what Jody Watson had said to him in the seconds before her murder. With everything that had happened since, he’d not had time to reflect; at least it showed that the process worked.
“‘If I die, go after them with the key to all you need”, those were her last words,’ Vinnie said.
It was clear from Harry’s response that he had not heard her say that, from the driver’s seat. He said, ‘And what the hell does that mean?’
‘No idea, but just before she said it, I felt her hand near my jacket pocket. I thought she was actually trying to put her hand into my pocket, but as soon as she spoke, I realised she was just prodding me, to get my attention,’ Vinnie said.
‘But why would she say, “If I die”?’
‘She spoke only moments before she was killed, and I remember her looking over my shoulder. I was in the act of turning around when she was shot.’
‘You reckon she saw the attacker?’ Harry asked.
‘I reckon she must have, too much of a coincidence to choose those words, just before she was killed. And you know I don’t believe in coincidences.’
‘Or fairies,’ Harry said, finishing off one of Vinnie’s own adages for him.
‘But what did the latter part of her comment mean? Expected sudden death aside; “go after them with the key to all you need,”’ Harry said.
Then a thought hit Vinnie. ‘Shit.’
‘Shit what?’ Harry said.
But Vinnie didn’t answer; he was already on his desk phone to the switchboard asking to be put through to the incident room exhibits officer. Seconds later he was connected; he identified himself to DS Philips and asked if his bagged clothing had gone to the forensic lab yet. It hadn’t, but was about to. He told the DS to hang on; he’d be with him in minutes. Then Vinnie put the phone down, and could see a look of recognition on Harry’s face. Harry said, ‘Come on,’ as he stood up.
A few minutes later, Harry and Vinnie walked into DS Philips’ office. Vinnie could see his bagged clothing on the desk. He knew he was the only one who could open the bag, apart from the scientist of course, in order to prevent any possible cross-contamination.
The DS took notes as Vinnie carefully pulled his blood- and gore-stained jacket out. He knew all the pockets were empty, or should be, as he’d had nothing in them. Everything he’d been carrying was in his suit trousers, which he emptied back at the mobile police station.
He put on a pair of latex gloves and went straight to the right-hand side outer pocket. And in there he felt a hard, metallic object. He pulled it out; it was a yellow, metal, mortice-style key.
‘I’m guessing that’s not yours?’ Harry said.
‘No, it’s not, but with any luck it’ll be the key to all we need.’
‘Whatever that means,’ Harry finished.
Vinnie told DS Philips to log the key, get it examined for prints and DNA — of which at least the aggrieved’s should be present, and hopefully more — and then to book it out to Vinnie. He would raise an action, a line of enquiry, later to investigate the key’s provenance.
Two hours later, they had finished their notes and written their draft statements. Vinnie leaned back and repeated Jody’s words in his head for the thousandth time. What the hell did it mean, exactly? Was it the key to a box, an address, some other kind of other lock, or what? As soon as the key was released to him under action he’d find the nearest locksmith in Preston and find out what kind of key it was. That should help narrow things down, if only a little.
Then Harry broke into his thoughts, as he finished a call with, ‘Excellent!’
; ‘What is?’ Vinnie asked.
‘I’ve just begged a favour from the listings officer over at crown.’
‘Go on.’
‘Do you remember that Mohammed Sadiq is due to be sentenced today?’
Vinnie looked at his watch. It was already 3.45 pm. He nodded his reply.
‘Well, as luck would have it, he’s not been dealt with yet, in fact he is next up. But I’ve manged to get him back-listed until tomorrow, as it’ll be after 4.30 pm before the next case in line in court 10 is due to finish. Sadiq will be returned to the court cells, awaiting the prison bus to take him back to HMP Preston for the night.’
Vinnie could see where Harry was heading. ‘You think in view of what’s gone on today; whatever Sadiq is offering could be related?’
‘Same sort of crime; enforced servitude is enforced servitude whether you are doing the cleaning or something far worse.’
Vinnie grabbed his coat. This was now a murder enquiry and things change. Even if they ended up trading a lesser sentence for Sadiq for a crock of shite, it would be worth a try.
Chapter Sixteen
‘You guys like to cut things close, or was that the plan?’ Sadiq said, as soon as the court jailor left the interview room. But before Vinnie or Harry could answer, the jailor popped his head around the heavy steel door and said, ‘You’ve got ten minutes, give or take gents, before the prison bus is due.’ He didn’t wait for a response.
There were two aluminium chairs nearest the cell door, and another the other side of a small wooden desk. Vinnie reckoned the interview room had once been a cell.
Sitting on the other side of the desk was a small man of Asian heritage, aged about 45, with greying black hair. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Both he and Harry scrapped the lightweight chair legs along the concrete floor as they made themselves comfortable.
‘Do you mind,’ Sadiq said, ‘that sound goes right through me.’
‘Sorry.’ Vinnie answered for both of them, noting that Sadiq had a local accent, rather than some pseudo-Indian subcontinent accent that many British Asians adopted, even if they had never been farther away than Wigan.
Introductions over, Sadiq was first to speak. ‘I’m guessing it was you guys who had my sentencing pulled, and judging by the timing, whatever’s on your mind is important.’
Neither Vinnie nor Harry answered straight away, it was clear to Vinnie that Sadiq was no mug and he was just letting them know that, saving everyone’s time, especially as they only had 10 minutes. Vinnie saw Harry look at his watch and he instinctively did the same. Ten to five.
‘We aren’t here to trade, but we do have a situation that we think you might be able to help us with. But first I have to ask you to confirm that you are happy to speak to us without your brief present,’ Harry said.
‘Depends if I’m being treated as a suspect for something,’ Sadiq answered.
He’s obviously clued-up, Vinnie thought again before he spoke. ‘You are right to ask Mohammed, but this is not a PACE interview, it’s an intelligence interview.’
‘So you are here to trade?’ Sadiq said.
‘Look, time is short, Mohammed, and this is not eBay: brief or no brief?’ Vinnie said.
‘I’m only messing, gents, I don’t want that bent bastard anywhere near me.’
Vinnie and Harry had discussed on the way over, just how far they could go with Sadiq, and truth be known, they weren’t sure. Vinnie had suggested that they Van Gogh it — play it by ear — and Harry agreed.
Vinnie opened by quickly saying that they had been notified, via his brief, that Sadiq had something big to tell them about, and that due to very recent events they may be interested.
‘I told the brief that, and I do, though I didn’t give him any specifics, like I say, I have my doubts about him,’ Sadiq said.
‘Why not change your brief, then?’ Harry asked.
‘Because I didn’t have any concerns until after I asked him to make the approach.’
Vinnie and Harry glanced at each other as Sadiq went on. He told them that as soon as he had asked his brief to set up a meet, he’d been all over him trying to find out exactly what it was he wanted to trade, but made sure that he only gave him very scant details. The harder his brief had pushed, the more suspicious Sadiq had become. ‘It stank worse than a bad vindaloo,’ Sadiq said.
Vinnie couldn’t help but grin, he was warming to Sadiq and building the rapport he knew could be crucial to intelligence gathering. ‘I don’t really know the brief personally,’ Vinnie said, ‘since we are from Manchester, though we are now based here in Preston.’
‘I asked not to be seen by local detectives, I don’t know who I can trust,’ Sadiq said. He really had Vinnie’s attention now, and had also explained why the request had come to Harry in the first place.
‘Look, irrespective of whether what you have fits in with our “recent events,” we are going to need something from you if we are to stand any chance of getting your sentencing hearing moved back beyond tomorrow,’ Harry said.
Vinnie watched Sadiq sit back and wince, as he made his own chair legs squeal on the floor. The man was clearly wrestling with something, and having become an experienced handler of informants as a DC and a DS, Vinnie considered the man’s deliberations appeared genuine. After what seemed like ages, but was probably only two minutes, Sadiq leaned forward and said, ‘What I’ve got concerns a brothel, but…’
‘But what?’ Harry asked.
Sadiq leaned back into his chair. Silent, staring at the wall. If he was playing them, then he was good, Vinnie thought.
‘You said you were from Manchester?’
‘Yes,’ Vinnie answered.
‘How long have you been at Preston?’
Vinnie quickly told him that they were not working as local CID, but as part of a regional homicide unit, which had three offices across the north west, one in Preston and the other two in Manchester and Liverpool.
‘So why are you two not based in Manchester?’
Vinnie was definitely right about Sadiq. ‘Because we recently ran a job involving the murder in Lancashire of a former home secretary, among other things, and—’
‘By that nutter, Moxley?’ Sadiq said, interrupting Vinnie.
‘Indeed,’ Vinnie said, continuing. ‘And the local chief constable personally asked for me and my boss here to be stationed in the Preston satellite office.’
‘Well, if the chief of Lancs. trusts you, I guess I will,’ Sadiq said.
‘So?’ Harry asked.
‘A brothel full of trafficked women,’ Sadiq said.
Another one. Vinnie and Harry exchanged glances; Harry had been spot on in suggesting that they approach Sadiq.
‘Run by a bad man, a really bad man,’ Sadiq continued.
Vinnie said the “and?” that he could feel was unspoken.
‘And…’ Sadiq started to speak before pausing to take a breath. Vinnie saw fear in the man’s eyes for the first time, real fear. ‘And?’ Vinnie said, coaxing Sadiq to carry on.
‘And a bent detective who’s shagging him,’ Sadiq finished, before making himself wince once more with his chair.
Vinnie turned to face Harry, but before either could speak, the door opened and the jailor appeared and announced that prison transport had arrived.
‘Give us a minute,’ Harry said.
‘Half a minute,’ the jailor replied, before disappearing once more.
‘Thank you Mohammed, that clearly wasn’t easy for you, but before we can carry on I need to speak in private with the sentencing judge and get your case re-listed.’
‘OK mate, but don’t tell my brief.’
‘We’ll have to tell him something, but like you did, we’ll leave out any specifics. We will have to tell the judge a bit more, especially why you have concerns about your counsel.’
‘It’s not the barrister, but the solicitor who is instructing him, but I suppose the less the barrister knows, the better too,’ Sadiq said, as all th
ree of them stood up.
‘So, what are your concerns?’ Vinnie asked.
Then Sadiq told them, and it wasn’t what Vinnie had expected to hear.
‘Who is the bent detective? Vinnie pushed for more as the door started to open.
‘Not yet,’ Sadiq said. ‘Get the adjournment, and then I’ll tell you everything.’
‘Sorry to interrupt, gents, but it’s time to go,’ the jailor said as he re-entered the room.
Chapter Seventeen
‘Come on Bonehead; and be quiet,’ Babik said, as he led Bonehead away from their parked, borrowed Ford Transit van, down the poorly-lit rear alley toward the house at the end of the terrace. He could see that there were lights on and that the house next door was in darkness. That would help.
They reached the last gate and Babik gently tried the latch; the gate was unlocked. He opened it an inch and then stopped and quickly put his finger to his mouth, signalling to Bonehead who was hunched down right behind him. Then he turned back to the gate and peered through the small gap. The noise he had just heard was followed by footsteps, his thoughts were confirmed. Someone had opened the back door and was walking into the small concrete rear yard. A woman. Was it their quarry?
He couldn’t see the woman’s face but knew she lived alone; well, at the moment. Then the woman reached a wheelie bin and Babik could see she was carrying a small black bin bag in one hand. As she lifted the bin cover, Babik caught a glimpse of her profile. It was enough to recognise their prey from. He held three fingers up and Bonehead nodded his understanding. Babik watched as the woman held the bin lid with one arm and moved her other towards it.
He counted his fingers down to two.
Babik watched as she threw the rubbish into to the bin.
He counted his fingers down to one.
He watched as she let go of the bin lid and turned to face the house. Babik waited until the bin lid banged shut before dropping his last finger. At the very moment the lid slammed down, he pushed the gate open.
The Badge & the Pen Thrillers Page 61