Twisted Justice: A combined investigation. DI Lorne Warner and DI Sally Parker (Justice series Book 13)

by M A Comley

  Out of the corner of her eye, Lorne saw Sally turn her way, apparently debating what to do next. The decision was swiftly taken out of her hands when the front door broke down. Tilly somehow managed to slip out of Teagan’s grasp, and she ran towards Lorne, who pulled the trigger. Screams rang out from the family of women as Teagan dropped to the floor and thrashed around like a recently snared barracuda on the end of a fisherman’s taut line.

  “Stop it. You’re going to kill her!” Claire shouted.

  Lorne released the trigger. Two armed officers pounced on Teagan to ensure her injuries weren’t fatal as officers from the tactical team rounded up the other family members.

  Sally patted Lorne on the back. “Good job. I bet she regrets taking on the mighty Lorne Warner now.”

  “Not a bad shot, eh? I still feel bad for releasing the damn thing, but she pushed me into it. Are you all right, Tilly?” Lorne asked the housekeeper, peering at the slight wound to her neck.

  “Yes, miss. Thank you.” Tilly hugged Lorne and heaved a big sigh.

  “Sergeant, can you ensure this young lady goes to hospital to get treatment for her wound?”

  “Come with me, miss. We’ll get you sorted,” the officer said with a smile.

  Lorne stepped towards Claire and stood inches in front of the woman, their gazes locked. “That’s your little game ended, Knight. I can’t wait to hear you try and talk your way out of this one.”

  “You haven’t got a clue, bitch. You think you know everything about me, but you don’t. My drugged-up daughter is aware of very little to do with my life.”

  “You’re probably right. However, I have another ace up my sleeve that will help bring you down, actually several of them now you’re in custody.”

  “Bollocks! No one dares to speak out against me.”

  “Oh, but they have, Knight. Do you really trust the other members of your family not to dish the dirt on the crimes you’ve apparently got away with over the years? Of course, we’ll be offering them some kind of deal in exchange. That’s kind of how you’ve run your life, isn’t it? A deal here, another deal there, all involving men with huge bank accounts and bulging assets, right?”

  Claire stared at Lorne but refused to reply.

  “Go on, say it. ‘No comment’. Take her away, boys. She might come across as being a lady, but don’t hold back on showing her how we treat criminals, especially murderers. Here, let me have the honour of cuffing her.” Lorne spun Claire around and slapped the cuffs intentionally against the woman’s bony wrist.

  “I’ll get you for that, Warner.”

  “In your dreams maybe, Knight.” Lorne shoved the woman towards the heavy-set officer, who led the way out of the house. Each of his men accompanied a cuffed member of the family.

  “Back to the station?” Sally asked.

  Lorne smiled. “I think we better rescue Mrs. Stainforth first, tell her that it’s safe to come downstairs.” She rushed up the stairs to fetch the woman. She knocked on the bedroom door. “Mrs. Stainforth, it’s DI Warner, it’s safe to come out now.”

  Mrs. Stainforth tentatively opened the door and descended the stairs. Halfway down, she tugged at Lorne’s arm. “Are you sure it’s safe to come down?”

  “Of course. We’re pretty confident we’ve got enough on Knight to lock her away for years this time.”

  “You don’t know what a relief it is to hear you say that, Inspector. I really can’t thank you enough.”

  “We’ll need a statement from you, Mrs. Stainforth. Do you think you’ll be able to sit down with Sally over the next few days and give us one?”

  “Of course, I’ll do anything and everything to help keep those women away from me.”

  Lorne and Sally left the residence, shook hands with the tactical team captain, and jumped in the car.

  “To be honest, I had my doubts we’d be able to pull it off,” Lorne said as Sally eased the car out of the neighbour’s drive and drove back to the station.

  “Really? You could have fooled me. You’re so damn cool when adversity strikes.”

  Lorne shook her head and laughed. “Maybe you’ve got a point there, Sally. Lord knows I’ve had years of practice.”

  EPILOGUE

  Once all the arrests and charges had been made on the family, Lorne returned to London, a feeling of satisfaction shrouding her like a comforting blanket.

  Her own team erupted when she walked into the incident room. Lorne applauded them in return. “You guys are awesome. You did a fantastic job. Katy, do you want to join me in the office and bring me up to date on how the searches went?”

  Katy nodded and followed Lorne into her office. “Wow, I really didn’t think we would crack this case, Lorne.”

  “To be honest, neither did I. Bloody Knight has got away with murder for years. I’m still not sure how we managed to put her in the frame. Maybe she hasn’t trained her kids well after all.”

  Katy reached for a file sitting on Lorne’s desk and handed it to her. “This will make interesting reading.”

  Lorne glanced at her watch. It was almost six o’clock. “I think I’ll take it home to read. As long as we’ve got enough to put them away for years, that’s all that matters.”

  “Oh, we’ve got that all right. I’ll give you a brief summary. We found evidence of fraud at each family member’s homes. In some cases, the evidence wasn’t even locked away.”

  “Let me guess, at either Helen’s or Olga’s house, right?”

  “Spot on. Also, at Teagan’s, we found the evidence that proves she was on that boat with Ryan.”

  “Interesting. What was that?” Lorne asked, sitting down behind her desk and letting out a weary sigh.

  Katy sat opposite Lorne and linked her fingers across her tummy. “Some papers he’d drawn up. Deeds, in fact.”

  “Okay, simple question. How does that prove she was aboard the boat?”

  “Because of the date. They were drawn up on the Friday before he was murdered.”

  Lorne chewed her lip. “Not exactly concrete evidence, but I can see there’s a tenuous link for sure. Let’s hope we can make it stick.”

  Katy nodded. “Even if that fails, we have her clothes with blood spatter that she tried to hide in a box in her wardrobe. I’m sure once the results come back from Forensics, it’ll prove to be Ryan’s.”

  “Plus, we have a statement from Olga telling us that both Teagan and Helen were involved in his murder. I think we’ll be able to substantiate those claims now, just in case a judge threw it out of court due to the information coming from a questionable source.”

  “I understand that. We’ve also got the brother’s statement, plus what happened at the Stainforth house, and over the next few days, I’m going to be trawling through the cold cases concerning Claire Knight. They won’t get away with this, Lorne, none of them.”

  “Joe Knight mentioned that Lucy wasn’t the angel she pretends to be, either. Still, I genuinely believe that she had nothing to do with her husband’s death. Once the reality of Teagan and Helen murdering Ryan sets in, I’m sure she’ll be singing to her heart’s content. I don’t suppose you’ve had the chance to ring Allan Watts yet and bring him up to date on what’s occurred?”

  “No, not yet. Are you thinking that with Knight now behind bars, he might consider throwing some shit her way, too?”

  “Most definitely. I know I would if I were in his position and there was an opportunity of getting my beautiful home back.”

  “Point taken. Okay, I’m going to shoot off now, if that’s okay with you?”

  “Of course. Take care of the little one. Do you want to come in later in the morning?”

  Katy tutted. “No special treatment, remember?”

  “I know what we agreed, but we hadn’t anticipated you taking charge again. You look drained, hon.”

  Katy stood up and moved towards the door. “Whatever. Go home to your family, Lorne.”

  Half an hour flew past before Lorne finally conceded that she
was tired. She pulled herself away from the engrossing files and left the station. She arrived home to find Tony standing on the doorstep, wearing a huge grin, obviously pleased to see her. “I’ve missed you so much.” She kissed him and held him tightly.

  “So glad you and Sally finally caught the buggers. Are you ready for some dinner? I have a bit of a surprise inside for you.”

  “You mean you’ve prepared a char-free dinner for a change?” she ribbed him.

  “There are plenty of women out there who would snap me up with a click of the fingers, Lorne Warner. You seem to forget that occasionally. Maybe I should start trawling through that little black book I have tucked away in the back of my wardrobe for one of my many admirers from my agent days.”

  Lorne thumped his arm. “You dare, mister!”

  He gripped her hand and led her into the kitchen. She gasped when she saw the mountain of stuff lying on the kitchen table. “Ta, da!”

  Lorne frowned and stepped closer. The items consisted mostly of children’s clothes and games. “Have you been to a jumble sale? What is all this, Tony?”

  “I thought I’d help out for a change and buy Jade’s kids their Christmas presents.”

  “Really? This is all for them?”

  He looked worried. “Damn, have I gone over the top?”

  Lorne laughed. “To me, yes, but to Jade, I doubt you’ve gone far enough.” She shook her head. “What did I do to deserve a thoughtful, considerate man like you?”

  Tony shrugged. “Lucky, I guess. Now, let’s forget dinner and go upstairs, then you can show me how grateful you are that I’m such a thoughtful, considerate husband.”

  The End

  Thank you for reading Twisted Justice; I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this novel as much as I loved writing it.

  If you liked it, please consider posting a short review as genuine feedback is what makes all the lonely hours writers spend producing their work worthwhile.

  CRUEL JUSTICE (Justice #1)

  #1 Best-selling novel in two categories, Police procedurals and Women sleuths in both US and UK and Amazon top 20 novel in 2013.

  The headless body of a wealthy widow is discovered

  decomposing in Chelling Forest. Then a second victim is found. Detective

  Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned the case.

  Before they can discover the identity of the killer they must make a connection between the two victims.

  After a third murder, Lorne receives a grisly surprise. Clearly, a vicious

  serial killer is on a rampage...and Lorne has become the killer's fixation.

  Lorne can't allow her failing marriage or her new boss—a man with whom she shares a sensuous secret—keep her from focusing on her job. She must catch the macabre murderer, or risk becoming the next victim.

  IMPEDING JUSTICE (Justice #2)

  For eight long years, Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins has tracked the vicious criminal known as The Unicorn. But the killer has frustrated MI6 at every turn and remained successful at Impeding Justice.

  When Lorne is targeted in a trap that results in the death of her partner, the tragedy shakes her confidence to the core. Before she has time to recoup, her teenage daughter is kidnapped. More than Lorne’s professional reputation rests on her bringing The Unicorn to justice.

  FINAL JUSTICE (Justice #3)

  A ruthless killer returns—and former DI Lorne Simpkins is forced to revisit her ugly past.

  After suffering a breakdown and quitting the force, Lorne Simpkins finds herself embroiled in a MI6 covert operation to hunt down her old enemy, a sadistic and merciless criminal whose ambition is to become the world’s richest man.

  Lorne tracks the madman through France, attempting to thwart his plans and bring her long-time nemesis to Final Justice.

  FOUL JUSTICE (Justice #4)

  Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins is back on the force. Before she can get comfortable with her new partner, newly-promoted DS Katy Foster, the two are assigned a tragic murder case that looks like a robbery gone wrong. However, when another wealthy footballer’s family meets the same deadly fate within twenty-four hours, it is clear the crimes involve something far more sinister.

  Keeping her focus on unravelling the complex case isn’t easy for Lorne when she learns news that throws her personal life into a spin—her fiancé, M16 agent Tony Warner, is involved in a dangerous covert operation in Afghanistan.

  But innocent people are dying on her patch, and someone must catch the killers. Lorne can’t allow this Foul Justice to prevail.

  GUARANTEED JUSTICE (Justice #5)

  Retired DCI Lorne Simpkins thought she knew what she wanted when she started an animal rescue centre with her husband Tony. Although saving and retraining exploited dogs is fulfilling, Lorne can’t help but feel that something vital is missing from her life. Linda Carter is brutally raped and left for dead in an alley. By some miracle, she survives, but now she lives each day terrified by the perpetrator’s final threatening words—that her sister, Fiona, will be his next victim.

  The sisters decide to adopt a guard dog and contact the rescue centre. During a home check to see if the girls and their flat are suited for a German Shepherd, Lorne witnesses Linda’s horrendous injuries. The young woman knows the identity of her rapist—wealthy, playboy Graham Gibson—however, the police haven’t made an arrest. The shocking story turns into a life-altering moment for Lorne. She decides to become a Private Investigator, and urges the girls to let her take up their case. Little does she know that more victims will come forward to accuse Gibson of rape.

  Lorne is determined to see this vicious criminal behind bars, but is anyone ever guaranteed justice?

  ULTIMATE JUSTICE (Justice #6)

  A ship wreck—

  Dozens of bodies washed ashore—

  Clear evidence that evil has made port in London.

  The horrific case piques the interest of P.I. Lorne Simpkins. It doesn't take long before Lorne learns that young, helpless women are being caged and sold to the wealthy and salacious. Old wounds are wrenched open when she suspects a cover-up by the very authorities that should be keeping lawful order. Can she trust the self-serving journalist bent on making the human-trafficking ring his next big story? When her daughter is involved in a life-threatening accident, it's difficult for Lorne to keep her head in the game. But Lorne and her ex-MI6 husband, Tony, are determined to end the repulsive slave trade and bring the criminals to justice—even if it means Lorne ends up locked in a cage herself.

  VIRTUAL JUSTICE (Justice #7)

  Internet Dating - A Stalker's Paradise

  P.I. Lorne Warner is back in Virtual Justice, the seventh instalment in the Justice series.

  The body of a strangled woman draws Lorne into an intricate investigation that expands swiftly when a second innocent is murdered. A serial killer is on the loose, plucking victims from Internet dating sites. But when a third victim—this one male—is discovered, Lorne is forced to admit her worst fears... she is on the trail of a serial killer duo.

  Lorne's personal life grows complicated as her sister, Jade, struggles to come to terms with their father's death. Lorne suggests drastic measures to cure Jade's grief.

  The answers are out there, but will Lorne solve the crimes and find the killer before the next victim dies?

  HOSTILE JUSTICE (Justice #8)

  Enticed back to the police force, Lorne again teams up with Katy, her former partner. Things are no longer the same between them, though. Katy is now Lorne's superior which could prove detrimental to their latest investigation.

  The crime itself is perplexing: Four small boys discover the corpse of a woman in an abandoned warehouse. CCTV footage shows the woman was abducted in broad daylight by two hooded men. When questioned, the woman's husband swears she had no known enemies and he thought she was on holiday at the time of her death.

  During the investigation a personal problem unfolds for Lorne when her te
enage, daughter, Charlie, attends a friend's eighteenth birthday party - with dire consequences.

  TORTURED JUSTICE (Justice #9)

  Revenge... some cups spilleth over.

  DS Lorne Warner and DI Katy Foster are investigating the murder of a man killed with an unusual weapon. The case takes a turn when two brothers disappear within the vicinity of the murder.

  Lorne and Katy quickly determine that they may be after a group of serial killers out for their own sort of justice.

  ROUGH JUSTICE

  After two detectives are suspended, the Met is forced to return to all the cases the partners investigated. The cold case of a missing university student, Noelle Chesterfield lands on DS Lorne Warner's desk.

  Because Noelle was working her way through school as a pole dancer, Lorne and her partner DI Katy Foster find themselves with plenty of suspects on their radar. However, when the leads run dry, they call in the services of an unusual ally to find the missing student and give her devastated family some peace.

  DUBIOUS JUSTICE

  DS Lorne Warner and DI Katy Foster are called to the scene of an electrician's suspected suicide but quickly discover that they're dealing with a murder case instead.

  Katy's family emergency forces her back home to be by her parent's side in Manchester, leaving Lorne as detective inspector, working alongside a new, and frustrating, partner.

  When two more murders of tradesmen occur, the investigation throws suspicion on a couple who have recently renovated their home. However, the forensic team uncovers a lot more than anyone bargained for.

  CALCULATED JUSTICE (Justice 12)

  Let the chase begin...

  Lorne Warner, newly reinstated as Inspector again, is confronted with one of her worst cases to date. She knows who kidnapped the Hardy family—their kidnapper contacted her himself. But he forces Lorne and her team into a game of cat and mouse that leads them on a chase across London.

  As each clue brings Lorne closer to finding the family, she realises that saving the lives of the Hardy might mean sacrificing her own.