by M A Comley
Julie stepped forward to comfort the woman. “It’s okay. We’ll find her.”
Michelle lowered her hands and looked at Julie. “Will you? Do you know this man?”
“We think it might be the same man we’re searching in relation to a few crimes in the area,” Hero replied when Julie glanced over at him for assistance.
“So why haven’t you caught him yet?”
Hero bowed his head in shame. “He’s canny, proving to be very elusive. We’re doing our best, I can assure you, Mrs. Baldwin.”
“What will it take for you to find him—them?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by that comment.”
“My husband and I are very wealthy. What if we offer some kind of reward? Could the abductor be about to approach us with a ransom demand? Is that how these things work?”
“There is no sign of this man asking for any ransom money.”
“What? How do you know that?”
Hero sighed heavily. “Because he abducted a young man a few days ago. He robbed a post office where the lad worked and killed the boy’s mother.”
Michelle gasped and placed a hand on her chest. “My God… why? Why did he spare me?”
“That’s another piece of the puzzle we have to figure out in this complex case. Would you be willing to work with a sketch artist to help ID the offender?”
“Of course. I’ll do anything necessary to bring my daughter home. My husband is in Dubai at the moment, away on business. He’s jumping on the first flight he can find to be with me. We can sort out a reward when he returns.”
“What line of business is your husband in?” Hero asked, wondering if that had any connection as to why the woman and her daughter had been targeted.
“The oil business. I can’t tell you any more than that. It’s far too complicated for me to understand.”
“Okay, I’ll speak to your husband when he returns, but I really do think it would be a waste of time offering the reward. All these things do is burden the police with hoax calls that will only distract us from the task of finding your daughter.”
“I understand. I doubt my husband will, though. He’s a determined bugger and doesn’t appreciate people being negative around him.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll be sure to be prepared when he discusses the subject with me.”
“He’ll more than likely jump right in and announce the reward under his own steam. He has close friends within the media.”
“Thank you again for the warning. When is he due to land?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. You might want to check the flights. He’ll come directly here to see me.”
“I’ll get my team to look into that now. Do you know when they’ll be discharging you?”
“Once my husband gets here, although I feel well enough to go home now.”
“We could drop you back at your house if you want. Do you want me to check with the doctor first?”
“Thank you.”
Hero went in search of the duty doctor. He asked the receptionist to put a call out over the Tannoy. Within a few minutes, a female doctor arrived at reception to see him. He showed her his ID and introduced himself. “Hello, Doctor, I was wondering if Mrs. Baldwin is free to be discharged. We could drop her home. Apparently, her husband is on his way back from Dubai to be with her.”
“I was going to discharge her soon, so I have no objection to her leaving with you, Inspector. I’ll fill out the necessary paperwork.”
“You’re very kind.” Hero turned his back on the doctor as she spoke to the receptionist. He punched in a number on his mobile phone. “Sally, do me a favour. Ring Manchester Airport, see when the first flight from Dubai is going to land. If they land there, of course.”
“I’ll get back to you ASAP, sir.”
Hero made his way back to the cubicle, but stood outside for a few seconds when he heard Mrs. Baldwin sobbing on the other side of the curtain. He stepped through the curtain and said awkwardly, “The doctor is signing the discharge papers now. Will you be all right to dress alone? Or would you rather Julie stay here with you?”
“No. I’ll be fine. There’s a bathroom down the hallway. I’ll nip in there and be ready in ten minutes if that’s not holding you up too long?”
“Of course not. Take your time.” Hero’s mobile tinkled in his pocket, and he retrieved it to look at the message Sally had sent. “According to my colleague, your husband’s flight is due to land at one fifteen this afternoon. We could drop you off and return later. How’s that?”
“Thank you. Will you bring the sketch artist with you?”
“If she’s available, yes.”
Hero and Julie waited in the reception area for the woman to get changed. The doctor walked towards them, with Mrs. Baldwin alongside her. “Any problems, please don’t hesitate to come back to us. I hope the police find your daughter soon.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Your staff have looked after me very well, which I really appreciate.”
Hero and Julie walked either side of Michelle as they made their way out to the car. She remained quiet in the backseat until they were close to her home, then she instructed them which roads to take for a shortcut to her Chorlton home. Hero’s eyes almost left his head when they arrived at the mansion. The place seemed bigger than Buckingham Palace. He’d never seen anything so grand in all his days. It even knocked spots off Rupert Hartley’s residence, which he had visited when the man’s wife and son had been mown down by a gang of thugs in the Manchester area. He had eventually solved that case which had a sad ending. That place came with acres of land, but there was no evidence of any extra land at the Baldwin house.
“You have a beautiful house, Mrs. Baldwin.”
“Do you think that’s why this man targeted Vicki and me? I’ve never had a problem before, and we’ve lived here for almost fifteen years.”
“I don’t think so. Let’s hope the culprit doesn’t find out, or if his intention was to ask for a ransom, the figure he had in mind might be inflated if he realises this is where you and your daughter live.” He winced once he’d spoken. Dumb idiot, what did I say that for? They exited the car, and Michelle’s shoulders sagged with the weight of the situation as they strode across the gravel and up the steps to the front door. Michelle inserted her key. Hero took it from her. “Maybe the two of you should have waited in the car. I should take a scout around the house first, as a precaution.”
“You think he could be inside, waiting for us, me?”
“The likelihood of that is zero; however, I’d rather err on the side of caution.”
“We’ll wait here. Leave the door open, sir, and shout if you need me to place a call for backup.”
“Thanks, Shaw, I’ll do that.” He pushed open the front door, tilted his head to listen, and entered the magnificent hallway, which had been furnished with black-and-white marble floors. The chandelier hanging over the grand sweeping staircase, Hero guessed must have cost over fifty thousand alone. As he travelled through the mansion, he resisted the urge to whistle at the grandeur bombarding his vision. Nothing appeared to be out of place, and there were no signs of tread marks on the carpets in any of the rooms downstairs. He ran up the staircase and opened every door in the long hallway. He lost count after opening the first ten. When he’d searched every room and come to the conclusion that the house was safe, he returned to the front door and gave Julie and Michelle the go-ahead to enter.
“All seems clear to me. Maybe you can look around down here, see if anything has been tampered with, Mrs. Baldwin, before we leave.”
She scurried from room to room then returned to the hallway, and shook her head. “It doesn’t look as though anyone has been here, and I checked the phone; there are no messages on there, either.”
“That’s great. Maybe it would be a good idea to call a friend to come and sit with you for the next few hours, just until your husband comes home.”
“Good idea. I’ll ring Molly, see if s
he’s available.”
They waited for Michelle to make the arrangements and for her friend Molly to arrive at the house before Hero and Julie returned to the station.
They had just settled into the car when an announcement went out over the car radio. “Any cars in the vicinity of Vicarage Road, Swinton, we have an officer down who needs assistance. Officer down, Vicarage Road, Swinton.”
“Attach the blue light, Julie. We’ll attend.”
“That’s miles away, sir. It’ll be a waste of time.”
He glanced sideways at her and shook his head. “Attending a scene where one of our colleagues has been injured or killed is never a waste of our time. You hear me?” Hero said, not bothering to disguise how furious he was at her flippant remark.
“Sorry, sir,” Julie apologised over the roar of the engine and the siren.
Fifteen minutes later, Hero arrived at the scene. He yanked on the handbrake and shot out of the car. He flashed his warrant card at the PC guarding the tape and ducked under the cordon. Then he addressed the group of uniformed officers staring blankly at him. “What the hell is going on? Guys, you know the procedure—you should be on that side of the tape, not this side, destroying the crime scene.”
A female WPC approached him. “Sorry, sir. Both men were alive when we got here. Our first priority was to try and save them.”
Hero nodded. “You’re right. What’s the situation now?”
“Officer Ford has since died, sir, but Rogerson is still alive. It looked very bad, sir. He has several bullet wounds to his stomach. The ambulance has just arrived and the paramedics are working on him in the back.”
Hero’s heart sank when he heard the name. “Rogerson? Darren Rogerson?”
The officer gave a brief nod. “Yes, sir.”
“What happened? Have you apprehended the person responsible for this?”
“No, sir, he got away. We think he lured the officers into some kind of trap.”
“What brought the officers here?” Hero scanned the crowd that had formed on the other side of the cordon. It wasn’t uncommon for criminals to immerse themselves in the crowd, gloating at the police as they surveyed the crime scene.
“Someone placed a 999 call, saying that their house had been broken into, sir. They gave this address.” She pointed at the terraced house behind her.
“Then what?”
“Rogerson and Ford got out of their patrol car, ready to approach the house. A man opened the front door and started firing two guns at them. They didn’t get the chance to run, sir.”
“So you have witnesses?” Hero asked, noticing several patches of blood on the pavement in front of the house. Hero looked at the blood and found himself fearing for Darren’s life. Damn. What am I going to tell Cara? Nothing yet—not until there is concrete news on his condition.
“Yes and no, sir. The neighbours we’ve spoken to want to keep out of it, sir, afraid in case the man returns to punish them.”
“That’s logical, I suppose. Use your policing skills to assure them of their safety and explain how important it is to get this man off the streets.”
“I’ll do my best, sir.”
“Walk with me to the ambulance. How long was it before the paramedics arrived?”
“Within minutes, sir; they were dropping off a patient a few streets away,” the female officer said as they approached the back of the ambulance.
“Okay, speak to the crowd, see if anyone saw anything useful. Thanks for the information.” He stepped into the back of the ambulance and showed his ID to the paramedics. “How’s he doing?” He glanced over at the body covered with a sheet and shook his head.
Two paramedics were working on Rogerson, giving him CPR and checking his vital signs. “We just need to get him stable,” one replied calmly, but Hero noticed the concerned look that travelled between the two professionals.
Hero tried to remain positive, but it was growing increasingly difficult, as Darren was still unconscious. A machine began to beep, even if it was faint, giving Hero a little hope.
Julie appeared behind Hero, her face pale and eyes wide.
The older paramedic glanced up at Hero. “We need to go, sir.”
Nodding, Hero quickly backed out of the ambulance. “What are his chances, lads?”
The driver hopped out the back to secure the door. “The truth? I’d say very slim. We’ve done everything we can to stem the bleeding, but we need to get him to the hospital.”
“I appreciate your honesty. Do your best for him.” Hero backed away, pulling Julie with him, as the driver rushed to the front of the vehicle. He turned to Julie as the ambulance sped away. “Julie, you need to keep a clear head. Push it aside if you can. We’ve got a suspect on the run who we need to track down. Stick with me.”
She looked at him, her eyes still wider than normal. “Yes, boss. Do you want me to ring the station, get things started with the team?”
Hero smiled at her and nodded. “That’ll be grand. CCTV footage a priority as normal. Let’s see what cars were in the area.” Julie turned and walked towards the car to place the call.
Hero was still staring after the ambulance when Julie joined him again. “All sorted, sir. Any change?”
“No, it doesn’t look good, Julie. I need to get back to the station promptly before Cara hears about this.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand, sir.”
“Darren Rogerson is her new boyfriend.”
“Holy shit! I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
Hero smiled briefly at her, and they marched towards the car.
Once they arrived at the station, he told Julie to go back to the incident room while he went along the corridor to the fraud squad to share the bad news with his sister.
“All right if I have a quick word in private with Cara?” he asked Dave, her immediate boss.
“Sure, we’re at a lull at the moment. Take all the time you need.”
Cara’s brow creased in concern before she left her desk and followed him out of the room. Hero paced the floor and ran a hand through his hair.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Is one of the kids sick?”
“No, I was called to attend an officer-down call half an hour ago. Sorry, love, it was Darren and his partner.”
He reached out to support his sister as her legs gave way beneath her. “What? Tell me he’s going to be okay, Hero, please? Or is he already dead?” Tears spilled from her eyes.
“No, love. He’s hanging in there. They’ve whisked him off to hospital. I can run you over there if your boss gives you permission to have the time off.”
“Sod what he says—I’m going, even if I get the sack. Tell me the truth. Is he really bad?”
Hero gulped. “Yes, he’s bad. It doesn’t look good at all. If you give me his parents’ details, I’ll ring them and tell them to meet us at the hospital.”
“Bloody hell. It must be bad if you want to ring them… I know how these things work.”
“Now don’t go letting your imagination run away with you. Just get the info. I’ll have a word with Dave, then we’ll shoot over there.”
Cara nodded and walked back into the fraud office. Hero approached Dave to apprise him of the situation. He gave the permission needed for Cara to leave work, then the twins left the office and ran down the stairs to Hero’s car. Before driving off, Hero placed the call to Darren’s parents and arranged to meet them at the hospital.
Hero glanced sideways as Cara sniffed then blew her nose on a tissue. He rested his hand on her leg. “I’m sorry, love. I feel terrible. I know I was against your relationship to begin with, but I wouldn’t wish anything like this to happen, not to my worst enemy.”
“Thanks, Hero. Can you tell me how it happened?”
Hero recapped what he knew about the incident.
Cara gasped. “Shot? How many times?”
“It was hard to tell, love. Let’s not speculate on things until we find out the facts from the doctor, eh?”
“I totally understand what you’re saying. I’ve been known to tout the same thing over the years. It’s certainly making our job harder. But then, if there’s a person out there who has uniformed officers in his sight, there’s very little we’re going to be able to do to stop him.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“No. When I get back, I’m going to have a word with the DCI, see if he can speak to the super about us working closely with an Armed Response Team. Think we’re going to have to go down that route if we want to rid the streets of this guy. He’s hitting us hard and fast from all sides.”
“This is the guy you’ve been chasing regarding the post office murders—is that what you’re telling me?”
“Speculation on my part at this point, but so far, we’ve had three uniformed officers killed in the line of duty.”
“Three? I knew about Portman and Wilmot. Who’s the third one?”
Hero mentally kicked himself for putting his foot in it. “Darren’s partner died at the scene.”
“Jesus, why didn’t you tell me? If he’s dead, then Darren must be in a hell of a state.”
“Sorry, love. Stay positive. At least he’s alive.”
“Stay positive? What the fuck am I going to see when I get there?” Her head lowered onto her chest and she sobbed the rest of the way to the hospital.
Before they exited the car, Hero hugged her. “Please, Cara, for Darren’s parents’ sake, try and hold things together?”
“I’ll do my best.”
He held her hand as they walked across the hospital car park. Hero flashed his warrant card at the girl on reception.
She smiled at him. “Back so soon?”
“I wondered if you’d recognise me. Unfortunately, one of our colleagues was brought in by a paramedics team not long ago, bullet wounds to the abdomen. Any chance we can see the doctor in charge?”