Hell to Pay

by Rachel Amphlett

  ‘Right.’

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  When they reached headquarters, various news vans and cars emblazoned with television channels’ logos were jostling for space in the visitor car park.

  Harrison checked his watch as he climbed from the passenger seat and waited while Sharp locked the car.

  ‘We’re running late,’ he said, and hurried towards the building.

  Kay cast her eyes over a nearby news vehicle as a technician slammed the door shut and looped a row of cable over his shoulder, whistling as he worked.

  She scowled.

  She knew news conferences were necessary to engage the public and seek information about ongoing investigations, but she despised the fact that it was often viewed as entertainment, a way to increase the evening’s ratings, and that competition between the television channels would be high.

  She glanced across at Sharp as they followed Harrison, and noticed that he wore a similarly troubled expression.

  They remained silent as they followed the detective chief inspector through the building and to the room that had been set aside for the news conference.

  Kay stood on the threshold, and gathered her thoughts while she watched the various reporters, cameramen and photographers take their places.

  A long table had been set up at one end of the room, a blue cloth covering its surface and a row of microphones taking up most of the space.

  Various logos of familiar news channels were fastened to the microphones, each television station ensuring it received free advertising from its competitors’ cameras.

  Four chairs were behind the table, a glass of water in front of each.

  A large panel emblazoned with the Kent Police logo had been erected behind the table, the Crime Stoppers telephone number clearly visible from the back of the room.

  Despite the five rows of chairs that had been manhandled into the small room, reporters had to jostle for space around the edges, murmured reproaches from the camera operators reaching Kay’s ears as she followed Harrison to the front of the room.

  He gestured to the two seats to the right of the table. ‘Sharp, if you take the one on the far right, with Hunter to your left. I’ll be to her left, and then the Chief Superintendent will be to my left.’ He lowered his voice. ‘She’s running a bit late, but hopefully she’ll be here in the next couple of minutes. Some sort of last minute paperwork needs signing off on another investigation. I’ll introduce everyone and read from the statement our media team has prepared. I’ll defer to you if needs be.’

  Kay moved between the table and the backdrop, gave Sharp a small smile as he pulled out her chair for her, and sat down. Reaching for her glass of water, she realised her hand was shaking and snatched it back. If Demiri was watching her from somewhere, she didn’t want him to see her look anything but under control.

  She had to let him know she was more than capable of bringing him to justice.

  A sound at the back of the room to her left roused her from her thoughts, and she began to stand as the Chief Superintendent entered the room from a second doorway.

  The woman waved her back into her seat. ‘As you were, Hunter. How are we doing for time, Harrison?’

  ‘We’re still on schedule, ma’am. I arranged a bit of contingency knowing how busy you are.’

  Kay turned her head and caught Sharp’s amused eyes.

  He winked, then took a sip from his water glass before leaning back in his chair, his hands clasped on the table in front of him.

  Kay wished she felt as relaxed as he looked, then swivelled round to face the room once more as Harrison cleared his throat.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, if you could take your seats, we’ll make a start.’

  He waited while the last of the reporters shuffled closer to the front of the room, microphones and phones held aloft, and then began.

  Kay’s eyes roamed the reporters’ faces while he read from the prepared media statement, giving out the facts as known, and which had been deemed necessary to try and drive the investigation forward without giving Demiri too much information, before she was jolted from her observations by the sound of her name.

  ‘I’d like to introduce the two lead detectives in this matter, Detective Inspector Sharp and Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter,’ said Harrison. He swivelled in his seat to face Kay. ‘Perhaps Detective Hunter would like to say something?’

  Kay swallowed, then faced the crowded room and tried not to blink as a camera flash went off towards the back of it.

  She’d been surprised at Harrison’s insistence on her attending the press conference in the first place. She certainly hadn’t imagined he’d introduce her by name and ask her to speak to the media.

  She cleared her throat.

  ‘We’re very keen to speak to anyone who may have information that will assist with our enquiries,’ she said. ‘We believe Jozef Demiri is still in the area.’

  She glanced to her right at Sharp and was rewarded with an almost imperceptible nod before he turned his attention to the reporters.

  ‘Under no circumstances should Jozef Demiri be approached by the public,’ he said. ‘We consider him to be a danger, and possibly armed. Anyone who has information regarding his whereabouts is asked to please contact the incident room at Maidstone Police Station or through the Crime Stoppers number. I’ll remind viewers that phone calls to the Crime Stoppers number are treated anonymously.’

  He gestured to Harrison to wrap up the briefing, and Kay held her breath while the two senior detectives fielded questions from the journalists before Harrison leaned closer to the row of microphones.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. We’ll let you know as soon as we have further details available for you.’

  The Chief Superintendent rose from her seat, and led the way out the back door from the room.

  She waited until Sharp closed it behind them before she spoke.

  ‘Well done, Harrison. You’ll keep me posted on developments?’

  ‘We will, ma’am. Rest assured, if we receive any information as to the whereabouts of Demiri or his operations, we’ll let you know immediately.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  She shook hands with all of them, and then strode away, extracting her mobile phone from the pocket of her uniform and placing it to her ear as she disappeared around a corner.

  Harrison beamed as he watched her go, and then turned to Sharp and Kay.

  ‘Good work, Hunter. Got the point across succinctly and clearly. No doubt we’ll have more phone calls to work through by the morning.’

  ‘Er, thanks, guv. Appreciated.’

  Harrison glanced down as his mobile phone beeped. ‘Right, well if you’ll both excuse me, the Chief Super wants a quick word. I’ll see you both tomorrow at oh seven hundred shall I, Sharp?’

  ‘Will do,’ said Sharp. He turned to Kay as the other detective strode away and turned a corner. ‘Come on. I’ll give you a lift back to the station, and then we’ll take the team out for a drink and watch the press conference in the pub. Well done out there, by the way. At this rate, Harrison will be lining you up for interviews on daytime television.’

  She began to follow him, then glanced up at his face, but his features remained impassive.

  ‘You’re joking, right?’

  His mouth quirked, and she stopped dead in her tracks as he wandered off, whistling.

  ‘Bastard,’ she muttered.

  Chapter Forty

  Gavin swerved through the crowd holding a tray of drinks aloft before he reached the table at the back, and placed it in front of the team.

  As one, they launched themselves at the pints of beer and clinked their glasses together.

  ‘Well, let’s hope it was worth it. With any luck, we’ll have some new leads to work on in the morning,’ said Barnes.

  Sharp held his hand up to silence him, and then pointed at the television above the bar. ‘It’s on.’

  Kay sipped her drink and watched
over Carys’s head as the news channel began to show the press conference.

  Relief shot through her as she realised her nerves didn’t show at all, and she was pleased that her voice sounded steady and authoritative.

  Sharp swivelled round in his seat and held up his glass to hers.

  ‘Good work.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She fell silent as the news ended and the landlord turned down the volume, and let the sounds of the pub wash over her.

  In the far corner, a group of three office workers stood around a quiz machine, their loud cheers interspersed with good-natured teasing, while next to them two men played a game of pool, the familiar sound of wood on resin carrying across to where she sat.

  She felt her shoulders relax as she listened to the good-natured banter between her colleagues.

  ‘So,’ said Carys. ‘Are we talking off the record while we’re here?’

  ‘Code of silence,’ said Barnes, and took a gulp of beer.

  ‘We can.’ Sharp swept imaginary dust from the table, and then rested his elbows on it. ‘What did you want to know?’

  ‘Did Harrison use that press conference to further the investigation, or his own career?’

  Gavin sucked in his breath, before slapping Carys on the back. ‘It was nice working with you, Miles.’

  ‘She’s got a point,’ said Kay. ‘It does make you wonder what he was trying to achieve. He could have released a normal press release instead of holding a press conference. As it was, he didn’t allow a lot of time for questions.’

  ‘In all fairness, he was probably trying to ensure that the journalists had all the details in time to make the six o’clock news,’ said Sharp, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the now silent television. ‘And, there are more people that watch TV than read newspapers these days. I would imagine our media team will be uploading that to all our social media as we speak. So, I think he used it to further the investigation.’

  Kay glanced across at Carys, and noticed the younger detective looked chastened.

  ‘However,’ said Sharp, the corner of his mouth twitching, ‘I’m sure it didn’t do his career any harm.’

  They burst out laughing, and then fell into companionable silence once more.

  ‘I wonder what the Chief Super wanted to speak to him about afterwards?’ said Kay eventually.

  Sharp shrugged. ‘It’s all politics over there. I’m sure Harrison’s going to use this case to his advantage somehow.’

  ‘You don’t mind? Him coming in and taking the lead?’

  He shook his head. ‘I want to put Demiri away. That’s all that matters.’ He grimaced. ‘I’m not sure I’d want to be in Harrison’s shoes, anyway.’

  ‘Enough shop talk!’ said Barnes, and stood. ‘Next round’s on me. Same again?’

  * * *

  Two hours and a curry later, Kay leaned forward and tapped the taxi driver on the shoulder.

  ‘It’s the one on the right, just past the shop.’

  ‘Right you are.’

  The vehicle slowed as it rounded the bend, in time for Kay to see a car pulling away from outside her house at speed.

  Its brake lights flared at the end of the road, before it turned right and out of sight.

  Her heart slammed against her ribs.

  The taxi driver braked, and switched on the interior light.

  ‘That’s ten pounds fifty, love.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She paid the taxi driver and hurried towards her front door, her breath fogging in the cold autumn night.

  As she approached the front door, the security lights flickered on, and she paced back and forth across the gravel, her eyes sweeping across the stony surface for any trace of who had been there.

  Large footprints had sunk into the gravel, but she couldn’t work out if they belonged to Adam or her mysterious visitor.

  She made her way back to the front door, and as she inserted her key into the lock, the two guinea pigs began their high-pitched squeaking.

  She cursed under her breath, realising that they were probably starving after not being fed for nearly twelve hours, and stumbled into the hallway.

  The sole of her foot slid across the doormat, and she glanced down and frowned, before picking up the business card that lay face down on the rough surface.

  A short note had been scrawled across the plain white back of the card.

  Call me, please. We need to talk.

  She flipped it over, and swore again.

  Jonathan Aspley, Kentish Times.

  ‘Bloody Harrison.’

  Satisfied her night-time visitor posed no threat to her safety, only her temper, and cursing the DCI once more for his insistence on her presence at the press conference, she slammed the front door shut, slid the bolts across and stomped towards the kitchen, flicking on light switches as she went.

  She dumped her handbag on the worktop and picked up the plastic box containing the guinea pig food, crouching down to their hutch.

  ‘Hey, you two. Sorry I’m late.’

  Clyde made an irritated sound in his throat, then buried his face in the fresh food. Bonnie’s bright reproachful eyes stared up at Kay, before she too bustled over to the food bowl.

  Kay refilled their water bottle, and then straightened and tucked her hair behind her ears before grabbing a glass and filling it from the kitchen tap.

  She’d had two pints of beer at the pub before switching to sparkling water at the Indian restaurant, but she knew the spicy food would leave her thirsty. After the early start, she wanted a decent night’s sleep.

  She padded over to the worktop and pulled out one of the bar stools before sinking onto it with a sigh.

  As if on cue, her mobile phone began to ring.

  She groaned, and reached out for her bag, a smile forming as she recognised Adam’s number.

  ‘I thought you were at work,’ she said by way of answering.

  ‘Late one?’

  ‘Not too bad. We went out for a curry afterwards.’

  ‘I’m jealous. The hotel food is terrible.’

  ‘How did your trip to the stables go?’

  ‘Fantastic, but bloody cold. He’s got some great ideas, and I think we’ll be able to work together.’

  ‘That’s great.’

  ‘It is, isn’t it? Listen – I’ll have to make it quick, because we’re in the middle of dinner and I’ve just nipped out to call you. My flight back might be delayed. Apparently, there’s a bad weather front heading this way, and we might get fogged in.’

  Kay swallowed, but hid her disappointment from her voice.

  ‘That’s a pain. Do they know how long for?’

  ‘A day or so, maybe. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘I’ve got to go. Love you.’

  ‘Love you too.’

  Kay ended the call, then pushed the phone across the worktop and made her way out to the panel next to the front door.

  In her haste to feed the guinea pigs, she’d forgotten to set the security alarm.

  It might’ve only been a journalist at her door earlier that evening, but she wasn’t prepared to take her chances.

  Not now that Demiri would know she was an active part of the investigation to bring him to justice once and for all.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Kay was grateful the incident room was quiet when she arrived at work the next morning.

  Despite her plans to get a decent night’s sleep, she’d spent the early hours tossing and turning, rehearsing in her mind what she was going to say to Harrison about the reporter finding out where she lived.

  Barnes and Piper were nowhere to be seen, and Carys had her phone to her ear as Kay dumped her bag under her desk and stalked towards Sharp’s office door.

  She rapped her knuckles against it twice, and fought down her anger.

  It wouldn’t do to take out her frustration on her senior officer, but she did want to make it clear that her
personal life was off limits.

  ‘Come in.’

  Sharp’s voice resonated through the wooden surface, and she twisted the handle.

  To her surprise, DCI Harrison was already present, twisting in one of the visitor chairs to face her.

  ‘Morning, Hunter.’

  ‘Good morning. Can I have a word, please?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Sharp, and waved her to the spare seat.

  Kay noted Harrison had learned his lesson and had taken the more comfortable one.

  He was a fast learner, she had to give him credit for that.

  ‘What seems to be the problem?’

  ‘This.’

  She held up the journalist’s card. ‘When I got home last night, this man’s car was leaving my driveway. He left this card behind. I’d like to know how he found out where I live.’

  ‘What’s his name?’ said Sharp.

  ‘Jonathan Aspley.’

  A sneer curled Harrison’s top lip.

  ‘The man’s a pain in the backside,’ he said. ‘I’d advise you don’t contact him. I’ll tell the media team to get in touch with him and answer any questions he’s got. I need my officers working this case, not dealing with reporters.’

  ‘Kay’s got a point though,’ said Sharp. ‘We need to ascertain how he found out where she lives. I don’t mind my officers helping out with a press conference to raise awareness of our investigation, but I draw the line at them being contacted directly.’

  Harrison leaned forward and clicked his fingers, and when Kay didn’t react he plucked the card from her grasp and glanced at the note on the back. ‘Ignore him. If he contacts you again, let me know and I’ll have words.’

  Kay could sense the dismissal in his voice, and decided not to push her luck.

  ‘Thanks, guv.’

  She left Sharp’s office, closing the door behind her and crossed the incident room to her desk.

  Leafing through a pile of paperwork that had been left in her tray, she tucked her desk phone between her ear and shoulder and began to work through the voicemail messages that had been left.