Bob’s face held a pained expression the entire time it took Evan to eat his donut, but especially so when he broke off little bits to feed to Elsie.
I nudged him. ‘There’s plenty more where that came from. Well there were, but Dave was closing in on the box when I left.’
He pushed back his seat and said, ‘You’ll be right here for a while? Need to go to the bathroom.’
I waited till he was well beyond hearing range before I asked my next questions. ‘Evan, have you ever heard of The Crystal?’
‘Is it a place?’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘It’s the name of a Drug Lord.’
He scratched at his head again. ‘Can’t say that I have. I wish I could help you with that one. Is this about that new drug on the streets? I’ve seen what it does to people. It’s a dangerous one.’ He shook his head. ‘I might be homeless but I’m not stupid enough to put drugs into my body. Never have understood why they do it.’
I shrugged. I didn’t get it either. Alcohol was enough for me.
‘I can give you a list of some of the minor dealers,’ he said.
I sat up straight in my chair. ‘Pardon?’
‘The ones that are selling that drug. I know the names of quite a few of them. And where they hang out. Would that help?’
I resisted the urge to jump over the table and give Evan a hug. I might wait till after he’d showered to do that.
By the time Bob got back, a Krispy Kreme crust glistening on his top lip, I had a list of eight dealers, knew what they looked like and where they might be at this time at night. I stuffed my notes into my top pocket. I’d share it with Bob later.
‘Right,’ I said to Evan. ‘Did you want to have a shower?’
He looked down at Elsie. ‘She’ll be scared if I leave her alone.’
‘Will she let me hold her?’
He nodded and held her out to me and I took her tiny body in my hands. She whimpered but stayed calm in my arms as I cradled her.
‘Come on,’ Bob beckoned to Evan. ‘I’ll get you a towel. Did you want me to see if we have some clothes that might fit you?’
I didn’t hear Evan’s reply as they disappeared down the corridor.
I pulled my notes back out and stared at them. Two of the dealers worked within a few blocks from The Station. If we could bring them both in tonight that would give Gloria something to start with.
Elsie let out another whimper, her eyes fixed on the door she had seen her master depart from. I took her out the back with me and made myself a coffee while I waited for Evan and Bob.
Daniel and Dave had gone again. Daniel’s table was clean, while Dave’s looked like a paper bomb had gone off. I wondered if it was the extra paperwork Dave was required to do as Duty Sergeant, but I suspected even when Daniel made Duty Sergeant, his desk would still be spotless.
And of course that made me wonder what my desk would look like? Which made me wonder if I even wanted to become a Sergeant? I didn’t even have a stripe yet. It would take me five years just to get to Senior Constable, let alone all the years to make it to Sergeant.
‘Earth to Chanel.’
I jumped and looked up at Bob. ‘Hey. How’d you go?’
‘He’s clean and I found a shirt that fits him. He didn’t want to change his pants. He said all those pockets come in handy on the streets.’
Elsie let out a shrill bark and started to squirm in my arms. Evan had emerged from the men’s bathroom.
‘Hello my precious.’ He held out his arms for her. ‘Was she any trouble?’
‘Not at all.’ To be truthful, I’d been so lost in thought I’d forgotten I even held her.
‘Evan, where do you hang out?’
‘At this time of year at the King’s Cross Station exit onto Victoria Street. There’s a few of us that sleep there. It’s sheltered from the wind and safer as a group.’
‘Would it be offensive to you if I occasionally brought you and Elsie food?’
It had been playing on my mind during the interview. It wasn’t just that I wanted to repay him for his information, I genuinely liked the old man. I wanted to help him.
I had been told by many people, including Dr Shooten, that a lot of the people on the street were homeless because of psychiatric disorders, but I didn’t think that was the case with Evan. Even the way his speech had changed, becoming more dignified and educated as we had chatted, told me there was some other story there.
‘Some conversation would also be most welcome.’
‘You know that little park that allows dogs off lead?’
‘The one with the magnificent views of the city?’
I nodded my head. ‘I often meet a friend there at about 11. We let our furkids play together. Perhaps I might see you and Elsie there on occasion?’
He looked down at his boots. ‘Now that we have conversed, the rumours circulating about you seem incredulous to me. I am embarrassed I listened to them.’
‘Things like how she tackles the crims to the ground, twists their arms, sticks her knee in their back and reads them their rights as she cuffs them?’ Bob asked.
‘Yes. Stupid things like that.’
‘Oh no.’ Bob grinned as he shook his head. ‘Those ones are all true.’
***
‘I can’t believe he gave you all this information while I was eat…urhurm…I mean, in the toilet.’ Bob peered out from behind the shrub we were hiding behind in the park.
‘Bob. You still have icing all over your face.’
‘I do?’ He brushed at his face. ‘Oh, I do.’
‘Tell me you didn’t just lick your fingers.’
‘I’ve got to clean them somehow.’
I knew I probably should have just handed the list over to Gloria, but I wanted to protect Evan’s identity. He was my first informant and I knew if I gave her this information she would bring him in for questioning. It would be a huge breach of trust on my part.
‘There.’ I nudged Bob and pointed at a tall man walking down the street. ‘It’s Long John.’ John stopped by the tree that Evan had said he would, and pulled out his phone.
‘Come on,’ I whispered.
‘You’re just going to nab him? Without any evidence?’
‘I’m pretty sure we’ll find the evidence on him.’
‘What if we don’t? What if Evan was having a lark?’
‘Having a lark? You’ve been watching East Enders again, haven’t you?’
‘Coronation Street if you must know.’
‘Bob,’ I turned to face him, ‘he’s alone, at 11pm, standing by a tree that everyone knows he works from. What else would he be here for but a deal?’
Car lights lit up the street and the dealer looked in their direction. We moved back around the corner out of their glare. It was unlikely he would see us from this angle but I didn’t want to risk it.
Long John looked at his phone once more then stuck it in his pocket. He pushed off from the tree and walked down to the street.
The car approached slowly, the driver’s side window down. It barely stopped as it passed our man, but we could clearly see hands exchanging something.
‘Right. Let’s go,’ Bob whispered.
‘You play bad cop.’
‘Oh please,’ he shook his head, ‘as if he’s going to believe I am the bad cop once he sees you.’
‘He’s getting away.’
Bob shrugged and slid from our hiding place. He already had his cuffs in his hand as he approached John. The dealer was bent over, shuffling things around in his pockets. I was hoping it was drugs.
He heard us at the last second, but that second was all it took for him to register we were cops and make a run for it.
‘Bugger.’ I broke out into a sprint after him. This chasing petty criminal thing was getting old.
‘Stop, or we’ll shoot,’ Bob called out.
It was all bluff and I was sure Long John knew it. He didn’t even falter in his stride.
He rounded a co
rner and took off down the next street. The gap between us widened and I could feel my hopes of getting Billy home soon, slipping away with him.
I gritted my teeth. That so wasn’t going to happen. I was going to bring in every one of these bastards. And not just for Billy. I was going to do it for all those who had already died taking this stupid drug.
I settled into my stride, breathing through my nose as I pumped my arms. I would not let him get away.
To be brutally honest, if he had kept to the deserted, suburban streets of Potts Point, instead of heading for the busier parts of King’s Cross, I probably would have lost him. But he didn’t. And the lights got brighter and more people appeared on the streets.
Maybe he felt there was safety in numbers, but it just meant he had to dodge around people, whereas by the time I got there they had moved out of the way.
I took him down under the Coca Cola sign, diving through the air and fastening my arms around his waist. I twisted to the side, knocking him off his feet and onto the hard ground.
He let out a yelp as he skidded across the pavement. I grabbed a wrist and slapped a cuff on it, but before I could clap on the other one, a light blinded me.
He flopped around onto his back, dragging the cuffs out of my hand. The second time the light flashed, I realised what it was. A camera.
‘Christ.’ I glanced towards the flash and Long John kicked out at me. I took it in the gut, letting out an, ‘Ooooff,’ as I fell backwards.
He struggled to his feet, but I rolled sideways and lunged for his ankles, yanking them towards me with enough force that he went down again.
The flash went off again.
‘Stop it,’ I shrieked, not sure if I was yelling at Long John or the photographer.
I crawled towards John, blocking his next kick at my face. I’d have a bruise on my forearm tomorrow for sure, but that was better than missing my front teeth.
‘That’s quite enough,’ I roared at him. I threw myself bodily onto him and rolled him over. Then I twisted his free arm behind his back and snagged the end of my cuffs. A few seconds later I had him secured and was reading him his rights.
Applause broke out as I dragged him to his feet. What I had thought was just one photographer was in fact a group of onlookers. Some of them still had their phones trained on me.
I pulled out my phone and called Bob.
He picked up on the second ring. ‘Where are you?’
‘Under the Coca Cola sign.’
I heard the car siren start up through my phone. He had had the foresight to go back for a patrol car.
‘Be there in two.’
Standing there, holding onto my non-compliant prisoner with all of those people watching was the longest two minutes of my life. After what felt like an eternity, Bob screeched to a stop in front of me and I shoved Long John into the back seat.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I was in the front and pulling away from the curb.
‘Told Lester to ring Gloria,’ Bob said.
‘What if I didn’t get him?’
Bob looked sideways at me as he let out a laugh. ‘Oh pulleease.’
Gloria was waiting when we arrived back at the station. ‘Good job,’ she said as she nodded her head at me. ‘I’ll take it from here. Bob, you stay while I search him. Chanel looks like she needs the first-aid kit.’
I watched as she pushed Long John ahead of her into the interview rooms. I knew I had a graze on one elbow, but apart from that I was fine. My first-aid efforts lasted the two seconds it took Lester to stick a band aid on for me.
I fired up my computer while I made a coffee. I wanted to make a start on the paperwork before going after another dealer.
Bob arrived a few minutes later.
‘Well?’ I looked up at him.
‘Yep.’ He held up an evidence bag. A bundle of the little bags with the blue drugs and little blue crystal sat in the bottom. ‘Gloria’s like a cat that got the cream. She told me something interesting,’ he said.
I looked up at him.
‘It turns out this is crystal meth.’ He shook the bags. ‘The colouring is what makes this different.’
‘Yeah, well it certainly looks different.’
‘Actually,’ he stared at the bags of blue crystals, ‘it renders the drug undetectable by sniffer dogs. It totally neutralises it.’
I stared at the bags. That was a total game changer.
‘They think it is also why so many people are having such a bad reaction to it. It’s not so much an overdose as it is a poison.’
I shook my head. I would never understand why people did that to themselves. I started typing while he dealt with the evidence.
When he got back, he made himself a coffee and then turned on his computer. He pulled out his phone while he waited for it to fire up. ‘Holy crap.’ He let out a laugh.
‘What?’ I looked up from my report.
‘Super Cop gets her man.’
‘What are you talking about.’
‘Sasha just sent me a link to a video on Facebook. Wanted to know if it was you.’ He laughed again. ‘Christ. Look at you go. I’m not normally close enough to see you in action.’
‘Let me see that.’ I held my hand out, but he ignored me.
‘Wow. It’s already had over 20000 views. This bad boy is going viral.’
I snagged the phone from his hand. It was worse than I had anticipated. I looked scary as hell as I roared at the dealer and jumped on top of him. Surely that wasn’t the facial expression I had used.
Bob stood up so he could watch it over my shoulder.
‘Ooooh, that’s going to hurt tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Nice block.’
I tilted my head to the side. ‘Does my bum really look that big?’
‘Nah,’ Bob said, ‘the camera adds on ten pounds.’
‘Hmmmm.’ I wasn’t convinced. It was obviously time to cut down on the junk food and increase my squats.
We watched a couple more times, Bob for the entertainment factor, me hoping that each exposure would make it less embarrassing – it didn’t – then we went to work on the reports.
If Evan was correct, the next dealer I wanted to grab would be starting operations after 1.00 A.M.
‘Should we put the link to the video in our report?’ Bob’s face was straight but his eyes danced with merriment. ‘I mean it would save us an awful lot of typing.’
I ignored him. There was going to be plenty more of that over the next couple of days, and I had learned that it went away a lot faster if I didn’t react.
I finished my report and hopped up, stretching my arms above my head, leaning to the left and the right.
‘Oh look,’ Mark said from behind me, ‘Super Cop is limbering up.’
Nathan laughed as he sing-songed, ‘Super Cop to the rescue.’
I placed my middle finger in the air so they could see it over my shoulder.
All right, so I didn’t always ignore them totally. It would take a Saint to do that.
Bob yawned and looked at the clock. It was a quarter past 1.00. ‘Ready?’
‘Let’s go.’
Learning from our last experience, we took a patrol car, driving it around the block and leaving it at the far side of the park this dealer inhabited. He was already in place, sitting on a park bench, a small, black duffle bag tucked between his feet.
We walked quietly along the back of the park, coming up behind him. I winced as Bob’s foot snapped a twig, but the dealer didn’t hear.
In fact, for a drug dealer he seemed pretty unaware, hunched over his phone watching something.
‘Oh yeah, got her.’ He laughed. ‘But wait, she comes back for more. She’s a tiger.’
I sighed. I had a feeling I knew what he was watching.
It wasn’t till the nearest lamp post was casting my shadow over him that he realised we were there. He looked up, then looked back down, then looked back up again.
‘Hello, Neill,’ I said.
‘Damn,’
he said. ‘It’s Super Cop. It’s like you jumped right out of my phone.’
‘Do I have to take you down?’ I asked.
‘Would you like to?’
I shook my head as I pulled my cuffs off my vest. ‘So, you’re not even going to try to run?’
‘Will Fatty film it for me if I do?’
‘What?’
‘You know Long John, he’s going to be famous now. I’d like a bit of the action. We could orchestrate it and Fatty there could catch it on Facebook Live.’
I stepped back. ‘Bob, would you like to arrest this man?’
‘Oh no. You can’t take this away from me. It’s you or nothing. Fatty comes one step closer and I’m out of here. And let me tell you, I’m fitter and faster than Long John.’
I eyed him up and down. What I could see of him through his jumper and jeans did look fit. ‘So you’re saying, if I arrest you, you’ll come quietly.’
‘Yeah. On one condition.’
‘That was the condition.’
‘Na ahhh. This is my arrest and I want a selfie with you.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I want a photo. Doesn’t need to be a selfie. Fatty can take it.’
‘His name,’ I said, ‘is Bob.’
‘So that’s my conditions. You arrest me, and Fatt….’
I clenched my fist.
‘I mean, Bob, takes some photos.’
‘Fine.’ I looked over at Bob. He was trying hard, but the smile was showing. ‘Bob, you take a photo.’
‘Photos. Plural, baby.’ Neill handed his phone off to Bob.
I grabbed his wrist and snapped on a cuff.
‘What are you waiting for?’ He pointed at Bob. ‘Start snapping. And you, Super Cop, look at the camera and make sure you put your angry face on.’
When Neill was happy with the artistic performance of the arrest, he walked calmly to the car and climbed in. I held his black duffle bag for the drive back to The Station.
‘Back already?’ Lester asked.
‘Yeah. Is Gloria still here?’
‘She’s out the back. Room three is free.’
Bob stayed in the interview room with Neill, while I went to get Gloria. She was standing by my desk staring down into my rubbish bin.
‘Hey,’ I said.
‘Oh.’ She put her hands to her chest. ‘You scared me.’
Billy Page 18